Congratulations and Good Luck Annalise

Most of you already are very familiar with my daughter Annalise, who has been a regular face at A Charleston Event & Bridal Library since the beginning. It is with special pride that I would like to announce that Annalise has been formally accepted into the PhD Neuro Psychology program at Wayne State in Michigan.

While we are all truly sad she will be leaving us (and I am particularly sad that my dear daughter won't be as close to us physically), I'm sure you'll all join in our happiness by wishing her much success and good luck on her new journey! She embarks on a long educational path, but as a great achiever, she will come back a flying success fulfilling all her dreams! Your father and I are so proud of you my Dolling and love you dearly!!! XOXOX

JUNE INVITATION MADNESS

Attention all soon-to-be Brides...

For the month of June 2009, A Charleston Event will be clearing out their inventory of inventory to make room for all new designs coming in for Fall '09 and Spring of next year.

We are offering a SPECIAL 15% discount off ALL invitations, save-the-dates and programs ordered through the last day of June 2009. That's 15% discount!!! It's easy and this is a one-time limited offer and is valid for everyone. Just go to our website and choose your style, lettering, color themes and order. It's just that simple. In order to obtain your discount, when placing your order, after your name (and right next to it) type in code 0609.

To browse, go to http://www.ACharlestonEvent.cceasy.com

We look forward to filling your order and giving you your special discount. Happy Planning!

Wedding at William Aiken House

Crystal and Kevin fell in love with Charleston and couldn't think of a better place in the world to hold their wedding. So the search began to find the perfect venue that would boast charm, sophistication and historic background. Enter William Aiken House, the perfect wedding venue for a beautiful setting, close to all downtown hotels and easy to find.
The large wooden arbor structure lends a perfect backdrop to gorgeous ceremonies and couples have a choice of using the footbridge which goes across the fish pond as shown here on the left or they can choose to forgo the bridge and walk around the pond or hold their ceremony in front of the pond itself. We chose to use the bridge and bring in our white carpet aisle runner for extra finishing. We dropped draping down the arbor on both sides which blew softly in the summer breeze during the ceremony. The aisle was lined with our ACE wrought iron orbs, simply decorated with colorful touches of florals and ribbon. Black benches replaced guest chairs.

A Charleston Event and Bridal Library like to use clear top tents in settings such as this to allow guests to see the beautiful live magnolia trees at William Aiken House, especially during this time of year when the magnolias are blooming. Large lanterns were hung from branches of the trees to give additional lighting in the trees during the evening. We also customized these wonderful boxes shown on the four corners of the dancefloor, which are changed out with each bride's particular color theme. We used large live ferns as shown here, but from time to time, place large urns with flowering arrangements or use as cocktail tables. We have these boxes in 3 ft and 5 ft sizes and they also make a wonderful dramatic look for aisle markers. Boxes are a regular stock item at ACE Rentals, along with custom monogram cake runners as shown in opening, photo, draping fabrics and aisle runners, curtains and a huge selection of wrought iron props and planters, custom table runners and ties.

For questions on ACE Florals & Rentals, please call us at 843-388-8000

Look out for our new floral division website (coming soon).

It's all about the Details

Photo Courtesy of Richard Bell Photography

So you've ordered the bouquets and centerpieces for your wedding celebrations. You've even though about the small arrangements in the restrooms, but what about the other areas that are sometimes forgotten? Here's some tips to think about when planning your special day...

Instead of the usual guest placecards, consider planning a theme such as a lowcountry themed wedding, complete with these adorable sweetgrass flowers above. Sweetgrass weaving is not only an artform, it is a rich cultural tradition in Charleston and the Lowcountry.

Thinks like mantle pieces are often overlooked. Placing the simplest of decor and candle light can make a big difference.
If having a seated dinner, think about printing up menus ahead of time. Some catering companies will do this for you at no extra charge. Adding a small color coordinated ribbon around the napkin brings out your colors even more.
Linens come in a huge variety of prints and colors now. Instead of just having a solid color linen, think about a solid underlay and placing a printed overlay. For a more dramtic look, pull the linens up and hang embellishments from them.

For the Bride & Groom, Bridal Party and Mothers, Grandmothers seating markers, Tussie Mussies are adorable and can be used after the wedding as keepsakes. They are not only affordable, but look gorgeous when hung off the backs of chairs as shown in the photo below.

Cost Effective Props and Rentals

Nowadays, more brides are looking for most cost effective and green ways to decorate their wedding receptions without having to cut back on quality. One way I suggest is to start looking for more unique options that will also give that WOW factor.

At A Charleston Event and Bridal Library, we stock a wide variety of glassware and small lighting effects that are perfect for centerpieces on guest tables as well as focal points throughout the reception site. These are rented as opposed to being bought and are used over and over again, with the exception of the small amount of florals that are inserted to soften the look of the glass cylinders. The lampshades themselves are utilized on a variety of different stands, vases and cylinders in order to bring a couple's personal look to each table.

Also, these unique little etched lanterns make great accents on the cake table, cocktails and hung at different levels. Placed with an electronic candle, they are ideal for beach and outdoor weddings when votives just won't stay lit due to windy conditions.

For more ideas on props and rentals, check back on this blog and be sure to check the Bridal Library site for updates. The new website will be completed in June. www.BridalLibrary.com

PRESS RELEASE

IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that A Charleston Event & Bridal Library has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means A Charleston Event & Bridal Library is one of the very best in Wedding Design & Planning.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews. “We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

A Charleston Event & Bridal Library would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!

Wedding Favors

Favor Boxes in Autumn Colors

Small Lantern Favors

Small Topiary Place Setting Favors

Wedding Favors are not what they used to be. When I first started creating weddings years ago, wedding favors were the traditional white or pastel candy coated almonds wrapped in tulle. Even the most prestigious weddings supplied their guests with the small tokens. Now we are a lot more creative with our ideas and realise that just another token will just not do.

I just love some of the ideas for these sweet favors and love this site for those who want to add momentos to this wedding reception.

http://www.americanbridal.com/uniquefavors.html

Another idea that we very often suggest is charitable donation to the charity of the couple's choice in the guest's name. There are two ways to do this:

1. Put photo frames on each table giving the Charity information and let your guests know that the donation has been made in the names of all the guests

2. Place information about the charity in envelopes and wrap each envelope with theme colored ribbon and ensure each guest receives one.

The first of the two options is the preferred "Green" suggestion for obvious reasons.

Enjoy!