A Downtown Fairy Tale - Jack and Jessica's Wedding

Last weekend we had the pleasure of helping with Jessica and Jack's beautiful wedding. They were married at Holy Trinity Anglican Church in downtown Greenville with a reception following at Brian Brigham. The church is a beautiful stone building. It really doesn’t need much to make it a romantic fairytale ceremony. I know you saw the professional pictures I posted earlier by their photographer, Lance Williams, but here are some of the pictures we took throughout the day.

Jessica and her mom Doneli had chosen a very elegant black, white and silver theme for her wedding and reception.

These colors were carried out with the gorgeous flower by Memories by McMillan.

The details of the day included a 3 tier white cake with black ribbon trim. The cake had tiny pearls scattered on each layer. On top was a elegant silver initial trimmed in crystals. Silver and black damask runners were on each table with an assortment of candles of varying heights. Silver frames containing tables numbers were set on each table. Crystals were sprinkled on every table and even the cake table. There was a black and white candy bar that was a favorite of the guests. Programs were layered and trimmed with black ribbon. A damask covered bulletin board was set up so each guest could write their wishes and advice and leave for the bride and groom. Pictures of the couple growing up were spread throughout the room and lite by candle light.

It was a wonderful wedding for such a sweet bride and groom. The whole family was a pleasure to work with. Everything came together beautifully.

This was a great group of vendors at this wedding. We had a great time working together which always makes a wedding even better. Thanks to all the wonderful vendors that made it work.

Downtown Greenville Wedding

Willrich Bridal helped plan and put together a beautiful wedding this past weekend. I will post more about it soon. But until then, here are some great pictures that the very talented Lance Williams shot and sent over for me to post. Enjoy the beautiful eye candy.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone that has been so sweet since my Dad’s passing on Tuesday. I really appreciate all the prayers, concerns and help from everyone. It’s been a crazy time, but we’re doing ok.

Know Your Wedding Site Rules

Before signing on the dotted line for your ceremony or reception site, be sure that you receive a copy of their rules and that you have reviewed them carefully. More than once I have had a DOC bride disappointed when she found out the beautiful candelabras with taper candles she dreamed of using were not allowed at her reception site. Most sites do not allow open flames. Others require all candles to be floating in water. If you have a particular vision in mind, be sure it will be allowed by the site. If the site agrees to change their rules for your event, get it in writing and signed by the person that agrees. You will chose your sites probably a year before the events. A lot can change in a year, people forget what they agreed to, or the people that did the agreeing may no longer be there.

Churches have a lot of rules, but getting these in writing can sometimes be tough. Ask a lot of questions, can furniture be moved, what are the rules for candles, what are the rules for flowers, what are the rules for photography. If things can be moved, who does the moving and who puts everything back. Again, get it in writing and get it signed. Remember to bring this with you to the rehearsal and wedding day. Communication between ministers, wedding committees and janitorial staff is not a strong point at a lot of churches. Remember to ask will anything be set up at the church that is not set up the day you tour the site. When you pick a site in June for a winter wedding you won’t see the Christmas flowers, nativity scene, etc., that the church may not allow to be removed for your wedding. I have seen it happen. Again, ask a lot of questions and get the answers in writing.

How Many People Will Fit at my Tables?

The Cloth Connection

When you start planning out your reception, one of the first questions will be just how many tables do I need? Your florist will need to know this for the centerpiece count; your venue will need to know for room layout, and you’ll need to know for making seating plans.

The guidelines are:

72” round (6 foot) will seat 10 – 12 people. 10 being comfortable, 12 being tight.
60” round (5 foot) will seat 6 – 10 people. 6 comfortable, 10 really tight (actually doable only if you are using chivari chairs).
48" round (4 foot) will seat up to 5. This is the size most cake tables are. Size of your sweetheart table.
36” round (3 foot) will seat up to 4. Another popular size for cake tables.
8 foot banquet will seat 8-10 people
6 foot banquet will seat 6-8 people.

Weather and Your Wedding

With the threat of snow and ice today, I think it’s a good time to think about how bad weather can change your wedding plans. As soon as a bride tells me she is planning an outdoor wedding, my first question has to be “what is your plan B?” I’m amazed how many people haven’t even considered one, much less done the ground work for planning one. I know you don’t want to consider rain or snow on your wedding day, but you better. Not a year has gone by since I started doing weddings that we haven’t had to move an outdoor wedding inside due to the weather.

It being winter right now, you’re probably not planning an outdoor wedding, but that doesn’t mean the weather can not affect your wedding. All it takes is a good ice storm, or snow, to really change your plans. What would you do if ice knocked your power out? Maybe stock up on candles and be ready to have a candlelight ceremony. Why not stock up on extra wraps for your guests in case there is a loss of heat at the ceremony or reception site. Always have extra umbrellas on hand incase rain suddenly strikes as guests are entering or leaving your wedding. We have boxes full of umbrellas that we have loaned to guests at more than one wedding. Most importantly, have a plan in place for contacting your guests to let them know if the weather causes any changes or delays on your wedding day.

As much as you hope and pray for good weather on your wedding day, it is so important to have a plan B in place. Even if you never use it, you will be so less stressed just knowing it’s there.

Wedding Photography Special

The very talented and super nice, Lance Williams, emailed me two exciting photography specials that I wanted to pass on to any of you searching for a photographer. He is offering:

1. $1000 for full coverage of the day and a 50 pg album which holds 50-150 images. ( No images on disc are included in this special)

2. A free $500 upgrade to any package that currently is on the price list.

To receive this offer you need to book before the end of January.

This eye candy is just a sample of his work. Check out his website, Freelance Imagery for more pictures and details.

More Beautiful Reception Ideas

This example of a reception design set up was done at the Wedding Festivals show by the Hyatt and Wedding Festivals. I love, love, love this cake, by Holly's Cakes. I’m usually not into this sort of look, but for some reason I think this is just beautiful. What a different look. Wedding Festivals called it their "Platinum Look". It would not be cheap to recreate by what a wow if you did.

What's Hot In Table Top Decor for 2009

Some of the coolest ideas I saw at the Wedding Festival show were in the Table Top Design Gallery section of the show. Vendors were invited to set up a table to show off their best ideas. I took a few pictures to share with you.

Table Top Design by Memories by McMcMillan and Professional Party Rentals

I love the dark rich colors in this setup. The orange roses are beautiful and pay close attention to the feathers in the centerpiece. Feathers are turning up everywhere this year. This is an elegant rich feeling, perfect for any upscale reception.

Designed by Dahlia and ABC Rental

This table top looks so young and happy. Again, notice the feathers, nothing like a pink feather boa to give a kicky, cool look.

Designed by Kathy and Company

I love this cake. It is so delicate and fragile looking. It is also a perfect match to the china pattern.

Designed by Gassaway Mansion

How is this for over the top. Once again, we have feathers, this time beautiful peacock feathers and loads of crystals. If you want pop at your reception, this would do the trick.

After the Show

Our beautiful booth at the show

Yesterday was the Wedding Festival Show at the Hyatt. I want to start out by thanking everyone that took time to stop by our booth and there were a lot of you. It made me feel so good to find out that so many of you were familiar with my website and are faithful followers of my blog.

I though the booth turned out really great.

If you are new to the blog, we’re glad you are here. Thank you for taking the time to check us out. If you have a particular question be sure to use the search feature at the top of the page and search for what you need.

Come back tomorrow and I will be sharing some of my favorite things from the show.

Our beautiful booth flowers created by Memories by McMillan