Real Weddings | Al + Letty | June 11, 2022

Al + Letty | June 11, 2022
Photography by Charity Quinonez

 

   

The Wedding Team

Ceremony Venue – The Frank H. Kenan Chapel at Landfall
Reception Venue – Warehouse on Water
Bridal Prep Venue – Hotel Ballast
Groom Prep Venue – Downtown Gem AirBnb
Catering – ART Catering & Events
Wedding Dress – Bottega Vow
Dress Alterations – Linen & Lace
Bridesmaid Dresses – David’s Bridal
Florist – Fairytale Designs
Makeup Artist – Sarah Harris @ Tyler Kent Salon
Hair Artist – Tyler Kent @ Tyler Kent Salon
Jewelry – Reeds Jewelry – Fayetteville
Shoes – Bella Belle
Transportation – Carolina Limousine & Coach
Videography – When Two Become One – A Wedding Film Co.
DJ – The Rhythm Connection
Photography – Charity Quinonez Photography

Real Weddings | Sarah + Josh | May 22, 2021

Sarah + Josh | May 22, 2021
Wedding Planner: Amy Frazier, Do Me A Favor Weddings 
Venue: Events at Brick Landing
Photography: Olivia Taylor Photography
Food: ART Catering & Events 
Desserts: One Belle Bakery 
Arbor & Champagne Wall: White Birch Rentals 
Flowers: Briar Patch Floral
Wedding Dress: Lovely Bride

Photos by Olivia Taylor Photography
Instagram- @photographybyoliviataylor
Facebook- @oliviataylorphotographync

Wedding Row Feature: Margaret and Daniel

We love when our clients are featured! Wedding Row Grand Strand showcased beautiful photos by East Emerald Photography of Margaret and Daniel's Wedding at 104 Laurel in Conway, SC. Their reception menu consisted of an elaborate cocktail hour followed by a wide variety of action stations for guests to choose from. What a beautiful celebration! 

Link to Wedding Row Grand Strand

Vendors:
Photographer: East Emerald Photography | Ceremony Venue: Riverfront Park | Reception Venue: 104 Laurel | Dress: Gown Boutique of Charleston | Suits: Calvin Klein from Men’s Wearhouse | Hair: Nicole Storch of Salon West | Makeup: Marie Santos | Cake: Pink Pineapple Cakes | Flowers: Costco Wholesale | Floral Arrangements: Amanda Patrick | Catering: Art Catering | Ceremony Music: Sister Strings | Cocktail Hour Music: Surfside Groove | Reception Entertainment: Sound Quest DJs | Equipment Rentals: EventWorks | Invitations: Charlotte + Lily | Nails: Dolce Lusso | Transportation: Myrtle Beach Golf Carts

Wedding Show Tips

Tips for Preparing for a Wedding Show!

Oh December.. A time for holidays, shopping, eating, sipping hot cocoa, visiting family and friends, and spreading the news of engagements!

While you are telling all of your family and friends the happy news, wedding vendors are preparing for lots and lots of wedding shows! Our company alone is participating in FOUR shows in just the month of January!

To get ready to meet all of you, we are diligently assembling packets, designing booth spaces, and preparing food. Through our years of experience at wedding shows, we have compiled a list of ways that brides and grooms can prepare themselves for the show as well. Enjoy!

Printed Labels

Seriously, I want to hug every bride that does this! Wedding Shows are full of excited brides and vendors that are chatting away. All of this talking causes a lot of noise and repeated questions. By pre-making mailing sticker labels with your details on it, reduces the time at each booth and ensures no mistakes in filling out forms. This gives us more time to talk about the fun details of the reception!

Include the Following:

*Name & Fiancé Name

*Phone Number

*Email Address

*Wedding Date

*Wedding/Reception Location: (if not known, just city location is okay)

*Estimated Guest Count

Create a Wedding Email

An email specifically for wedding communication is perfect to keep everything organized!  You can create a free one on many sites, such as gmail.

Dress Cute… but comfortable!

We know, we know, lots of photo ops at these events! But just remember you will do A LOT of walking and standing. Comfortable shoes are key to keeping you going without hobbling around.

Register Online

This not only secures you a spot at the show but also saves money!

Bring a Planner

…and when we say Planner we mean your wedding planner and your calendar! This is the perfect opportunity to set up meetings with vendors!

Carry a Notebook.. and your Phone.

Take notes on vendors you liked and reasons why. Feel free to take pictures too! This will help you when you get home and are trying to remember everything! Be prepared to receive an abundance of information over a short period of time.

Bring Your A-Team

…and leave the rest at home. These shows are PACKED with brides, grooms, moms, bridesmaids, families, etc. It can get hectic. Bring your team that can get everything accomplished and have a great time while doing so. We love meeting the cute kiddos in strollers but be advised that aisles are TIGHT and getting through with a stroller is as easy as pushing it through DisneyWorld. ;)

Don’t Eat Lunch

Be ready to taste a variety of food, desserts and cakes!

Have Fun!

We love getting to meet all of you at the show! For many, this is the first step towards planning a magical day so make it fun! We can’t wait to meet you!!!

Beauty & the Beast Inspired Style Shoot

We were honored to be a part of this style shoot with Genie Leigh Photography & Megan Masser Events! It was a lovely day at Atalaya Castle in Huntington Beach State Park. Chef Andrew prepared some amazing dishes pictured below... We also showcased a delicious hot cocoa bar perfect for Belle's winter wedding.

Enjoy the photos taken by Megan with Genie Leigh Photography:

See more on the following links:

Genie Leigh Photography: http://genieleigh.com/enchanting-beauty-the-beast-inspired-bride/

Megan Masser Events: http://www.meganmasserevents.com/blog/?p=228

Published by Brides & Weddings: http://bridesandweddings.com/blog/2017/2/17/beauty-and-the-beast-wedding-inspiration-styled-shoot

Planner & Designer: Megan Masser Events

Photography: Genie Leigh Photography

Venue: Atalaya Castle

Rentals: EventWorks

Decor Rentals: Martha My Dear Rentals

Flowers: EventworX Floral Studio

Food/Sweets/Hot Cocoa Bar: ART Catering & Events

Cake: Cakes by the sea

Dress: Coastal Knot Bridal Boutique

Hair & Makeup: Totally Chic Salon and Spa

Friends doing Vendor Jobs...

The average cost of a wedding in the United States is now at a whopping $25,200! Depending on the size of the wedding and the taste of the clients, this average can be high or low. We all have friends that are super talented, and some may even offer their services for the wedding. So what do you do when this happens?

It is very tempting to say yes knowing that by having a friend gift their time and service for your wedding will save you a lot of money. In most circumstances though, we would advise declining their offer in order to save you a headache closer or even the day-of the wedding.

For example, your best friend’s boyfriend has just started photography as a hobby and is really good at what he does. By saying yes, you are taking a chance that he will continue this hobby, that they will still be together the day-of the wedding, and that he will not enjoy cocktail hour with cocktails instead of snapping photos.

More often than others, we hear of clients that just want music played off of an ipod speaker to save money on DJ services. Please remember that a DJ does more than just hit the shuffle button on their playlist. They take time before the wedding to strategically plan out your event down to the exact minute of songs and announcements. Can the person that you are having control the ipod also emcee and make announcements in a professional manner?

We have found that there are too many "what ifs” with having friends do vendor jobs. What if your friend gets sick, what if your friendship is on the rocks, what if they have too many cocktails during cocktail hour, what if they are in the wedding, etc. If you are concerned with your budget, sit down and write it all out and seek advice from your caterer or planner on what vendors you can afford and where it is safe to cut corners.

Here are some suggestions of ways friends CAN help during a wedding:

·         Use their expertise at the rehearsal party or after party

·         Help you make decorations for the reception

·         Setup items on day-of wedding

·         Make or order food trays for getting ready the day-of

·         Help load your car with gifts at the end of the night

·         And most importantly, enjoy the celebration with you as a GUEST!

Featured in Bridal Beauty: Bethany & Joshua

We just adored this couple and we're so delighted to hear that their beautiful beach wedding was featured in Bridal Beauty! Click this link to see the article and more photos: Bethany & Joshua's Bold Beach Wedding.

Centerpieces Available

Do you have all of your event details wrapped up but still need a cost-effective way to decorate your tables? Take a look at the centerpieces we offer, with rental prices starting at just $5.00 per centerpiece! We have a variety of centerpieces available to rent, as well as signs. As always, we are here to help you with your event. Click this link to visit our Facebook Page Rental Album. 

What You See is What You Get! :)

Read Your Contracts

While coordinating your wedding, it is very important to leave no details behind. Make sure when signing contracts that you read all of the fine print and have someone else read over it too – whether that is a planner, fiancé, friend, parent, etc. When it comes to our contracts, we make sure that all details are listed including payment due dates, delivery information, menu items, staffing, and overall logistics. The day-of your wedding, make sure that you or someone close to you has all of your contracts and communication printed and organized in a binder or folder that is easily accessible. If any confusion arises the day of the event, you can easily cross-reference your notes to find where the confusion could have arisen from and how to fix it. So our word of advice today is to Read Your Contracts! :)

How much should I do for my own wedding?

The current buzz word in this industry is DIY! We have clients that want to do it all.  From table centerpieces, wooden signs, lighting, floral and all the way to purchasing their own china or plasticware. So how much should you do for your own wedding? Well that is a question of how much time and money you want to spend on these items; and do you really want 100 votive candles, 150 sets of china, 20 round soiled linens, 100 glasses, and numerous boxes of plasticware leftover at the end of the day? Or even worse, run out during cocktail hour! We want your day to be absolutely perfect so after witnessing a few embarrassing moments of our clients we wanted to take a moment to share some thoughts…

First of all, we adore DIY weddings! They have so many personal design aspects to them that you can always see the couple’s personalities shine through. Designing your own wedding or collaborating with a planner to create those special touches always turns out beautifully. Thanks to Pinterest, brides have many DIY options to choose from – almost too many! However, when it comes to the essential items, we suggest leaving that part to the professionals.

As Caterers that have been in this industry for over 10 years, we have found that clients that decide to purchase their own plasticware typically run-out of at least one item – maybe they forget to buy extra forks for cake or small plates for rolls/dessert, etc. We did a cost analysis for our clients and actually found that it only saves the average event approximately $20 for us to provide your plasticware verses you purchasing it, storing it, and delivering it. Couples that want to provide their own food and beverage can run into all sorts of day-of issues (this requires another blog post). We have even seen groomsmen hanging lights, moms assembling flowers, and uncles mixing cocktails the day of a reception! This is a time when everyone in the wedding and wedding party should be enjoying themselves and savoring every moment! Leave these essential details to the professionals! J

We suggest that you work closely with all of your vendors and find out what they can provide for you, and let them. As professionals in this industry, the vendors at your wedding work as a team to ensure that you have a seamless event. When it comes to detailed DIY weddings & events we encourage you to put your own personality into your event! We want your guests to remember all of your amazing DIY touches and not that you ran out of a certain item, dish or beverage. J