Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South
By Tara Guerard
3/5
()
About this ebook
From the Southeast's preeminent wedding designer, Tara Guérard, comes Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South. This unique book puts readers on the most coveted guest lists to the most spectacular events, and goes behind the scenes for an insider's look at how these glamorous affairs come to be.
Southern Weddings showcases 10 splendid weddings, and shares the tools-and tricks-of the trade Tara has learned from over a decade of working in the event world. Each of the weddings featured in the book are beautiful, yet markedly different from one another-from a seaside soirée to country club chic to rustic plantation. Each section is peppered with behind-the-scenes shots of Tara and her crew as they work their magic. With secrets, tips and advice galore, practical how-tos and easy-to-digest text paired with stunning photography, Southern Weddings is destined to become the classic resource for brides who wish to capture the entertaining traditions of the Old South with a decidedly modern flair.
Southern Weddings features an extensive resource section with info on:
- Caterers
- Cake makers
- Wedding dresses and designers
- Floral designers
- Room design and layout
- The details that make the event
Tara Guerard
Tara Guerard is the Southeast's premier event designer. Her company, Soiree, Inc., has been featuredin InStyle Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Elegant Bride, and Southern Living Weddings. She was picked by Modern Bride magazine as a Top 25 Trendsetter.
Related to Southern Weddings
Related ebooks
Weddings by Tara Guerard Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Loving Table: Creating Memorable Gatherings Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCarolina Bride: Inspired Design for a Bespoke Affair Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrairie Style Weddings: Rustic and Romantic Farm, Woodland, and Garden Celebrations Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Arriving Home: A Gracious Southern Welcome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Just in Time for Christmas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Time to Celebrate: Let Us Keep the Feast Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPelican Cove Short Cozy Mystery Collection: Cozy Mysteries with Recipes Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Eye of the Beholder Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSouthern Living Christmas at Home 2019 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVintage Wedding Style: More than 25 Simple Projects and Endless Inspiration for Designing Your Big Day Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Kara's Party Ideas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHighland Christmas: Highland Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSplashes of Sunshine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwelve Dishes of Christmas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKathryn at Home: A Guide to Simple Entertaining Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHomespun Memories for the Heart: More Than 200 Ideas to Make Unforgettable Moments Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Christmas Written In The Stars Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Christmas Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOld Christmas: from the Sketch Book of Washington Irving Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCooking with Anne of Green Gables Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Victorian Christmas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Celebrating Home: A Time for Every Season Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChicken Soup for the Soul: Here Comes the Bride: 101 Stories of Love, Laughter, and Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5With This Ring (A Lexie Starr Mystery, Book 4) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Daily Biscuit: Devotions with a Drawl Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Southern Food: A Celebration of the Flavors of the South Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Lexie Starr Cozy Mysteries Boxed Set (Books 4 to 6): Cozy Mystery Box Set #2 With Bonus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Vermont Homesteader's Christmas Memories: Wit, Wisdom & Holiday Recipes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Weddings For You
The Guide to Event Management: A Guide to Setting Up, Planning and Managing an Event Successfully Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/51001 Ways to Be Romantic: More Romantic Than Ever Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wedding Hacks: 500+ Ways to Stick to Your Budget, Stay Stress-Free, and Plan the Best Wedding Ever! Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Everything Wedding Vows Book: How to personalize the most important promise you'll ever make Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Start Your Own Business as a Narrator or Voice Over Actor: Fun Part Time Business Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Diane Warner's Complete Book of Wedding Vows, Revised Edition: Hundreds of Ways to Say I Do Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5First Orgasm: Female Masturbation for Beginners Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Budget Weddings For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Big White Book of Weddings: A How-to Guide for the Savvy, Stylish Bride Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Jewish Wedding Now Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Everything Guide to Micro Weddings: The Ultimate Source for Planning a Small and Meaningful Wedding Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFather of The Bride Wedding Speech Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow to Buy a Diamond: Insider Secrets for Getting Your Money's Worth Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Everything Wedding Book: Your All-in-One Guide to Planning the Wedding of Your Dreams Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Gentleman Gets Dressed Up Revised and Expanded: What to Wear, When to Wear It, How to Wear It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wedding Rituals and Traditions from Around the World Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wedding Officiant's Guide: How to Write & Conduct a Perfect Ceremony Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For All Our Days: A Collection of Wedding Readings Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Everything Wedding Shower Book: Thrill the Bride and Amaze the Guests With a Celebration to Remember Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Right One: How to Successfully Date and Marry the Right Person: A Marriage On The Rock Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wedding Planner (Printable Version) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEssential Manners for Men 2nd Ed: What to Do, When to Do It, and Why Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wedding Planning For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I Do: A Guide to Creating Your Own Unique Wedding Ceremony Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRomantic Love Poems: Poetry Collection of Adoration and Praise Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWedding Toasts 101: The Guide to the Perfect Wedding Speech Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWedding Planning: A wedding guide for couples who want a stress-free and budget-friendly celebration Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Newlywed Year: 52 Ideas for Building a Love That Lasts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Southern Weddings
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
Southern Weddings - Tara Guerard
resources
acknowledgements
It was my intent in creating this book that you as readers might find inspiration in its pages for your own perfect day. A big thank you is owed to each of the featured brides, who trusted me, motivated me, and allowed me to execute many of my crazy ideas!
Of course, it would have been impossible for me to orchestrate any of these weddings without my devoted, professional, hard-working staff. Thank you, most especially, to Martha Patrick Robbins (my left arm!), Jason Robbins (my everything!), Heather Santucci (flower designer extraordinaire), Susan Kelly, Lindy Shealy, Caroline Mancill, and Lexi Ritsch, along with our fabulous interns; Elizabeth Reeves, Erin Foster, Elli Thomas, Mary Helen Peacock, and Tziporah Schwartz.
I’m so grateful for the help and support of Mandy and Billy Reid, Charlie Poulnot, Elizabeth Porcher Jones (the calligrapher), Kate Badger Little, my union boys Chief Buddy, William, Brad, and others!, Tracy Pelham, Mary Patrick, Jon Robbins, Cami Warren, Quin Johnson, Joel Kirven, Hillary Ingle, Aunt Terri, Mom, Chef James Burns, Tara Thigpen, and the Snyder crew.
Thank you also to Richard Gee of Gee Creative and Julia Shuman (the best graphic designers ever!),, my best friend Nicki Clendening, and all my family in Camden (my hometown) and in Charleston, S.C. And, to my husband, Russell: Thank you for all of your love and support.
A bride shows off her bouquet of pink peonies, miniature calla lilies, and sweet peas.
Jackie and Tige Howie share a kiss during their wedding dinner.
Jenny Hackenberg Keenan waits to walk down the aisle in the parlor of Drayton Hall Plantation.
A white lounge adorns the garden of the William Aiken House.
Chef James Burns prepared pistachio encrusted duck served on a cornbread crouton.
Seagrass floor ottomans atop white mohair rugs along with floor glass cylinders lit a poolside rehearsal dinner.
Kathryn Koebel Donovan reflects for a moment on her wedding day.
Guests enjoy after dinner music provided by the Right On band.
island style
Lauren Carifa & Keith Hollender
Combining the natural beachside beauty of a barrier island with a signature color palette of bright teal and chocolate brown, this elegant wedding brought grown-up grace and charm to this couple’s favorite vacation spot.
Chocolate seagrass ottomans offer an element of surprise for an oceanside ceremony.
COUPLING
When I first met with Lauren and Keith, high school sweethearts who had dated on-and-off in college and then rekindled their flame after graduation when they both moved to New York, it was immediately obvious how in love they were. It was also a pretty busy time for the Carifa family: while spending a romantic weekend in Stratton, Vermont, Keith had popped the question after a morning walk, while unbeknownst to Lauren, her twin brother, James, was proposing to his girlfriend as well!
Though both she and Keith grew up in New Jersey and had lived and worked in Manhattan for some time, Lauren knew immediately that she wanted to hold her wedding on Kiawah Island, twenty-five miles southwest of Charleston. Having spent every summer there since she was three, she had shared its beauty first with her family and then with Keith, who’d often join her there for vacations during their courtship. They had so many memories of the island together that it was a perfect choice.
The six-tier chocolate-chip cake was created by Wedding Cakes By Jim Smeal and finished with the signature crest.
White letterpress programs were tied with a teal ribbon and emblazoned with the Carifa crest
SETTING THE SCENE:
DESIGN & DÉCORE
To get some insight into the couple’s tastes, I sent Lauren to Kate’s Paperie in New York to pick out some paper in colors that appealed to her. We decided on a bright teal to become the foundation for our theme. For Thursday’s rehearsal dinner at the Carifa’s Kiawah beach house, we matched it with beautiful burgundy peonies, which we placed in tall white porcelain vases down the length of the table. Our tent, which rose over the pool, was a custom sheer white organza with teal dupioni silk edging.
For Friday night’s oyster roast—a laid-back affair at Briar’s Creek Golf Club, with a lowcountry buffet and a bluegrass band—we paired the signature teal with yellow; it was a combination I’d seen in the couple’s apartment, so I knew they’d appreciate a little taste of home! We had vases of little yellow mums everywhere—they just say fall
to me—that were offset beautifully by hanging lanterns.
For the wedding itself, held at the River Course on Kiawah, teal was center stage again, though this time we paired it with a rich chocolate brown, using it for everything from the sign-in book and table linens to the leather ottomans and sofas in the lounge area. Especially for Lauren, we custom-designed a reoccurring motif of interlocking Cs (for Carifa), which we incorporated into almost every aspect of the décor, including the guest-bag tags, menu cards, place cards, and even the chandeliers.
The embroidered motif on the L. L. Bean tote bags ensured guests would remember the occasion for years to come
A long table covered in teal dupioni silk and crowned with white vases of red peonies spanned the pool; matching chair cushions were custom made.
SOIRÉE STEP BY STEP:
ROSE-COVERED CURTAIN TIEBACKS
YOU WILL NEED:
Measure the area that you will want your tieback to cover. Cut the chicken wire to the appropriate length and approximately double the width.
Wrap the oasis bricks in the chicken wire and secure edges with floral wire so the bricks do not fall out once the tieback is hanging.
Soak the oasis covered in chicken wire in water.
Once your oasis has soaked enough, hang the tieback using screws, nails, zip ties, ribbon, or whatever is most appropriate.
Cut the rose stems to about 3 to 4 inches.
Insert the rose heads into the tieback until it’s full of flowers and you can no longer see any oasis or chicken wire. (This should be done the day of