It has been such a beautiful fall! I can’t remember a fall as beautiful as this ~ great for State Fair attendees as well as for weddings. On Saturday, I had a wedding at The Carolina Inn in the lovely Bryan Courtyard. It was a perfect day! The bride & groom were so happy to be surrounded by their loved ones and best friends. Lyn Graves of Fresh Affairs festooned the tree that serves as the backdrop with vases containing flowers and suspended them from long satin ribbons of different lengths. It created just the right visual...
read moreThe Sunday, August 12, 2012 New York Times, ran an interesting article about the trend of couples of have smaller weddings planned in a matter of weeks at their favorite beer garden or backyard. The article goes on to say that the recent wedding of Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan exemplified this idea when they married in their backyard with fewer than 100 guests and had two local restaurants caterer the affair. In fact, many guests didn’t even know they were attending a wedding until they arrived! While part of this is driven by...
read moreMore and more, brides are choosing bouquets that are not all white & cream colored. I love the photo here of my bride with pink flowers. Her gown is beautiful with lots of texture and detail, but even so the pink flowers do not detract from the gown but rather add to the overall look. It is a look of glamour and bling without being “too much” or “too fussy”. I just love this look. If a bride choses a bouquet with color, she can opt to have the bridesmaids carry bouquets in white or cream (perhaps with just a...
read moreI just did a fabulous wedding at BHI (photos to be put on website very soon). It was a beautiful Saturday in mid-May. A perfect day not a cloud in the sky. The weather was sunny, warm but not humid. It was the best kind of spring day. What a lucky bride. Actually, there were 2 (at least) lucky brides getting married on the island that day. One at the church near Old Baldy. Our wedding ceremony was outside at Old Baldy, the famous lighthouse that has stood on the island since the 1800′s. There are beatuiful magnolia trees and live...
read moreI was recently asked by a bride about the meaning of the wedding veil. After doing a bit of research, I found that there are many different theories. Some say that the veil was introduced in ancient Rome. People of that era believed that evil spirits would be attraced to the bride, so they covered her face with a veil in order to conceal her features and confuse them. Another theory is that in medieval times, the veil was used to protect the bride from the “evil eye” and was a symbol of purity, chastity and modesty. Others say...
read moreI want to tell you a little about me. I love good manners, writing thank you notes on elegant, personal stationery (no, not a thank you note emailed to someone), using my silver and china everyday not just for special occasions, fresh flowers on my desk, always dressing up, giving cocktail & dinner parties with interesting people and most of all, working with my brides! I know, I know ~ we live in a digital age and technology has become a way of life. I can’t help but think we are isolating ourselves to a certain degree. For...
read moreI just had a beautiful wedding at the lovely Umstead Hotel. We scheduled the ceremony for 6:00 PM so that the sun was lower in the sky and the lawn area where the ceremony took place was completely shaded. As we all know, North Carolina in August can be very hot and uncomfortable. After the ceremony, we had a bagpiper in full dress, lead the guests through the walkway by the lake up to the terrace for cocktails while the bride and groom stayed behind for photos. Once the photos were done, they joined the festivities. The bride was truly...
read moreOnce again I have had the pleasure of talking to the Wake Tech adult education course in “Wedding Event Planning” taught by my dear friend, Barbara Whitecross. Barbara was a highly regarded wedding planner in Bermuda and continues to do destination weddings to Bermuda from her Raleigh location. In addition, she is an accomplished interior designer. As always I was impressed by the quality of students in the course. These are women who have been successful in their careers but who are looking to start their own businesses. They...
read moreGetting ready for your wedding can be an emotionally draining time. With all that stress, I find that brides experience skin breakouts. With all the planning involved in their wedding day, the brides needs to focus on themselves too. I suggest a program of skin care that they can follow leading up to their wedding. Because no matter how good a make-up artist is, if your skin is not hydrated and cared for, no amount of make-up can cover that up. To that end, I recommend Arbonne, a Swiss skin care and make-up line that is pure, botanical,...
read moreWe are very fortunate to live in the USA. When I read all the events happening in other countries, it gives me a good appreciation for what we have and what we often take for granted. I wish all of you a safe and happy weekend.
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