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!

All brides, regardless of your current planning stage. This seminar is designed to help with every aspect of planning a wedding: budgeting, hiring vendors, design, etiquette, menu selection, timelines, guidelines, and Do It Yourself projects. We know that wedding details are stressful, and sometimes you have more questions than answers. 

This is an open forum designed to educate brides so the wedding planning experience is a positive one. You can meet other local brides, discuss plans, share stories, and of course, ask questions. It will be a few hours of fabulous girly fun!

A 2 hour question and answer session, a 30 minute personal consultation to ask any questions you may have with one of our planners, a bridal swag bag, cake, food, drinks, a wedding checklist/timeline, and planning questions to ask your vendors. You also have the chance to win one of the 15 amazing prizes listed below. This is a $450 value, not including the prizes!

The seminar will be held inside the Chickasaw Oaks Village shopping center on March 8, 2009 from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. Registration and sign-in for the seminar will be at Southern Event Planners , Suite 18 from 12:30 P.M. to 1:00 P.M.

To ensure that each bride receives personalized attention, space is limited to 30 brides. This seminar is for brides that are serious about receiving wedding planning advice from a professional wedding planner. This is not a meet and greet open house with vendors trying to sell you their services. You will not be pressured in any way.

 If you would like to attend the Secrets to a Successful Wedding Seminar, you can call us at (901) 757-9339, email us at: weddings@southerneventplanners.com or stop by our store in Chickasaw Oaks Village at 3092 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38111.

 The cost of the seminar is $100. A 50% deposit of $50 will be due by March 4, 2009. Once we receive your deposit, you will be sent a receipt via email or fax, whichever you prefer. This will ensure that your space is reserved.

 

It’s amazing to hear that over $120 billion per year is spent in the wedding industry. That is a significant share of the market in this economy. When Southern Event Planners first went into business, over $20 billion made up the wedding industry. The past decade has seen a significant increase in revenue as well as an influx of wedding planners. It seems like everyone is calling themselves a “coordinator.”

When Jennifer Lopez starred in The Wedding Planner, she made the job look glamorous and fun. But in reality, being a wedding planner is a lot of  hard work, long hours, and not to mention the job of owning your own business!

Every week, Southern Event Planners receives numerous inquiries and resumes from people wanting to enter the wedding planning field. We want everyone to follow their dreams, and if your true passion is to own your own wedding planning business, as a wedding professional, we want to provide you with the proper tools that are needed.

We have developed a series of seminars that will educate and inform you of all of the areas of being a wedding planner. These seminars will cover every aspect of wedding planning, from the definition of a wedding planner to actually directing the wedding day events. If you are serious about starting a new career as a wedding planner/consultant, then these seminars are a must!

 The first two seminars in our series will be about starting your business and how to direct a wedding ceremony and reception.

Starting Your Own Wedding Planning Business

The first seminar will focus on the following:

• How to choose the name of your company
• Market Research: Your competition and target market
• Defining your niche
• Creating a fee schedule
• What services and/or products you will provide
• What legal forms, business records, and licenses you need to run a business

This seminar will be on March 5, 2009 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. Light snacks and drinks will be provided. Registration and sign-in will be from 5:30 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. before the seminar at Southern Event Planners inside the Chickasaw Oaks Village shopping center at 3092 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38111.

The cost of this seminar is $99 and it is limited to 15 people to ensure that each person gets the attention he or she needs. A non-refundable deposit of $49.50 is due by March 2, 2009 to reserve your space. The remaining balance of $49.50 is due the day of the seminar. We accept Visa, MasterCard, cash, or check.

 You Can be a Wedding Director

The second seminar will focus on the following:

• How to conduct an on-site check
• Creating a processional and recessional schedule
• Development of a timeline for the event day
• Handling hiccups on the event day
• What to include in an emergency kit
• How to direct a rehearsal
• What your job responsibilities are as a wedding director

This seminar will be held on March 7, 2009 from 8:30 A.M. to 2:30 P.M. Lunch is included, as well as an instructional book. Along with the knowledge of being a wedding director, you also have the opportunity to intern at an actual wedding, and upon completion of the seminar, you will receive a certificate.

Registration and sign-in will be from 8:00 A.M. to 8:30 A.M. before the seminar at Southern Event Planners inside the Chickasaw Oaks Village shopping center at 3092 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38111.

 The cost of this seminar is $249 and it is limited to 15 people to ensure that each person gets the attention he or she needs. A non-refundable deposit of $124.50 is due by March 4, 2009 to reserve your space. The remaining balance of $124.50 is due the day of the seminar. We accept Visa, MasterCard, cash, or check. 

You can call us at (901) 757-9339 for more information, email us at weddings@southerneventplanners.com, or stop by our store inside Chickasaw Oaks Village at 3092 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN 38111. If you would like to know more about our business or view our portfolio, visit www.southerneventplanners.com