When Amber White and Jason Moore decided to get married after six-and-a-half years of dating, they decided to fashion a wedding that both honored their love for New Orleans and the Heights: the neighborhood where they grew professionally to become essential employees of the Treadsack restaurant group — he's the company's bar director, and she's the general manager of craft beer bar D&T Drive-Inn.
"I came home to Houston (from California) to see my father through the end of his life," White tells CultureMap. "Going through something like that . . .the level of commitment Jason showed to me and dedicating himself to my family, basically made me decide it was really important to commit to him."
White says they took pains to craft a ceremony that would represent themselves and appeal to their "rock and roll friends" while still being accessible to their families and business associates. They settled on a ceremony, officiated by Treadsack co-owner Chris Cusack, that took place in the Heights gazebo where Moore and White danced after her father's wake, followed by a New Orleans-style second line procession to Down House, and then an all-night party at the company's neighborhood bar Johnny's Gold Brick.
"We decided to do a second line because it was something we always thought was really awesome about weddings in New Orleans, but no one gets to experience that here," the bride explains. "We worked really hard to find the one band in Houston that would do a second line. It made sense to do a short walk to Down House and show our guests where it all started for us."
Rather than have bride and groom's cakes, the couple stayed true to their love of craft beer by tapping individual firkins of custom brews: Lone Pint Brewery's signature Yellow Rose for her; Brash Brewery's coffee-flavored Cortado for him. In addition to beer, guests snacked on frozen treats from Heights-based ice cream shop Fat Cat Creamery.
A busy work life means the honeymoon will have to wait, but White says they've discussed a trip to Europe. "Drink some beer in Belgium and see Jason’s band friends in Germany. We might check out some crazy metal bands in Norway," she explains.
"We committed to Houston, we committed to Treadsack, and we committed to each other," White says of the event. "It was kind of a triple threat."
After the marraige, Amber White and Jason Moore lead their second line parade down Heights Boulevard.
