Real Wedding Follow-Up: Caroline & Keat, Part 4

Posted by Caroline Crown, whose wedding is featured in our Fall issue

Yesterday, I mentioned the Palmetto tree and crescent moon as recurring icons throughout our weekend-long destination wedding.

In addition to appearing on our guest bags, the logos also showed up on our groomsmen as cufflinks. The gift itself was somewhat of a no-brainer, but they’re kind of the perfect gift for guys. We had the jeweler who made our wedding rings customize a pair of cufflinks for us: one cufflink was the palmetto and the other was a crescent moon.

Photography by Bryan Johnson and Caleb Chancey

I have to say that thinking up the perfect bridesmaid and groomsmen gift was difficult for Keat and I. Our wedding party of 24 was a mix of brothers and sisters, childhood, high school, college, and work friends! We wanted to thank each person with a creative and thoughtful gift that showed how much we appreciated them standing beside us on our big day. And the bridesmaids’ gifts were a bit trickier. After all, I was already forcing my 12 friends to wear white in November (tomorrow’s post!), which is not exactly ideal. Finding a creative and thoughtful gift for 12 very different personalities was a bit of a challenge.

Since I knew it was going to be chilly on the day of the wedding, I got each bridesmaid a navy pashmina. Not exactly mind-blowing, I know, but I didn’t want them to be cold! My next gift was a product that was introduced to me by one of the fabulous celebrity makeup artists I worked with while at Chanel. By Terry Lip Balm is the most luxurious and perfect lip balm. It looks great on everyone, but with a price tag of $65, it’s not something you would necessarily buy for yourself. By gifting the By Terry Lip Balm, I was able to share something I loved with the girls I loved! The final part of the bridesmaid gift was treating them to blowouts the day of the wedding. Again, the least I could do for making them wear white with me!

What are you doing for bridal party gifts?

Real Wedding Follow-Up: Caroline & Keat, Part 2

Posted by Caroline Crown, whose wedding is featured in our Fall issue

 
Photography by Bryan Johnson and Caleb Chancey

Yesterday, I shared some of my planning tips when it comes to destination weddings. I was lucky enough to work with Calder Clark of Blue Moon Events and thought it'd be nice to share some additional tips straight from a pro. Here are some things that came into play when planning my wedding, which will help any of you getting married in the colder months when there's a chance of rain, snow, and chilly air. Here's what he had to say.

1. Have a Plan B that you actually like!
A simple no-nonsense rain plan involves reserving a ceremony (and/or dinner!) backup location, or putting a tent on hold with your venue or local rental company.

Saturday, 11.29.08, when Caroline & Keat got married, turned out to be a gray, rainy day with a dampness and a chill that we were determined to overcome. Plan A was a ceremony outdoors in the centuries-old Octagonal Gardens at Middleton Place. A few days out, we watched the forecast and made a bold decision to move the ceremony indoors to the Pavilion, which we had on hold as a rain backup for the ceremony. The beauty of our Plan B is how seamlessly it unfolded. We had long ago planned to flood the back-up venue with an abundance of varying votive light for warmth and drama. The simplicity of hanging hundreds of votives from the beamed ceiling resulted in a breathtaking scene as the guests filed in from their trolleys, happy to settle into a lovely environment. Remember: Spontaneity can be a plus!

2. Pretend You're a Guest
When worrying over a flawed design idea, event flow sticking point, or concern over guest comfort, we often ask ourselves: 'What would I feel like if I were a guest, walking through this wedding?' Here, we did the same thing. For starters, we bagged up gigantic piles of fresh towels for toweling off anything that needed drying. Secondly, we invested in plenty of nice, white golf umbrellas big enough to cover 2-3 heads at once. Next, we arranged for staff to be on hand at every step to play "personal umbrella holder" to guests stepping across the plantation grounds. (Think P. Diddy!) Lastly, we dropped down tent sides and added canon-blown heat to the dinner tent in lieu of the unsightliness and limited reach of mushroom heaters.

3. Play "shepherd"
We are often asked if transportation is necessary, as it can pose a financial and logistical challenge to brides planning for their big day. Destination weddings come with their own layers of presumed modern-day etiquette, including the notion that rental cars aren't necessary and guests will be shuttled to/from each and every function. While this isn't always feasible for each and every bride, it is certainly something to remember to aim for when budgeting for the big day. When possible, planning to shuttle guests about town in a streamlined fashion can be the element that makes them feel completely confident and secure in their enjoyment of the evening.

Transportation provides an automatic safety net if guests over-indulge. Secondly, it assures the timeliness of the event's agenda, as guests are "captive" for the most part, and planners and other professionals can ensure a speedy arrival and departure. Lastly, it is that special touch that very well may cap off a guest's entire perception of how well-received he or she has been for the wedding weekend.

For Caroline and Keat's wedding weekend, we had a lot of fun utilizing several different local vendors to "shake up" the way guests were moved about Charleston each day. On Thursday night, we deployed sleek black sprinter vans to move them in style. On Friday night, we used a bevy of British black cabs to/from the William Aiken House. On Saturday, we lined up old-fashioned trolleys to take them on the 45 minute trek to Middleton Place.

4. Welcome them with Local Flavor
We worked closely with the families to plan for darling little welcome bags aimed at introducing guests to Charleston. Caroline will be talking about all the goodies inside tomorrow!

Real Bride: Caroline & Keat, Part 1

Posted by Caroline Crown, whose wedding is featured in our Fall Issue

Photography by Bryan Johnson and Caleb Chancey

Just about a year to the day of marrying husband Keat, our wedding -- part Thanksgiving feast, part destination wedding, and fully a weekend celebration of all of our nearest and dearest -- appeared in the pages of Martha Stewart Weddings. Thanks to the help of an amazingly talented wedding planner, and my wonderfully loving and helpful mother and mother-in-law, we had such a memorable wedding, welcome dinner, and Thanksgiving for 70. So, with my first anniversary looming and much to be thankful for, I'll be here each day until Thanksgiving sharing some additional tidbits you didn't see in the magazine.

First topic of discussion? Planning tips!

I think most women who have planned a wedding would agree when I describe the process as the perfect mix of fun and stress. And if you’re planning a destination wedding, you get double the fun and double --  maybe triple -- the stress!

Expert Advice: Robert Verde on "Sculptz"

Posted by Darcy Miller, Editorial Director

I recently attended a Sculptz event hosted by style guru Robert Verdi. As everyone knows, there are many of these body "toning" products on the market, but my friend Robert says he swears by these. And so do all the big celebs he dresses for the red carpet—he says of all the products out there, these are the only ones his clients find comfortable and not itchy. Here's what Robert had to say about the art of getting undressed.

Darcy: How do you feel about wearing hose with open-toe shoes?

Robert: It depends on how you wear it, but it can be really chic! I love nude fishnets paired with open toe shoes and a mini dress.

D: What do you say to the girl who's wearing a body-hugging silhouette but finds thongs uncomfortable?

R: There's only one other option, girls: Go commando!

D: What's the hottest trend in come-hither lingerie?

R: It's all about Mad Men, pin-up girls, and old-fashioned seduction. Garters and stockings have never been hotter.

D: What are your thoughts on the garter belt tradition?

R: I'm not a huge fan of it, really. Nobody can ever see what's going on, and the right guy never catches the garter. Plus, it's all about the legs. If you don't have GREAT legs, you should probably steer clear of this tradition.

D: Any advice for big-chested girls wearing strapless dresses? What's the best way to avoid that squished boob look?

R: Wear a smooth cup, underwire, strapless bra and get the dress just a little larger so the bust fits appropriately, then alter the rest of the dress so that it fits the rest of your body.

 

Jean P. Vernor President & CEO of Sculptz and Robert Verde

Tune in to the Martha Show this Friday, November 20th, to see Robert sharing more tips!

Expert Advice: A Conversation with Preston Bailey

Posted by Darcy Miller, Editorial Director

I've known Preston Bailey for a long time. Not only is he one of the kindest people I know, but he's also one of the biggest talents in the industry. (He even has his own stationery line available on his website.) His events are over-the-top amazing and any bride is very lucky to have him on her side. Here's what he had to say about wedding planning over the years.

Darcy: What’s the most unusual thing a bride has ever requested?

Preston: The most unusual request ever made by a bride was to have an all black wedding, including her gown. This is not the typical color brides choose, but all that may change; there are many darker hues that add lush depth and sensuality to your celebration and can replicate the dramatic effect of black.

D: What’s harder to plan for: a huge wedding in the city, or a small wedding
on a remote island?

P: It's harder to plan a wedding on a remote island because you have to be ready for Plan B in case the weather doesn’t agree or operational logistics are handled differently. With small islands, sometimes it’s a real labor of love just getting there. And you must always be informed of the various customs and laws that exist on different islands.

D: What’s your biggest piece of advice for destination brides?

P: Make sure the destination offers beautiful décor to complement the natural surroundings, and the service should be key.

D: What’s your secret for calming nervous brides?

P: I always try to remind brides to be in the moment and not worry about the little things. Love should be exciting, and this moment, the symbol of her love, should be very exciting, too!

D: What do you predict will be the biggest wedding trend in 2010?

P: I think brides are interested in more casual receptions, whether that means smaller in scale or fewer guests, and this isn't necessarily a huge change. Opulent settings are never sacrificed when it comes to a smaller party—the grandeur is all in the details. 

Event Planning: Vegetable Details

Posted by Matthew Robbins, Contributor

Table numbers and menu cards are often an afterthought, but they can really bring a magical and finishing touch to your table design. Take this fabulous wedding, for example.

It was held at Blue Hill Stone Barns, one of my absolute favorite venues and restaurants in New York. The bride worked with Ceci NY to design these wonderful menus and table cards. We all wanted to avoid the typical table number—for creative reasons but also to save space on the table—and the bride is a bit of a foodie, so the final and perfect idea was to use garden vegetables to "name" each table. Ceci printed different garden vegetables on a simple band meant to wrap around a menu set at each place setting, so if you were seated at the Butternut Squash table, you could very easily walk around the dining room and find ten of these bright vegetables marking your table.

It was also just so much more fun and perfect for the venue. Blue Hill is famous for serving the most exquisite and delicious food straight from their own garden, so the vegetable theme was very appropriate. If you want to try this on your own, click here to download a menu card template online from Martha Stewart Weddings. This is one more great link for table number ideas.

What are your ideas for finding original table number and menu card presentation ideas?

 

Each table was uniquely vintage-inspired. We used zinc tabletops, and copper and wood accents. I love the contrast of each table surface with the different menus and place settings.

Real Weddings: Style Me Pretty Collaboration Goodness

Posted by Shira Savada, Real Weddings Editor

BIG news everyone.

This month you’ll start to notice some tweaks in our blog posts, including our real weddings. Instead of just one a month, I’ll be bringing you one a week!

Even more exciting? We’re partnering with Abby from Style Me Pretty, who will be hosting one special real wedding here the second Tuesday of each month. Beginning next Tuesday, she’ll be sharing a great wedding and then we’ll be linking back to her site the following week for even more images. Now that's something to celebrate!

Decorating with Color

Posted by Matthew Robbins, Contributor 

During a recent drive upstate, I was so inspired by the beautiful Fall foliage. After all, there's nothing more beautiful than a glowing autumnal yellow foliage against a moody blue-gray sky—the contrast is incredible. Though this year the leaves aren't as intense as years gone by, they are still delivering some wonderful hits of blazing orange, red, and vibrant yellow.

All of this Fall color reminds me that a clear color palette is often all you need to pull a room or an event together; in fact, if your color palette is really well thought out, you don't even need a theme for your wedding.

Here are details from a recent cocktail reception we put together. As you can see, we pulled the vibrant sunset tones into as many details as we could. The flowers, of course, featured blazing orange and deep red orchids. The linens were in a more muted, persimmon tone, and the candles were all in a beautiful juicy red and citrus palette. Even the specialty cocktails were in a golden amber glass, and the actual drinks were a delicious caramel tone as well. We created several lounge areas with dark chocolate leather ottomans and accent cushions featuring all of these beautiful colors.

Remember to use color as a tool for adding a finishing touch to your wedding. Do you have any challenges with using color? Let me know if I can help!

All photos by Mel Barlow

Vibrant vanda orchids on persimmon table linens.

Even the stemware had a warm amber tint to it, and the wait staff worked with the color palette (notice the necktie)!

Blazing red and orange candle holders were perfect on the bar.

We even used the lounge furniture and accent pillows to pull the color palette into every detail.

Grace Bonney's Cake

Posted by Shira Savada, Real Weddings Editor

Welcome to the eleventh and final post in our behind-the-scenes series about Grace and Aaron's wedding. I thought it'd be fitting to end on a sweet note, and thus, we conclude with a few words on the cake.

Photo by Tara Donne.

Grace: Cheryl and Katie were two people I always knew would be involved in the wedding in some way. They’re both incredibly talented and the sort of people that are perfect for an event like this: calm, caring, and totally creative.

I pretty much left the cake in Cheryl’s hands. I had so much to do with the other wedding details that it was nice to give her some general direction (I like stitching details, things that feel vintage, green and white) and let her run with them. That way, the final product was a nice surprise. It was so cute that I wanted to freeze it and take it home in one solid piece.

And Katie was so much fun to work with. We'd actually never met in person and got the chance to hang out a few days before the wedding because we spoke on the same panel at SCAD's style week. I love the way she mixes vintage trimmings into her work and thought that would be a fun way to think about the cake decorating and topper. She found a beautiful vintage paper cake topper on ebay pretty quickly, and I loved it right away. When it comes to people like Katie and Cheryl, I trust their taste and enjoy letting them come up with ideas on their own.

Grace Bonney's Bar Décor

Posted by Shira Savada, Real Weddings Editor:

There's only one more post to go in our behind-the-scenes series about Grace and Aaron's wedding. Since this is the penultimate post, we're talking about how Grace spiced up the bars for her pre-ceremony sweet tea service and post-ceremony cocktail hour in the square.

Grace: Erin’s garlands were one of my favorite things about the wedding. When we initially spoke about creating some sort of paper-based artwork for the wedding, she had so many grand ideas that I was excited to implement. But then we realized we probably needed to scale it back some in case of bad weather. I didn't want to attach any paper products to trees and buildings if they were going to get ruined in the rain. So instead she made these phenomenal paper flower garlands that mixed all sorts of gorgeous papers and fabrics together, topped off with vintage button centers. I still have them sitting around the house and can't bring myself to put them away because they are too beautiful.

Erin: We toyed with many ideas and scenarios all based around Grace’s lovely collection of inspiration. The idea was to keep it inspired by its historic Savannah location but also to include that modern element. Our initial plans were very different; we first leaned towards a series of large-scale installations, including vintage and antique chandeliers hanging from the trees and long ombre banners made from feathers. Through the collaboration, our plans evolved into an edited, much simpler series of pieces—the paper garlands and monogrammed chalkboards. We love them because they carry that sense of tradition—antique button centers embody that sense of time and history—with a contemporary twist, thanks to the paper construction.

Here a photo of me in action constructing the paper flowers, plus a few more of the different stages of crafting: