Category Archives: Event Planning

Aug 08, 2018

It’s Wedding Wednesday, our favorite day of the week! Today, we’re going back to a couple celebrating their anniversary this September. This beachfront beauty took place at the amazing Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, SC. Liz Banfield was the photographer for this big day.

The bride had studied art history and worked in galleries, and the main inspiration for the wedding design came from the bride’s favorite Van Gogh painting. Lettered Olive incorporated the design into all of the printed materials along with developing complimentary patterns, which were great for designs elsewhere.

We try to have Cacky of Cacky’s Bride Aid on hand for dressing all of our brides- if you can afford this on your day, it’s more than worth it! The bride’s strappy Chanel sandals worked all night from bridal gown to getaway dress. The bouquet was a textured mix of roses, berries, leaves, and astilbe.

Bridesmaids wore a mix of colors and styles from JCrew, and Amsale through Bella Bridesmaids. The bride gifted the groom his Hermes tie for the big day.

The groom is an avid golfer, so having his ceremony on the famed Ocean Course overlooking the greens and the water made for a very happy day.

Guests were graciously greeted on the porch after the ceremony for cocktail hour, the ocean breeze made it a perfect and comfortable place to sip and snack.

Cocktail hour was also full of fun details like servers in custom elephant printed ties and white glove service. Elephants are the brides favorite animal and signify good luck! And, signature cocktail was a replication of the bride’s favorite drink at the country club her family belongs to…

The escort card display was a new take on a traditional display. Gold caligraphied cards affixed with a mongramed wax seal were nestled in boxes of ruffled blooms.

Lots of yummy details made for beautiful and luxurious dinner tables. The bride and groom sat at chairs with embroidered toppers that made the logo used on their invitations.

Jim Smeal is the mastermind behind the cakes mimicking the favorite painting, and we SCORED when we found these elephant cocktail tables perfect as cake stands!

As the sunset during dinner, the after party tent and porch lounge was a glow and ready for the revelers.

In the dance and lounge tent, an extra long printed fabric bar was a super glamorous backdrop . Bar stools anchored either end, so guests wanting to take a cocktail break could still look in on all of the dance floor action. I loved the seafoam carpet we found, I really like the polished look it gave the tent.

Favors were locally made Rewind candles, and custom printed matches with the couple’s favorite photo from their engagement session.

Guests signed a book complied from engagement photos… a perfect coffee table book for their new home.

After a change into a Christian Dior dress the bride found while in France with her family before the wedding, the couple departed by a rose petal toss. Cones of printed paper holding petals were passed out to guests on the way out…

8.08.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Cakes, Charleston, Dresses, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

Aug 06, 2018

Our Favorite Tents

photos by Corbin Gurkin

We have several requests recently to share more of our tented receptions, so today is the day! The top photos shows you a bit of what we started out working with, a large white frame tent with clear plastic walls. Then, as you step inside you can see how we transformed the space. We started with white carpeting to soften the space and really give it a feel more like a living room or interior space and not a tent. Then, a romantic drapey ceiling in crisp blue and white brings the ceiling down and of course hides all of the ugly insides. We have to have pretty fabric walls too!

photo by Liz Banfield

This seaside reception tent was quite unique for a number of reasons. One, we raised the floor up several feet so that guests’ view wasn’t impaired by the sand dunes. We also left the walls open on this one so that the seabreeze could float thru throughout the night, and for the ocean views. Then, we tried something new by creating the ceiling liner out of actual woven seagrass… It was a conversation piece throughout the night for sure!

photo by Liz Banfield

In Charleston, we have only a few months out of the year that using a clear top tent is ideal. When it’s only slightly warm, the sun bearing down on the clear plastic can really heat things up acting as a “greenhouse”. For this early April wedding when temps were still mild, we didn’t want to block out the uniqueness by covering the ceiling in fabric. So, for this garden inspired fete, a woven greenery ceiling allowed for sunlight and stars to peek through.

photos by Corbin Gurkin

For this winter wedding, heavy textures like wood, suede, and greenery were used to create this space. Of course, the outside has to be as pretty as the inside. For this grand entrance we built an awning, added custom doors, and several container plants. The oversized tent, once inside, featured hardwood floors, a garden greenery trellis backdrop and garland draped ceiling, and even a huge wooden wall behind the bar.

photos by Corbin Gurkin

For this Aspen wedding, natural elements blended with tailored prettiness. Guests walked thru a lantern lit walkway to the tent at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Hardwood floors gave way to white couches and cowhide throws. The dance floor and ceiling added softness with blue and white draping and a striped showcase floor.

8.06.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Event Design, Event Planning, Reception, Weddings | Comments >>

Aug 01, 2018

Wedding Wednesday with a Vintage Touch

We were so thrilled to see this wedding feature on 100 Layer Cake this week. . Elizabeth Messina was here to shoot with us, and as you can imagine the imagery is pretty spectacular, her style was the perfect fit for this ethereal bride.

The couple was wed at the French Huguenot Church in downtown Charleston, one of my all time favorite churches (the Guerards were one of the first Huguenot families in Charleston).

We try to encourage our clients to do a “first look” when appropriate. It still allows for the moment that a groom sees his bride on their wedding day, but on a more intimate level, which some of our brides find really relieves a lot of the pressure of walking down the aisle in front of all of those guests. And, it allows for some one on one time with the photographer to really capture some great shots together and with the wedding party without missing out on your party after the ceremony!

Vintages touches throughout the stationary by Lettered Olive really set the stage for the wedding day feel. Custom antique postcards were crafted and a logo with a vintage lace border was used throughout the wedding design. We even made a custom cornhole game for guests to play during cocktail hour!

Lettered Olive also crafted a custom “Charleston” map which was printed on the guest welcome bags. All of the wedding weekend locations were noted.

Antique keys and tags engraved with guests’ names, and attached to paper cards with table numbers, adorned a moss covered board for guests to find their seats at dinner.

Large wooden bed swings hung from live oak branches overlooking the river during cocktail hour.

As a special treat for the groom and his friends, a true Southern bourbon bar was on hand.

Lush greens, pale pinks, and creams dotted all of the florals we designed.

Draping covered in green garlands helped to give a landscaped garden feel to the dining room.

Moss and ivy topiaries on longer tables were perfect accents to the floral centerpieces on the square table. I love giving a dining room a layered look by working with different sizes, shapes, heights, and textures.

Jim Smeal did his version of a naked cake decorated with champagne grapes…

What else other than a vintage Model T could be more perfect for this couples’ departure.

8.01.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Photographers, Press, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>