May 2017 Archive

LPE named a finalist in The Best of the South Awards!!!!!! | North Carolina Wedding Planner

What an unbelievable surprise and honor! I woke up this morning to a cheerful email from my friends over at Southern Weddings with some great news.

Leigh Pearce Events has been nominated by YOU, our friends and family, as a finalist for one of the best event planners in the South! It is truly an honor to be nominated beside some of our nearest and dearest friends (#weddingplannerfriendsarethebestfriends).

Now we need YOUR help to make it to the tip top and bring this award home! We would love your vote at the following link .. you can vote once a day until June 9!

Thanks friends!!

VOTE: http://southernweddings.com/2017/05/25/best-south-wedding-awards-finalists-voting-day-4/

best wedding planner in the south southern weddings

Guilford Green Foundation Gala at Cadillac Service Garage | Greensboro NC Event Planner

The quote from the movie Gatsby, “A little party never killed nobody,” was definitely the heartbeat of this event theme. And boy did we party!

This was the second Guilford Green Foundation (GGF) gala I have had the pleasure of being a part of and to say it gets better every year is an understatement. The theme for the gala this year was Speakeasy meets Gatsby and I’ll say, I think we knocked it out of the park! From the downtown restored warehouse to the music to the flowing champagne, every detail was meticulously planned by the amazing committee and myself (shout outs to come!).

Before we get into the fun details and lively party, it is worth noting that the party was amazing but the cause in which we came together for was the true shining star. If you aren’t familiar, GGF creates unity through programming and philanthropy that advances equality and inclusion for LGBTQIA communities. In short, the gala raises thousands of dollars every year to support these organizations and programs and I am so proud to say that we exceeded our goal!!

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Event Design: Leigh Pearce Events | Photography: Katie Klein Photography | Catering: 1618 On Location | Venue: Cadillac Service Garage | Accommodations: Proximity Hotel | Floral Design: Plants & Answers| Musical Direction: Jessica Mashburn | Rentals: Southern Event Rental | Vintage Rentals: The Prettiest Pieces + Triad Stage | Lighting + Sound: Audio + Light | Paper: Party Chick & Paper | GGF Gala Planning Committee: Evelyn Day, Nancy Vaughan, Sarah Poole, Jessica Mashburn, Evan Olson, Tony Doles, Debbie West, Ivey Ghee, Sabrina Jones, Leigh Anne Kincaid, Stacy Calfo, Leigh Pearce and so many more!

**GGF Friends: If you want to see more photos from the gala, please visit http://www.enjoyphotos.com, and fill in the following information:

Username: GGF Gala 2017

Password: 14179

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Leigh Pearce is the owner and creative director of Leigh Pearce Events, a boutique event planning and design company specializing in luxury weddings and highly personalized corporate, social, and charitable events. LPE is based in Greensboro, NC, and serves Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Asheville, Wilmington, and the rest of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and destinations beyond with impeccable and exclusive event experiences. Connect with Leigh today at 336-552-5645 or [email protected] about your special event.

Featured: Best Wedding Planners in Greensboro | Leigh Pearce Events

What a treat! Expertise named Leigh Pearce Events one of the best wedding planners in Greensboro, NC. We are in great company as well .. love seeing some of our dear planner friends alongside! Thanks, Expertise!

best wedding planner in greensboro nc

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Leigh Pearce is the owner and creative director of Leigh Pearce Events, a boutique wedding planning and design company specializing in luxury weddings and highly personalized events. LPE is based in Greensboro, NC, and serves Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Asheville, Wilmington, and the rest of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and destinations beyond with impeccable and exclusive wedding experiences. Connect with Leigh today at 336-552-5645 or [email protected] about your special event.

The Best Southern Cities to Tie the Knot

I may be a bit biased, but there really is nowhere better to tie the knot than the Southeastern United States. The South has everything you could ever want in a wedding location – charm, hospitality, history, fun things to do, warm weather… the list is endless. It truly is the most magical place on earth! Today I’m sharing my three favorite Southern cities to host your destination wedding!

best southern city for a destination wedding

P.S. If you want some of my top tips and tricks for planning your destination wedding, you can find that right here!

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Charleston: No question. Charleston is without a doubt the Southern wedding mecca. And for good reason! Some of the most beautiful wedding locations in the country can be found within the Holy City. Not only are the wedding venues breathtaking, but the city has so much to offer in regards to your experience as a whole. Charleston has everything from an award winning food scene to amazing hotels to a variety of fun activities all a short drive from the beach. There is a reason Conde Nast has named Charleston the best city in the US multiple times.

If you are looking to say I do in the most magical of Southern cities, here are some of my favorites venues:

Lowndes Grove

Middleton Place

Boone Hall Plantation

pippin hill wedding

Charlottesville: If you love history, great beer, and music, Charlottesville is the perfect spot to say I do. The University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, calls Charlottesville home as did other founding fathers James Madison and James Monroe. If you are full on history but in need of a good drink, you can find a plethora of great craft- and microbreweries around town. Add in top notch street music and concerts and you have one picturesque wedding weekend.

If the home of Dave Matthews sounds like the perfect spot for your nuptials, these venues in and around Charlottesville are major eye candy:

Pippin Hill

Keswick Vineyards

Montalto

old edwards inn wedding planner

Highlands + Cashiers: These two mountain resort towns is just as luxurious as they sound. A short drive from one another, they feature some of the most beautiful venues this side of the Mississippi. Also within a few hours of Asheville, Greenville, or Atlanta, Highlands and Cashiers are easy for get away weekends with big groups driving in from a nearby city. This area of the North Carolina mountains offers hiking, fishing, golf, art life, and relaxing spa services. Truly something from everyone!

If this secluded spot sounds like your speed, you *must* consider these venues for your big day:

High Hampton Inn

Old Edwards Inn

Lonesome Valley

Opalacz-602

Anna Paschal Photography

Now that you know some of my favorite Southern cities for weddings, I would love to hear yours!! And .. spoiler alert!!! .. there are so many Southern cities that the LPE team and I love that there is sure to be a 2.0 version of this post sooner than later!

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Leigh Pearce is the owner and creative director of Leigh Pearce Events, a boutique planning and design company specializing in luxury weddings and highly personalized events. LPE is based in North Carolina and serves all of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and destinations beyond with impeccable and exclusive wedding experiences. Connect with Leigh today at 336-552-5645 or leigh@leighpearceevents about your special event.

Tips to Hosting the Perfect Destination Wedding

Destination weddings are SO much fun, but they can also be a lot of work and stress. Planning far away from the location you will tie the knot is a little extra work, but I have some tips below that will make life easier and the end result so worth it!

ideas for your destination wedding

1. Hire a planner: A planner will save you in so many ways. Stress, time, money, number of trips to your venue, and more. The value of a planner is a post for another day, but in regards to your destination wedding, a planner will be able to plan your entire wedding with ease allowing you to only deal with the fun decisions (like tasting cake!).

2. Plan ahead: Popular locations like Charleston are in high demand. Even if you aren’t ready to make the detail decisions (what your centerpieces will look like, what to serve for supper, etc.), go ahead and book your venue and vendors. This will get you on everyone’s calendars in advance and you can figure out the nitty gritty later.

3. Plan a trip: This isn’t always feasible especially if you are going to an international destination, but if you are able, planning a trip to your venue before the big day is a must. You can talk to the locals, host all of your appointments in a few days (think cake tasting, menu tasting, floral mock ups, planning meetings), and begin to picture how it will all come together. If you aren’t able to go in person, this is where a planner can also come in handy. For our destination brides, we have video calls, send pictures and videos of anything and everything, and fill you in on the details.

4. Create a wedding website: Every wedding can benefit from a wedding website, but with destination weddings, it is key to a great guest experience. Your guests need detailed information on hotels, transportation, flights, the weekend schedule, places to visit and more. Here at LPE, we find that our out of state or international guests will often not only visit for the wedding weekend, but also stay for an extended period of time. With the mountains and beach a short drive away, it is the perfect excuse to see all that North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and beyond has to offer!

5. Host multiple events: I know what you are thinking. But hear me out. There is so much stress, high expectations, and overwhelm surrounding the wedding day. It’s your one shot to get it right and have all of your family and friends in the same place. But if you host multiple events (think casual brunch, fun welcome party, etc.) you will have time to actually relax and enjoy your family and friends. Hosting all of these events at the same resort or in the same close vicinity to your wedding will make things easier when it comes to planning. And, of course, your planner will make all of this a breeze!

Do you have any great destination wedding tips? I would love to hear them! Share in the comments below and happy planning!

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Leigh Pearce is the owner and creative director of Leigh Pearce Events, a boutique wedding planning and design company specializing in luxury weddings and highly personalized events. LPE is based in Greensboro, NC, and serves Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Asheville, Wilmington, and the rest of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and destinations beyond with impeccable and exclusive wedding experiences. Connect with Leigh today at 336-552-5645 or [email protected] about your special event.

Featured On Carats & Cake | Greensboro North Carolina Wedding Planner

What a fun treat to see Olivia and Scott’s lovely Summerfield Farms wedding on Carats and Cake today. Hop over to see the feature here!

Greensboro North Carolina Wedding Planner

Photo: Anna Paschal Photography

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Leigh Pearce is the owner and creative director of Leigh Pearce Events, a boutique wedding planning and design company specializing in luxury weddings and highly personalized events. LPE is based in Greensboro, NC, and serves Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Asheville, Wilmington, and the rest of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and destinations beyond with impeccable and exclusive wedding experiences. Connect with Leigh today at 336-552-5645 or [email protected] about your special event.

Tanglewood + Winmock at Kinderton Wedding {Brooke + Jordan} | Winston-Salem NC Wedding Planner

Couples like Brooke and Jordan are why we do what we do. These two are the kindest and most genuine people you could ever meet and I’m so grateful to now call them friends! I simply can’t say enough great things about our planning experience and their amazing wedding day. February weddings in North Carolina can be a little nerve wracking – hello ice storms – and we were blessed with the most beautiful, sunny day in Winston-Salem at Tanglewood and Winmock at Kinderton!  I’ve shared some of my favorite details from their wedding day .. you’re going to LOVE our floral (or should I say greenery?) design from Green Bee Floral Designs. And of course, I’ve shared some of my favorite portraits from sweet Megan Travis!

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Brooke and I chatted a lot about her color palette to find the perfect balance to compliment our relaxed yet elegant design. We settled on the most lovely combination of creamy white, wood touches, ample amounts of greenery, and tiny pops of burgundy, wine, and deep red.

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Brooke and I worked with Marianne at Chic Paper Chick to create this stunner of an invitation. The touches of greenery and pops of red tied in beautiful with our floral designs and the kraft paper envelopes nodded to the abundance of wood in our design and venues.  One thing you may notice.. this invitation is actually for the reception! Brooke and Jordan opted for a small ceremony with only close family and friends. I loved how relaxed and easy this made the earlier part of the day for them. It was truly stress free! If you are interested in doing this for your own wedding: on the invitation side of things, I simply added an enclosure card for the ceremony guests. Easy peasy!

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Brooke, Jordan and their families started the day at Winmock for some relation and primping. I love the sweet details captured by Megan Travis. Jordan’s boutonniere by my dear friend, Jen with Green Bee, is one of my all time favorites!

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Brooke’s bouquet is the only place we utilized flowers. Yup, you read that right. No flowers! Brooke loves greenery and a natural look when it comes to floral design. We decided that adding a few pops of blooms to her bouquet would make it extra special.. and the result was stunning! Brooke and Jordan opted not to have an official wedding party with bridesmaid and groomsmen. Instead, Brooke asked her closest girlfriends to wear the black dress of their choice and we had nosegays of greenery made for them to include in portraits.

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Mount Pleasant Church at Tanglewood Park in Winston-Salem is one of my all time favorite ceremony spots. It is quaint, full of natural light, and the perfect blank slate for design. Green Bee Designs took my vision and design and created the most beautiful ceremony space full of mixed greenery, pops of cotton (a nod to Jordan’s family farm), and twinkling candlelight. It was like a dream! I love flowers more than anyone but this design was SO refreshing and still had the abundance and depth that flowers give. Green Bee knocked it out of the park per usual.

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Hands down, my favorite photo from the entire day. I just love these two.

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Want in on the hottest wedding trend of 2017? Puppies. All the puppies. One of Brooke’s friends brought the best surprises of the day.. Brooke and Jordan’s sweet pup, Oakley!

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Winmock at Kinderton provided the perfect blank slate for the reception. We created the perfect party atmosphere with a comfortable, elegant design, killer tunes, and delicious food stations. My favorite elements were the cozy lounge from Old South Vintage Rentals, the stately wooden bar from Winmock, and the dripping greenery on the chandeliers.

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Holly Tate created the most fun menu! It was important to Brooke and Jordan that their stations were tasty and laid back and Holly delivered per usual! At cocktail hour, we tray passed grilled bruschetta, spicy nacho bites, and spice rubbed shrimp cocktail skewers. Guests also warmed up with hot cinnamon spiced apple cider! Once dinner kicked off guests had their pick of a Mexican station (complete with make your own tacos, Southwestern Caeser salad, and grilled Mexican corn), a mac and cheese bar, and a slider station with a choice of beef, chicken, or crab cake sliders. Oh, and don’t forget the french fries! Lastly, because no wedding is complete without something to satisfy your sweet tooth, we offered guests a variety of doughnuts from Krispy Kreme! Maxie B’s created the sweetest *almost* naked cake that was just as delicious as it was beautiful.

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A week or so before the wedding, Brooke texted me and said “I have no idea why I haven’t told you this yet.” I held my breath for a minute because who knows what was coming my way. But Brooke laid the best surprise on me! She had purchased a second dress to change into and it was the most beautiful BLACK floral dress. It was SO Brooke and the perfect dress for dancing and heading downtown post-wedding! I absolutely loved it!

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Brooke and Jordan, thank you again for allowing my team and I to guide you through your wedding experience. We love you!!

 

 

Planning + Design: Leigh Pearce Events | Photography: Megan Travis Photography | Floral Design: Green Bee Floral Design | Ceremony Venue: Mount Pleasant Church at Tanglewood | Reception Venue: Winmock at Kinderton | Catering: Holly Tate Fine Catering | Cake: Maxie B’s | Rentals: Southern Event Rental | Lounge: Old South Vintage Rentals | Invitations + Day of Paper: Chic Paper Chick | Videography: One Love Productions | Hair + Makeup: Boha Salon | Ceremony Music + DJ: Kenneth Eller

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Leigh Pearce is the owner and creative director of Leigh Pearce Events, a boutique wedding planning and design company specializing in luxury weddings and highly personalized events. LPE is based in Greensboro, NC, and serves Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Asheville, Wilmington, and the rest of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and destinations beyond with impeccable and exclusive wedding experiences. Connect with Leigh today at 336-552-5645 or [email protected] about your special event.