Fleur de Lis Event Center is an all-inclusive wedding venue in Mandeville, on the Northshore of the New Orleans area. The building started life as a movie theater. Today it holds two ballrooms, a Private Restaurant, two private courtyards and the kitchen, bars and staff that run a wedding from the first song to the send-off.
Fleur de Lis Event Center is an all-inclusive wedding venue in Mandeville, Louisiana, providing comprehensive packages that cover food, open bar, decor, and on-site coordination. The venue offers three distinct spaces—the Private Restaurant, Jazz Ballroom, and Pontchartrain Ballroom—to accommodate weddings ranging from approximately 10 to 500 guests, or up to 850 when ballrooms are combined. Since 2009, Fleur de Lis Event Center has hosted weddings, earning accolades such as an 11-time The Knot Best of Weddings winner and a feature on TLC’s Four Weddings.
We’ve been hosting weddings since 2009. Fleur de Lis is an 11-time The Knot Best of Weddings winner, a member of The Knot Best of Weddings Hall of Fame and a WeddingWire Couples’ Choice award winner, and we were featured on TLC’s Four Weddings.
Our owner sums up how we approach every wedding in one line: “The wedding is not about us. It is about her.” We bring a proven way of running the day. The couple decides the traditions, the timeline and the feel of it.
This guide covers the big questions in one place: which room fits your guest list, how the ceremony and rain plan work, what the day looks like hour by hour, and how pricing and booking work.
Three rooms, three sizes of wedding
| Room | Comfortable range | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| Private Restaurant | Up to approximately 100 guests | Smaller weddings with their own entrance, bar, courtyard and covered patio |
| Jazz Ballroom | Approximately 50 to 300 guests | Brick, two indoor fountains and a star ceiling |
| Pontchartrain Ballroom | Approximately 100 to 500 guests | Gas lighting, a balcony and a large dance floor |
These are comfortable operating ranges, not contractual minimums. We do not impose a hard guest minimum, and we have hosted events as small as about 10 guests.
For the largest weddings, the two ballrooms can be combined for one event of up to about 850 guests.
Pontchartrain Ballroom
Our largest room has thousands of fiber-optic stars in the ceiling, real gas lighting, brick architecture and a brick-top bar. A new illuminated architectural wall serves as the backdrop for the cake table, and the DJ sits on the main level across from it. The large balcony seats nearly 100 guests at regular reception tables, with an additional upstairs bar for bigger weddings. Under about 250 guests, most or all seating is downstairs.
Jazz Ballroom
The Jazz Ballroom has more brick, a fiber-optic star ceiling, a brick-top bar and two working indoor fountains. Fabric ceiling treatment and string lighting hang over the dining area, and the DJ booth sits upstairs above the dance floor. A dedicated picture room is set aside for photographs, and a private upstairs area is where the newlyweds have their Fairytale Dinner.
Private Restaurant
For smaller weddings, the Private Restaurant is booked as a completely private space with its own entrance, restrooms, bar, front courtyard and covered patio. It has its own menus and pricing, separate from the ballrooms, with several menu and package structures.
The ceremony and the rain plan
Each ballroom has its own New Orleans-style courtyard with brick walls, greenery and overhead shade. Both have a permanent ceremony spot: a rounded area under a wrought-iron dome with a chandelier hanging from it and string lighting overhead. It’s part of the courtyard, not a portable arch.
On-site ceremonies are currently $1,200 outdoors and $1,100 indoors, plus sales tax and fees. The price is the same for either ballroom, any month, any day and any guest count. It includes full ceremony coordination, ceremony chairs, music coordination and one hour in the bridal and groom suites before the ceremony.
If the weather turns, the ceremony moves inside your own ballroom at no extra ceremony charge. In the Pontchartrain Ballroom, indoor ceremonies are generally set in front of the illuminated backdrop wall. In the Jazz Ballroom, they’re set in front of the wall fountain. The rain plan is a finished ceremony setting, not a backup room, and staff can clear ceremony chairs from the dance floor in a minute or two afterward.
What comes with a ballroom wedding
A standard ballroom wedding includes the food, an open bar, a uniformed security officer, tables and chairs, white guest-table linens, china and glassware, standard centerpieces, access to our in-house décor collection (subject to availability), setup, cleanup and comprehensive on-site wedding coordination. We also cut and serve your cake, set up the gift and card table, and decorate a sweetheart table. For the full list, see what’s included in a Fleur de Lis wedding.
Some things are optional add-ons rather than part of the package, including the in-house DJ (currently $775), the ceremony, an officiant and photo booths. Add-on prices aren’t all-in. Sales tax and fees are added to each one when you add it.
How the day runs
With an on-site ceremony, the hosted day typically runs about 4.5 to 5 hours from suite arrival to send-off.
Getting ready. The bridal suite gets a mimosa setup and the groom suite gets beer. Booking the ceremony includes one hour in both suites beforehand; extra time is currently $100 per hour when the schedule allows.
The ceremony. It runs about 30 minutes, and your coordinator cues the lineup, walking order and music.
Guests head straight to food. We call it Guest-First Service: our food is always open. While you take formal photographs, guests already have 18 hand-passed hors d’oeuvres, the Louisiana-style buffet, two staffed action stations and the open bar. An appetizer tray also comes to the bridal party during photos. Nobody announces that the buffet is open, because it was never closed.
The Fairytale Dinner. After photos and before your grand entrance, the two of you get a private meal. Most couples take 10 to 15 minutes, and we provide aprons so you can eat without worrying about your clothes.
The reception. The standard reception is three hours with an open bar the entire time, no per-drink charge and no last call before the scheduled end. Our weddings average more than an hour and a half of dancing, but your timeline comes first.
The send-off. Bubbles, glow sticks, petals and second-line umbrellas all work well. Confetti and sparklers are not allowed. Afterward, staff pack your personal items, gifts and card box and carry them to your car, along with to-go boxes for the two of you.
Need more time? Extra reception time can be added in 30-minute, one-hour or other agreed increments and is quoted on request.
Who runs the day
Every wedding has a lead bridal coordinator, the same person who plans with you beforehand, plus a bridal assistant and the venue team behind them. There’s no rigid limit on planning meetings, and a décor meeting is part of the process.
No tradition is required. You can drop or change the first dance, parent dances, bouquet and garter toss, introductions or anything else, and your coordinator can adjust the timeline during the reception if you change your mind.
The week before the wedding, we call your outside vendors directly about arrival times, unloading, setup locations and power needs. On the day, our staff meet and direct vendors so nobody has to find the bride to ask where to plug in.
Guest count rules to know
- Final count: Due 7 days before the wedding. It becomes the minimum you’re billed for.
- Adding guests: Increases can normally be made through the Tuesday before the wedding at the normal per-person rate. Day-of additions are $100 per person.
- Children: In the ballrooms, the first 7 children under age 7 don’t count as paid guests. In the Private Restaurant, the first 5 children under age 5 don’t count.
- Vendors: Any outside vendor who eats counts in the paid guest count.
How pricing works
Wedding prices at Fleur de Lis are all-in. Your quote includes sales tax and fees, so nothing is added later for anything in it. The only exception is a processing fee if you pay by credit card. Gratuity is never required and is entirely up to you.
Prices vary by ballroom, day and time, guest count and date. Our most-requested dates cost more, and quieter dates cost less. Saturday night is highest, followed by Sunday, Friday night and Saturday daytime, with Monday through Thursday lowest. Friday night is usually the best value for a weekend evening wedding. A Sunday wedding includes any start time plus three extra hours in the bridal suite. You can see current all-in prices for every date on our wedding pricing page and calculator.
A quote you’ve received is always honored, and your price is locked when you sign. Options can generally be added, removed and added back as plans change. Anything added later is priced at the current rate.
Comparing venues? Send us another venue’s quote. We’ll review it line by line at no charge and match a truly comparable wedding: same date, guest count, food, open bar, coordination and music, with tax and fees included.
Booking and payments
October, November, December and April have historically booked quickly, and many couples book about 7 to 24 months ahead.
- Deposit: $1,000 with a signed contract reserves a ballroom date; $500 reserves the Private Restaurant.
- Monthly payments: About $500 sometime each month after that, with no fixed due date. You can pay more or pay off early without a penalty.
- Final balance: Normally due 14 days before the wedding.
- Payment methods: Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, cash and checks carry no fee. Paying by credit card adds a processing fee.
- Military discount: $500 off weekend weddings, and $250 off weekday weddings and Private Restaurant events.
If you need to change your date and an acceptable new date is open, your payments transfer and the room and date portion is repriced to the new date, up or down. If you cancel, payments are nonrefundable unless your date is rebooked with another wedding. If that wedding takes place, you get back 100% of what you paid.
Planning a rehearsal dinner here too? The Private Restaurant hosts them, but it’s a separate booking from the wedding and isn’t reserved automatically. Our Rehearsal Dinner Package for FDL couples uses a different menu from the wedding, so your guests don’t eat the same food two nights in a row. See our rehearsal dinner guide for timing and planning tips.
The practical details
- Parking: Free on-site parking for 175+ vehicles, plus adjoining overflow parking.
- Accessibility: Our primary event spaces are accessible without requiring second-floor access. Please contact us regarding specific accessibility needs; second-floor areas are accessible by stairs only.
- Outside vendors: Outside photographers, videographers, florists, bakers, decorators and live bands are generally welcome. Outside DJs need prior approval. Outside catering is generally not permitted, and outside alcohol is not permitted.
- Photos: Booked couples can take bridal portraits and engagement photos here at no venue charge, scheduled in advance and subject to availability.
See it before you decide
Tours are normally available Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Saturday mornings, with virtual tours for couples planning from out of town. We also hold about three bridal shows a year, where you can see a ballroom set for a reception and taste a selection of the wedding food. Couples from Mandeville, Covington, Slidell and across the New Orleans area can call 985-626-9118 to check a date.
Related: Pontchartrain Ballroom | Jazz Ballroom | Private Restaurant | What’s Included | Weddings | Wedding Pricing
