A Sneak Peek of Claire and Casey's Wedding

Claire and Casey were married on Saturday in Gadsden, Alabama. I had so much fun working with Claire on her wedding and I could not stand to wait the few weeks to see the photos. Thankfully, Arden from Arden Photography is a dear friend of mine and she was kind enough to give us a little sneak peek!!!

Stay tuned for a full blog post on this wedding when we get the rest of the photos.

Happy Planning!

-Neillie Butler

A Rehearsal Dinner at The Stables

After all the excitement we had at The Stables at Russell Crossroads last weekend, I thought I would share some photos from an event we did there during the spring. As you know, J.D and Yaicha Brown hosted their wedding weekend at Lake Martin and chose Spring House for their reception and The Stables as their rehearsal dinner venue. J.D.'s mom has amazing taste and I was thrilled when she asked me to help her with a few of the details.

Mrs. Brown wanted the look to be masculine, yet a touch of Spring given the time of year. She hired the talented Carole Sullivan to handle the flowers, and of course, Carole nailed it! The ferns, pebbles and moss were a perfect match for the iron bird containers. The Good Earth Pottery was a fabulous substitute for the typical rental plates. Nice linen napkins were also a great addition to the place setting.

Allene Neighbors made a custom invitation and place cards to match the look of the event. We glued a tiny copper horseshoe on each place card and displayed the cards on a board of rustic nails. I am sick to say that we did not get a photo of the place cards. It was by far one of the cutest place card displays we had ever done.

The party started off with a cocktail reception downstairs with a great two man band. The guests were then invited upstairs for a seated "family style" dinner. There were farm style tables and round tables. All the guests enjoyed good company over the gourmet "comfort" food prepared by Spring House. After the toasts, the guests were invited to help themselves to a s'mores kit and head out to the stone fire pit for marshmallow roasting! The two man band started up again and an "after party" quickly became a highlight of the night.

The Stables is an amazing place to host any type of event. Linda and Stanley are a delight to work with, and Spring House always knocks it out of the park with the food!

Happy Planning!

-NB

Daytime Alabama and Flower Magazine visits Mariée Ami

We were delighted when Margot Shaw, editor of Flower Magazine, called us about hosting her new segment with Wendy Garner on Daytime Alabama at our studio. We love flowers, NBC 13 and our creative friends (especially friends with fresh cut dahlias)! Naturally, Margot showed up with buckets of the most amazing fall dahlia blooms and some clever new “green” containers. Our studio is popping with fall color and a new stack of Flower magazines for our brides to be inspired. A special thanks to Wendy for her interest in our cozy little shop where we get the daily pleasure to work with the most incredible brides - ever!

Happy Planning!

-NB

A Sneak Peak into Hannon and Cameron's Wedding

Hannon Kirk and Cameron Doody were married last night and there are one million things I want to share with you. All I can say is that the hours of planning paid off. It was EXACTLY what I had dreamed for Hannon's perfect day! I cannot wait to get the photos back from A Bryan Photo!

Enjoy this sneak peak......

Love these special shots taken by the dear Ashley Zeiger!

Happy Planning!

-NB

Saturday Musings...

Laurie sent me this funny story today and I just had to share it with all of you. We live in a time where there is typically at least one step-patent in every wedding. This can be a very sticky situation that the bride and groom have no control over. We hope that the adults decide to act like adults and remember the day is about the bride and groom, however that is not always the case.

This is just one more reason to hire a wedding planner....let us put the "fun" in "dysfunctional."

HOW TO BE GRACIOUS

Jennifer's wedding day was fast approaching. Nothing could dampen her excitement - not even her parent's nasty divorce.

Her mother had found the PERFECT dress to wear, and would be the best-dressed mother-of-the-bride ever!

A week later, Jennifer was horrified to learn that her father's new, young wife had bought the exact same dress as her mother! Jennifer asked her father's new young wife to exchange it, but she refused. "Absolutely not! I look like a million bucks in this dress, and I'm wearing it," she replied.

Jennifer told her mother who graciously said, ''Never mind sweetheart. I'll get another dress.

After all, it's your special day.''

A few days later, they went shopping, and did find another gorgeous dress for her mother.

When they stopped for lunch, Jennifer asked her mother, ''Aren't you going to return the other dress? You really don't have another occasion where you could wear it."

Her mother just smiled and replied, ''Of course I do, dear.....I'm wearing it to the rehearsal dinner the night BEFORE the wedding.''

Happy Planning!

-NB

Mariée Ami Wedding: Sarah and Rob Dean

Sarah Burton and Rob Dean were married on August 13, 2011 at Shoal Creek Country Club. Sarah wanted a simple and elegant wedding without any fuss. She knew she wanted Eric Chapman Photography, Shoal Creek Country Club and The Undergrounders to be a part of her day. Besides that, Sarah left the planning to her mother and me.

Sarah's beautiful dress was from The White Room. It was a simple dress that fit her style and personality perfectly!

Celine Russell is one of the best make-up artists I know. She is talented, beautiful and SO sweet! Sarah and Celine hit it right off and became fast friends.

This girl was in it for comfort. Her Tom's kept her dancing all night!

Gorgeous!

The alter arrangement was one of my favorites!

The rich color of the flowers really popped in the photos. I was also really happy with the way these colors seemed to mesh with Shoal Creek's decor.

Andy Tolar strung globe lighting over the patio. It was a great addition! I wanted the patio to be an extension of the reception, not just a place people could get away. The lighting and chavari chairs were the perfect touch!

The white chairs were not Mrs. Burton's favorite thing, so we decided to hang flower balls from from the ceiling of the chapel. This drew everyone's eyes up, taking the focus off the sea of white.

The goblets were a gift from Mrs. Burton to Sarah on her wedding day. The couple took their first communion as a married couple with them and then used them for the cake cutting. It was a thoughtful gift that I was happy to incorporate.

Tambourines have quickly become my new favorite thing for the dance floor! It adds a whole new element to the dance floor.

Rob, as well as Sarah's father, Rob (yes, they have the same name) both love Rice Krispies treats. Instead of a groom's cake we did a candy table (Sarah LOVES candy) with the focus being on "Rob's Rice Krispies." The best part about this scenario is that both Rob Dean and Rob Burton thought the nice gesture was for them. What can we say, they were both happy!

Sarah and Rob's wedding was perfect! The couple was so happy to get married! It was a pleasure working with them, and Mr. and Mrs. Burton were wonderful as well.

Vendors:

Shoal Creek Country Club- Venue and Catering

Flowers/Decor- KG Designs

Cake- Magic Muffin

Candy Bar- Kathy G. & Co.

Buses for the guests- Rare Transportation

Photography- Eric Chapman

Make-up- Celine Russell

Wedding Dress- The White Room

Music - The Undergrounders (Southeastern Attractions)

Razzle Dazzle Creative Design- Logo and other paper details

Happy Planning!

-NB