There comes a time during every bride's wedding planning when she comes to a screeching halt and has nothing to do. You know what I mean: your vendors are booked, your venue is secured, your save the dates are in the mail, you have months before you need to mail your invitations, and you've already chosen your gown and selected your colors, flowers and bridesmaid dresses. What to do now?
My best advice is to make the most of this so-called "down time", and get some things done that you may not feel like doing, but that you'll be glad to have crossed off the To Do list once the final two months roll around and you feel as if the infamous list is absolutely endless. Let me give you some ideas for how you Summer (and even Spring and Fall) brides can make good use of all of these snow days and free time on your hands (never mind the presents you have to wrap and parties you need to attend...there's always time for those things!).
*Get a leg up on your ceremony programs. Select your readings, readers, and start mapping out the actual ceremony program. Set a meeting with your officiant. Get your "order of service" hammered out and start typing it up. Begin looking at different styles of ceremony programs and thinking about what kind you want to have. You may not need to print these until about a month before once everything is finalized, but this is the perfect time to get to work on a project that can be very time consuming. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to get the entire wedding party spelled correctly - not to mention the pieces of music!
*Choose your menu. Read magazines, look online, visit your caterer's website (and those of other caterers and venues as well) to glean ideas and inspiration. Even better, go out for dinner and get some great advice from your friend the foodie as to how to put together a tasty, seasonal, lovely menu that is appropriate for your budget and your affair. The last thing you want to be doing one month before your wedding is trying to decide whether to have asparagus or haricots vert, sea bass or salmon...you catch my drift.
*Along the same lines, get working on selecting your wine choices. If you don't know much about wine, there are plenty of people out there to help you. Visit your local boutique wine shop or wine bar and get talking to the gregarious and knowledgeable men and women behind the counter. After all, they've spent most of their adult lives studying and drinking wine and most importantly, pairing it with food. Use their expertise to your advantage!
*If you're having a seated dinner, get your guest list in order for your calligrapher. That means having a clean, easy to read spreadsheet of names for your escort cards as well as your place cards, if you are having those as well.
-For escort cards, you will need to have each couple's full name.
For example: Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Scott Beason.
-For place cards, you need to have each person's full name.
For example: Grace L.P. Beason (no pronoun necessary).
-If you are using a calligrapher, they may be able to give you a template from which to work.
-If you are using an online service such as placecards.com they will explain to you what they need from you.
-If you happen to be writing them yourself, you will need a clear and easy to read spreadsheet to work from.
-Make this list alphabetical. This will come very much in handy on the wedding day when people are trying to find their seats. Despite your hard work on creating your escort cards, some people inevitably need some direction and your "alpha" list will help your planner or catering director lead them to their table in a very quick and efficient way. This is a tedious and arduous process and you will be very glad if you have it finished long before the calligrapher (or whomever is writing the cards) needs it. It's never too early to start - once your RSVPs start rolling in, that is...
*You've heard this one before, but buy your wedding day shoes and wear them, wear them, wear them! I'm not talking about walking to work in them, but I am suggesting that you come home each day and wear them around while you are putting away your laundry, checking your email, or writing thank you notes (not while you are cooking dinner). The more you wear them (while keeping them clean), the more your feet will thank you on your wedding day. I don't care if you have the best made pair of Louboutins - they still hurt after 8 hours when they've never before met your feet. Trust me on this one!
These should keep you busy for at least a day or two! I'll come up with some more in the weeks to come. Not to worry, you won't feel any let down from the holidays with how busy you can keep yourself with your wedding planning. You'll be such an efficient bride, making such good use of your time. Martha - and her infamous To Do list - would be proud!
XOXO
grace
Shelley and Andy selected a long head table with the wedding party seated on both sides - 16 in total. It gave great balance to the room as well as variety, as all of the other tables were 60" rounds to seat 8 or 9 guests.
The chandeliers that were hung in American Tobacco's Bay 7 space especially for Shelley and Andy added a romantic feel and along with the specially installed up-lighting, created a warm and romantic mood. The Catering Company's fabulous decor team provided the chandeliers and additional draping.
The lovely cake from Sweet Memories Bakery tasted just as good as it looked. I was lucky enough to get a piece after a long day of running around! Donna Ford's sugary goodness gave me that last push I needed to stay full of energy throughout the evening.
The cloths look pale gold in these images, but were actually a beautiful pale green with circular details and the napkins and accents were a deep rust, as you can see here. The amazing floral centerpieces were done by Ninth Street Flowers.
Here's another shot of the tables and the room. The luxurious linens and beautiful chairs (as well as all of the other rentals) came from the fabulous CE Rental in Raleigh. DJ Brian Clonaris of EE Productions did a fantastic job keeping people partying, and The Catering Company of Chapel Hill was as always on their game and produced a flawless served dinner for nearly 200 guests.
These are photos from an October 3rd wedding we did in Durham at the Nasher Museum of Contemporary Art for a fabulous couple named Jessica and Shahid. They combined Chinese and Indian cultures and families to create a wedding that was colorful, classy, and downright FUN.
Take note of the Cerise Satin linens from CE Rentals in Raleigh....SOOOO luxe!
Fresh Affairs created bold and unusual centerpieces of gold painted Monestera leaves in tall vases. The look was minimal but oh so chic and stunning against the bright pink of the table tops. Places were set with gold napkins, bright green chopsticks and custom menu cards, and the gold chairs had coordinating gold seat cushion covers.
David Watson of Get Lit Lighting did beautiful uplighting around the room as well as Chinese lanterns in the center of the space over the dance floor. He topped is all off with a Gobo light on the dance floor of the Chinese symbol for "Double Happiness". Thanks to David for all of these photos, as well.
I will post more photos later so you can see the beautiful bridesmaids in their absolutely breathtaking jewel-toned Saris! Congratulations to Jessica and Shahid on a beautiful day and what I know will be a lifelong happy marriage.
I just received this beautiful photo from the fabulous Rachel Garrison of Tamara Lackey Photographers, taken on September 26th at the wedding of Caitlin and Kevin King at the Washington Duke Inn (images to follow!).