Category Archives: The Lettered Olive

I am thrilled to share this Fall Fenwick Plantation wedding with you, now that it is officially fall in the south.  This is the 3rd daughter from a family that we have done all three weddings for, which I love because they were all so different and fun to design. This one is full of soft and feminine touches but using lots for rustic and natural elements. Thank you to Corbin Gurkin for all of the photos. Lettered Olive created a landscape scene reminiscent of the grounds at Fenwick Plantation (currently on the market if anyone is interested!), which was printed as the envelope liner on the classic letterpress invitations. Canvas “baskets” were printed with a handdrawn map of Charleston, with all of the weekend festivity locations noted. A custom printed puzzle also gave guests more information about the weekend events. Local snacks and treats filled the basket, including the groom’s favorite fortune cookies, but more on that later…

The bride wore a lace mermaid style gown by Eddy K with a keyhole back and a veil from BHLDN.

Bridesmaids wore gowns from BHLD, and the groom’s suit is from H Stockton in Atlanta.

Letterpress programs were fashioned into fans for the outdoor ceremony, luckily we had a warm beautiful day! After walking down a petal lined aisle with oversized magnolia pieces, the couple married under a magnolia and floral arch.

Cocktail immediately followed in the garden, where guests were greeted with hors d’oeuvres and cocktails named by the couple.  Going with the garden theme, a “planted” escort card display was designed. Galvanized metal tags were calligraphied with guests names and planed in a moss covered box. Dinner under the clear top tent featured a lovely head table with the palest pink linen, and curated tabletop of flowers, differing candles, and elements like antlers and other curios.

Afterwards in the lounge tent, both the wedding cake and a grooms cake were cut. The bride chose a chocolate covered confection by Jim Smeal displayed with a custom monogramed linen… Due the groom’s love of Chinese food, Jim also created a to go box cake with gum paste fortune cookies on top.

The after dinner lounge featured several different seating arrangements for guests to gather… In addition to our traditional bar setup, we built a beer tap wall for the guys… Loved this new addition and it was a big hit with guests… Featuring 4 of the couple’s favorite selections. 

After a night of dancing and mingling with friends, the couple departed to a sparkler send off, in a vintage British convertible.  Congrats Mary and Reid!

11.12.19   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal Style, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Fashion, Flowers, Food and Drink, Press, Reception, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>
Oct 08, 2019

It’s a been awhile since we checked in just to introduce ourselves and give you an update on who we are! Thank you to Liz Banfield, since the last time she was here we were able to have her update our headshot, shot in our new office. (speaking of, stay tuned for a fresh new website coming soon!).  

This is me, Tara, and I’ve been doing weddings now for over 20 years, and I still love my job! It makes me beyond happy to create an amazing day for our clients totally based on their personalities. It allows me to really tap into that Psychology degree I received from the College of Charleston. When I’m not working (which isn’t very often!), I love spending time with my family. I have three children who are growing up fast, and a new puppy that gets into everything!

Erica Missel is our Executive Director. Erica works directly with all of our clients and vendors to deliver the best of the best to our brides. Erica is a Southern girl from the upstate of South Carolina, but has stayed in Charleston after graduating from the College. She was recently put all of those planning skills to the test on her own wedding to her husband, Charleston. We very recently welcome, Bri Hughes, back to Charleston from Maine as our new Logistics Manager and Assistant. She will be keeping this train on the track, and we are thrilled to have her. Make sure you introduce yourself to her! Kate Little, our former coordinator, is back with Soiree managing our social media and blog.

Karen Simon, our Director of Sales, and Becca Smith, Creative Director create everything that is Lettered Olive, our sister stationer. Karen comes to us by way of NOLA, and when not working, she and her boyfriend like to travel, or just hang out with their pups.  Becca, who resides in North Carolina is an accomplished graphic designer previously in the corporate fashion and textile market. After doing the printed materials for her own wedding, she knew she needed to make the move. 

Susan Irvine, a NC native with a background in Studio Art, comes to Soiree as our Production Manager. Overseeing the set up of all of the signature Soiree details helps ensure our Brides have their perfect day. William Johnson, our construction manager is why I can sleep at night on the weekends of events. The safety of our staff and all of our clients is ensured having a former firefighter on scene, and his son who also works for us and an EMT! Heather Santucci (who is also my nanny), is the longest running Soirette yet! When I started doing my own flowers, she was my buyer at the local wholesale florist. Now, she is my head floral designer.

So thankful for this team of mine… Soirettes rock!

10.08.19   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Event Planning, Spotted!, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

We have been waiting until we could share more of this wedding with you, since it’s currently out in the new Charleston Weddings Magazine. So many things contributed to such a pretty day for these clients- perfect weather (and a perfect sunset to match), the florals we got from our growers were stunning, Lettered Olive did some gorgeous work, and of course a stunning location and couple!  Corbin Gurkin’s work of course, goes with out saying as well… 

Lettered Olive designed the most lovely paper suite for this wedding weekend.  The save the dates were a two sided card featuring an engagement photo of the couple and introducing the custom monogram that would be featured again throughout the wedding decor. The invitations featured a custom floral designed envelope liner in a green envelope with copper ink. 

Our bride’s Anne Barge gown was the perfect look for the formality of Lowndes Grove Plantation.  We were so in love with the floral variety we received for this weekend, like the most perfect cabbage roses…

Bridesmaids wore a neutral palette with dresses from Nouvelle Amsale, except for the matron of honor’s floral dress to accent the floral paper design. Lush, full, but airy florals fit the “rustic with an elegant polish” feel our bride was going for…

The men went with a modern take on the traditional suit opting for bowties instead of the long ties typically worn with suits (from Joseph A Banks).

A traditional ceremony was held at the French Huguenot Church downtown… 

Afterwards the couple welcomed guests at Lowndes Grove Plantation. I love that the couple opted for a “first site” before their ceremony, so that way Corbin was able to steal them away for some photos featuring the spectacular views the venue has to offer; without missing much of their cocktail hour with guests. 

A variety of seating was featured throughout the house, utilizing the sweeping porches and interior drawing rooms as guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before dinner under a tented oyster tabby. 

A simple fabric and floral board featured guests’ seating assignments with lovely calligraphy by Hatch Cove Designs

The dinner tent featured glass walls to utilize the gorgeous view of the river and sunset. Wooden barn tables were softened with layers of of airy florals and candlelight… One of our favorite design elements from this were the napkins that were printed with the handwritten dinner menus of the evening, tied off with fresh rosemary sprigs.

One of the biggest parts of my job when designing a wedding environment is thinking about the areas not to see in addition to creating what you do see.  We wanted to hide an unsightly area on the side of the tent, and since we weren’t using any fabric draping our fabric walls would have looked out of place. So along with Snyder (our rental company) we built a wooden barn style wall.   Jim Smeal did his magic once again with a design featuring the florals from the printed materials.

The couple did their first dance just as sunset light was coming thru the glass walls which was perfect timing for the dancing to kick off… After a lovely sparkler send off, the couple departed in a nostalgic VW Beetle van for a perfect finishing touch!  Thank you again to Charleston Weddings Mag for the constant support.

 

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