13 Fresh Ideas For Your Grand Exit

As beautiful as the sparkler scenes are at the end of the night, I can’t help but say that I’m ready to see something new for the bride and groom’s grand exit! Here are some new fresh ideas that are sure to make for a memorable exit from your wedding ceremony or reception:

1. Flower Petals – Have your guests toss flower petals, either fresh or preserved like the ones shown below (from Save on Crafts). Direct your guests to toss them high in the air rather than straight at you so that you have a rainfall of beautiful flowers coming down over top of you. You’ll be sure to get some colorful pops in your grand exit pictures.

2. Biodegradable Artificial Snow – Are you getting married this winter? If so, why not consider having your guests throw artificial snow? There are products out that that are biodegradable and will disintegrate at the touch of water (Ecoparty). Your venue will appreciate the easy clean up!

3. Ribbon Wands – Have your guests wave colorful ribbon wands, like the ones shown below from Etsy. They can double as a fun favor for your guests or you can give them to someone you know that’s throwing a children’s birthday party. Either way, they’re fun for all ages.

4. Giant Balloons – Have your guests hold these fun colorful and enormous balloons from Geronimo Balloons. They’ll create a bold canopy over top of the tunnel you walk through as you’re exiting your wedding!
5. Solar Paper Lantern Garland – Let these beauties charge all day in the sun and then have your guests create a tunnel by holding them from either end. They do not have to be plugged into an electrical outlet because they run off solar power. They’ll give you a flicker of light and a bright pop of color for your grand exit pictures! You can then reuse them for years to come in your new nest! Buy them at Save on Crafts.

6. Preserved Oak Leaves – Having a fall wedding? Your guests will love tossing these preserved oak leaves from Curious Country Creations!

7. Colorful Parasols – Have guests hold parasols in fun shades up high to create a colorful rooftop for you and your new hubby to walk under. Luna Bazaar offers them in a multitude of shapes, sizes and colors.
8. Ecofetti – Love the idea of throwing confetti, but you’re forbidden by your venue because it’s not biodegradable? Lucky for you, Ecoparti offers just the solution: ecofriendly confetti that disintegrates with water. Use it for your grand exit at the ceremony or reception!

Looking for other modes of transportation to ride off in? How about these fun ideas!

  • Ride off in Tandem
  • Horse and Carriage
  • Golf Cart
  • Paddleboards
  • Canoe
Geneva & Luke {married 4/28/12}

This past weekend, we had the joy and honor of celebrating one of our dear couple’s wedding day at Oldfield Planation Club. The bride’s color palette consisted of peach, ivory, creams, dusty shale and nile blue. When combined, the colors and textures created a beautiful, soft, romantic southern feel.

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The layout under the tent consisted of family style tables, which were topped with ivory linens and burlap and lace runners. Each place setting was set with a beautiful charger, which was topped with a nile blue napkin and preserved cotton bolls. Each table was overshadowed by beautiful custom built mason jar chandeliers from JLK Events, who in fact provided all of the lighting you see in the pictures.

The place cards doubled as favors, which I’m a huge fan of, and were provided by A Floral Affair. They were potted succulent plants that guests could take home and grow for years to come. I always like to pull a sense of “home” into my designs so we brought in a beautiful (and extremely heavy!) round furniture piece to house the cake by Sheri’s Edible Designs. We placed it in the center of the tent to create a dramatic statement as guests found the way to their seats.

One of my favorite moments throughout the night was when the bride surprised her groom with an artist who was there to paint a scene from the reception. The final product was out of this world! What a thoughtful way to cherish this sweet day for the rest of your life.

I captured a few shots with my new Nikon D3100 because I was in love with all the detail and really wanted to try out my new toy 🙂 I’m sure these shots will in no way compare to the images captured by their photographers, Melissa and Graham Suggs of Suggs Photography. I’ll be sure to share those with you in a few weeks!

xoxo
Jen
——–
Embellished Events
Phone: (843) 757-7762
Email: Info@EmbellishedWeddings.com

Hilton Head Island, SC Wedding Planner
Savannah, GA Wedding Planner
Beaufort, SC Wedding Planner
Charleston, SC Wedding Planner

Sweet Words from Leslie and Kurt

Image by Kristin Vanzant Photography

As if this Wednesday couldn’t get any more perfect, our beautiful bride from last weekend took time out from her Jamaican honeymoon to send me the sweetest email:

“Jennifer,

Kurt and I want to send you our sincerest thanks for all your hard
work for our wedding.  Our day was perfect and we could not imagine
you not leading the way.  You and Kylie were phenomenal to work with!
We can not quit talking about how smoothly and perfect everything
went.  Thank you so much!!

Also congrats on the new addition you are about to have! We wish you,
your husband, and baby nothing but the best! 🙂

Leslie”

Here is a sneak peek of their Big Day from the incredibly talented, Kristin Vanzant Photography!

xoxo
Jen
——–
Embellished Events
Phone: (843) 757-7762
Email: Info@EmbellishedWeddings.com

Hilton Head Island, SC Wedding Planner
Savannah, GA Wedding Planner
Beaufort, SC Wedding Planner
Charleston, SC Wedding Planner

Wedding Design: Conceptualization to Reality

The process starts with conceptualizing a design based on the bride and groom’s style, personality and likes/dislikes. Our bride and groom this past weekend shared an overall appreciation for the art of wedding design and the modernization it portrays today. They wanted  a look that was fresh and unique, but kept within the traditional taste of wedding design.

The wedding took place at the bride’s mom’s house, which held a special place in their hearts as a couple. The lawn was canopied in beautiful mossy oaks and featured two perfect areas for the ceremony and reception to take place. When I first saw the space, I knew it would be perfect for the vision we had. From there, I started to sketch out the possibilities and came up with this:

…which translated into this:

The reception took place under a clear canopy tent, which allowed the illumination of the full moon and stars to create a truly romantic atmosphere for the evening. The day was perfect…73 degrees was the high, 58 degrees the low. The sky was crystal clear without a trace of clouds all day. As the day turned into night, the most beautiful full moon came out to say hello and send it’s blessings to the bride and groom.

The bride and groom’s color palette consisted of ivory, apple green and slate black.  They wanted an intimate and romantic setting, which was easy to accomplish with a group of 68. We setup two long family style dinner tables with a lounge area and dance floor in the middle. This allowed everyone to be part of the party, even if they were viewing from the sidelines.

The tables featured reclaimed wood planks as the table runners, which provided the perfect touch of rusticness the bride and groom were looking for. The flower arrangements were provided by A Floral Affair.

The ceremony was located on the same lawn, but was separated from the reception space with high flowering bushes and mossy oaks. We built the canopy below for the wedding ceremony, which the couple wanted to be “soft and romantic.”

Helping our couples create a look that is unique and symbolic of their taste and style is such a fun challenge for me as a planner/designer. There is no greater reward for the hard work done than seeing the smiles on their faces when it all comes to life. Congratulations Shana and Chris!! We can’t wait to see the pictures from Photography by Anne!

xoxo
Jen
——–
Embellished Events
Phone: (843) 757-7762
Email: Info@EmbellishedWeddings.com

Hilton Head Island, SC Wedding Planner
Savannah, GA Wedding Planner
Beaufort, SC Wedding Planner
Charleston, SC Wedding Planner

Sweet Words from Stephanie and Taurean

This past weekend, we had the honor and privilege of celebrating Stephanie and Taurean’s wedding day in historic Savannah, GA. Throughout the planning process, I had the joy of working with Stephanie’s mother, Julie. She was so sweet to help her daughter with all of the details! Once the celebration came to an end and the confetti settled, I received the sweetest note from Stephanie that just made my day! I wanted to share it with you here:

“Jennifer is positive, impressive and consistent in her goal of satisfying the bride and groom, all guests and vendors from the wedding. Exceptional etiquette and management skills were extremely helpful as a destination wedding needs a local planner without a doubt. Freshly presenting additional help was her assistant, Kylie. She helped on the big day with knowledgeable ease and dedication. I would highly recommend Embellished Events to anyone.”

Stephanie, it was an absolute pleasure and honor to be part of your wedding day!! Thank you for allowing us to be part of such a special celebration. Kylie and I wish you and Taurean a lifetime of love, laughter and happiness together. We can’t wait to see pictures!! Best wishes you two!

xoxo
Jen
——–
Embellished Events
Phone: (843) 757-7762
Email: Info@EmbellishedWeddings.com

Hilton Head Island, SC Wedding Planner
Savannah, GA Wedding Planner
Beaufort, SC Wedding Planner
Charleston, SC Wedding Planner

10 Things to Do the Week of your Wedding

Even though all of  the major planning is behind you, the week of your wedding can be quite busy and stressful! There are still some important things to remember to do so that you look your best and are fully prepared for your Big Day. Here is a list of things we remind all of our brides to do the week of their wedding:

  1. Pickup your Marriage License – because you can’t get married (legally) without it! Make sure you check requirements with the appropriate Probate Office, as the law for applying for a marriage license changes from state to state.
  2. Schedule a final walk through with your planner and venue – walk the space, confirm where everything is going to be set, review the Banquet Event Order together for any last minute changes, review your backup plan in case of inclement weather and make sure everyone is on the same page.
  3. Pay all of your vendors in full – the last thing you want to be bothered with on your wedding day is your vendors hounding you for final payments. Save yourself and them the trouble by having everyone paid in full at least a week prior to your Big Day.
  4. Have your wedding dress professionally steamed and pressed and hang your veil up high enough to let the wrinkles fall out without it touching the ground.
  5. Slather on the Sunscreen – the last thing you want is fiery red, burning skin on your wedding day!
  6. Attend Beauty Appointments – plan for a facial and waxing to take place at least 3 days prior to your wedding, manicure and pedicure 1-2 days before your wedding, highlights and cut at least 2 weeks prior to your wedding, trial run of hair style and makeup about 1 week prior to your wedding.
  7. Break in your Wedding Day Shoes – Scuff them up and let them mold to your feet so that you’re comfortable dancing the night away in them.
  8. Whiten Your Teeth
  9. Stay Away from the Salt Shaker & Carbonated Beverages– Salt makes your body retain water, which in turn bloats you. The same is true for carbonated beverages. Stick to drinking at least 8 full glasses of water each day to counteract bloating and stay hydrated so you look your best on your Big Day.
  10. Get your Beauty Sleep – all of the excitement leading up to your wedding day could leave you feeling deprived of sleep. Avoid black circles and exhaustion by making sure you get at least 8 hours of sleep each night, especially the night before your wedding.

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Embellished Events
Phone: (843) 757-7762
Email: Hello@EmbellishedWeddings.com

Hilton Head Island, SC Wedding Planner
Savannah, GA Wedding Planner
Beaufort, SC Wedding Planner
Charleston, SC Wedding Planner