Cooperative Creativity

  This Christmas, I wanted to create something for some friends that really caught the eye, hand-made preferably.  So, I called my friend Tiffany Good, of Tiffany's Baking Co and explained what I was looking for with high hopes that her hands would do it for me.  Lucky me, she said yes!  Tiffany created amazing individual-sized cakes that were shaped, frosted and painted to look like vintage glass ornaments.  She made each one a different flavor such as cookies and creme, vanilla and coconut passion and then I got to package each cake.  I thought the jute twine with sparkly beads on the ends was the perfect wrap for a vintage style cake. 

I felt terrible because I accidentally smashed the "hanging" loop on top of this one...  It still tasted fabulous!

Wedding Wire Award

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, is thrilled to announce Occasions by Emily  has been selected to receive the prestigious annual WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 for Wedding Planners!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

  Occasions by Emily stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Occasions by Emily for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that Occasions by Emily is among the very best wedding planners within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at Occasions by Emily.

For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

Kathryn and Will's Sweet Summer Wedding

 Kathryn and Will are used to life in the big city--they call DC home!  But for their wedding, they wanted to give guests a different sense of home.  Family and friends pitched in to host the event on private property in Franklin, North Carolina.  They poured their heart and tons of time into very personal, very lovely DIY projects.  These beautiful photos are by Julie Veon Lane of Elizabeth K Photography.  Personal flowers by Ray's Florist.  Reception flowers cut from J.W. Mitchell Farms and arranged by family.

 I love the sunny yellows Kathryn and Will chose!

 The kids--they're just so cute!

 A family friend played dulcimer for the ceremony and the Frogtown Four did their thing for a fun, family-style reception on the lawn.

 

This is a wonderful take on the traditional guest book.

Honey favors from the family's farm.

 This banquet-style seating provided a perfect sense of family dinner at home.  Comfortable, vintage, timeless.

 

Photos of loved ones hanging from cables over the reception area set the scene for building memories. 

So everyone knows I love wedding cake...  But this might even be better than cake, because there are tons of dessert on this table!  Several friends and family members of Kathryn brought these amazing, gorgeous desserts for a stylish dessert buffet.  Who doesn't love Grandma's cherry pie?

Staff Parties

As a planning and design team, it comes naturally that we love to party.  This year we had our first all-out staff party for Christmas.  I loved planning an event to celebrate the amazing women who give their heart and soul to serving our clients all year long.

 
This fabulous cake is from Michelle Fountain of Icing on the Cake.  It was even bigger than it looks in the picture.  I gained at least three pounds from the leftovers...

Completely delicious food from Black Eyed Susan.

There are no pictures of the peanut butter cups from Colorful Palate.  They're just gone and that's all I can really say about that...

The beautiful tree my little girls decorated.  They are event designers in the making!

  We were so fortunate to have LIVE music provided by Keith and Todd of Todd Holder Music.  It's a secret, but Keith just happens to be my dad (and best piano technician in the world!) and Todd is one of his dear friends.  Wow, do I have connections, or what?

 And one more photo of my sweet, sweet girls who joined us at the end of the evening 

for a bite of cake!

Lauren and Kevin

Lauren and Kevin's wedding at the Venue was a beautiful celebration of Jewish American tradition.  Lauren's color scheme of tiffany blue and rose red gave a feeling of timeless elegance.  Photos by Ryan Bumgarner.  By the way, we love working with Ryan--his laid back personality combined with a creative eye and ability to capture the perfect moment makes for an exceptional photo experience for all involved.  

 One of my favorite cakes in 2010...  By Michelle Fountain with Icing on the Cake.  Isn't it elegant?

Bobby Hill of BobbyMark's Designs listened to the Bride, then created exactly what she had in her head.  I love the simplicity of the bold red, softened by slender curly willow.

 

A family member MADE this beautiful chuppah.  She very patiently educated all of the wedding party members in how it would function for the ceremony.  What a sweetheart!

Sweet ceremony music provided by Corine Brouwer of Allegro Music Events.

Because trolley photos are fun...

And what point is there to a wedding blog post if there are no inspiring photos of the bride and groom?  Ryan captured Lauren and Kevin's heart for each other in these photos set in downtown Asheville.

 

And credit to a few more wonderful people:

Bride's Makeup by Scott Thompson of Makeup at the Grove Arcade

Bride's Hair by Hayley at L'eau de Vie

Ceremony officiated by Rabbi Meiri

Reception music by DJ Sean Lowman of Premier Sound and Light

Kristen and Dale featured on Style Me Pretty

Kristen and Dale's wedding was the stuff of wedding dreams!  Not only are they beautiful on the outside, but they are so kind, thoughtful and generous toward all around them.  Their exquisite, creative, vintage-inspired, whimsical, beautiful, gorgeous, fabulous (and the adjectives go on, but I'll leave the rest to your imagination) wedding photographed by Caroline Ghetes was recently featured on the Style Me Pretty blog.  You'll want to enjoy these photos with hot tea and a scone on your best antique china to get in the moment!