Category Archives: Parties

Apr 02, 2018

Couple on the water This sweet seaside rehearsal dinner was the perfect kickoff to a gorgeous wedding weekend in Charleston. The couple celebrated with their guests at a private Yacht club overlooking Charleston Harbor. I love and always encourage clients to hire having their wedding photographer there for all of the events throughout the weekend so that you can have the whole story told afterwards. Thank you to Corbin Gurkin for these photos.

Party on the deck

Food Collage Guests enjoyed cocktails overlooking the Charleston Harbor and famous Battery, while enjoying live music from a local bluegrass favorite. Custom koozies with the wedding monogram designed by Lettered Olive were displayed on the bars, and shrimp cocktail is elevated with custom ice bowls.

dinner Collage Keeping in line with a gracious Southern supper, a family style table was designed for guests. A large mirror in the venue was put to good use by hand writing guests name in their seats around the table, and then each chair was tied off with a place card. A simple blue and white table top design kept the feel “nautical” but upscale.

Exterior at night What a perfect spot for sunset views and celebrating into the evening.

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

Mar 05, 2018

Fun and Games

Since we just featured their lovely wedding, we thought it only fitting to share their super fun Saturday night rehearsal party full of fun and games. For the eve before their wedding this fun loving couple had a truly personal rehearsal and welcome party. Think tropical beach party (but indoors) which was appropriate considering a tropical storm kicked off their wedding week. Photos are by Liz Banfield.

All of the delicious bites from Cru Catering were on point! Party perfect cocktails greeted guests along with passed apps like mini Tacos and gazpacho shots. We also set up a display of personalized paper cones filled with fried plantains for guests to grab and munch before sitting down to dinner. We love little touches like matching servers and staff to fit the event, so tropical shirts were a must!

Long family style tables named after islands the couple has traveled to together, were dressed with with colorful patterned toppers and lush foliage at each place setting. Guests enjoyed a lively dedication video and photo montage towards the end of dinner.

The groom is a big movie lover, so his groom’s cake was an unbelievable nod to his favorite movie- I’ll let you guess which one!

After dinner, curtains were pulled back and revealed a beach party, complete with a sand dance floor, seagrass lounge seating and tropical umbrellas. Guests could check their shoes, and we had a foot wash with buckets of water and paint brushes to clean up after dancing.

For our tropical bar, palm fronds were the perfect design element. Frozen cocktails like Pina Coladas and Pain Killers got guests in the spirit, and Co Co & Co custom coconut water kept everyone hydrated. This is our new favorite, how awesome is their beach cart, and you can serve the coconuts with or without booze!

In addition to the dessert bar featuring homemade churros, mini banana puddings, and coconut cream pie shots, a full video arcade sparked fierce air hockey competitions into the late hours.

3.05.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Entertaining, Event Design, Event Planning, Food and Drink, Parties, Rehearsal Dinner, Travel, Weddings | Comments >>

Feb 27, 2018

Weddings in 2018

photo by Melanie Mauer

We have been seeing a lot of articles out there regarding wedding trends for 2018, so we thought we would weigh in on some of that we are seeing and predicting what some of this year’s trends will be! Of course, metallics have been hot now for many years and where rose gold was the metallic of the moment in 2017, we are loving Copper for 2018! For a rustic but glamorous fall wedding in Kentucky, copper cups were a unpredictable detail for the water/bourbon cups, and copper foiled ink on menus, invites, etc dressed up the printed pieces.

Photo by Liz Banfield and Corbin Gurkin

Watercolor! Let’s just say, watercolor is the deal… You are seeing it everywhere from invitations (like these from Happy Menocal for our Hamptons client) to wedding design. We even printed some linens recently in a custom watercolor design!

photo by Corbin Gurkin

This one will certainly make all of the grooms and groomsmen happy. While bourbon bars are still required in areas where bourbon is king, we are doing beer walls and taps. This one was a focal point in the after dinner lounge… A few varieties made it a fun tasting experience for those taking a break from dancing.

photos by Liz Banfield and Corbin Gurkin

Finally one of our other favorite trends (meaning we hope it becomes a mainstay vs a trend) are our custom printed matchbooks. Reminds me of the old school restaurants where they had a bowl of matches on the Maitre d’ stand.

2.27.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal Style, Event Design, Event Planning, Parties, Photographers, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>