Category Archives: Reception

006_2013_Kelly_James_0936

This pretty bride and her pretty plantation party make for a perfect Wedding Wednesday post. She and her groom celebrated with a ceremony downtown at First Baptist Church, and dinner and dancing afterwards at Runnymede Plantation outside of Charleston. The navy and white set a formal yet fun tone and Corbin Gurkin was on hand to capture all of the beautiful images. Here, I do love that the bride and her girls had such a lovely backdrop for the day while getting ready. It does make for photos that help set the tone for the day…

Bride and groom Collage

A bride in all white Vera Wang and a groom in a classic tuxedo is pure perfection.

wedding party Collage

Flowing navy Monique Lhuillier dresses were accented with cream and peach garden rose bouquets. The bride worked in fashion at Ralph Lauren, so the groomsmen all sported custom loafers with their tuxes.

Bridesmaids on bus

The bride and her ladies ride a Classic Charleston trolley to the church, luckily Corbin is right behind to capture this sweet moment

Ceremony Collage

Simple ceremony decor like floral wreathes and a custom aisle runner give a sweet touch without overshadowing the meaning of why everyone is there.

ceremony programs

A custom monogram designed by Lettered Olive is used throughout the wedding papers and design.

guest box Collage

Guest welcome boxes contain a mixture of the couple’s favorite treats and local goodies. Custom printed cups are perfect for the morning bloody mary’s using Charleston’s Fat and Juicy mix.

Cocktail hour Collage

Once at Runnymede, guests enjoyed cocktail hour on the lawn… We customized the wedding everywhere we could, down to the blue and white striped bow ties, and printed papers lining the trays serving the food.

Escort cards

Caligraphied escort tags on papers printed in the different colors and patterns were pinned to a board for guests to find during cocktail hour.

Dinner tent Collage

I’ve been really into designing the outside of a tent as much as the inside lately. I mean, really you see that first and foremost, so why wouldn’t it be lovely as well, instead of some big white rigid structure. To enter the carpeted and greenery draped dinner tent, guests walked down a boxwood lined pathway and under a custom fabric awning.

tent garland

The head table’s centerpiece was a garland adorned with flowers running the length of the table and spilling over onto the floor.

Table Collage

Graced with perfect weather that day, the tent opened up onto the plantation grounds overlooking the river and the ruins of the old plantation house.  A crisp blue and white palette allowed the soft pastels in the flowers to pop.

Cake Collage

Jim Smeal’s pastel and metallic gold cake with simple florals was a centerpiece of the dinner tent. We like finding a way to have a captive audience for the cake cutting without having to interrupt the flow of the party. So, if you can cut it and have the servers pass out as the dessert course without delaying the dancing, that’s a good way we have found to do it.

lounge tent

Guests retreated after dinner into a lounge full of conversation nooks and dim lighting, draped with glowing golden fabric.

Late night Collage

A late night food bar of sweet treats even included Charleston’s cult favorite donut truck, Diggity Doughnuts.

Getaway Collage

The bride and groom said farewell to guests with a classic sparkler send off, and drove off into the night in a classic convertible car as fireworks made for a grand finale.

2.07.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Charleston, Entertaining, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Photographers, Reception, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>
Feb 05, 2018

photo by Corbin Gurkin

With as much dreaming, pinning, and planning that lead up to the wedding, you can’t imagine how quickly that last moment comes- the send off!  Today for a little Monday fun, we wanted to share some of our favorite send offs for the past several years… We are still getting lots of requests for sparklers, because as you can see, they make for pretty pictures!

photos by Liz Banfield

And if we are doing sparklers, we of course like to come up with some kind of detail to dress them up or customize them a bit… Both the lighters and sparkler sleeves here are by Lettered Olive.

photo by Liz Banfield

Our bride, who threw an ultra sleek and modern affair, went with one traditional element at the send off- a rice tossing… See, her maiden name was Rice so it was sorta perfect. And, we actually didn’t use real rice, but orzo pasta, because of the birds..

photo by Liz Banfield

For this couple who married in Alabama, and were naturally huge football fans, guests shook pom poms at the couple as they were leaving to the Auburn chant song. Oh,  and before leaving this bride changed into her mother’s wedding dress.

photos by Liz Banfield 

For this sophisticated fete on Sea Island, GA, a classic dixieland Jazz band, led guests outside for a rose petal toss. As the couple departed in a classic convertible, coordinated fireworks exploded down the driveway- a gorgeous statement, we think.photos by Corbin Gurkin

For this wedding featuring custom flags throughout the wedding design, guests waved miniature versions of the same flags during the send off… This was perfect for a venue that didn’t allow any tossing of items or any type of fireworks…

photo by Liz Banfield

Many years ago at a wedding for a client that wanted to do something a little different, we had a balloon release with custom balloons in the wedding palette colors…

2.05.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal Style, Charleston, Event Planning, Photographers, Reception, Uncategorized, Weddings | 1 Comment
Jan 31, 2018

2015_Meredith_Tate_0382

Today for wedding Wednesday, we’re revisiting this gorgeous golden hued celebration photographed by Corbin Gurkin. Since there are so many details to savor, we’re splitting up this celebration across two parts, so make sure to come back next Wednesday for the reception and party details. You can also see more of this wedding over at Charleston Weddings Magazine.

printing Collage

 Lettered Olive used golden metallic paper to create a die cut lace pattern complimentary to the bride’s dress, I think the white ink on the metallic envelopes was such a lovely and wedding-y touch. Welcome guest bags were custom printed totes featuring the wedding hashtag filled with champagne splits, mini Candlefish candles, and many of the couples favorites things.

2015_Meredith_Tate_0320

The girls all gathered to get ready together with Plum Pretty Sugar robes gifted by the bride- even the littlest ladies were included.

2015_Meredith_Tate_0276

The Groom’s tuxedo was by Vera Wang (yes, she does men’s attire) available through the Men’s Warehouse.
2015_Meredith_Tate_0352

The bride wore a gown by Vera Wang.

B&G Collage

The couple elected to do a “first sight” at one of the many gorgeous parks in downtown Charleston. Corbin staged the groom so that the bride could sneak up and surprise him. This locale also made for a stunning backdrop for photos before heading over to the ceremony. I love when couples decide to do this, because it allows the photographer to really get great shots when the couple is alone and relaxed.

The couple married at First Baptist Church in Charleston, the glorious gates out front were adorned with floral wreaths of roses, hydrangeas, and lemon leaf. Large golden urns flush with greenery and flowers flanked the alter, as the couple celebrated with their first kiss.

Flower Collage

The bridesmaids wore floor length gold lame gowns by Lula Kate. The lush bridal bouquet  made the perfect transition from winter to spring with cream roses, peonies, lily of the valley sprigs and soft lambs ears, and was tied by vintage ribbon I sourced in New York.

William Aiken CollageGuests were welcomed at the William Aiken House in downtown Charleston. The historic home has been fully restored to it’s splendor with museum quality interiors. And, the grounds  were designed by a renowned local horticulturalist, so we love getting to design for our couples at this property.

2015_Meredith_Tate_1323

A lovely lounge was waiting on the front lounge for guests to enjoy during cocktail hour and as a getaway for after dinner dancing.

F&B Collage

Cocktail hour included a bourbon bar, passed champagne, and Southern staples like ham biscuits, and fried chicken biscuits mixed with Asian favorites- tuna tartar and dumplings.

Porch Collage

In true Charleston fashion, we utilized the sweeping piazzas for seating niches. We hung the letterpressed and caligraphied dinner escort cards on the porch for guests to gather while enjoying cocktails.

2015_Meredith_Tate_1111

The cream and golden color palette made for a perfectly formal Southern dinner scape. Tables were dressed with silk linens, and the die cut lace paper wraps from the invitations were brought back in to adorn the dinner napkins. Caligraphied tags tied to the lace acted as place cards.

Dinner Collage

Fabric swathes dressed up standard Chivari chairs… Even a traditional spinach salad has a new take on it’s presentation.

2015_Meredith_Tate_1326

Doesn’t that tent look so happy and cozy like you wouldn’t want to leave????

Cake Collage

The wedding cake by Jim Smeal mimicked the lace pattern from the bride’s bridal gown in gold and cream.  We created a vignette under the William Aiken House pergola for the cake with chandeliers, candles, and a linen dressed up with greenery and flowers. Having been introduced through their mutual veterinarian, the grooms cake included a “dog park”, also by Jim Smeal.

Dance tent Collage

Details for the after dinner dancing lounge included a monogrammed dance floor and sofas with custom embroidered pillows. The chandelier is dressed up with flowers and greenery.

2015_Meredith_Tate_1405

Going away Collage

After dancing the night away with friends, the couple departed by a sparkling send off and a vintage white Rolls took them away. Lettered Olive handmade the Best Day Ever sign with golden glitter! This couple’s special day was definitely #HappilyHansom!

 

1.31.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Charleston, Event Design, Fashion, Flowers, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Weddings | Comments >>