Category Archives: Event Planning

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
Sep 12, 2018

Today we are sharing a recent wedding we did at the historic Union Station in Dallas, TX…This bride was far from traditional and didn’t want to have many of the elements you think of when you think of weddings, no cake, not a lot of fanfare, and just wanted to celebrate with her fiance, family, and friends. So we designed a modern inspired party, we hope you enjoy. All photos by Sarah Kate Photography Lettered Olive created a designs that included an illustrated skyline, watercolor ombre palette, and marbleized modern details. The custom drawn Dallas skyline doted the save the “weekend” cards, while a simply stunning invitation featured modern fonts lightened up with a watercolor marble designed. Hatch Cove design hand lettered the outer envelops in the ombre palette. The ceremony programs were 2 sided cards, with the evenings timeline, seating chart, and highlights printed on the back side.

Printed canvas shopping totes were filled with goodies and snacks, a custom designed “Emergency” kit, and watercolor illustrated weekend information card…

Lettered Olive left many details throughout the wedding. Printed tray liners added decor for the passed items… Custom cocktail napkins featured whimsical designs, and the letterpressed coasters allowed guests to dance without loosing their drinks.

Shades of grey and blue set the tone for the winter affair, white and grey flowers accented with greenery and berries completed the architectural look of the bouquets. Lots of softening was needed to turn the century old train station into a dreamy ceremony space. Carpeting was laid and fabric panels were draped to create a cozy space… We printed fabric with the marble design from the wedding invitations and created panels to set a backdrop.  Of course, lots of lighting and candles added to the ambience.

We did something a little different for this wedding… The bride wanted everyone to have a seat but not have a served dinner. So we set up enough tables for everyone to have a seat (which was assigned), but guests enjoyed a “progressive” dinner throughout many different food stations.

Because of the sprawling space with high ceilings, tables alternated in shape and size between family style rectangles and smaller squares.  The longer tables got lamp light and floral pieces, while the smaller tables got a mixture of glass cylinders and natural greenery.

Keeping in the realm of a modern watercolor look, ombre tiles of acrylic in the color palette were fashioned into signage for the stations, giving a more formal feel to the seated/station setup. We love doing bar signage – always a better idea than displaying all of the bottles and offerings on the front of the bar.
Along with a lounge around the dance floor, guests could lounge outside on the balcony complete with heaters and cozy blankets…

One of our favorite bands, Simply Irresistible, had guests dancing all night…

The Grand Staircase was filled with greenery and candlelight as guests saw the couple off to a late night after party….

9.12.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Event Design, Event Planning, Food and Drink, Parties, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

photo by Lauren Bailey

Crazy Rich Asians is breaking box office records worldwide (if you haven’t seen it, it’s fantastic), and with it’s fabulously over the top wedding scenes, it got me thinking about all of the ways we have used an Asian flair in our designs. It can be a very strong theme in printing. For one our recent weddings, the rehearsal dinner was taking place in a meditation garden, so watercolor bamboo made for pretty envelope liners.

photo by Liz Banfield

We don’t back away from our chance to use orchids (of any variety) in our flower works.  A colorful mix of Phalenopsis orchids made a vibrant centerpiece for an escort card table. We also use the dendrobium orchid variety as a garnish in champagne glasses… photos 1&2 by Liz Banfield

Of course, food is an obvious place where couples can incorporate their favorite Asian dishes.  To put a more formal twist on a sushi station, Sushi chefs prepared fresh rolls for guests, and plated them with chopsticks making it easier for guests to enjoy. And for a couple of weddings with Asian stations, pre setting the dish in take out containers with chopsticks made it super easy for guests to grab and go (cutting down on lines) and adding a decor moment. photos by Corbin Gurkin

We also had a recent groom who loved loved loved Chinese food, so his groom’s cake was a larger than life to go container with fortune cookies and sweet fortunes on top… Cake by Jim Smeal

photos by Liz Banfield

We have had many a wedding where saturated hues and asian flair was blended into the decor… Red has long long standing roots of meaning good luck and fortune in Chinese lore. Whether from lanterns, to red florals, to interior design elements like furniture and textiles we have woven the feel into these weddings yet without it feeling too “themey”.

photo by Liz Banfield

And of course, sending guests off with something “to go” is a fun last thought and easy detail if you don’t want to go overboard.

9.11.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Cakes, Entertaining, Event Design, Event Planning, Food and Drink, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>