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

It’s been about a month since we returned from the Engage 18! conference in Banff, Canada. It was a stunningly beautiful location, and I always love reconnecting with old friends. Thank you to the ever talented Cameron Clark for sharing these amazing photos.

The host hotel was the historic Fairmont Banff Springs.. Rumor is it’s haunted but we didn’t experience any of that business. They were a gracious host for us, and the scenery can’t be beat. It was so wild that it didn’t actually ever get really dark, light until about 11pm, and sun up again at about 4am. This year as I took the main stage, I wanted to share what sets the vendors we work with apart from others. We always say yes to our clients and deliver beyond their expectations, so vendors that help us do that are what we are looking for.

I also got to host a table at the dine arounds… We were at The Balkan Restaurant, a greek spot in the middle of downtown Banff… So much fun, I enjoyed all of my table mates so much and the restaurant was fabulous, we even broke plates at the end of the night in true Greek form.

We love our Jordan Kahn! He is the best at service… And, so fun, he always hosts friends on some type of boat ride. We did a Yacht on the Seine in Paris together which was one of the highlights of that trip. This time, we did a raft float down the Bow River and had a blast!

Fall weddings are on the horizon, so it’s perfect timing to share our Kentucky farm wedding recently featured on Carats and Cake. I loved working with these clients from the beginning. Just the fact that a hurricane (of all things) is what we had to contend with during production going into the wedding weekend, and they didn’t loose their cool, made all of the hard work even more worth it. Thank you to Melanie Mauer for the weekend photos.

What Lettered Olive designed for our clients is still one of my most favorite. The watercolor design of the antique barn on the property graced the save the dates. The invitations incorporate metallic copper ink and guinea feather accents- stunning! And, the wedding welcome box featured a custom barn emblazoned on the front and was filled with goodies perfect for a Kentucky celebration.

Our bride, owner of popular Lexington boutique, Morton James, of course stunned in a gown by Vera Wang. A gathered from the garden bouquet of garden roses, ranunculus, hellebores, and foliage was both a lush and lovely accessory.

While in the planning stages with the couple, who were making plans to build on the property and move the barn, I knew we had to use it as the backdrop to the ceremony. It’s so perfect. We created a huge greenery wreath to act as our “alter” decor. Guests walked straight into the barn for cocktail hour. A huge square shaped bar anchored the room, and guests enjoyed small bites by Apiary Fine Catering and Events. One of my favorite elements to doing destination weddings is finding new and incredible vendors to work with… They are truly one of my new favorite caterers, our vision synched up perfectly!

Because of the torrential rains all week, the ground remained pretty soggy for the wedding day. We were able to build a weathered wooden boardwalk for guests to make their way from the barn to the dinner and reception tent without getting too bogged down.

The sailcloth tent was breathtaking with greenery draping, oatmeal linen, and wildflower bouquets anchoring wooden lamps. We found super fabulous feather candles so perfect for this event. Copper table top details included hand painted table numbers, copper foil printed menus, and even copper water cups. The place setting featured menus tied with twine and imprinted leather place cards… oh and a little guinea feather for good measure.

The simply stunning four tired cake by Martine’s Pastries was embellished with fresh blooms used throughout the wedding. Since the rent of wedding decor fell in line with the rustic feel, we wanted the lounge to be more on the feminine and airy side.

Of course, being in Kentucky there had to be a bourbon and cigar lounge for after dinner.. Guests enjoyed our dessert cart with a variety of treats passed throughout the dance lounge.

The couple was sent off by fireworks as they enjoyed S’mores by the the fire pit with friends late into the night.

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