2011 Grand Occasions Brides

We are happy to announce that our annual Say Yes to The BEST....Dress contest is about to begin!  We've been waiting until we received photos from all of our 2011 weddings in order to give very bride a chance to compete.  A panel of judges has been busy choosing finalists from all of our 2011 brides.  The task has not been an easy one as you can see.  Finalists will be announced this week, but in the mean time we wanted to share photos of all of the gorgeous brides we had the privileged of working with in 2011 and say "THANK YOU" to each of them for allowing us the honor of being part of their special day!! BEST WISHES to each of our couples for a lifetime of love, laughter and happiness together and GOOD LUCK to all of the contestants!! 

GET READY TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE!!!

Visit our Facebook Page and become our friend, then wait for the finalists to be  posted and choose your favorite.   Everyone can vote (except me).  To vote all you have to do is like their photo and make a comment.  Each like counts as 1 point, every comment counts as 2.  The contestant with the most points will be our winner and will receive a cash prize!!

https://www.facebook.com/grandoccasions

https://www.facebook.com/grandoccasions

Christmas In July

   With temperatures reaching record highs I thought thinking about cooler temperatures might make it a bit more tolerable so I decided to highlight our last wedding of the 2010 season.
  Maria and James were introduced by a mutual friend and developed a close friendship for several years before their friendship turned to romance.  Even before the question had been asked or the answer given, Maria knew she wanted a winter wedding and knew she and James would be sharing their anniversary with her parents, Lois and John, who were married on the same day 33 years earlier.  Maria's December 18th wedding celebration was filled with Southern charm and elegance and befitting of her genteel manner and personality.  Both the church and reception venue were already adorned with gorgeous Christmas decor which was another reason for choosing the date only 1 week before Christmas.  Wanting to take advantage of the beautiful decor as well as celebrate the Season Maria purchased a variety of sparkling silver Christmas ornaments which were displayed on 2 trees at their reception and served as thank you gifts for their guests.  In addition to the embellished tannenbaums that graced every corner and grand foyer, the noble Palmetto, South Carolina's state symbol,  would also have it's place of eminence.  Pawleys Island, South Carolina has provided Maria and her family a treasure chest of happy memories and another reason Maria and James chose to begin their Happily Ever After in The Palmetto State.   It was a day of enchantment for all and filled with many memories to place in the Madden treasure chest to be relived over and over. 

Congratulations ~ Best Wishes 

& 

Happy Ever After!!

 A magical wonderland.

Maria, wearing her mother's veil,  poses on the Grand Staircase .

 A Pink Cadillac was chosen not only to carry Maria's  pink and green color scheme, but to support Breast Cancer awareness and research.

Guests got to choose their favorite ornament as a thank you from Maria and James.

Sabal Palmetto known for it's strong root system, flexible trunk and ability to withstand fierce storms is a perfect symbol of Maria and James' commitment and dedication to one another was the main element of their wedding cake and Groom and Groomsmen's tie and bow ties.

After seeing another Grand Occasion bride's "GRIT" send off knew she wanted to use the traditional Southern staple not only to represent abundance and prosperity, but because she thought it looked like snow! And besides, what could be more Southern than grits?

Maria and James' wedding has been featured in The Atlantan Brides Magazine Fall/Winter 2011 issue.  We hope to have that article available soon.

SAY YES to THE BEST.....Dress Contest

Our 2010 season began on March 12th with a rehearsal dinner at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club and ended on December 18th with two gorgeous events, a wedding at DeBordieu Colony and a Silver Wedding Anniversary celebration at Pine Lakes Country Club.  All of our forty plus weddings of the season had their own unique style and personality, but they all had one thing in common, a dress, and in some cases two!

  To kick off our 2011 season, Grand Occasions Inc. is sponsoring a SAY YES to THE BEST.....Dress contest, showcasing the gowns of our 2010 brides.  Every dress was absolutely stunning and perfect for the bride who selected and wore it, but only one can hold the title of Grand Occasions BEST Dress of 2010 and it's up to you to decide who the winner will be.  Finalists have been chosen by a panel of judges and have been posted in albums on our Grand Occasions Inc. Facebook page.   

Some of our brides had been dreaming of the perfect dress since they were very young and knew exactly what it would look like, others hadn't really given it a lot of thought until they said "I will".  Either way they all embarked on a mission to find their perfect dress and say " YES....THIS IS THE DRESS" !  They all successfully accomplished their quest!  Now it's time for you to embark on a mission and help choose "THE BEST" Dress of our 2010 season and say "YES, THIS IS THE BEST"!  Everyone is eligible to vote (one vote per person please).  To do so, please follow the link to our Grand Occasions Inc. Facebook page and "like" us then find your favorite dress from our finalists, click "like" on their album and leave a comment.  Voting ends on Friday, January 28, 2011 at midnight.  The winner will be announced on Valentine's Day.

  In the next few weeks we will be highlighting some of our 2010 weddings and the dresses that weren't selected to compete as a finalist.  This years weddings and gowns are just as spectacular and we can't wait to share those with you throughout the year.  We hope you will enjoy them as much as we do.  

 Good luck to all of our SAY YES to THE BEST.....Dress contestants!

Please follow the link below and "LIKE" us, then vote for your favorite! 

Grand Occasions Inc. Facebook link