Angie and Heath’s love story began in high school, life took them down separate paths through college and career yet they reconnected thanks to Facebook and the sparks continued!

This bride was all about fuchsia and bling for her wedding design – the more the better! Their sweet ceremony was made even sweeter with a room completely draped in soft white fabric with pale pink lighting. Columns greeted guests as the entered and created an the wedding altar. Each column was topped with pink petals, and a cylinder with a floating candle. We even blinged out her floating candles! Crawford and Company hung a strand a crystals from each candle and they swayed in the water. For the reception, we started with linens from Party Tables and Connie Duglin and Todd Crawford sealed the deal with his amazing crystal trees and glimmering candelabras! {and just wait until you see the level of bling the bride brought with her shoes!!}

The cake was made by the Ballantyne Hotel – it was a showstopper!! Each tier appeared to be lifted up on fuchsia roses, and the wedding cake topper was completely encrusted in crystals. Not to be left out, the cocktails were also hot hot pink! We featured 2 – a his and hers signature cocktail. “Real Men Wear Pink” and the “Pink Lady”!

Sterling By Design rocked our fabric draping and lighting as usual, and also set up a hot lounge area with brand new styles! High back, tufted sofas…to die for!

DJ Ant from Atlanta, who is a friend of the couple {and whose wife graced Angie’s bridal party} kept everyone dancing – including passers by in the Ballantyne Hotel hallways!

Enjoy these gorgeous photos from Bella Loren Fotografia www.bellaloren.com ! You can click on an individual shot to view it larger! :)

Cheers!
Katie & Jill

Additional Vendors:
Wedding Videography by Crown Alley
Stationery by Three Little Birds

Diana could take the prize for one of the most gorgeous and fun brides of 2011! We had a blast planning her Hollywood inspired wedding at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens in May of last year.

Diana wanted a Hollywood feel to her wedding and reception, but with a soft palette of silver and white. White ostrich feathers and crystals made their way into her centerpieces and cake designs. For chairs, Diana chose Chameleon from Classic Party Rentals. The ruched fabric and crystal embellishments were gorgeous! These Chameleon Chairs offer so many options for your wedding decor!

The bride wore Vera Wang and was beyond stunning!! Her bridal party wore elegant black dresses with custom bouquets we designed with Todd Crawford – lucite boxes with dripping crystals and topped with lush flowers – they were held purse style with a thick satin ribbon! We loved how open Diana was to be unique!

Escort cards hung from a crystal curtain at cocktail hour, as Best Impressions Caterers greeted guests with hors devoures and cocktails (amazing as always). The reception kicked off with our favorite DJ – Split Second Sound! The classic cake was displayed on a custom tiered stand that dripped crystals between each of the layers – thank you Wow Factor another fabulous wedding cake!

Enjoy this gorgeous bride and their photos as much as we enjoyed wedding planning with her, and be sure to check out the vendor links below!

www.dsbg.org Daniel Stowe Bontanical Garden, Wedding Venue
www.crawfordandcompanyflorist.com, Wedding Floral Design
www.classicpartyrentals.com, Chameleon Chairs and Linens
www.bestimpressionscaterers.com, One of our favorite vendors!! Amazing catering
www.charlotteweddingcakes.com, Wow Factor crystal dripped wedding cake
www.splitsecondsound.com, Top Wedding DJ
www.jeremiebarlow.com, Photography

We are trying our hand at adding more video content to The Charmed Event’s YouTube channel! Our first addition in quite some time is a behind the scenes glimpse into what it takes to set up a stunning wedding reception!

The decor installation began on Friday, with Sterling By Design and Scott Brown Media setting up the fabric and some lighting.

Saturday morning met the team from Scott Brown continuing their amazing work, as well as deliveries from Party Reflections (gorgeous linens and chairs), AFR, Ice Sensations, and chargers from Classic Party Rentals.

Catering preparation by Best Impressions, and floral work by The Place for Flowers took several hours. The centerpieces were gorgeous shades of purple – orchids, roses, branches – texture galore! Dinner offered guests a unique choice of Tomahawk Short Ribs or Sea Bass in addition to an amazing cocktail hour that included a Shrimp and Grits station. The late night food was a crowd favorite – hotdogs and sliders! No one went hungry!

Emily had a fabulous vision for her night, and kept surprising their guests. 2 bands, a champagne bar, and even purple feather boas! Everyone had an amazing time, and we hope you enjoy seeing the work these top vendors put into creating the party!

…and we can’t wait to see the fabulous photos captured by Tara Mauldin!!

This New Year’s Eve, you will find us celebrating with Casey and Steve on their wedding day!

This cute couple lives in the Windy City, but met at Wake Forest and will be tying the knot in NC! It will be a night to remember, with plenty of revelry planned. Casey and Steve kicked off this year with an engagement shoot in Chicago {once the snow melted a bit, that is!}. Dustin & Diana from Bella Loren made the trip up to capture this time in their lives, you can find even more photos on the Bella Loren blog!

www.bellaloren.com

Subway Smooch

In the streets of Chicago

Casey & Steve

There is a new obsession over at The Charmed Event….Pinterest!  We believe that many of our brides are aware of what Pinterest is, however, some of you may ask what in the world is this obsession that everyone is talking about.  Pinterest is a website that you can use to collect inspiration for everything imaginable and store it all in one place.  It is a way to stay super organized with all of the many ideas you find while surfing the internet for inspirations.

For all of you brides that are planning a wedding, we would definitely recommend checking the site out.  When you find the perfect image online that you want your vendors to see, you can just reference your Pinterest board!

Happy Pinning!

xoxo- Jill and Katie

Many times everyone gets so involved in the planning process that the bride tends to be the center of attention, and sometimes, we may forget about the groom (yes, even the wedding planners).  Often times we, Katie and Jill, may meet the groom at the initial consultation and then not even see the groom again until the wedding day!  Yes, as crazy as it sounds, it’s the truth!  So recently we were asked by one of our Charlotte, NC grooms, “What should I be doing during the planning process?”  As planners, Katie and I jumped for joy and immediately supplied our groom-to-be with a list of his wedding duties.

The Beverage Bar

The bar is one of the most common things that our brides will put their husbands-to-be in charge of for the wedding.  Generally, the groom determines (with the wedding planners assistance) how much of their budget can handle the bar and what types of alcohol should be served.  So grooms, here’s some advice on how to handle this responsibility for your wedding reception.  Don’t forget to have fun doing this!  If there’s a certain design element to your wedding bring it into the bar presentation, maybe you can have a particular signature drink, even try “His” and “Hers” signature drinks (your wedding planner can give you great advice here).  If you’re a tequila man, then see if your venue can offer a tequila bar, this will definitely add a little heat to the reception.  There’s also the option of a separate beer and wine station, a champagne bar, or even a full whiskey bar!

To “mix” things up a little, you can also offer an ice bar, martini luge, or different colored drinks for different tables.  Colors are the best and most affordable way to play around with wedding beverages and create an interesting and classy atmosphere for your wedding reception.  Make it appealing to your wedding guests by using interesting glasses, cute little colored straws, fresh garnishes like oranges and cherries, and even colored ice!

The Wedding Band

Not all men are excited about the jewelry and even though you may not want to wear a ring, at least you can pick your own individual style out.  There are many different styles and metals of wedding bands that you can choose from.  It can have one or two indented lines, grooves, have a hammered pattern, or just be plain.  Different metals have different colors and properties. There is yellow or white gold, which are both great quality and can be made to fit any size finger.  Platinum is fabulous because it’s a heavy weight can make you feel like a man, however, it is a little more expensive than your other options.  Sterling silver is nice and affordable; however it is for a man that likes more of a shiny ring.  Titanium and palladium are popular choices because of their colors and they are very light weight.  Another popular choice is tungsten.  It’s great because it has a very dark, unique color.  If you are a gem guy, you can discuss with you jeweler the qualities you want in a wedding band.  Decide on a budget or at least a price range – depending on the style, metal, stones, and design that you are looking for, you may even be able to custom-design your ring for an affordable price.

The Honeymoon

Our favorite….The Honeymoon!!!!  YOU can plan the honeymoon.  While your bride-to-be is planning the wedding details, you can to start planning your getaway.  You can begin booking the flight(s), accommodations, food, and activities.  For todays groom-to-be this is lots of fun because you can enjoy searching through websites for great deals and places to go.  You shouldn’t plan the entire honeymoon without inquiring with your bride-to-be.  Be sure to ask her advice on where she wants to go and what she wants to do.  You can book and plan all the details, which many women will find very romantic.  Recently, one of our North Carolina grooms planned an entire getaway honeymoon to Italy all by himself.  Our bride had no idea until the night of the reception, how ROMANTIC!

To all the grooms out there that think they have been forgotten, please know that there are things for you to do and ways to contribute that you can enjoy.  Be sure to attend your food and cake tastings!  You can also request a signature drink taste testing, if applicable!  Remember that choosing metals for your wedding band, looking up places to go scuba diving, and booking fabulous dinners for your honeymoon can be your contributions to make your wedding unique and memorable.   And remember, your wedding planner is always there to give any advice or assistance you may need!

xoxo,

Katie and Jill

Jeremy Igo Photography

1. Resist the urge to send out your wedding Save the Dates prior to setting your event budget and booking a venue. The concern here is to invite everyone you and your families know in the rush of excitement, only to later determine the guest list should be cut down due to budget restraints or venue capacity!

2. Include enough information so that your guests can make the appropriate plans – event dates and city/state is a must!  Guests will also appreciate you setting up hotel blocks and including the contact information for the accommodations you select. If you Save the Date design does not allow room for all of this information, set up a wedding website. All of the pertinent details can be listed there, just put the website address on your Save the Date!

3. Timing is everything! We typically recommend sending Save the Dates six months prior to your wedding, or as early as 8 months should you be marrying during a holiday or heavily traveled time of year.  Don’t send them out earlier and risk them being lost or tossed!

4. Use your Save the Dates to set an expectation of who exactly will be invited to your wedding.  When addressing, include the “and Guest” or “and Family” or just list the adult names sans kids.  This also gives you a jump start on your RSVP tracking spreadsheet!

Happy Wedding Planning!

XO, Katie & Jill

Brenna & JJ engaged - shot by Cade Bowman

This week, the NACE meeting featured our friend and amazing talent – Todd Crawford, founder of Crawford and Company.  They are floral geniuses!   Todd was kind enough to share with us all his tips for stunning holiday decorating.  You can also use many of his ideas in your wedding planning and holiday party planning!

*Todd suggests having a neutral color palette that you use year after year – IE silver and white, gold and muted green, etc.  You can then add bold pops of colors each year to change things up!  Bold pink, chartreuse, etc.

*Cover canvases (purchased from your local craft store) in fabric of your choosing (and buy a little extra to use as a coordinating tree skirt) .  These are great grouped on a mantle in various sizes, or as a backdrop to your front door wreath!  We love this tip, you will definitely be seeing canvases behind our wreaths this season!

Holiday Mantle by Todd Crawford

*For unique place cards, use a pen or pencil to punch a hole in an apple (or pear, or orange…) and place a flower in the hole as if it were a bud vase!  You can place the fruit on a napkin ring for stability and use a paint pen to write each guests name on it.  This is pictured below – this is a really cute idea for your holiday event!

Holiday Escort Card by Todd Crawford

 This week’s NACE meeting was held at the Palmer Building, which has an amazing patio and fireplace – perfect for a fall  or winter Carolina event or wedding! Split Second Sound added some musicality to Todd’s presentation…perfect as always!

Happy Planning!

Jill & Katie

There are many reasons to consider a professional planner for your wedding or event.  It is important to be certain your planner has ample experience and training.  Planning your own wedding is quite a different process than planning and designing for a client!

We pride ourselves on personalized design, no cookie cutter weddings! You can also be assured we will design to your personality and vision, not ours. We listen to your vision and dreams for your wedding and bring our design experience and creativity to the process to help your vision come alive.

Larissa and Joe - Married! Photographed by Jeremy Igo

When you pick a venue they often give you a “wedding coordinator” from the venue to help coordinate the day. This person is not the same as an independent planner.  While they are knowledgeable and helpful, they typically do not cover the scope of what we will handle for you, such as meetings with other vendors off site.

We have over a decade of combined experience. What this means for you is that we know what things should cost and the difference in value. We will help you navigate the overwhelming wedding industry pricing and balance your budget around YOUR priorities.

We’ve observed so many brides through the process of planning their wedding and when they do it without a planner, oftentimes by the time the wedding day arrives, they feel so stressed that they can’t wait for it to be over. Planning your wedding is supposed to be a memorable and special process. We sincerely want you to enjoy this time in your lives!

An experienced planner serves as a mediator in touchy relational situations. It’s almost impossible to make everyone happy when planning a wedding. We are your neutral expert to point to for direction. It’s easier to tell your future mother-in-law, “My planner thinks we need to….” instead of “I think we should….”

Your wedding day will involve numerous vendors who need to work together to insure that the day runs seamlessly. We understand how each vendor relies on the other and coordinate the complexities of the time-line with all its intricate details.

In addition to possessing a wealth of knowledge, we have been in the industry long enough to know who the players are — which vendors can be trusted and who has the best business practices. A referral from someone who has roots in the industry is priceless when you must place a high level of trust in those you previously had no knowledge of.

Just this week, we received this note from a client:
I apologize I never got a chance to thank you and Jill.  You guys made everything seamless and after attending several weddings recently we realize ours was so much more organized thanks to you guys!
Happy Planning! Jill & Katie

See more of our client reviews on www.theknot.com!

This Spring, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to team up with Charlotte Wedding Magazine to design a Mad Men themed feature!  We love the 50′s and 60′s, and our Charmed Prop Shop {rentals with character} played into the concept perfectly.  Tara Mauldin was the fabulous photographer for the shoot {check her out www.taramauldin.com}, here’s some additional behind the scenes info on how we designed a wedding photo shoot!

The photo shoot took place at the Charlotte City Club, who has an amazing staff and was wonderful to work with! They have many room options for your wedding reception, cocktail hour, or photo shoot! We began our wedding design plan by watching old episodes of Mad Men {it’s a rough life} and even found authentic magazines from the era to really place ourselves in the 1960′s mood.  We then decided on a wedding color palette inspired by the Mad Men logo – Red/Black/White with pops of yellow. An unexpected accent color is a must!

From there, Three Little Birds designed custom wedding stationery using those colors and a retro pattern.  The cake design mimicked the pattern as well, and was so so cool!  Jonathan with Crumbs Couture is a true artist.  Our only request for Crumbs Couture was that they use the 1960′s cake riser columns that were on <em>every</em> cake back then…but in a modern way!  The answer? A custom cake stand made from the columns but painted a black lacquer!  Loved it!  To make the cake even more perfect, First Impressions Linens custom made a black sequin linen for the table.  

When you look at our Mad Men feature in Charlotte Wedding, you can’t help but notice the amazing attention that Delectables by Holly put into the catering.  Holly worked with us closely in creating a menu that was true to the period with modern flair.  Holly loves vintage as much as we do, she even picked up authentic 1960′s fondue pots for our fondue station!  We also used vintage Motown albums as serving trays for the passed items that included fruit cocktail skewers served in tall shot glasses.  

A mirrored bar cart was used to showcase the Signature Cocktails for the wedding “reception.” The cocktails included “Mad Men Martinis” and “Draper’s Old Fashioned.” We used matching cards for all of the food and cocktails to let guests {readers} know what was being served, the cards also matched the invitation.

The bouquets came in the morning of the photo shoot, and we were over the moon with Todd Crawford’s work!  Crawford and Company always hit it out of the park!!  Red and black anemones (we were DYING!!) with precious little tufts of tulle throughout for the bridal party.  They were just amazing!  The bride carried amazing cascading white orchids, they were lush and the shape of the cascade was period perfection!

Lisa Hiner with Classic Party Rentals helped us round out our tablescapes – complete with black Chameleon chairs with a hot red cushion.  The tablescape also featured custom embroidered napkins and a red banquet from the Charmed Prop Shop.  Our prop shop also contributed a vintage TV console, painted matte white that we morphed into a photo booth complete with 1950′s and 1960′s hats.

To say we had a blast working with the talented Charlotte Wedding team would be an understatement.  The vendor team made it easy to bring our vision to life – which is the key to a charmed photo shoot or a charmed wedding day!  
<strong>You can see the full Mad Men inspired wedding design in the current issue of Charlotte Wedding Magazine that hit stands earlier this summer!</strong>
Happy Wedding Planning!

Mad Men Table Decor