Award winning wedding planner and event designer in Charleston and New York City specializing in destination weddings, wedding and event planning.

Aug 06, 2018

photos by Corbin Gurkin

We have several requests recently to share more of our tented receptions, so today is the day! The top photos shows you a bit of what we started out working with, a large white frame tent with clear plastic walls. Then, as you step inside you can see how we transformed the space. We started with white carpeting to soften the space and really give it a feel more like a living room or interior space and not a tent. Then, a romantic drapey ceiling in crisp blue and white brings the ceiling down and of course hides all of the ugly insides. We have to have pretty fabric walls too!

photo by Liz Banfield

This seaside reception tent was quite unique for a number of reasons. One, we raised the floor up several feet so that guests’ view wasn’t impaired by the sand dunes. We also left the walls open on this one so that the seabreeze could float thru throughout the night, and for the ocean views. Then, we tried something new by creating the ceiling liner out of actual woven seagrass… It was a conversation piece throughout the night for sure!

photo by Liz Banfield

In Charleston, we have only a few months out of the year that using a clear top tent is ideal. When it’s only slightly warm, the sun bearing down on the clear plastic can really heat things up acting as a “greenhouse”. For this early April wedding when temps were still mild, we didn’t want to block out the uniqueness by covering the ceiling in fabric. So, for this garden inspired fete, a woven greenery ceiling allowed for sunlight and stars to peek through.

photos by Corbin Gurkin

For this winter wedding, heavy textures like wood, suede, and greenery were used to create this space. Of course, the outside has to be as pretty as the inside. For this grand entrance we built an awning, added custom doors, and several container plants. The oversized tent, once inside, featured hardwood floors, a garden greenery trellis backdrop and garland draped ceiling, and even a huge wooden wall behind the bar.

photos by Corbin Gurkin

For this Aspen wedding, natural elements blended with tailored prettiness. Guests walked thru a lantern lit walkway to the tent at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Hardwood floors gave way to white couches and cowhide throws. The dance floor and ceiling added softness with blue and white draping and a striped showcase floor.

8.06.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Event Design, Event Planning, Reception, Weddings | Comments >>

Aug 01, 2018

Wedding Wednesday with a Vintage Touch

We were so thrilled to see this wedding feature on 100 Layer Cake this week. . Elizabeth Messina was here to shoot with us, and as you can imagine the imagery is pretty spectacular, her style was the perfect fit for this ethereal bride.

The couple was wed at the French Huguenot Church in downtown Charleston, one of my all time favorite churches (the Guerards were one of the first Huguenot families in Charleston).

We try to encourage our clients to do a “first look” when appropriate. It still allows for the moment that a groom sees his bride on their wedding day, but on a more intimate level, which some of our brides find really relieves a lot of the pressure of walking down the aisle in front of all of those guests. And, it allows for some one on one time with the photographer to really capture some great shots together and with the wedding party without missing out on your party after the ceremony!

Vintages touches throughout the stationary by Lettered Olive really set the stage for the wedding day feel. Custom antique postcards were crafted and a logo with a vintage lace border was used throughout the wedding design. We even made a custom cornhole game for guests to play during cocktail hour!

Lettered Olive also crafted a custom “Charleston” map which was printed on the guest welcome bags. All of the wedding weekend locations were noted.

Antique keys and tags engraved with guests’ names, and attached to paper cards with table numbers, adorned a moss covered board for guests to find their seats at dinner.

Large wooden bed swings hung from live oak branches overlooking the river during cocktail hour.

As a special treat for the groom and his friends, a true Southern bourbon bar was on hand.

Lush greens, pale pinks, and creams dotted all of the florals we designed.

Draping covered in green garlands helped to give a landscaped garden feel to the dining room.

Moss and ivy topiaries on longer tables were perfect accents to the floral centerpieces on the square table. I love giving a dining room a layered look by working with different sizes, shapes, heights, and textures.

Jim Smeal did his version of a naked cake decorated with champagne grapes…

What else other than a vintage Model T could be more perfect for this couples’ departure.

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

Jul 31, 2018

Wedding Day Disasters to Avoid

Tara Guerard Soiree by Corbin Gurkin photo by Corbin Gurkin

Today I’m sharing tips on ways you can be prepared and how to avoid some of the unexpected disasters that we’ve experienced in the past. For 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 chose to get married 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.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Adrienne Page photo by Adrienne Page

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 Gayle Brooker

Several tips to avoid being stranded at the end of the evening are schedule your 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 who will be 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!

7.31.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Dresses, Fashion, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

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