May 2016 Archive

Mom vs. Planner | Winston-Salem North Carolina Wedding Planner

AnnaJack_055

Alexa’s Photography

I find that some brides are anti-wedding planner because they don’t want to hurt their mom’s feelings or step on her toes.  They want their moms to have a special role in planning their wedding and a planner could ruin that by taking over and replacing Mom.  This myth is absolutely untrue!  Truth be told, moms are pretty awesome. I absolutely love planning with my brides and their moms.. and in some cases, just mama!  Careers, grad school, babies, friends, soon-to-be husbands, and having a life can sometimes get in the way of planning a wedding. Enter Super Mom.  Here are some great ways to incorporate your mom into your wedding planning while also utilizing a wedding planner.  It will make both of your lives easier!

Meetings:  A wedding planner provides structure to meetings and walk throughs.  They have lists and information already laid out to talk about.  Bringing mom along to these meetings can ensure that her questions are answered and ideas are put on paper.  A lot of the guest list is invited by your parents so they can provide a unique perspective to make sure their guests are happy.  Most importantly, just simply attending these meetings helps Mom feel a part of the process even if she doesn’t have much to say (which is rarely the case).

Budget + Contracts:  Mom (and Dad) are typically footing the majority of the wedding bill.  Have your mom be the key point person to communicate with your planner regarding contracts, your budget, and payment reminders.  You won’t have to worry about paying things on time and bugging your parents because your planner has already sent a reminder email that a balance to the DJ is owed.

Design: Unless your mom is Martha Stewart or follows Style Me Pretty daily, she may be a little green around the gills regarding wedding style and design.  A planner can help you both bring your concept to fruition as well as provide a professional eye.  Orange and hot pink may seem like a great color scheme for you, but it may completely clash with your dark, old world style ballroom reception (which happens more often than not).  You planner will also know how to connect you with vendors and products that will work for your design and usually at a better rate.

Coordination:  This one is huge!  You do not want your mom running around like a mad woman folding napkins and arranging table numbers the morning of your wedding.  You want her right beside you to share every moment.  A planner can coordinate your day, manage vendors, direct your events, and make sure everyone is happy.. including mama.

Kind Words from the Bride | Salisbury NC Wedding Planner

Working with Sara and Alex was an absolute dream. They are two of the most kindhearted and wonderful people I have had the pleasure of working with. Sara was so sweet to share a note about her LPW experience:

Having Leigh as our wedding planner was definitely the best decision we made for our wedding! I am a very organized person, so I was skeptical at first if having a wedding planner would be worth while–but it was beyond worth it. Leigh is so professional, yet friendly and sweet and she is super organized, but flexible when things change. Her design plans lived up to every expectation I had and her continued input, suggestions, and ideas were more than I could have ever dreamed.

13243862_692891634147946_378907553615637929_o

Sara + Alex on their wedding day!

Anna Paschal Photography

The Belmont Estate Wedding {Sarah + Cedric} | Charlotte, NC Wedding Planner

This wedding will undoubtedly steal your heart like it did mine. Sarah and Cedric have a romance that has spanned the globe and we really took that idea to heart when planning the details of their big day. These two started their love story in France — Sarah was teaching for the summer before heading back to the States and met a sweet Frenchmen <<enter Cedric>>. Their romance blossomed and many travels and international moves later they were engaged and ready to plan a proper Southern wedding in Sarah’s home state of North Carolina. Sarah and Cedric selected the antebelleum style Belmont Estate in Reidsville, NC as the backdrop for their big day and we quickly got to work planning their big day!

Senter-409-Final Senter-16-Final Senter-62-Final 3

Sarah wanted to embrace the fall setting with a color palette of deep wine red, metallic gold, blush, and cream. The Farmer’s Wife created beautiful floral designs that really helped drive our color vision and balance the elegance of the estate with the natural, organic feel Sarah loves in flowers.

Senter-68-Final Senter-105-Final

A first look is one of my favorite moments of the wedding day, but is not always the right fit for every couple. Sarah and Cedric choose to do a first touch so they could say hello and calm some nerves without taking away from the first time they would see each other at the ceremony. So sweet!

Senter-124-Final

We decided to forgo the traditional flower girl and ring bearer roles and opted for flag bearers instead. Sarah’s adorable niece and nephew were the perfect duo for the job!

Senter-179-Final 19 Senter-186-Final Senter-207-Final

The grand front steps to Belmont are the perfect setting for a wedding ceremony. It was very important to Sarah and Cedric that their ceremony be as bilingual as possible so their mix of guests from the States and France could all understand and appreciate every word. Readings were said in both languages and the minister read their vows to them in English while Sarah and Cedric repeated them in French. It was so personal and touching.

Senter-220-Final Senter-249-Final

Southern elegance at it’s finest!

Senter-254-Final Senter-280-Final Senter-330-Final Senter-336-Final

I still swoon for this adorable amour cake topper! It was the perfect accent to the delicately iced cake. For our table design, we went for a balance of classic elegance and understated fall touches. The natural floral designs and warm pops of wine in the napkins and blooms were the perfect accent!

Senter-130-Final Senter-150-Final 15 Senter-151-Final

You cannot have a travel inspired wedding and not incorporate a globe or map! I translated their wanderlust into a glove for a guest book and this beautiful map with mini flag escort cards to guide guests to their seats. The map was my gift to Sarah and Cedric and now hangs in their apartment as a reminder to their wedding day.

Senter-279-Final Senter-423-Final Senter-473-Final

Sarah and Cedric’s love for travel and their worldwide romance really drove our design for the day from the Love Knows No Borders cocktail napkins (with gold foil!) to their gold metallic Madame and Monsieur chair signs to their Oui koozies.

Senter-476-Final Senter-580-Final Senter-558-Final

The best part of the night was by far the send off. We offered guests a mix of French and American flags to wave as Sarah and Cedric departed for their honeymoon. While we were finalizing the last few details before sending the newlyweds through a tunnel of their nearest and dearest, the guests began an impromptu sing along of the French national anthem followed by The Star Spangled Banner. It was so fun and sweet and definitely one of my top ten wedding memories.

Senter-592-Final Senter-599-Final

Sarah and Cedric, thank you for sharing your day with the LPW team and I! So glad to call you both as well as your families life long friends. XOXO

Featured on Style Me Pretty | Planning + Event Design: Leigh Pearce Weddings | Photography: Boonetown Story | Venue + Catering: The Belmont Estate | Floral Design: The Farmers Wife | Rentals: Partymakers | DJ: Complete Music | Bridal gown: Justin Alexander | Bridesmaid Dresses: Bill Levkoff | Cake: Delicious Bakery | Hair + Makeup: Carla White

Featured on Style Me Pretty | North Carolina Destination Wedding Planner

It is always such a treat to relive our clients’ events on our favorite blogs! Sarah and Cedric were featured on Style Me Pretty this week — hop over to see all their travel inspired details. Our full recap coming soon!!

adsfsd

 

Catering Options – Dinner Styles | Greensboro North Carolina Wedding Planner

855

Anna Paschal Photography

One of my favorite pieces of the wedding planning puzzle is working with my clients and their caterer to create a personalized menu.  Before we dive head first into menu planning, place settings, and the tasting, we must decide what type of food service will work best for the event.  There are so many different options available to give your guests a great culinary experience.  Here’s the skinny on the most popular options:

Plated: A plated dinner means that all guests are seated and servers bring out individual plates to each guest during each course.  Plated dinners add a sense of formality to an event.  They are a great option if you want the look of a full place setting.  With a plated dinner, assigned tables and seats are required if guests had an entree choice.

Family Style:  Family style meals are some of my absolute favorite.   Guests are seated and servers bring out large platters of food for guests to pass around their table like a family dinner.  This is a great way to break the ice with other guests at the table because you have to communicate.  What’s a better ice breaker than, “Can you pass the green beans?”

Buffet:  A buffet is a display of food in a public area where guests get up from their seats to serve themselves.  Great caterers know how to make a buffet look and taste amazing by utilizing interesting display pieces.

Food Stations: Food stations are separate displays of food.  Guests move around the space with small plates and pick and choose what they want to eat.  Stations can be chef attended (like a carving station), action (chefs cooking small batches on the spot), or self serve.  Each station can offer pieces of a full meal (one protein, one starch, one vegetable) or they can make up pieces to a whole meal that don’t have a typical “dinner” feel.  For example, you can have a mac and cheese station with multiple toppings, a carving station with assorted breads, and a salad and vegetables station.

Don’t forget about cocktail hour!  This is the first glance your guests get at your menu.  I recommend offering passed hors d’oeuvres during this time and the possibilities are endless.  In addition to your passed options, you can offer a cocktail hour only station that can range from a simple fruit and cheese display to an action station.  No matter what you serve or how you serve it, get creative!

Picking Wedding Vendors Is Like Dating | North Carolina Wedding Planner

 

263

Alexa’s Photography

When you first meet with your potential wedding vendors and creative partners, it is very similar to going on a first date. I know it sounds silly, but it’s true! I checked out EHarmony’s 5 Telltale Signs of Great First Dates, and it’s surprising how well they apply to your first fall-in-love vendor meetings.

Positive Anticipation: You know those little butterflies you feel before a first date? The thoughts of what might happen, what you should wear, and the hope that you two hit it off? All of these should be present before your first meeting with a potential wedding vendor. You may have chatted on the phone a few times and gotten a little bit of information about your vendor, but that first meeting is when everything comes together; it’s absolutely normal to feel a little nervous! Remember: just like a first date, your first vendor meeting is a time to feel each other out and get some more information. It doesn’t have to lead to a commitment – it’s all about finding that chemistry.

Relative Ease: Just like a first date, the initial minutes of the first meeting with your vendor might be a little awkward. Icebreaker conversations about shared acquaintances are completely normal, but as your meeting goes on, you should become more comfortable and relaxed. Meeting with a vendor should be enjoyable whether the two of you are chatting over coffee or sitting in an office. If you feel relaxed and at ease with the vendor by the end of your meeting, you may want to take the next step in your relationship.

Mutual Curiosity: When chemistry is present on a date or in a vendor meeting, both parties should be curious about the other. First dates are a time to discover information about the other person, tell stories, and ask questions and this is no different from a first meeting with a vendor. You should be chatting it up and getting to know one another. Pay attention to how they conduct the meeting and their attitudes and opinions – if their style jives with yours, they me be the vendor of your dreams.

Great Endings: Being reluctant to end a first date is a good sign, and the same can be said for a first meeting with a vendor. At the end of your meeting, you should feel excited and happy – but you may want to skip that goodnight kiss (ha!). If you’ve found the vendor for you, you should be eager to start the planning process with him or her.

Even Greater Follow-Up: Commitments don’t have to be made on a first date, and they don’t have to be made during a first vendor meeting either. If you had a great consultation with your vendor, or even if it turned sour, follow-up is crucial. Make sure to call or send an e-mail in a timely manner thanking them for taking the time to meet with you, and if you think he or she is the one for you, be sure to let them know. It’s a good idea to set up another meeting, or at least make it clear that you’d love to work with the vendor to make your big day as fabulous as possible.

If you keep these 5 great tips in mind as you pick your wedding vendors, you may just find that your next great relationship is only a meeting away!