Real Wedding: Erica & Christopher

Picture the most adorable couple.  Combine that image with a gorgeous modern wedding.  What do you get?  The amazing wedding of Erica and Christopher!  (Not much of an intro, I know.. but seriously, I am in love with this couple!)  This was my first wedding with The Graceful Host of Charlotte, NC.  Heather, the lead planner and owner, worked with the couple to give them a truly amazing wedding.  Both Erica and Chris are transplants in Charlotte (who isn't?!), originally from Pittsburg.  They wanted to have a wedding in Charlotte to embrace their new home.  The theme was all about clean lines and no fuss.  The bride chose shades of white, gray and green, which looked stunning in the venue location.  The couple had a traditional Catholic ceremony at St. Gabriel's Church off Providence Rd with a reception at the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte.  If you've ever been to the Mint, you know that it is a great location; It truly is a blank canvas that can compliment any event.  The caterer was La-Tea-Da's Catering.  One word... YUM!  The cake was just as delicious as it looks from WOW Factor Cakes.  And, of course who can forget the gorgeous centerpieces by Melanie of New Creations Floral.
This couple was so much fun to work with; Heather and I had an absolute blast!

Credits:

Photography: the amazing Emily Renee

Venue: The Mint Museum

Coordination: the talented Heather Gear at The Graceful Host

DJ: Split Second Sound

Cake: WOW Factor Cakes

Florist: New Creations Floral

Catering: La-Tea-Da's

Makeup/Hair: Who's The Fairest

Destination Wedding: New Orleans

It's official!  In one year from today (actually 366 days, since 2012 is a leap year... but who's counting?!),  Todd and I will be getting married!  To celebrate the fact that we are finally a year away from our big date, I want to share this adorable New Orleans destination wedding.  The church, Holy Name of Jesus on St. Charles Ave., is the same one Todd and I will be married in.  The venue used by this couple is the New Orleans Board of Trade.  It is a gorgeous venue in the french quarter with a little courtyard and fountain area, in addition to a ballroom like space that makes up the main venue.  And, good news for future New Orleans brides -- its been renovated recently!  Now, I will not be using the board of trade because I wanted to have a reception in Audubon Park, across from the Church.

The couple, Yvonne and Dan, were engaged in New Orleans.  Since their families are spread out between California and New York they wanted to meet half way.  The yankee couple, so to speak, opted to follow a number of New Orleans traditions: 3 hour buffet style reception, big band, and a second line celebration during the reception.  Due to the short nature, they cut out a number of traditional wedding activities, such as cutting the cake, throwing the bouquet or garter, etc.  They did however take swing dance lessons and performed a first dance to kick off the celebration.  Being that every single guest was from out of town, having a fun-filled New Orleans style wedding was important.  Yvonne and Dan chose to have a small guest list of close friends and family from all over the US and other countries.

Without further ado, I'd like to share this sweet couple with you all.  Oh, and also....

ONE MORE YEAR TIL MY WEDDING!!

Okay, thats the last time.... until I have the need to shout it out again. 

    

The most gorgeous church you've ever seen, right??

Photography Credit: Ooti Billeaud Photography

Purple: The New Wedding Neutral?

Every wedding has a base color.  Navy, black, pink... and now there has been a surge of purple over the past few years.  Since each wedding is unique, the main color will change depending on the overall theme.  Like the other wedding neutrals, purple is a color that can translate into several different scenarios.  A deep purple can convey luxury in a formal ballroom setting, just like light purple is perfect for a romantic backyard ceremony.  Purple also goes well with other colors like nude, blush, blue, and moss green.  With so many options for this versatile color, do you think purple will dominate the 2011 wedding scene?

Viva Las Vegas

The family took a trip last weekend to Las Vegas.  It was so amazing to see all the beautiful hotels and experience Las Vegas first hand.  Plus, I walked away with $250 after playing Roulette for the first time... winning!  So, in the spirit of Sin City I present this stunning wedding from White Haute Photography.

Photos were taken on the grounds of the neon boneyard and Caesars Palace.  The groom, Javier literally came home from Afghanistan a week prior to the wedding and returned to duty afterwards.  White Haute Photography truly captured the spirit of Diandra and Javier's love.  The bride asked family and friends for broaches which she fashioned into her unique, glitzy bouquet.  Perfect for a Vegas wedding!  She received dozens and was able to create a gorgeous work of art.  

Enjoy :)

         

Why are June Weddings so Popular?

You've heard the phrase "June Bride" but do you know why June is so popular for weddings?  Since today is June 1, and we are entering the peek of wedding season, I had to stop and wonder why June is such a popular wedding month?  After I got engaged I knew I wanted to get married in June in New Orleans- as silly as that sounds, I stuck with my guns!  


To find the meaning of this tradition we once again look to the Romans.  And, as it turns out being a June bride isn't as romantic as we June brides would have hoped.  Leave it to the Romans to strip this tradition of any romance and have only practical meaning left in its wake.


Turns out Romans favored the month of June for weddings because that was the month dedicated to the observance of June, the Roman goddess of marriage.  You may be thinking, "Yeah, okay that makes sense.  So what's the big deal?"  Well, the Romans didn't stop there with their practical traditions.  June was also the ideal month for women to conceive a child.  If the woman conceived in June that would mean she could still help with the harvest.  A June conception would also mean she could deliver the baby and be back in shape just in time for the next harvest.  That is of course as long as a second bundle of joy doesn't come along in the mean time.  So for all you future brides: when considering your  upcoming wedding plans and how romantic a June wedding may seem, bear in mind  the real concern at the center of this tradition is getting the most out of you before you become pregnant and out of commission for a while!  Now that's romance, right? 


It was just the Roman who were concerned about the harvest; Cultures all over the world take harvest into consideration when planning a wedding.  All over the world wedding are still heaviest during the Summer months rather than the Fall.  Although the tradition for wedding season has stood the test of time within our culture, one tradition that has fallen by the way side is appearance of a full moon.  Both ancient Greeks and Romans believed the moon controlled future fertility and getting married under a full moon would favorably position the couple in baby making endeavors.  In the American wedding industry the idea of getting married under a full moon doesn't hold much weight, however the idea of letting the moon guide your future destiny is still practiced in other countries like Germany and Scotland.


Other traditions such as the day of the week or year to marry have also faded moving forward in the history of weddings.  Weddings today usually take place on Saturdays, but for most of Christian history Saturday was actually considered a bad sign.  An old Italian superstition says that a marriage performed on a Monday was "a sure route to having feeble offspring." (I had to quote that - It was too perfect a phrase to pass up!)  Friday used to be the traditional date for a wedding, however Saturday is more convenient for weddings now-a-days.  Another superstition surrounding wedding dates is for a Christmas wedding.  If you wanted to get married around Christmas, make sure it takes place close to Christmas Day; if you peer back into European history you will find few weddings that took place on December 28.  This date was considered a very unlucky day for a wedding because it was believed to be the day that Herod had all the children of Judea slaughtered in an attempt to ward off the arrival of Jesus Christ.


The next most popular wedding month you may ask?  August.  When I heard that I was shocked; Clearly this data does not come from Louisiana brides!  Consider that your wedding history lesson for the day.