Category Archives: Rehearsal Dinner

Nov 25, 2015

The Rehearsal dinner is often one of the most memorable times a couple has over the course of their wedding events. It’s a smaller more intimate affair usually, where the couple gets to engage with everyone. Lots of fun stories and toasts bring back memories and connections with friends and family. So, as we head into what hopefully are good times with friends and family this week, I wanted to share a sweet and simple little rehearsal dinner we did here in Charleston. Thank you to Liz Banfield for the photos.

Dinner had a bit more of a traditional fare due to the ballroom dining space- where George Washington once dined!

“Billy balls” were used to display the seating cards in large vessels anchored with yellow millet… we also used them to adorn the napkin ties to accentuate the in house gold china.

Simple centerpieces of candles in yellow millet and nosegays of yellow flowers flecked the table landscape.

McCrady’s restaurant in downtown Charleston opened a historic gallery space that has exposed beams, high ceilings, original plank flooring and beautiful moldings. We added some modern flair with loungy day beds covered in grey fur, mirrored bars, and lamp light.

After dinner, all out of town guests were invited to join the party for champagne and dessert. Cozy sofas and cylinders full of glowing candles greeted guests as they partied into the evening just getting warmed up for the next big night.

11.25.15 | TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Entertaining, Event Design, Rehearsal Dinner, Uncategorized | Comments >>

Nov 05, 2015

Throwing a Lowcountry Oyster Roast

It’s that time of year, when oyster roasts seem to pop up every weekend, or couples decide to have one for their rehearsal dinner or day of parties. So, here is a great play by play from Garden and Gun on how to throw the perfect Lowcountry oyster roast.

(our bride at her rehearsal dinner in Savannah’s Forsyth Park photographed by Liz Banfield)

“We asked Ben Moise, a G&G contributor and South Carolina native with more than 30 years in the oyster roasting business, for his tips on cooking up our favorite bivalves.

THE BASICS

Fresh oysters (one South Carolina bushel or one 40 lb. box of Gulf singles per five people)
An outdoor table with overhead light (two saw horses and a piece of ½-inch thick plywood work just fine)
Oyster gloves (Moise prefers these)
Oyster knives (have enough knives on hand for the number of people that can stand around your oyster table)
Cocktail and hot sauce
Saltines
Paper towels
Plenty of cold beer and chilled, crisp white wine

TRADITIONAL WOOD-FIRED METHOD

Supplies:
Split-oak logs
Sheet of steel (2’x2’ or 3’x3’ and no less than 1/4″ thick)
Split burlap bags
Bucket of water
Square-edge shovel

Setting up the fire:
In the ground, dig a shallow hole (depression) deep enough to permit a good stack of wood under the steel sheet. TIP: Check the prevailing wind to make sure the smoke won’t blow toward your guests. Soak your burlap bags in a bucket of water. Stack the split oak logs, along with kindling, in the hole ready to be lit. Surround the edges of the hole with vertically turned cinder blocks to provide a base for the steel sheet.

Light the fire and place the steel on top of the cinder blocks. TIP: As soon as a few drops of water sizzle on the sheet of steel, you’re ready to go. Add the oysters and cover with a thick layer of wet burlap. After 8-9 minutes (keep checking to see if the oysters are beginning to open) pull the burlap off and get it soaking for your next batch.

Using the shovel, transfer the hot oysters to the table.”

11.05.15 | TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Entertaining, Etiquette, Events, Food and Drink, Recipes, Rehearsal Dinner, Uncategorized | Comments >>

Oct 15, 2015

Style on Ice

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!

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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 >>