Derbès Mansion

this place was awesome. very grateful to go to an event here while in New Orleans. The home itself was stunning, and we fit 500+ people in the back yard area. It's a bit outside of the French quarter (have to drive), but still doable. if you have a reason to visit, stop by! Would be a magnificent location for a wedding.

Such a wonderful location! Great and friendly owners. Lovely setting for any event. Had a blast here.

Beautiful place with terrible business acumen! We had our wedding here in October 2017 with contract about all the details and timeline. It turns out that neither the organizer (Rhoda) nor the owner (James) honored the time agreement we had in writing. Empty promises, unfair service and completely ignored all inquires afterwards. Great place but dishonest business people! Message me for more information.

Benachi house is dreamy. The venue reminds me of the move the notebook. It's grand, filled with character and has beautiful gardens. The house has a perfect set up for the groomsman / bridesmaid suite and has a cute balcony on the second floor overlooking the garden. The staff at the benachi house were professional organized and SO nice. This venue was the perfect space for my brothers wedding. I couldn't have asked for a better venue. Highly highly recommend.

The venue is undeniably GORGEOUS. It is a photographer's dream. If you want New Orleans charm and ambiance, this place is dripping with it. The neighborhood is quiet and easy to get to most places in the city quickly.When it comes to lodging, I suggest skipping the owner's suite and going for the cottage if you have to choose. You get the entire cottage to yourself 2 bed, 2 bath, full kitchen - right off of the garden. It's rather lovely and very affordable to book via Airbnb.Customer service is a bit hit or miss. It was amazing to have Rhoda take some of the small things off our hands - set up, clean up, coordinating with vendors, etc - however, this is an extra fee for these services. Also note there is a lack of amenities some reception venues include - vases, stemware, linens, bar setup, etc - none of this is included in the price so just be aware it will all be extra/provide your own. And yes, the music IS a problem. Band or DJ, they will be constantly monitored and asked to lower the volume. If you are hosting a smaller party (ie. rehearsal dinner) inside the house, however, it is a perfect space! James and Rhoda are both very kind and warm people. They will do their best to make you feel like part of the family. And don't sweat the decorations - the house is the decoration! Go minimal.

Went to a wedding here, it was a beautiful location. but the cops came to shut down the music twice, and that is uncalled for, and people should know about, if they're planning an event here. The wedding planner should've known not to book a place that wouldn't like a loud band. Besides that, this place was amazing, really beautiful, had enough bathrooms, and a very well kept yard. Really spectacular.

We had our wedding at the Benachi House in March 2018 and it was the perfect venue for our day! We don't live in New Orleans, so we didn't get to see the venue in person until the day before the wedding, but James and Rhoda were very helpful via email leading up to us getting there. We loved that we had use of the full house and grounds the whole day of the wedding, which meant that we could spend time there that day relaxing and getting ready before everything got started. We also were very excited that our dog was welcome, as he was our best man and maid of honor. Our guests loved the venue and we still keep getting comments from people saying that they have never been to such a unique wedding. The house and grounds were an excellent backdrop for our photos and it felt grand but homey at the same time. We are so glad that we got married at the Benachi House - it made the day for us!

We had been to multiple weddings at Benachi and we loved the space and had heard good feedback from our friends who utilized it, so when we got engaged it was our first (and last) stop. The price is certainly more affordable than the majority of New Orleans venues, as we've become such a destination wedding city at this point. But it's not a "cheap" spot by any means (off-season Friday night event was $2,250 after taking out the refundable security deposit). What you do need to realize going into it is that Benachi is a largely DIY venue. If you want someone to hold your hand and plan your wedding for you, this is not the spot for you. They provide tables and chairs and a basic sound system. Otherwise it's on you to figure out the rest (catering, bar, linens, ceremony music/PA etc.) Personally, that's what we wanted, so it worked well for us. James gave us a thorough tour and let us do some wandering around the grounds on our first visit. Rhoda was personable over email and very friendly the day-of. We didn't ask for any help from the staff really, because we didn't need or want it. The wedding party set up everything (tables/chairs for the reception, ceremony chairs, sound system, decorations etc.) and we were happy to be left alone to do it. There is an option, however (for a small fee), that you can give the staff a layout of how you want the tables and chairs set up and they will do it for you if you're really just not into the idea of doing setup yourself. I did ask for some lightbulbs to be replaced as there were many that had burned out in the front "birdcage" where our ceremony took place. James hopped up on a ladder while we were getting everything else ready and replaced those for us with no issues. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception went well for the most part. As is mentioned in other reviews, the requirements for music are a pretty large bummer. The neighbors seem to be reasonably awful and they essentially don't want to hear a peep from the venue, so it would take some clever setup (probably having the "dance floor" inside or in the driveway) to be able to really have music of any volume going on. I know the owners of the venue are looking for solutions that will both respect the neighborhood and allow party/wedding hosts to actually play music at a danceable volume. I'm just really sad that didn't happen before our wedding. We're both very musically inclined people and we worked for months on a personally curated playlist of our favorite tunes. I had quite a few of my fellow dance krewe members at the event, so we expected a fun dance floor and we simply didn't get to have that. Like, at all.In the end, however, aside from the music we had a very positive experience at Benachi. What we wanted was a beautiful backdrop that we could create our own atmosphere in and that's what we received in spades. We all had a great day of setup and I will always cherish those hours of building centerpieces and hanging decorations with my favorite people. If you're in the market for a beautiful and historic spot to throw a lowkey wedding or party, I couldn't recommend Benachi more highly. If you're a fussier type who wants everything done for you, there are other venues in the city that will better suit your needs.

We had our wedding at the Benachi House in March - It was the perfect setting for our big day! Jim was easy to deal with and had everything in place for us leading up to and on the day of our wedding. There was even a bottle of champagne for me in the fridge in the beautiful bedroom I got ready in. We had a jazz trio with amplifiers outside and didn't have any issues with noise complaints. My photos came out great, too because this is such a beautiful setting, inside and out.

We had the most fantastic wedding weekend at the Derbes Mansion. The space itself is absolutely stunning and being able to spend the weekend in the same space with friends and family was everything we imagined (the grounds sleeps 20 people). Chris and Jess are super down to earth and went the extra mile to make our wedding spectacular. Their knowledge of the wedding scene in New Orleans is unmatched. We loved the flexibility that the Derbes Mansion provided in choosing layouts for the ceremony and reception to make the day uniquely ours. We highly recommend hosting your wedding at the Derbes.