Category Archives: Event Design

Charleston Weddings Magazine 2015

Thank you to Charleston Weddings Magazine for the gorgeous spread in the new Fall/Winter 2015 issue on newsstands now!

Charleston Weddings Magazine Fall/Winter 2015

This was a recent weddings at a downtown Charleston family home. At home weddings (while often some of the most challenging) have always been my favorite kind to do.

Charleston Weddings Magazine Fall/Winter 2015

Remember the couple that we showed you burying the bourbon for good weather luck (if not you can see here)?? Well, you can see from the amazing photos by Corbin Gurkin that it worked!!!!

Charleston Weddings Magazine Fall/Winter 2015

You can see lots more details on Charleston Weddings’ website, and we’ll do a post soon with our favorites from Corbin.

Charleston Weddings Magazine Fall/Winter 2015

Charleston Weddings Magazine Fall/Winter 2015

Charleston Weddings Magazine Fall/Winter 2015

10.20.15   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Cakes, Charleston, Entertaining, Event Design, Event Planning, Food and Drink, Press, Reception, Weddings | Comments >>

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

Since we are here making a few changes and updates to our Charleston office, (i.e. new doors and reconfiguring things for more Soirettes) I thought I’d share some of the lovely photos Julia Lynn took for a feature on Lonny.com a few years ago.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

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The big front windows are what initially drew me to the building. My first Charleston home was right down Chapel Street aways, and I’d always drive by and notice the windows.  It’s a bustling neighborhood so it’s great to wave at friends and neighbors as they drive or walk by. We always want our clients to feel warm and welcome when they come in to meet with us, so I wanted the main meeting space to feel like you were coming into our living room.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

Have to have a bar cart of course! Found for a steal at one of my favorite local antiques markets we use it for a multitude of photo shoots, parties, a constant rotation of items to display in the office.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

Also found at a local antique market, this kimono’s colors could not be more perfect for my space (especially against the champagne metallic walls), so I jumped when I saw it. Framed locally at Artizom, it’s definitely a show piece!

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

My crazy inspiration board, I’ve been adding to it for years and years and there are layers and layers… It hangs above my computer. I’m old school, and slowly getting into Pinterest, but I don’t think anything will ever replace something like this for me.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

This was and still is a labor of love for all of us in the office. These boxes hold everything from linen and ribbon samples, to Lettered Olive papers, to catalogs for ordering design items. I hoard old magazines, so that is by far the hardest part to keep tidy. And, we used extra paper from our brochure mailings to line client binders to keep in the mix but still look pretty on the shelves!

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

This large white table I bought from an artist friend of mine who was moving her studio. We use it for EVERYTHING! From meetings, assembling save the dates and invitations, or even a quick snack. It’s a great gathering spot on the office for me to catch up with the girls.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Julia Lynn for Lonny

You can also find the Lettered Olive team here as well, and all of their pretty papers are assembled and shipped from here!

10.19.15   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Interior Design, Photographers, Press, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>
Oct 15, 2015

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

It seems as if ice sculptures have been associated with weddings for as long as I’ve been doing them (and that’s a really long time). But, just like anything else- in order to remain en vogue things have to evolve and become more updated in order to keep their staying power.  Here in the South, we love our seafood and with our warm temperatures serving it on ice is a necessity. Here we are showing you some ways we’ve changed our ways with ice sculptures. Like this garden fountain lined with plastic and loaded with crushed ice for a shrimp cocktail display like no one has seen before!

Tara Guerard Soiree by Adrienne Page

For the cold cucumber soup course at this wedding dinner, we had ice bowls made for each guest and adorned them with edible orchids.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

For a large and glamorous New Year’s affair, cocktail hour was a mix of buffet and passed items. For the seafood display we had large blocks carved into a modern design and up lit for a wow factor.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

For a couple from Ohio, where Grater’s ice cream was founded, serving the ice cream was an absolute must!  We made a serve your self bar full of all of their favorite flavors.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

This wedding was full of natural greens, plants, and flowers. Knowing that we would be serving a seafood display, we had our ice maker add some greenery and branches to the water while freezing it for an extra detail.

Tara Guerard Soiree

This mega ice bar for a recent William Aiken House wedding had to have some eye candy. The bride’s father is in the watermelon business, so what better design accent than freezing sliced watermelon for that pop of color!

Tara Guerard Soiree by Corbin Gurkin

Different shapes, sizes, and heights help give a display dimension that you can see and makes an impact.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Liz Banfield

No Greek wedding is complete without Ouzo!  We built a table to contain the crushed ice to hold the shot glasses, and then froze the bottles in ice lined with orchids used throughout the wedding decor. This was the hit of the night!

10.15.15   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Entertaining, Event Design, Event Planning, Food and Drink, Reception, Rehearsal Dinner, Weddings | Comments >>