Category Archives: Bridal

Sep 19, 2018

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Sharing some dreamy images from Liz Banfield on this Wedding Wednesday. We loved loved working on this wedding, and have since stayed good friends with the family,  and since worked on many other projects together. So, that always makes my job even better, getting to create something for people you really care about! This couple had 1200 people at their wedding so creating a space large enough to accommodate that, yet still have it feel intimate was one of our biggest challenges.

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Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

The girls all started with a day of lunch and getting ready at the bride’s family home. The same car that would take the married couple from their ceremony to the reception took the bride and her mother to the church, spending that last bit of time alone together, which is one of my sweetest moments from recent weddings.

Guest Bag Collage

Guest boxes were packaged perfectly using the custom monogram that Lettered Olive created for all of the printed materials.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

The bride’s style was traditional but also super modern. We went with an ice blue and grey color palette. Lots of squared/block shapes, clear acrylic, a modern monogram, and minimalist furniture were all part of the design aesthetic.

Church Collage

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The couple was married at her family church, which is a charming historic church in the quaint Old Village of Mt Pleasant. The sanctuary was softened with a white carpeted aisle runner and bountiful flowers. The couple was married in front of a lush flower wall that hid much of the acoutremants found on an alter but not necessarily needed at a wedding.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

If you can try to carve out any “alone” time to either eat, or just take a breather together as husband and wife, it’s a nice idea that I think you will appreciate after the wedding. This couple rode together alone from the wedding to the reception so they had a chance to discuss the emotions of the ceremony.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

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The reception took place at Boone Hall Plantation. Guests arrived to white gloved treatment from servers lining the walkway with trays of champagne, water, wine, etc. A carpeted aisle was laid, so that women’s shoes wouldn’t sink into the sand as they walked into cocktail hour.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

This was a special surprise to the bride and her family. She had bridal portraits taken before the wedding which, as Southern tradition has it, are typically displayed throughout the reception. So, we had these blown up and hung at the entrance to the reception tent surrounded by a massive flower wall.

Lounge Collage

Food Collage

Once inside the tent, large lounge spaces and food stations were strategically places so that guests would have no problems getting bites to end and finding places to sit. All of the food was pre plated, making it super convenient for guest to grab and go and keep lines down.

Cake Collage

A cake bar by Jim Smeal was a focal point in one are of the tent- 20 smaller cakes of different flavors were displayed around the centerpiece cutting cake to ensure that guests were all served and a variety of flavors were offered. The custom wedding monogram that was used throughout the printed materials was recreated in icing in a variety of ways and color combinations.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Edwin McCain (a close friend of the family) sang the Father/Daughter dance song. And, Josh Kelley (one of the couple’s favorite performers) performed for the crowd that evening.

Restroom Collage

You would have NEVER guessed, but this was the restroom trailer for this reception. With that many guests on the middle of Plantation grounds, we needed a lot of restrooms!  So, instead setting them off to the side as an unfortunate necessity, we glammed them up with draping, chandeliers, lounge furniture to rest your feet or wait in line, and the guest sign in (Aka “Grains of Wisdom” a take on the bride’s maiden name of Rice). We wanted to make sure that nobody missed the chance to give their well wishes to the couple, and this was a place sure to get the most traction!

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Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Of course, as the couple left, we had to bring in the traditional tossing of the “Rice”. However, wanting to protect the birds that inhabit the natural surroundings, we used Orzo pasta instead!

9.19.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Photographers, Reception, Weddings | 1 Comment

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We are fortunate that living in the South allows us to do winter weddings with almost as much ease as Spring weddings (it’s 60+ here in Charleston today!). When you have a back drop as graceful and stunning as the Ford Planation in Savannah, Georgia, you get year round spectacular events! For this Sunday brunch wedding, our bride and groom opted for a chic blue and white toile as the pattern du jour.  The toile was worked into everything from the invitations to the umbrellas, table linens, and even tray liners. Winter white peonies and ranunculus were mixed with festive greens for centerpieces and bouquets which set a romantic mood and the cake was topped with seasonal fruit to finish it off. (All photos by Adrienne Page)

bride-collage

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Of course there were plenty of personal touches as well. Our bride wore a vintage family veil, and received a beautiful bracelet to wear that day as a gift from the groom. The bride’s mother made homemade banana pecan bride and peach chutney which we packaged with custom designed tags by Lettered Olive and guests received as their welcome gift.

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Set under live oaks and overlooking the river, the wedding ceremony was anchored by a simple greenery covered chuppa.  Guests then joined the couple on the back lawn of the Plantation for an al fresco brunch reception.

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The menu consisted of favorite Southern brunch delicacies with a twist, such as Quail and Grits -alongside Shrimp and Grits, Ford Eggs Benedict, as well as a Bloody Mary Station with pickled veggies and Artillery Punch (a famous Savannah celebratory cocktail). One  long table topped with umbrellas in the signature pattern for shade allowed for guests to mingle easily. The bride hand wrote notes to all of her guests thanking them for being there, which also doubled as place cards.

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As they said their goodbyes, guests tossed white rose petals out of paper cones made from the blue and white toile pattern while the couple drove off in a classic black vintage car. This winter wedding couldn’t have been more perfect!

9.05.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Reception, Recipes, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Travel, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>
Aug 13, 2018

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Today we are sharing a  Big Greek wedding  from about 12 years ago.  I love this sweet bride and I just bumped into her recently in New York, which reminded me to share her big day. Margaret Anne Florence, an actress (she has been on everything from Inside Amy Schumer, to 30 Rock, to Guiding Light, and most recently CMT’s Sun Records), married fellow South Carolinian, Peter Saichos in a traditional Greek celebration! We don’t have the opportunity to do too many Greek weddings, so we had a lot of fun with this one!

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

We do have a Greek Orthodox Cathedral here in Charleston, which in and of itself has some beautiful architctural details. Margaret chose a purple and bronze color palette, so we brought in orchids and lilies (favorites of the brides’) which also helped lend to that color palette.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

The bride’s bouquet was an arrangement of white Casablanca lilies and purple dendrobium orchids blended for a pop of color.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Jim Smeal provided a perfectly lovely cake in the palette used throughout the wedding.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

In addition to the wedding cake, we of course had to serve traditional Greek wedding desserts like homemade Baklava, and the Almond Pear (Amigthalota) which are a staple of the wedding celebration. Get the recipe here.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

To dress up the tradition of Ouzo shots- we made a large display with shot glasses chilling in crushed ice. Then, we froze the ouzo bottles in ice with orchids frozen inside for a wedding design element.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Guests lounged on lavendar fabric benches by candlelight in glowing orchid filled cylinders.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

Guests left with personal boxes of Jordan Almonds, and we prepacked rose petals in the wedding colors for guests on their way out to properly send off the bride and groom.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

A classic T Bird adorned in strands and strands of the orchids made for a perfect getaway for this couple- classic and fun loving…  Thank you to Liz Banfield for the photography.

8.13.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Charleston, Event Design, Flowers, Food and Drink, Parties, Photographers, Reception, Recipes, Weddings | Comments >>