The Big Goodbye

  
My friend and fabulous wedding & event planner, 
Lisa G. McMillan, owner of Exquisite Events & Consulting 
and I have collaborated on many events and love to share our expertise with brides regarding tips, trends and ideas to help them create the weddings they envisioned.  Today we joined brains for ideas on the topic, “Reception Send-Offs”.  Please take a minute to read our take on alternatives to make your grand exit memorable.

Every party has to end and a wedding's final goodbye offers the most dramatic of parting notes.  Couples regularly leave to a shower of bubbles, rose petals, bird seed, lavender, or even more exciting, sparklers.  This tradition of a grand exit is a fun climax to your wedding reception, but should be as uniquely yours as any other aspect you plan.

photography by Shutter Shack

First of all, you must somehow depart the reception at some point.  While it's certainly ok for you to slip out the back without anyone noticing, it will be very disappointing for your guests, some of whom have likely spent a great deal of time and money on your wedding and would like to have the pleasure of hugging you goodbye.  Other guests (like your mom) want to kiss you one final time on the cheek and finalize the farewell in her heart to her baby who is now a married adult.  You also might want to take the time to call out one final goodbye and thank you to all who have supported you thus far on your journey of life as an individual and now as a couple.  If people are at your wedding, they're likely very important to you and should be shown the respect and love that you feel for them.

Photography by Shutter Shack

How to make this exit comfortable for you?  Remember that there are no absolute rules of society about how one must leave.  There may be a few practical rules and considerations (my colleague Lisa McMillan of Exquisite Events and Consulting covers these today on her blog), but there is nothing that you absolutely must do to make the goodbye official.  If you're just going upstairs to your room from the ballroom, no need to make people stand outside blowing bubbles while you exit one door of the venue to run in the next.  You may exit from your ballroom, waving after your last dance a la Sound of Music.  If you are not in the mood to be pelted with small objects, consider having your guests wave white handkerchiefs as you walk toward your car.  If fireworks make you nervous, what about the more fun, and way more child-friendly glow sticks?  OK, so it's a crazy idea, but still, the exit is about you and your personality just as much as any other part of the wedding.

In closing, have fun with your exit.  Think outside the box.  Ask your planner (or me :) for unique ideas that would be fitting with your overall vision and design concept.  Ask your photographer what will be best captured on film.  Consider how best to stage the exit so guests are safe and everyone can catch a glimpse of you.

For more great ideas and tips for your final exit, please visit my friend, Lisa McMillan's blog!

photography by Shutter Shack

Sara and Matt's Engagement Session

A fun option offered in many photographers' packages is the engagement photo session.  This is such a practical idea because it offers the bride and groom an opportunity to "practice" with the camera in locations that are comfortable or natural to them.  As the bride and groom become more at ease in front of the camera, the photographer gets to know their personalities, what gets a giggle, which side is better (oh come on, everyone has a "better" side) and overall what is going to be best for relaxed photos of the bride and groom on wedding day. 

The preparation provided by an engagement session is important because the only real things a bride and groom will keep from their wedding are each other and the photographs.  It just makes sense that photography has priority within the budget, as well as practice time to be sure bride and groom are ready to smile and pose as naturally as possible on their big day.  After all, everyone's favorite photos are images that capture genuine happiness, love and other fleeting, but oh, so precious moments. 

The following photos of Matt and Sara, a gorgeous couple that may actually have been born for the camera, are by Regina Holder.  I love the almost-European feel that comes from Sara's elegance and the backdrop of downtown Asheville.  You can see how much fun they're having from their smiles.  Great work, Regina!

Clarke and Hardy's Wedding

Image from the Pretty Place website

Clarke and Hardy married in the Spring at Pretty Place with reception following at the Robin Hood Barn in Sherwood Forest.  It only made sense that they celebrated in the southern mountains as many of the family and guests came from deep South cities such as Memphis and Atlanta.  I loved their accents and southern class!  Guests enjoyed perfect weather and a weekend full of fun events.  Many of the friends and family stayed at local bed and breakfasts Tiffany Hill in Mills River and Red House Inn in Brevard.  Delicious meals for the weekend came from the Hob Knob in Brevard 

and 12 Bones in Asheville.

Photography by Marc Newton.

 The Occasions by Emily design team had the remarkable fortune of listening to Clarke's design ideas and making them happen, just as she pictured!  We were so excited to see the look of satisfaction on her face when she entered the room.

 

 

Clarke was too sweet when she asked for a photo with her VERY pregnant wedding planner!  We had such a great time working together.  As usual, I miss her now that her wedding's over...Clarke, if you're reading, please write to me.  :)

A few more credits:  

Kind and wonderful officiant:  Rev. Jean Rowe

Ceremony music:  Sons of Ralph (love these easy going, great sounding guys!)

Reception music: the Patrick Smith Band (you gotta hear them to believe how fun they are)

Gorgeous wedding cake:  Anne Somich of Wild Indigo Catering

Rentals and Linens provided by the ever helpful and excellent:  Classic Event Rental

Bobby and Suganya Engagement Session

Hi!  Thanks for checking out the blog today.  I am thrilled to present Bobby and Suganya's engagement session with Heather from Wander and Scrawl photography.  As you'll see in the pictures, this couple has such a positive approach to life and a dear love for each other.  I have enjoyed every minute spent with them in the wedding planning process.  Their wedding is next weekend at Rumbling Bald and promises to be full of happy moments.  Watch for the wedding photos in the next few weeks!

Sarah and Drew

We love being at the Grove Park Inn, particularly when the weather is gorgeous and the wedding is outside!  For Sarah and Drew's wedding, we spent hours watching the sky and counting every rain drop, in hopes that there wouldn't be one too many that would send us indoors.  Everything turned out perfectly as you can see in these beautiful photos by Yasmine of Berkson Photography.

Guests were greeted on the Sammons Porch with glasses of champagne, white wine or perrier.  A classic, welcoming  touch on a hot June day.

Julie, in-house florist at the Grove Park Inn designed these stunning orchid bouquets and centerpieces.

I love place cards...

The lit globe floating above the guest tables is from Asheville Event Services.  The guests loved having a personal "moon"!

Sarah and her mom, Karen, are planners extraordinaire themselves!  We loved working with them and were thrilled to help them make all of their plans come together so perfectly.

Other great professionals involved:

Lola Salon (hair)

Scott Thompson (makeup)

Lou Berkson and Donna Germano (ceremony music)

Orange Krush Band (reception music)

Cami Photo (videography)

Candy Bars

The jury is still out on whether candy bars at a reception are a hot trend, or a little passe.  However, we all know that people love them!  After all, who wouldn't want a box of sugary sweets to munch on after a fabulous party?  So in our opinion, as long as people like candy, brides can't go wrong with giving it out in one form or another.

Here are a few photos of a candy bar we were asked to create for the Association of Bridal Consultants state meeting in Asheville.  The candy was provided by Sweets from Heaven, based out of Concord Mills, NC.

This is celebrity wedding planner Mark Kingsdorf (seen on Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?) owner of the Queen of Hearts Wedding Consultants in Pennsylvania.

Celebrity planner Samantha Goldberg (middle) and my Associate Planner, Kay.  By the way, Kay was the creative designer for the candy bar.  She rocked it!

Indian Invitation Made in India!

We're so excited to be working with an Indian bride this fall!  Suganya has collected amazing centerpieces, decor, favors and more from India when she visits family and Uganda where she travels often for work.  I can't wait to share images of all these colorful elements from her wedding.  In the meantime, I wanted to show the beautiful invitations she has that were made in India on gorgeous paper--wish you could feel them!  The sparkles are tiny rhinestones.  The first photo is the front of the invitation and the second is a matching envelope.  I love the rich feeling from the gold and red.