Wedding Inspiration: The Colors of Sunset

I'm so excited to share a little inspiration for Lindsay & Ben's October wedding at Vesuvius Vineyards with y'all today! This adorable couple fell in love with the natural Southern charm of Vesuvius Vineyards and knew immediately that this was the place where they'd exchange I Do's. We are putting the final touches on some really amazing plans for this sweet couple's wedding - I can't wait to see everything come together! When we first sat down to talk about design, Lindsay mentioned being inspired by the colors of sunset. What could be better inspiration?! Drawing from the colors of a gorgeous cotton candy sky, we've created a vibrant organic inspired wedding incorporating elements like birch wood, natural wood, full color textured floral arrangements, pumpkins, and kale. Take a peek!

It's going to be a gorgeous fall wedding, that is for sure! I can't wait to celebrate this sweet couple!

XO,
A.

Bridal Portraits: Taylor

I can't say enough about this sweet bride! Working with Taylor and Kyle for their May wedding at Byron's South End was an absolute blast. Taylor is about as easy going as they come and Kyle is such a gentleman! I loved getting to know this gal - she is so lovely and her heart is so big! I'm excited to share her gorgeous bridal portraits taken at Separk Mansion. Just take a look at her stunning smile - It's so infectious! I am pretty much in love with these photos from Lauren Rosenau Photography and I'm absolutely obsessed with her colorful bridal bouquet by the talented New Creations Flower Company. Take a peek at a few of my favorite portraits!

Cheers to you, Mrs. Shirkey!

XO,
A.

It's All in the Little Details

I'll admit that I have a special appreciation and love of the little details.  After all, it's the little details that make life special, and the special moments in life personal.  With each new wedding design, my goal (always) is to make those little details, that are so important to brides and grooms, come to life! I've had the opportunity to create a lot of things over the years for brides and grooms. And, after finishing some watercolor creations for a wedding at Daniel Stowe, a Chuppah for two spring weddings, and lots and lots of escort cards, programs, and favor tags, I thought "I really need to gather up all these little projects and share them!" So, without further adieu - here are some of the things I've created for weddings so far in 2014 that I wanted to share! A few have been complete surprises, and revealing those surprises to my sweet clients brings me so much joy!  Just a warning: the photo quality is not that great - actually it's down right awful! - and is courtesy of my trusty iPhone. (Thank God for real photographers!) So, please excuse my photos... I'll just stick with wedding planning and leave the photography to the pro's! 

Custom table runners for Katie & Eric's Mint Museum Uptown wedding

Prop pillows and ring bearer pillows for Katie & Eric's Mint Museum Uptown wedding

Sashes for the draping to match the runners and pillows for Katie & Eric's Mint Museum Uptown wedding

Floating frame display for Katie & Eric's Mint Museum Uptown wedding

Watercolor table numbers for Mia & Alex's Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden wedding

Watercolor seating chart for Mia & Alex's Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden wedding

Chuppah and organza draping for Mindy & Brett's Biltmore wedding (Okay, confession: I can't take all the credit for this one. My amazing husband actually built this chuppah for two weddings this year, and has come to both weddings to help me assemble it on-site. So grateful to have such a supportive and super crafty husband!!) 

Ceremony programs for Mindy & Brett's Biltmore wedding

Calligraphy favor tags for Mindy & Brett's Biltmore wedding

Acrylic table numbers for Whitley & Darian's Brakefield at Riverwalk wedding

"Here Comes The Bride" sign for Veronica & Chip's Mint Museum Uptown wedding

Travel-themed escort card display for Veronica & Chip's Mint Museum Uptown wedding

Travel-themed table numbers for Veronica & Chip's Mint Museum Uptown wedding

Citrus-themed escort cards for Taylor & Kyle's Byron's South End wedding

I hate to even share all of these terrible iPhone quality photos, but I'm really proud of the little details that leave my office each weekend to make their way to the amazing brides and grooms wedding days. I'm honored to have the opportunity to be creative and give priority to the special touches of a wedding day!  And believe me when I say that each has been an absolute labor of love.  But it makes me so happy to see my brides and grooms smile with excitement over these details they never expected!

XO,
A.

Featured: Southern Simplicity Wedding Ideas

Oh my goodness! I am SO excited and honored to see my "beauty in simplicity" wedding inspired design was featured on the amazing Ruffled Blog! Y'all, I had way too much fun designing this wedding inspiration. And, the incredible photographer capturing all the details was the oh so talented Crystal Stokes of Crystal Stokes Photography  - what an eye this gal has!  For a long time now, I wanted to plan a shoot that celebrated simplicity because I am a firm believer that less is more.  It's easy to get caught up in the tiny details when planning for a wedding, and often times brides get lost along the way, loosing the bigger picture and feeling like they need to keep adding and piling on detail. But, there is so much beauty in simplicity, and I think this is an idea that is often forgotten and overlooked. So, we wanted to take a chance to really celebrate simplicity and show brides how beautiful, sophisticated and elegant simplicity can be.

I am so excited to share with you some of my favorite detail shots. But, hop on over to Ruffled Blog to see more of the feature!

Absolutely LOVE colored glassware! And how perfect are these ruffled plates?! I want to steal them so badly!

Have you ever seen a more perfect cake?! I am in love with naked cakes, y'all. This is so stunning! And, how adorable are the little tarts? Sweets tables are my favorite.

The bridal bouquet was out of this world gorgeous! I love the "wild flower" look and the gorgeous jewel tone colors that popped perfectly against the natural decor and landscape.  Such a beauty - I absolutely LOVE this look!

You guys - this is an actual a real couple!  Our models were such troopers… and, talk about good lookin'!! Ow! Ow! Gorgeous hair and makeup by Erin Ashley Makeup and Mirror Bomb Studios - perfectly captures the look and feel of the design.

The paper goods were out of this world beautiful! I love the addition of lavender - such a treat for the senses and it works perfectly for our natural and simplistic design. Even the response card envelope was made of seeds and could potentially be replanted! How cool is that?!

This ceremony arch made of garland and driftwood is one of my favorite details! SpringVine Design did an incredible job crafting this on-site for the photo shoot. I wish I could have one of these at every wedding! It's really stunning!

One of my favorite photos from the day. Oh … be still my heart! So gorgeous!

Oh man, I could go on and on and on! I'm a total sucker for these details, y'all. And, our entire vendor team was absolutely incredible - I'm so honored to have had the opportunity to work with each of these talented wedding pros: Crystal Stokes Photography, SpringVine Design, Elisabeth Rose, Sky's The Limit Custom Cakes and More, Erin Ashley Makeup, Mirror Bomb Studio, Party Reflections, J Majors Bridal Boutique, & The Laboratory Mill. A big, big thank you for donating your time and talent to this shoot! And a huge thanks to RuffledBlog for featuring my design!

XO, A.

So, Whats Up with the Pineapple?

From time to time, I've been asked, "what's with the pineapple"? And after stumbling upon a really interesting article from the latest issue of Southern Living magazine on the history behind pineapple decor, I thought it would be fun to share the meaning behind The Graceful Host's pineapple symbol.

But first, a quick little history lesson - because the pineapple has a very interesting history, believe it or not!  The pineapple got its English name from good ole' Christopher Columbus, who brought it back to Europe from Guadeloupe Island, which is off the coast of Mexico, as an exotic treat from his second voyage the New World.  The name was given for its resemblance to a pine cone.  Later, ship Captains and sailors would spear a pineapple and then display it on their porch to show that they had returned home from foreign posts and were ready to welcome visitors into their homes.  In the early days, the exotic Pineapples were the crowning glory of lavish American banquets, and were considered the height of extravagant hospitality. Within larger, well-to-do homes, the dining room doors were kept closed to heighten visitors' suspense about the dinner table on the other side. With pomp and full drama, the doors were flung open to reveal the evening's main event to guests - and visitors would see a pineapple-topped food display!  The guests' felt particularly honored by a hostess who obviously spared no expense to ensure her guests' dining pleasure.  In this manner, the pineapple became a visual keystone of the feast and came to symbolize the high spirits of social events.  It's only natural that the image of the pineapple would come to express the sense of welcome, good cheer, human warmth and family affection inherent to such gracious home gatherings.

So, why use the pineapple?  Well, the pineapple is the universal symbol of hospitality, which I think is so important for weddings and events.  Being a good hostess and treating your guests to an amazing night is a huge priority.  That's why you work with a wedding planner - so that you can be a graceful host on the biggest day of your life!  In addition to it being the international symbol of hospitality, for me, the pineapple resembles tradition and history.  I absolutely love traditions - a love that was instilled in me from my great big Italian family.  "It's important to remember where you came from, in order to know where you're going" - something my grandfather would say all the time.  I love using the pineapple as a representation of The Graceful Host because it symbolizes the journey that this little company has gone through over the years.  It's an icon for the Southern culture that I love; each marriage that I've witnessed; each couple that I've had the pleasure of knowing; each rebranding effort; each change I've made to improve the experience of TGH brides; and the future we have to look forward to.  To me, it's a powerful symbol that embodies so much history and immediately conveys the mission of The Graceful Host - Perfecting The Art of Celebration.

XO,
A.

Inspiration: Neutral Tones

There is something so peaceful and beautiful about a neutral color palette.  And, lately, I've been so inspired by these neutral colors and the elegance that they can bring to almost any wedding style!  I love the effortless feeling of this inspiration board - lush greens, soft peaches, beautiful ivories and earthy beige.  A perfect palette for an outdoor Southern wedding under the oak trees!  This inspiration board incorporates the one of the Pantone 2014 trending colors - sand.  What do you think of neutral tones for wedding colors?  

XO,
A.

Wedding Inspiration: Vivid Love

Y'all know how much I love a bright color palette. Well, can you image how excited I am for Taylor and Kyle's sunny, citrus-inspired wedding full of beautiful yellows, oranges, pinks, mints and greys?!  The vivid colors fit Taylor to a tee - this girl is about a sweet as honey and can light up any room. We've been having so much fun planning for her May wedding at Byron's South End, and I want to share a bit of our inspiration with you!  Our bride's style is clean and classic, but with a funky twist.  So, we're pulling in some unique and fun details to mimic their lighthearted personalities. I just love these two, and cannot wait to see everything come together in a few short months!

XO,
A.

Inspiration: Ivory + Blush

There is nothing more romantic than a sweet, soft, timeless color palette like ivory and blush, with some metallic touches of course.  Ya'll know how much I just love love love metallic!  But, oh my goodness, I cannot wait for Keely and Hill's gorgeous Southern wedding at Boxwood Estate next May!!  We've wrapped up some design plans recently - and I just couldn't wait to share!  I'm in love with Keely's amazing simplistic, yet glamorous style.  Take a peek at a few of our inspiration photos for the big day!

XO, A.