Category Archives: Weddings

Jun 20, 2018

This wedding… Oh, this wedding. Full of so much prettiness and personal vibes. Flowers were the main focus and we used them for so many little details. Sara and Dominic decided that a destination wedding in Charleston would be the perfect option for their NYC guests (and its where the mother of the bride lives), and Lowndes Grove Plantation was the spot they landed on, and we certainly know why. Liz Banfield captured all of the gorgeous shots.

After the teal and gray color palette was set, Lettered Olive created a sweet scroll design used throughout all of the wedding printed materials.

Charleston Maptotes were stuffed with custom water bottles, a local Rewind candle and printed matches, and many snacks and sweets.

For the gray, white, and teal color scheme, tulips, roses, ranunculus, orchids, and luxe lamb’s ear made pretty bouquets and boutonierres.

The bride’s lush bouquet was hand tied with a monogramed vintage ribbon.

One of the sweetest moments of the day, was watching the Mother of the Bride walk her daughter down the aisle and “give her away”.

For the ceremony, the Ashley River provided a gorgeous backdrop to the orchid draped chuppa. Outdoor lounges were set up for guests to watch the sunset over the river later in the evening.

One of our favorite special decor tricks is using food safe flowers like dendrobium orchid blooms added to champagne- it just elevates the already elegant cocktail.

Wanting the pop of color, but not wanting to obstruct the view through the clear topped dinner tent- teal fabric boxes were created to then hang the chandelier. 3 extra long tables set up in rows made the tent feel much more like guests were having dinner in an elegant dining room then a sea of tables in a tent.

Orchid strands provided a special standout for the bride and groom chairs. Gray taper candles from Creative Candles, mixed with gray porcelain votive holders gave a more thoughtful look than just white. And dinner menus were housed in silver boxes with hand written name cards serving as place cards.

Instead of one large traditional cake, Jim Smeal made individual tiers in different flavors guests could chose from- the flowers on top dictated the difference. We built a special tiered display with the cakes already plated and easily self served.

A large printed bar flanked the exterior of the lounge tent allowing guests sweeping views of the river and a place to grab a drink with fellow guests

After a quick change into a sparkling shorty stunner, the bride and groom departed in a vintage convertible to sparklers… I know we’ve seen sparklers over and over, but they really do make gorgeous photos, don’t they?

6.20.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Flowers, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, Weddings | Comments >>

Jun 18, 2018

Monday Music

photo by Liz Banfield

We have many brides that are seeking something new and different beyond a string quartet, dj, or live dance band to play a special song or tribute to someone or something on their wedding day. Maybe it’s a piece from their heritage or a type of musician they were exposed to growing up. At any rate, we love helping bring these wishes to reality. Here are just some of the interesting variations we have been lucky to work with over the years. For the couple upstairs living abroad, but having grown up in the South, a Jazz horn section led the couple out to their send off for guests to toss rose petals.

photos by Adrienne Page, Perry Vaile, and Liz Banfield

For ceremony music, we’re seeing a lot of what we call “Tradition with a Twist”… For an outdoor ceremony on a bride’s family farm, Bagpipes worked so well to announce the bridal processional. They weren’t too loud, and with the scenery were quite awe inspiring. Our favorite string ensembles come from Charleston Virtuosi (they have a New York Virtuosi, and several international posts). We love their professionalism and creativity- they can play “virtually” anything from Coldplay to Lady Gaga to the Beatles. For another outdoor wedding, we had 12 string musicians play the processional as guests were escorted to their seats… it made quite an impression. photos by Gayle Brooker, Corbin Gurkin, and Perry Vaile

We love incorporating a choir into ceremonies… Some of the more unique ones that we have used are Gospel Choirs, and Childrens’ Choir.

photo by Perry Vaile

In this wedding ceremony, the Lord’s Prayer was sung acapella by a gospel choir member.

photo by Corbin Gurkin

photos by Liz Banfield

For receptions, cocktail hours, and rehearsal dinners, we have clients that really like to customize or do something totally different. We have had Jersey Boy impersonators (due to the bride and groom’s first date to the Broadway musical), Tone Loc for a fun loving couple’s surprise to their guests’, and even an Elvis impersonator!

6.18.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Event Planning, Parties, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

Jun 13, 2018

Vineyard Vows

Martha’s Vineyard is one of our favorite spots out of town for weddings. We can’t wait to be up there again at the end of the summer! But for today’s wedding Wednesday, we’re sharing this July wedding from 2010. Blue and white ikat was the design inspiration along with wooden and natural elements playing off of the family barn where the reception was held. Photos by Adrienne Page.

We love incorporating local flavor in the wedding guest welcome bags. The oh so perfect Martha’s Vineyard bags from Maptote; also included were custom printed playing cards with the wedding emblem, locally sourced and bottled waters, vintage island post cards, Cape Cod chips, and homemade sea salt caramel bars.

A gift from the groom- a vintage Hermes enamel bracelet perfectly finished the bride’s ensemble.

Martha’s Vineyard has so many glorious roadside flower stands, for all of the bridal party flowers, we ordered nothing ahead of time and shopped these stands for all of the personal flowers that day. For the brides’ something blue, all of the mother’s and grandmother’s monograms were embroidered on her bouquet ribbon.

The ceremony took place up on a bluff overlooking the farm, so guests were able to take in the property on their stroll to the ceremony.

The bridesmaids wore Lela Rose bridesmaids dresses (Lela, also in attendance is friends with the groom and his family in Dallas). All white bouquets from roadside farmstands were a contrast to the bride’s colorful bouquet.

Massive clusters of baby’s breath created a natural and whimsical feel for the simply elegant ceremony.

The father of the bride had an affinity for vintage barns, and had this one moved down piece by piece from Canada. It was the perfect spot for the wedding dinner.

Cocktail hour took place below in the stable area below the barn with seating throughout. Individual wooden signs let guests know where they were seating for dinner.

Menus were printing on large wooden signs, much like the one we made for the stone wall entrance.

Little wooden stirrers tied to the napkins with blue baker’s twine were sweet place cards.

After dinner, guests partied in the “boogie tent” and lounge for the rest of the evening. A stylish blue lounge provided a serene place for guests to enjoy cake, a cheese cart, cocktails and a reprieve from dancing.

After a birdseed toss (friendly for the environment of the farm), the bride and groom departed by a vintage Woody and spent the night in town before heading off for their honeymoon.

6.13.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Parties, Reception, Travel, Weddings | Comments >>