Heather & Neal's Carolina Inn Wedding!

The weather was perfect for Heather and Neal’s April wedding at The Carolina Inn. The ceremony took place outside in the Bryan Courtyard and the reception was held in the Old Well Room. These two lovebirds were a pleasure to work with and were both very involved in the planning of the wedding. The wedding had so many unique details and personal touches to it that made it truly unique. Even the ceremony had special touches such as acknowledging each of their mothers with a lily and personal vows written specifically for each other.

Heather wanted to be hands on as much as she could throughout the entire planning process. She had great design ideas and was not afraid to mix and match fabrics and patterns. One of my favorite DIY designs Heather came up with was her fabric poms that she used as chair markers as well as table decor. With the help of her fabulous bridesmaids, they were able to create these fabric poms out of gray, white, and blue fabric! Neal wasn’t just along for the ride… he put in some of his own special touches including his famous Nello’s Sauce which we put out as wedding favors for guests to take at the end of the night!

For food, we had some great southern style stations (the seafood risotto was a big hit!) and the Carolina Inn staff was fabulous and on top of everything. Thank you to Heidi (and Melissa) at the Inn for all their hard work leading up to the big day to assure everything ran smoothly!

Thank you Heather and Neal for letting us be a part of your special day and for the wonderful review they filled out on WeddingWire! Here is what they had to say:

I was initially skeptical about the benefit of a wedding planner, which I suspect was part frugality, part being a groom. In the end, however, I can’t imagine what things would have been like had we not hired A Southern Soiree. My now wife stressed the importance of a planner early on in our planning. I agreed, hesitantly, but quickly saw the benefits. Here are some examples:

1) We were given an ear and a soundboard when we needed advice;
2) Megan would negotiate deals with vendors, saving us money and certainly stress. Megan and her team have inside knowledge and know the area vendors well;
3) We received valuable recommendations and advice on what vendors to hire and whom to work with;
4) We had regular planning meetings and received good ideas that simplified things on our end;
5) While the bride needs the most attention, of course, I was thrilled that Megan checked in with me many times before and during the wedding (at least ten times, no joke) and that always made me feel at ease;
6) The wedding day was a breeze. We didn’t have to worry about a thing besides enjoying ourselves. They did everything behind the scenes, like vendor payment, making sure our wedding party knew the timeline, and bringing everything to our room at the end of the night (decorations, gifts, gathering picture frames, even a late night snack). Gina even climbed up in a tree to hang our tissue poms and put the boutonnieres on all of the groomsmen! These things are invaluable, believe me!

Also, to close, my wife is picky–she has good taste (though I alone might prove that wrong ;). When she was shopping (she’s a pro shopper) around for a planner, she consulted blogs, review boards, asked friends, and ultimately settled on A Southern Soiree. That homework paid off.

Check out some of the great images by Neil Boyd Photography!