Technically, it’s Thursday. But we couldn’t wait until next week to show you this fabulous beach wedding we did in April!

Inlet Beach, Florida. April 2010. Absolutely gorgeous!

Yes, Southern Event Planners does travel! We love destination weddings, and we’ve done some in Miami, Costa Rica, and now we’ve added a quiet little town called Inlet Beach to our list.

Bill and Tressa wanted a simple, clean, beach wedding. They wanted to share their moment with 80 of their closest friends and family while having good food, good music, beautiful scenery, and an all around good time! Anna’s Veranda was the perfect venue – a fun, open, elegant beach house.

We did a lot of research for their wedding (asking for referrals is a must when you’re not a local planner!), and all of the hard work paid off! We worked with some amazing, professional vendors who knew how to have fun. Kate Crafton Photography captured some wonderful images and she was a blast to work with! Just take a look at this amazing wedding.

A friend of Tressa painted this cute sign to direct guests to the ceremony:

 

 

There was a long boardwalk leading to the beach, and Tressa wanted a place for guests to de-sand their feet after the ceremony. She had paint brushes and washcloths that they could use, and the two buckets would house the discarded cloths! She also had a basket of fans in case the guests were hot. Honestly, it was the perfect weather for an outdoor wedding!

Aisle markers lined the rows of white benches. They were a great touch and kept with the clean feel of a beach wedding:

A bamboo canopy set the tone for this simple ceremony. We didn’t need a lot of decoration because the backdrop of the ocean and the blue sky did it for us:

During the wedding ceremony, Bill and Tressa wanted to include Tressa’s daughter, McLain. They bought her a necklace and Bill gave a really beautiful speech about how much she meant to him and how happy he was to be a part of life. Afterwards, Bill and Tressa gave McLain the necklace and they officially became a family:

After the ceremony, all of the guests headed back to Anna’s Veranda for some tasty passed hors d’eouvres, drinks, a wonderful meal, and fun music:

The flowers and decorations were exactly what Tressa wanted. They were a cool blue with little splashes of a dark coral:

See what we mean about a beautiful wedding?! Congratulations to the new family:

Happy Planning!
Southern Event Planners
Memphis, TN Wedding Planners

“The Last Fling Before Wedding Bells Ring”

If you are a bride, hopefully you have creative bridesmaids that are going to throw you the best last hoorah of your single life. If you are a bridesmaid, it is time to ante up, step up to the plate and pull off an amazing night. After all, you are the chosen one that the bride, your best friend, picked. She has total faith in your abilities to stand beside her, support her, believe in her, listen to her, and put together her final single fling.

There are all types of bachelorette parties. It could be anything from a laid back, pamper yourself spa night to a full fledged weekend of debauchery. One word of advice, whatever you decide to do – do it with style and do it right.

Bachelorette Party Necessities -

1. Libation:
A bachelorette party isn’t complete without drinks! You can theme the drink, pick the bride’s favorite drink, or choose a drink to match the wedding colors.  

3. Activities:  
 If you’re having a local Memphis bachelorette party, Beale Street is always an option. There are numerous bars, places to eat, clubs, and neat little shops. However, there are brides and bridesmaids that aren’t into drinking or bar-hopping. You can have a day of putt-putt, batting cages, bike riding, playing kickball, or a picnic at Shelby Farms if you’re more active and like the outdoors. If you’re into the supernatural, there are tours of haunted buildings downtown. You could even have a cheesy Memphis tourist day where you hit all the typical spots: Graceland, Peabody Hotel, Beale Street, and Sun Studios.  End the day with dinner on one of the famous riverboats, and have fun laughing and talking with everyone! There are also several concerts and shows that come to Memphis, so you can plan your party for a night when John Mayer comes in town, or when the latest tour of Wicked hits the Orpheum!

4. Destination:
Having an night out on the town in your town is great fun, but a quick weekend escapade is surely the ticket for a swanky time. A few common destinations for the ultimate throw down are Las Vegas, NV and New Orleans, LA. But what if you just want a relaxing experience to ease the tension from all of the wedding planning? Napa Valley, CA could be your serene destination. In Napa Valley, you can explore the wineries via limo. After your see and sip, book a massage and facial at a local spa followed by a wonderful dinner at one of Napa Valley’s premier restaurants.

5. Picture-ization:
You can guarantee the paparazzi will be out in full effect to capture every moment of the evening, so why not end the party with one final gift? Take your favorite photo of the party gals, frame it and give to the bride and all the girls.

Kate and Joel were married near the end of July and they were an absolute blast to work with. Studio J Photography was there to capture some amazing moments.

The ceremony was held at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, and everything went so smoothly. It was a beautiful ceremony, and there were definitely a few tears that were shed. After they were pronounced husband and wife, guests went downtown to the Westinwhere they were met with some great cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. After mingling and watching a slide show of Kate and Joel’s memories, a buffet dinner was served.

Kate is in the Navy and they decided to slice the top tier of their “cake” with actual swords. It was great! Muddy’s Cupcakes had the guests coming back for seconds. The ice cream sundae bar was a huge hit. Once the guests had satisfied a sweet tooth or two, they danced the night away!

We continue to wish them all the best!

Happy Planning!
Southern Event Planners
Memphis, TN Wedding Planners

Tiffany and Dan were featured in the fall issue of Premier Bride. You can see the full article here. We loved working with them!

Tiffany had a great idea to remember the guests at her wedding: make a quilt. She had everyone sign square pieces of fabric instead of signing a guestbook. People could write messages and good wishes for the new couple. After the wedding, Tiffany was going to sew the squares together to make a keepsake quilt. It’s such a cute idea, and it’s something that can be passed on to their children and grandchildren.

The food was definitely something to remember. Tiffany decided to do food stations instead of the normal buffet. She had a Southern Station that featured baby back ribs, cheese grits, and a sausage cheese tray. There was also a Caribbean Station with Jerked Chicken Brochettes, Cuban Meat Pie (in empanada form!), grilled fruit, and of course, black bean and corn salsa with homemadechips. For the spicy food lovers, she had a Creole Station with chicken and seafood jambalaya, jalapeno duck poppers, and smoked catfish quesadillas. Guests were coming back for more all night long!

On to the pictures!

 

Happy Planning!
Southern Event Planners
Memphis, TN Wedding Planners

You have the location, the date, the shoes, and the dress. But what about the jewelry? It’s not in your budget to spend money on a precious necklace/earring set, so what’s a bride to do?!

Rent it!

We’ve discovered a company that rents a wide selection of beautiful bridal jewelry: Adorn Brides.

According to their web-site, here’s what you do:

1. Pick out the jewelry you like and check the availability for your wedding date.

2. Check out with your credit card and reserve the jewelry. Insurance is included in the rental price. A 5% security deposit will be held until the jewelry is returned.

3. They’ll call you a few days before your wedding day to confirm shipping information. The jewelry will arrive 2 business days before your wedding.

4. The first business day after your wedding, just drop it at any UPS location in the provided prepaid packaging. Once Adorn Brides receives the jewelry, the security deposit will be removed from your credit card.

It’s so easy, and you’ll look fabulous on your wedding day! Use this special promotional code and receive 20% off of your order (on top of all the other great discounts!):

Adorn Brides also just introduced Bridesmaids Sets! These jewelry sets are simple and elegant, so your entire bridal party can look fantastic.

There isn’t much more you can say about Elizabeth and Trent’s May wedding other than PERFECT.  Although there was a bit of rain that came thru right before the ceremony the skies cleared up and made for a great setting for a morning May wedding. We had the pleasure to handle the planning, the flowers and the decor. Elizabeth picked great colors, a great dress, and great locations.

On to the pictures courtesy of Ramblin Rose Photography, hope you enjoy and happy planning!

Happy Planning!

Angela
Memphis Wedding Planner
Southern Event Planners

Lauren and her Mom came to us about 2 months ago and they were looking for a little something different. She had everything done but the decor and flowers. Her colors and location were inspiration enough for us. Below is what we came up with for her spring wedding. We are so glad Lauren and her family decided to share her special day with us.

 

Enjoy and Happy Planning,

I know I haven’t been posting much this month, but hey what can I say, if you didn’t already know…IT’S WEDDING SEASON! What a way to swing into the season than to start with a spring brunch wedding. This past weekend, I had the pleasure of spending my Saturday morning with a great couple, Amy and Chris. Although the morning started off overcast and rainy, the sun quickly came out and kissed the day for them. Annabella with Asian Bees Photography took some amazing pictures and made the most of the misty morning.

Amy and Chris wanted a beautiful, laid back, intimate, yet elegant brunch reception. Without a wedding party, Amy was open to colors and flowers. She pretty much let me take the lead in suggesting the room layout and decor. Their one big thing that was, hands down from the start, mega important was…FOOD. After interviewing jonly three caterers, I knew we had a winner when, during the tasting, Amy told me it was “lights out good”. That is exactly what I needed to hear. With that, we reserved Wade and Company and worked with them to create a menu that provided the guests with many delicious choices to fill their bellies.

Another element that was almost as important as the food was the fashion. Amy had impeccable taste and it showed not only with her dress, but particularly with her sassy bronze Jimmy Choo’s, her custom made bronze leather and pearl wrap bracelet, and her smoky quartz earrings.  She also chose the fabric for the suit and tie Chris had custom made. They were hands down one of the most dashing dressed couples ever!

Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the wedding!

Nashville songwriters Jan Linville and Dave Tough wrote a wonderful song that can be played during the Mother/Son dance at your wedding. It’s called My Little Boy.

They sent us an .mp3 of the song to pass along to those who are interested. Contact us at weddings@southerneventplanners.com if you would like a copy of the song.

Here are the lyrics:

Sarah and John’s wedding was really special and intimate for them and their guests. After a touching ceremony at Hope Presbyterian Church guests enjoyed the frosty winter reception (even though it got up to 76 degrees that day) at Just Catering’s location inside Chickasaw Oaks Village. The space really transforms at night with all the twinkle lights. Just Catering did a great job on creating a menu that used organic winter vegetables and farm raised cornish game hens. 

The space was decorated with heavy silver beaded hand painted organza table linens. The centerpieces stood tall and proudly displayed snowflake swarovski crystals springing out as if they were frozen in place. The menu and placecards where designed with the tiffany blue color that had been selected for the bridemaids dress and the bride’s cake.

Sarah and John are avid horse fans both riding and competing since they were children. The crystal horse reflected their equestrian love as the sugar crystals glistened off of the Tiffany blue fondant covered cake. What winter wedding would be complete without a penguin on an iceberg serving host to the groom’s cake.

As the bride and groom exited the reception guests doused them with snow. Not the fake plastic snow…no this was wet and cold snow. Sarah got a head, and dress full, of snow as her father decided to take the entire bucket of snow and throw at them. Everyone died laughing, I had never seen such a drump of snow in my life. It was great fun ….. something that everyone will remember about Sarah and John’s winter wedding.

Enjoy the pictures!