What do you get when you want a spooky Halloween wedding without having "too much" Halloween decor or actually being on Halloween? I think we found the perfect blend of Halloween charm with classic wedding fun. The bride, Jessica, and her mom used lots of black, white and orange branches with various vases to create this edgy look for the reception. The ceremony set up was fairly simple but in the shape of a circle so guests could watch from all angles. Matt McGraw is one of Wilmington's most talented wedding vendors so I am thrilled to share him images with you below. Matt has a super creative and innovative style. The couple decided to do a "first look" where they would see each other before the wedding and have that big reveal moment with only the photograph there to capture the raw emotion. After the first look, they were able to get photos of the bridal party together. There was even time for a little bar hopping. One of my favorite photos was one captured in a nearby popular bar, The Blue Post. This was all done prior to the ceremony so they had plenty of time to enjoy the reception with their guests. I love it when couples do a first look. I am very pro-first look, although I know it is not ideal for all couples. Once the reception began, the guests enjoyed delicious food from Bon Appetit Catering with lots of sweet treats at the candy bar after. Guests were assigned to a table by picking a ouigi board escort card off the spooky tree. For the guest book, everyone signed two ceramic pumpkins with black markers. Jessica told me she wanted a headless horseman at the wedding from day one. Although we may not have had an actual headless horseman, we did have one bad-ass life size statue. Guests enjoyed taking photos with it, including myself! All of the elements for this spooky wedding day came together just right. Jessica + Jamie had a great time hanging out with their loved ones and so did Knot Too Shabby Events. We hope you find a spooky yet romantic way to celebrate your one year anniversary coming up! Here is to many, many more years of happy marriage! Click on images below to enlarge. Favorite Wedding Moment: Jessica + Jamie "warned" me in one of our planning meetings that they have a friend who notoriously chair dances to "Bye, Bye, Bye" at every event and wedding they have with their group of friends. We were not let down. We all witnessed what I must say the best, slightly awkward, extremely hilarious solo dances to one of my favorite boy band songs. I will never, ever be able to listen to that song without thinking of this day and that dance but I'm okay with that. There are a couple pictures of the dance above if you want to see what awesomeness I'm talking about. Vendors
Venue: The RiverRoom Music: DJ Professionals & Video Catering: Bon Appetit Photography: Matt McGraw Photography Lighting: The Audio Visual People Rentals: ETC Party Rentals Centerpieces & Bouquet Flowers: The Bride and her Mother Cake: Creative Cake Design by Tammy Hodge Officiant: Family friend Month-Of Coordination: Knot Too Shabby Events Attendees: 80 guests
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Thus far, 2015 has been quite an amazing year for Knot Too Shabby Events and we could not be more happy with the direction our business is going. I am coming up on the two year anniversary of owning Knot Too Shabby Events after planning numerous weddings as the Event Manager at The RiverRoom since 2011. In May 2015, I decided to leave my position as Event Manager to focus all of my time and energy on making Knot Too Shabby Events the best it can be. I am so excited to expand my business and work at all of the amazing venues Wilmington and the surrounding area has to offer. I have even started planning weddings in Southport, Bald Head Island, Topsail Island and the North Carolina Mountains. I do travel for weddings and events so do not hesitate to reach out if you need help planning your upcoming event! If you have been following my blog lately, you will notice that I have been catching up on recent 2014 wedding + event features. I will continue to cover each 2014-2015 wedding + event with a full blog. In the meantime, check out these sneak peeks of what is to come. Jessica + Jamie's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 10.10.14 Laura + Matt's Wedding Reception - 10.11.14 Wilmington Weddings + Events October Vendor Mixer - 10.28.14 Caitlyn + Robbie's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 10.31.14 Laura's Bridal Luncheon + Rehearsal Dinner - 11.6.14 Tammy's 40th Birthday Party + Surprise Vow Renewal - 11.9.14 Al's Surprise 40th Birthday Party - 11.29.14 Katie + Joe's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 1.24.15 Romeo + Juliet's Fake Wedding - A Bridal Show Alternative - 2.28.15 Wilmington Weddings + Events March Vendor Mixer - 3.24.15 Sam + Cade's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 3.27.15 Kaylynn + David's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 4.10.15 Cameron + Richard's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 4.18.15 Kasey + Jeff's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 5.2.15 Anna + Josh's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 5.9.15 C + J's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 5.23.15 Taneia + Marc's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 7.3.15 Slye Family 50th Anniversary Party - 7.5.15 Justine + Renato's Wedding Ceremony + Reception - 7.10.15 Knot Too Shabby Events is gearing up for a busy Fall 2015 wedding season so stay tuned to see what we do next! Want to win a Free wedding complete with everything you need for your big day?Start listening to 102.7 WGNI now for your chance to be qualified to win. The winning couple will be announced on October 24, 2015 at the wedding venue. More details to come about vendors involved and how to win. Tune in to get qualified twice a day or join us on October 24th to enter the day of. One lucky couple will win the wedding of their dreams with up to 125 guests with the following vendors, including a $1800 partial planning package from Knot Too Shabby Events. Wedding Planning: Knot Too Shabby Events Venue: Pine Valley Country Club Caterer: Pine Valley Country Club Cake: Apple Annie's Bake Shop Wedding Dress: Camille's of Wilmington Jeweler: Snowden's Jewelers DJ: Bigg B Entertainment Hair + Makeup: Kreashenz Salon + Spa Cake Pop Favors: Coastal Cupcakes Planning a 2016 or 2017 wedding?Knot Too Shabby Events is now booking weddings and events for 2016-17 in and around North and South Carolina. I would love to sit down with you to learn more about what you're looking for so we can plan a flawless and amazing event for you! I look forward to working with you!! Happy planning- Contact Me: Melissa Burton Mendoza Event Coordinator Knot Too Shabby Events 910.540.0553 knottooshabbyevents@gmail.com Tying the details together.I think every bride gets to the point in the wedding planning process where they say, "let's just elope." Wedding planning can be stressful and overwhelming. Often times a simple wedding can transition into the not-so-simple wedding once invisioned when you start to add the "perfect venue", picking a color scheme, design elements, photographer, caterer, florist, band, and everything else. Molly + Timothy wanted a simple wedding from the start. They wanted to have a fairly simple wedding since they recently purchased their first home. After months of planning a vineyard wedding in the mountains of North Carolina, they decided to forgo their plans and surprise their friends and family at their engagement party. This is where I came in. As one of Molly's best friends who happens to be a wedding planner, I was the only one to know about the surprise wedding besides each of their parents. We started to think about how we could still have a fun wedding without going over the top and not blow the surprise to all of the guest until they arrived. We enlisted in the groom's father to do the catering, flowers were purchased by the local farmer's market and we designed them the day of, tables and chairs were borrowed from a local church and Molly bought a few of the other items needed for the big day, like linens and vases. The bar was self-serve and Timothy put his artistic ability to good use by creating the wooden tree guestbook and signs for the bar, food and restroom. A family member officiated the ceremony. Some of the guests asked what they could bring to the "engagement party" so we just told them to bring desserts. The bride's brother borrowed sound equipment from a friend and Molly put her excellent music taste to the test when making their wedding playlist. Normally, I would not recommend not having a DJ for a wedding, but we didn't need nor want it for this low-key surprise wedding. There was no bridal party except Bango the dog. I borrowed Edison lights from a vendor in Wilmington and Molly hired a photographer from the mountains. It was not necessary to rent a venue when we could have the perfect Fall wedding location right in Molly's childhood backyard. Jennifer Gold Photography was there to take photos of the wedding and even she did not know it was going to be their wedding day. Guests started to show up for what they thought was the engagement party and they walked in to see a sign that said "Welcome to our Wedding". There were some confused yet happy faces so I explained to the guests to take a seat and get ready for their surprise wedding. The ceremony took place overlooking the pool in the backyard. We hand-sewed carnations on fishing line to make a draping floral backdrop. Although we were sewing flowers up to an hour before the ceremony, it looked absolutely beautiful. Guests could sit on mismatched blanket covered hay bales or stand nearby during the 15 minute ceremony. After the ceremony, Molly + Timothy took a few photos with the photographer and immediate family before we chowed down on dinner. There were toasts from special family members, lots of dancing and too many laughs. This backyard surprise wedding could not have been any better and I was so blessed to be a part of it. Now, I am ready to plan another surprise wedding. Any other brave Brides out there? Molly's WeddingWire Review: "I hired Melissa as my day of coordinator last weekend for an engagement party that was actually a surprise wedding! It was something that was planned in a matter of weeks, so you can imagine how stressful the weeks prior to the event were. I'm having a hard time articulating how amazing Melissa is as a wedding planner. She is the perfect example of someone who has truly found her calling in life! Aside from my husband, she was the very BEST decision I made in my wedding planning. She was so responsive, and easy to communicate with. She ALWAYS knew exactly what to say to ease my worries and concerns, and she saw that my day went PERFECT and so smooth. I had several guests comment on how wonderful she was. My wedding day was so hectic at times and all I had to say was "ask Melissa..." or "Please get Melissa" and she was there. It's a wonder how that woman can be in so many places at once. I can't say enough wonderful things about her. I have tears in my eyes trying to wrap my head about how much I appreciate her being there. THANK YOU MELISSA! For everything you did, we couldn't have done it without you." Click on images below to enlarge. Favorite Wedding Moment: I've known Molly and her family basically since I was born so it meant the world to me to be there on the big day. I helped arrange for Molly's dad to see Molly for the first time in her wedding dress moments before the ceremony with the photographer there to capture his reaction. His absolute joy and sheer pride for his now grown up and beautiful daughter brought tears to my eyes! The photos from this moment are some of my favorite from any wedding I have ever been a part of. Vendors
Venue: Family home in Morganton, NC Music: Speakers + ipod Catering: Groom's father Photography: Jennifer Gold Photography Lighting: The Audio Visual People Centerpieces & Bouquet Flowers: Bride & Knot Too Shabby Events Dessert: Each guests was asked to bring a dessert Officiant: Groom's brother in law Coordination: Knot Too Shabby Events Attendees: 70 guests |
Authora place for bridal tips, wedding highlights, and other fun stuff, written by Melissa of Knot Too Shabby Events |