Category Archives: Uncategorized

Nov 06, 2018

I can’t believe the holidays are already around the corner, oh my! I recently held a small gathering at my home for my husbands’ friends and was able to use the tabletop design as almost a trial run for my Thanksgiving tabletop. I wanted to share some of the details with you as you are starting to plan some of your holiday designs. Thank you to Aaron and Jillian Photography for capturing all of the pretty images.

For the holidays, as well as heading into the 2018 wedding season, I’m loving copper as the new metallic. I also love these brown herringbone napkins. They are neutral enough to mix with whites or creams, and they offer so much texture. I love picking up napkins whenever I’m sourcing or shopping. They are easy to collect and always a great way to to add details to place settings. Hand written place tags thoughtfully tied elevate your holiday hosting.

I also love animal elements when they can be mixed in tastefully… I use a lot of hide rugs, and printed pillows in our lounges when the design calls for it. I’m loving bringing in feathers in subtle ways too. These candles are fab and have been a great addition, we even lined the back of an invitation recently with feathers! Also, people sometimes shy away from greens in their floral design. But, during the holidays I love creating pieces out of greens en masse.

Depending on your table size, I like opting for one large arrangement in a special piece (a silver bowl from your collection, or a ceramic/glass piece found at an antique store), or for longer tables, several small continuous arrangements so guests can converse across the table. Simple florals gathered with greens from the yard/garden can still make a huge statement. And, if you have a Trader Joe’s nearby check out their selection, they tend to have a pretty lovely variety at their great prices. Cheers to happy holiday season with friends and family.

11.06.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Entertaining, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Parties, Uncategorized | Comments >>

Nov 05, 2018

Fun Fall Wedding

This wedding was too fun and perfect for a fall wedding Wednesday, that we just had to pull it out of the archives. The weather could not have been more perfect for this warm fall afternoon ceremony overlooking the Kiawah River at the River Course on Kiawah Island, SC. Thank you to Liz Banfield for the images.

The perfect golf course green grass was the perfect backdrop for the green, orange, and brown harvest color palette we used for the wedding decor all based on graphic designer bride’s paper suite.

Fluffy Dahlias, snowberries, and star of bethlehem make up the bride’s bouquet.

To designate an “alter” in such an expansive setting we took an ordinary brown linen and adorned it with orange mums. Orange mums were also secured into the grass as pew markers. Hand blown glass vases full of green peas topped with flowers offered a colorful and wind resistant design element.

Golden mums and olive greenery make up the wedding party flowers. The little girls carried posies that complimented their fab floral crowns. The ring bearer carried a miniature bird’s nest full of moss.

The bride, owner of Oscar and Emma Designs designed all of the paper pieces. Wood paper liners encased the letterpressed ceremony programs.

Lowcountry Lemonade served with drink flags embellished with button mums in the color palette.

Dinner seating cards designed by Oscar and Emma had a precious copper leaf for each guest. We created a tree for the cards to hang from, creating a focal point for decor.

Moss green crushed velvet linens made the brightly hued florals and menus really pop but also allowed for the candles to create a warmth later into the evening.

Roasted pumpkin soup was served in hollowed mini pumpkins.

The cake by Jim Smeal featured all of the designs found on the wedding papers.

The couple, from Ohio, had to have a Grater’s ice cream station, couldn’t be a more perfect accompaniment to the cake.

The guest welcome favors served in a fall orchard basket featured all gourmet treats from their hometown.

Oscar and Emma designed tags topped off the caramel popcorn favors guests received at the end of the evening.

Guests enjoying cocktail hour by the warm glow of the sun setting over the Kiawah River.

The cozy after dinner lounge flanked by the espresso leather furniture and seagrass carpeting made the perfect spot to curl up with some bourbon and enjoy the festivities.

11.05.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

Oct 21, 2018

Wedding Day Disaster Distractions

photo by Liz Banfield

We had to deal with quite a bit of rain while setting up for a large outdoor wedding this weekend, so it got me thinking about how to avoid some of the unexpected disasters that we’ve experienced in our many years of doing weddings. At one wedding, during the pre ceremony family photos a bride was holding an infant who had a bit of a diaper disaster, leaving quite the mess on her dress!

photo by Corbin Gurkin

Katherine McDonald, dress maven of LulaKate and Kate McDonald Bridal, tells us that (appropriately) baby wipes are the BEST kept secret to getting stains out of dresses and they have them on hand at all times in the studio. Dusting baby powder or going over the water stain with white chalk and a small bristle brush helps distract from the removal of the original stain. Luckily we keep a bridal preparedness kit on hand at all times and being a mom of 3 I’ve learned the wonder of baby wipes, so we dabbed out the stain and had her photo ready walking down the aisle!

photo by Corbin Gurkin

You are on weather.com everyday for two weeks leading up to your wedding. Planning, plotting, and praying for that sunshine and no rain report! Well, here in Charleston and the Lowcountry, outdoor weddings are one of the main reasons people choose to marry here. But in our humid climate frequent showers are inevitable. We’ve had to hold a ceremony off for 45 mins, keeping guests under shelter and on buses until the rain stopped and we could dry off the seats. Here, large golf umbrellas helped shelter the guests and couple after a shower popped up at the end of the ceremony.

photo by Elizabeth Messina

We keep a fleet of solid white umbrellas on our trucks for all of our outdoor affairs just in case…

photo by Elizabeth Messina

Here in Charleston, many couples elect to use vintage cars for their getaway. They obviously make for lovely photos, but can often be unreliable and finicky. We have had several situations where they simply didn’t start or had some complications and often we don’t know this until it’s time for the driver to arrive at the wedding to pick up the bride and groom!

photo by Corbin Gurkin

Several ideas to avoid being stranded at the end of the evening are to schedule the car for at least an hour minimum prior to your wanting to leave. That way if there is a problem your coordinator or whoever has been your point person can have plenty of time to problem solve (hopefully without you being the wiser!). Another option is to make sure to have a back up- several of our taxi companies here have different or unique vehicles, and since it’s a taxi are readily available and often can be cancelled with little or no penalty. Or, does a friend or family member attending the wedding, have a cool car that they would be willing to let you drive around the block in just for the send off photo opp? Then, you can hop in another vehicle out of sight from the guests! You can always hop on the trolley with the rest of the guests to get home.

10.21.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>