"The Knot" North Carolina Featured Wedding

In June of 2011, the Bald Head Island Club was honored to host the wedding of Paul & Michelle, one of the largest and most extravagant weddings I've ever had the pleasure to witness, let alone, be a part of. To start with, the wedding was actually the third event of the week for this couple, having hosted a Welcome  Party on Thursday and a Rehearsal Dinner and Salsa Party on Friday. But they definitely saved the best for last!

Their all-star team of vendors included the phenomenal Salt Harbor Designs doing everything from bouquets and centerpieces, to linens, menu cards, invitations, lounge furniture, planning and day of coordination and so much more. And the result was absolutely stunning. 

There was food galore at this reception, starting at cocktail hour with a sushi station, raw oyster station and soup shooter station as well as several passed hors d'oeuvres.  

 The couple wanted to have everything on ice, so Salt Harbor worked with Ice Scensations out of Wilmington to create a custom soup shooter ice board, an ice carving for the raw oyster station and to top it all off, a ready to use Ice Bar.

Even the beer was kept "on ice."

I love, love, loved how Salt Harbor decorated the tables, using the neutral tones of the Ocean Room and adding in a mix of both tall and short centerpieces on a scattering of both long and round tables. It looked effortless when it was all complete, but in reality, those ladies really worked their tails off.

The couple had a formal 3 course plated meal following their cocktail hour. Dinner entrees were a duo plate of Pan Seared Red Snapper ala Veracruz, Medallions of Beef Tenderloin, served with Risotto Cake & Haricot Vert. Yum!

And the cake, wowsers. It flawlessly tied in with Salt Harbors florals and design. Work like this can only come from the boys at Flower & Flour. They are absolute geniuses, wielding spatulas and fondant like it ain't nobody's business.  

 It was one of the hottest days on record for the month of June, but those ice displays held up pretty well. And the Ocean Terrace has never looked more inviting.

Another one of their outstanding vendors was their band... Party on the Moon. If you've never heard of them or seen them perform, you need to check them out. They've performed for the past three years at Donald Trump's NYE party, at Eli Manning's wedding in Cabo and for Obama's Inaugural! They were so entertaining, it was hard for me to walk away and get some work done!

Paul & Michelle's wedding was featured in "The Knot" North Carolina magazine this year, which is why it's taken me so long to be able to share their pictures. But now that The Knot World has seen them, I can share them with you.

A special thanks to the always fabulous Millie Holloman Photography team for sending us these beauties! What would a wedding be without the pictures to help us remember all the little details and special moments? just a memory...

xoxo

The "Not-So-Traditional" Bridesmaid

For many people, the vision of a wedding day includes a big white gown, a black and white tuxedo, 5 or 6 (or 10 or 12) bridesmaids and groomsmen, all wearing identical dresses and suits. Of course there's a cake and flowers too, but we'll touch on that later. Today I want to talk about those bridesmaids.

For as long as there have been bridesmaids, there have been matching bridesmaid's gowns. It's the only time you can show up at a social gathering wearing the same outift as another guest, and not feel the urge to rip the linens off the tables just to cover yourself up, and head for the nearest exit. Matching bridesmaid dresses signifies to other guests that these girls are special, that they are part of the event. But in reality, getting 5 or 6 (or 10 or 12) bridesmaids to all agree on one dress style, shape, length, color, price, is like trying to get a tribe of monkeys to sing the national anthem on key.

Which is why this new trend of "not-so-traditional" bridesmaids gowns is a hit! There are many ways to make your bridesmaids stand out, without forcing them all into the exact same not so flattering gowns. So here's a few ideas on how to change it up: 

1. Same designer, same color -  different styles.  - This is what I decided to do when I got married this year. I wanted my girls to feel beautiful and given that they were spending some money on their dresses, I wanted them to be able to choose the one they liked best. So, we all looked around online (my girls were spread out from Seattle to San Francisco to Los Angeles to Phoenix to Raleigh to New York! So there was no group shopping trip in store for us!) We came to a group consensus that the J Crew line of bridesmaids dresses in the Dusty Shale color would be a good fit for what I had for my vision of the day, and the girls went about picking out their favorite styles.

Aren't they gorgeous? I mean, I may be biased, but I think my ladies are STUNNING! I told them to pick out their favorite color of shoes to go with the dress (I had hoped there would be a range of colors and surprisingly, they each picked out a different color. It was perfect for what I had envisioned.) I also told them to pick out matching jewelry to go with their shoes.

I love how it turned out... on top of being my favorite people in the whole world, my bridesmaids outfits were one of my favorite design elements at my wedding! (I'm sure they'd love to hear I'm referring to them as design elements!)

By the way, i have no idea what I found so hilarious at this moment... whatever it was, it was good! It was probably my fabulous photographer, Bambi Cantrell saying something hilarious... as usual.

2. Same color - any designer, any style.   One of my weddings in October of 2011 pulled this look off really well. The bride told her girls to pick out any cream/taupe colored, knee-length dress and I thought it turned out gorgeous. She didn't restrict them to any designer or any style, just gave input on color. Thank you to Rachel Barker of Millie Holloman Photography for this beauty!

3. Same designer - different styles, a few different colors - these are all in the J Crew line of bridesmaid dresses too. The bride picked (3) colors that complimented each other and her ladies chose the style that most flattered their body shape. Love it!

4. Choose a color (such as blue) and let your bridesmaids find a dress within the blue range. Some may choose the lighter baby blue shades while others may go for turquoise.  This works best when you try to stay in the same range of colors.

5. Same dress, same color - varying lengths. (perhaps the Maid of Honor wears the long version while the rest wear short, ) like this May of 2011 wedding we had at the club. PS - this bride... is one of the classiest, sweetest girls you'll ever know. Love her. And thanks to Kellie Kano for the gorgeous shot!

 or... same style, same length, but Maid of Honor wears a different shade like this October of 2011 wedding we had at the BHI Club. And PS - Brynn's wedding gown was one of my all-time favorites. And nine months later she popped out the cutest baby boy from that little bod. And FYI - she's back to that tiny little bod. Yes ladies, we can be jealous. Thanks to the ever fabulous Rachel Fesko for capturing this image!

6. Any style, any color, any designer - Try something new like having all the bridesmaids wear different dresses but matching shoes. Love this! Especially with the varying textures and patterns of the dresses. Very cool.

7. Same length - any color, any designer. - Tell the girls "Pastels" and you get this beautiful look:

Or say "Jewel Tones"  like ruby red, emeral green, royal blue (think Carrie Bradshaw's wedding in SATC - the movie!)

The one size fits all bridesmaid dress of years past doesn't work for everyone. So get creative. See what you come up with. I'm sure your bridesmaids will thank you for it! Happy dress shopping ladies!

xoxo

Upcoming Wedding Trend - 1920's Era is going to be big!

The "vintage" theme was everywhere you looked in 2012, with several variations attempted on this very general idea. From the eclectic collections of antique dishware for place settings to the myriad of decor items; classic novels giving centerpieces height, mason jars as vases, silhouettes in everything from invitations to menu cards.  

But in the coming year, vintage seems to be narrowing down to specific decades, the 1920's and 1930's in particular. Designer wedding gowns are more loosely-fit, slimmed versions, reminiscent of the flapper style dresses so prevalent in their time.

And headpieces are no longer oversized floral clips, or simple birdcage veils. They are bejeweled, they are feathered, they are lace and crystals and pearls and bandana. 

deep V's are big, both in the front and in the back.

In a word (or two) Glamour-puss.

 Wedding Trends always follow Hollywood, and with the forthcoming Baz Luhrman movie "The Great Gatsby" set to release in May of 2013, popular TV shows "Downton Abbey" and "Boardwalk Empire" still hitting strides with audiences nationwide, the 1920's -1930's trend is sure to be big this year.

 

There are several other twists on trends coming up over the next 12-18 months which I'll detail out over the next week. Exciting things are coming to the wedding industry... can't wait to see it here at the BHI Club!

Thank you 2012!

It's been a long wedding season, but I am happy to report that it was certainly a special one! Not only did we host some of the most beautiful, unique, touching, elegant, extravagant, intimate, decked out beyond belief weddings I've ever seen, I also made some wonderful friends. Girls I won't ever forget, brides who put their trust in me and the club that we would do our part to make their wedding dreams come true. I am so grateful to have played a small part in so many of these ladies once in a lifetime moments, and so today, as I venture back onto the BHI Club's long lost blog, I want to say thank you to our brides & grooms of 2012. And here's a quick peak into some of these fabulous couples & their weddings!

Ann & Tim - June 30, 2012

Haley & Trevor - June 10, 2012

Bart & Holly - April 21, 2012

Jenny & Chase - June 9, 2012

Laura & Joe - May 19, 2012

Lauren & Scotty - May 5, 2012

Megan & Tom - June 16, 2012

More to come soon! And thanks to Anne Liles Photography, Scott Piner Photography, Blue Sky Photography, Theo Milo Photography, Elizabeth Pence Photography and Ryan Smith Photography for providing all these beautiful images! xoxo