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

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!

*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!

 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.

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!

A red and teal wedding design – something we have yet to do but we love the color concept!  The combination of red and teal for your wedding or party design can be used year round. It is rich enough for Fall, a modern approach to Christmas colors, and bright enough for Spring and Summer soirees!
A red and teal wedding design also lends itself to many options for accent colors, team it up with metallic gold for Fall or the holidays, bright silver for Spring, or add in black for a sophisticated mood.
There are so many deep red flowers that would look amazing in this wedding design – Dahlias in Summer, Anemones in Winter, and Roses are always readily available in so many shades of red!

This is a quick and easy project that you can utilize for your wedding, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or fall party decorating! Use the craft pumpkins from a store such as Michaels, assorted colors of buttons, ribbon, and a hot glue gun. That’s truly all you need! Our local Michaels has orange, white, and black pumpkins to select from. The white version would also be easy to spray paint any color you wish!
Hot glue overlapping buttons in several colors to create your monogram, a holiday greeting, your child’s name, etc.
We began by using a white paint pen to sketch the shape of each letter, this is shown in the first photo above. Each pumpkin takes less than half an hour – even with young children assisting! It’s a great family project for Fall decorating, or group lots of these in your wedding colors for a Fall wedding display!

Beyonce is pregnant! We’ve seen some hot Hollywood moms, but we have a teeny feeling that Beyonce is going to out glam them all! In honor of this announcement, we felt inspired to create a baby shower inspiration board – The Littlest Diva!
It’s an event plan full of shimmering glamor – from glittering ice cream cones and pink Bellini’s to pink diamond napkin wraps. Wouldn’t burp cloths make great napkins for a baby shower?
This baby shower decor wouldn’t be complete without lots of glowing candles (to match mom-to-be’s glow), and each one with added sparkle in the form of rhinestone strands. Soft pastel florals in shades of cream and white, would add luxurious texture to the table decor – we’d love to see lush hydrangeas and peonies.
We are also in LOVE with these crystal pink chiavari chairs! Placed next to a ruffled linen – it’s an amazing effect made for the glamorous honoree.
Don’t forget to put special effort into the shower invitation – it sets the tone for the special event upon arrival. Action Envelope has many shades of pink in metallic and translucent!

Brenna and JJ were married on May 28th at the University Presbyterian in Chapel Hill, followed by festivities at the gorgeous Fearrington Village. Brenna is from NC, but now she and JJ reside in Indiana. She wanted to give their guests a feel for the South, and show them a good time! Mission accomplished!
www.upcch.org University Presbyterian Church
www.fearrington.com See all that Fearrington has to offer (Wow)
Brenna’s wedding dress was breathtaking – and don’t forget to check out JJ’s orange striped tie!! Love it! Her florals centered around orange and champagne, and were designed by Fresh Affairs from Raleigh.
www.freshaffairs.com (Lyn and Linda won’t let you down!)
The Fearrington is an award winning venue, and their staff is amazing. They book well in advance, so you interested brides should call them NOW!
The glimmering champagne linens (and adorable bridesmaids dresses) worked perfectly in the barn with their lit branch fixtures, and the pops of orange keep the decor lively! Don’t be scared to use small amounts of bright colors in a more subdued overall color palette. It keeps your decor fresh and visually interesting for your guests!
Brenna’s cake was also created by the Fearrington team, it was fully encircled by bright orange roses on every layer. We placed it centerstage by the dance floor, on an antique barrel from the late 1800s. The barrel is part of our Charmed Prop Shop inventory!
www.charmedpropshop.com
A few of our other favorite wedding decor details were Brenna’s photo display of old family photos as you entered the barn, and her postcard guest book that featured postcards from North Carolina and California!
The beautiful photography is by Cade Bowman – www.cadebowmanweddings.com

Tissue paper flowers seem to be show up at all kinds of events lately! Hanging from ceilings for sweet showers, tied to napkins as colorful napkin rings, in bold colors as used as traditional centerpieces, and in miniature form atop favor packaging. These are an easy project to tackle, even if you do not consider yourself to be crafty! It only takes a few supplies, and a few minutes. Give them a try!

You’ll need tissue paper and 24-gauge white floral wire, or long white pipe cleaners.

Hanging Flowers

1. Stack eight 20-by-30-inch sheets of tissue. Make 1 1/2-inchwide accordion folds, creasing with each fold. You can do each flower all one color, or mix any combination of colors that you wish!

2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, and slip over center of folded tissue; twist. With scissors, trim ends of tissue into rounded or pointy shapes.

3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time, to fluff you flower.

4. Tie a length of fishing line to floral wire for hanging, and voila!

Miniature Flowers for Napkin Rings or Favor Decor:
With just a few changes, these follow the same steps as the hanging pom-poms.

1. Stack four sheets of tissue. Cut a 10-by-5-inch rectangle, going through all layers. Make 3/8-inch-wide accordion folds.

2. Fold an 18-inch piece of floral wire in half, slip over center of tissue, and twist to secure. Trim ends of tissue.

3. Separate layers, pulling away from center one at a time, fluffing your flower.

4. Bend wire into a loop to fit around napkin, and twist end around loop to secure.

Photo from: Martha Stewart Weddings

Brooke is most likely the dream girl for most guys – gorgeous, outgoing, successful, and did we mention a huge Sports Fan??? She and Jeff met at work, and were engaged in romantic Charleston. Their wedding was in May of this year, at River Hill Country Club (to share their love of lake days with guests) and Centerstage at No Da.
Gorgeous Lakeside Ceremony @ www.riverhillscc.org
Fantastically Fun Reception @ www.centerstagenoda.com
Brooke already had an idea of some decor she wanted to incorporate – sunny yellow with black and white damask. The bouquets were amazing, with lots of bright color and texture. The bridal bouquet is one of our favorites from the year so far! Check out www.partyblooms.com
To incorporate the couple’s love of sports, escort cards were tickets and displayed in black trays of golf balls. The tables were each named after a stadium to couple had visited, and personalized with a photo. The bride herself did some of the design work for these pieces!
LaTeaDa’s set up really delicious food stations, with a Shrimp and Grits recipe they created especially for the groom. After dinner and cutting of the AMAZING cake by Cheesecake, Etc the couple’s friends (who are all as fun as they are, by the way!) danced until the very end!
Modern Southern Cuisine @ www.lateadas.com
Gorgeous Cakes @ www.cheesecakeetc.biz
Photography by Alively.