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A wedding should be bliss and happiness, but all too often it turns into tense family drama as people become unsure of their place in this important event.

Many of my clients are faced with their parents' difficult divorce and remarriage situations that can create two or three immediate families per side.  This requires caution, and more than a little finesse, in the seating process.  It can be helpful for couples to follow outside guidelines instead of trying to determine seating arrangements on their own.  I have described here the standard way wedding planners organize and seat families in such situations:

Front Row, Left Side:  Mother of the BRIDE (biological) has earned this chair by the simple fact of giving birth (trust me, it is not an easy accomplishment).  She should be seated last of the family members in the processional and just before the minister enters.  If she is remarried, her husband should escort her, or follow behind her and the usher who is escorting her.  If she has a serious date, it may be appropriate for him to have a chair beside her, but his actual seating should be done pre-ceremony.  If the Mother of the Bride's parents are in attendance, it is also nice to seat them with Mom on the front row to make it feel/look a little less lonely.

Front Row, Left Side:  Mother of the GROOM.  She will be seated before the Mother of the Bride in the processional.  All other Mother of the Bride guidelines also apply to the Mother of the Groom.

Second row, both sides:  This is for the Dads.  If they are remarried, they should walk the aisle as part of the processional with their new spouses, or the spouse should be escorted by an usher with dad following behind.  If they are seriously dating someone, that person should be seated pre-ceremony in a chair next to Dad's.  If a Dad's parents are in attendance, they may be seated on the same row.  Father of the Groom should be seated in the processional before the Mother of the Groom.  Father of the Bride normally walks the bride down the aisle and should be seated after doing this.

It is important to mention that there are many, many exceptions to everything I have just written.  Please do not hesitate to email me at emily@occasionsbyemily.com with your specific situation for guidance.  A little bit of etiquette can go a long way in calming nerves and soothing tempers on your wedding day.

Thanks Wedding Woman for sending me this question!

Emily

Darcy and Cortney

So many truly amazing, kind-hearted brides and grooms have chosen Occasions by Emily to help with their weddings over the years.  Darcy and Cortney will always be at the front of my memory, though, due to their kindness to all, love for each other, exceptional sense of humor and genuine gratitude they showed to all.  Watching their slideshow by Aaron Imaging makes me want to do their wedding all over again.  Here's to more parties with Darcy and Cortney over the years!

Jen and Wes

There is no order at all to the weddings I'm sharing, but I am BLOGGING!

Jen and Wes married in May at Castle Ladyhawke.  One of our first weddings in the year, they reminded us of what a privilege it is to serve at weddings.  They and their families were so kind and appreciative of the work each of the vendors gave them.  More than that, they were sweet to each other...something I'm pretty sure is key to a happy marriage!  Here are the photos to prove it by the just as wonderful photographer duo,  James and Jenny of Visio!

Contributing Professionals:

Occasions by Emily...  planning and floral design

Rev Buddy Corbin...  officiant

the Great Imponderables...  DJ

Salon Intuition....  hair

Makeup at the Grove Arcade...  makeup

Black Eyed Susan...  catering

Tiffany's Baking Co...  cake

Blue Ridge Limo...  Mercedes for exit

Classic Event Rental... rentals

Josie and Andrew

This day is feeling so autumn-like.  There are even fallen yellow leaves on my back deck--beautiful.  I love the sense of peace this season brings.  Oh yes, and excitement!  Fall is our BUSIEST time of the year because so many people want to get married with God's hand-painted mountain majesty as their backdrop.

To get you in the mood for fall... here are some AMAZING photos by Caroline Ghetes of Josie and Andrew's wedding at Castle Ladyhawke last October.  For many, many more photos (that I know you'll want to see), look up Caroline's blog here.



















Beautiful Video Footage from ZoMei:

Josie and Andrew Sanctis : Charlotte Wedding 10.23.2010 from ZoMei Video Production on Vimeo.

AND...you can see it in the Knot online...

AND...you can see it in the current edition of the Knot NC (sadly with no credit given to us...sniff, sniff)

Yes, Caroline Ghetes is just that awesome of a photographer and this wedding was just that gorgeous!  Thank you, Josie and Andrew, for allowing us the privilege of being part of a most important day!

Coordination by Occasions by Emily
Florals by Flowers from the Cellar
Catering by Colorful Palate
Linens by First Impressions
Rentals by Classic Event Rental
Cake by Tiffany's Baking Co
Hair and Makeup by Jackie Green

Happy Labor Day!

Florals by Occasions by Emily

For the first time since March, I realized that I have not posted anything at all since March!  I promise, the Occasions by Emily team has not been on holiday!  We have had a blast in 2011 with amazing clients, fabulous design jobs, new venues, continuing education, writing articles for online and print and of course, everything else we do in life!  But I just can't keep all the beautiful things we've seen to myself anymore.  I'll be working hard over the next few weeks to bring you up to date...  For this holiday weekend, here are a few of our favorite photos featuring sunflower weddings!

Florals by Occasions by Emily

Cake by Michelle Fountain of Icing on the Cake, Florals by Occasions by Emily

Published by Hindsight Bride

We are so excited and honored that Emily and John's wedding from last October was featured by Christie O. of the Hindsight Bride today.  Of course Emily herself is a wonderful blogger at Vita Nostra and does a marvelous job of sharing the details.  Please take a few minutes to visit Hindsight Bride for this truly beautiful, truly unique wedding day story.  Photos by Visio Photography.

Rachel and Charlie

Rachel and Charlie's November wedding closed the 2011 season for us.  It was the perfect happy ending.  Rachel looked like a princess and Charlie was every bit the prince as he spent the evening adoring his new bride (a key ingredient for a happy marriage!).  It was fun getting to know their family and friends a bit as almost all of Rachel and Charlie's family and friends are into racing of some sort whether it's motorcycles, BMX or Nascar.  In fact, Charlie is a very winning racer, for more fun information about him, click here.  Rachel is ultra-organized and even more creative.  I hope you'll enjoy these exceptional images by Sposa Bella of the beautiful couple and all the storybook sweet details.

 

This is a picture of my staff working...  Joann saved the bride from blowing off the top of the mountain on this very windy day!  Reason #697 to hire a wedding planner.

 Oliver and his adorable flower girl.  Oh, and Dan from the Cliffs and I are about to open the door for the bride and her father to enter.  Reason #698 for why it's in your best interests to hire a planner--you do NOT want to get stuck outside on a windy day!

 While the ladies were getting ready, this debonair pooch jumped off a bed and into my arms.  Oh my, I melted!  No wonder Rachel and Charlie consider him a member of the family.

 Lavender is so pretty and smells so good and does not hurt at all when someone throws it at you.  All helpful things when considering a grand exit.

 

Cliffs at Glassy Chapel -- Breathtaking!

The team at Blossoms at Biltmore Park perfectly captured Rachel's decor vision and brought it to life with shades of purple, log chargers, curly willow and hanging candles.

 One of my favorite DIY projects of 2011 was these hand-wrapped chocolate bars used as place cards.  Rachel printed each guest's name, then wrapped the paper around a candy bar from her hometown.  Who wouldn't be excited to find one of these on a napkin?

 Beautiful Cake from Kathy and Company

 Late night cookies and milk.  A sweet touch for the end of a perfect day.

 And then there was the pool...

 

 Now that was a perfect ending!