Lana & Dave's Vintage Beach Wedding

Photography courtesy of  Scott Smallin   

We've been promising to share highlights of some of our 2011 weddings, but got a little behind over the holidays.  So without further adieu, we are delighted to begin by sharing Lana and Dave's special day with you! 

  When I was contacted by Lana from Pennsylvania to plan her and Dave's destination wedding I was immensely excited to be given "creative" license and to begin pulling her vision of a romantic beach wedding together turn it into a reality. Lana had already chosen a gown with a vintage feel,  had colors selected for her bridesmaids and flowergirl and they knew they wanted the ceremony decorations to look like they belonged on the beach and not detract from or compete with the natural beauty of the ocean and seashore, but other than that they didn't have a clue what direction to take.  I learned that they both loved antiques so I kept that in mind while developing their design.  A romantic sunset ceremony with a vintage beach theme was perfect for them and I immediately knew what elements to incorporate and what vendors would be able to replicate that vision. 

 A second marriage for both the bride and the groom, Lana and Dave wanted a romantic ceremony on the beach near sunset for the two of them and their immediate family. The couples grown children (each had 1 daughter and 1 son) and the granddaughter of the bride would serve as the wedding party. 

The adorable flower girl, granddaughter of the Bride wanted to have a bouquet like the Bride and Bridesmaids in place of a basket of petals.

The precious ring bearer (grandson of the Bride) preferred to remain on the sidelines.

Lana being escorted and presented in marriage by her son.

It was the perfect evening and Huntington Beach State Park was the perfect spot for Lana and Dave's romantic sunset ceremony.

Soft green hues and a variety of textures gave the ceremony the organic feel the couple was looking for.

Fishnets with sugar starfish draped the arch.

Crocheted barefoot sandals perfect for beach weddings.

Lana's beautiful bouquet of roses, hydrangea, cymbidium orchids, freshia and coffee berries.

 The cake table covered in a seafoam linen with vintage lace overlay and accented with starfish, fishnets, bamboo and moss continued the vintage beach theme.

 Cheers!

 Congratulations to Dave & Lana

Married married on August 24, 2011

We wish you many year of happiness, love and laughter!

  

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.

Short Notice Success!

In the 20 plus years I've been planning weddings and events I've worked on many short notice weddings, but none as short notice as Les and Carrie's 2 week notice wedding. I didn't have time to wait a week to get a signed contract and payment so I had to trust that everything would fall into place and begin working immediately if I was to accomplish the task at hand. I didn't want to just accomplish the task, I wanted to make their special day just as wonderful as if we'd worked on it for months. I was extremely lucky to find that some of my very best vendors were available for their date. Before long I had a team of the very best working with me to make their special day the very best it could be.

Fifty of their closest family members and friends made the trip to Myrtle Beach to celebrate with the happy couple. They were serenaded by the beautiful sound of the steel drums that seemed to keep harmony with the waves and that combined with delicious food, great dinner and dance music and a gorgeous full moon and moonlight that danced off the waves made for a Grand Occasion indeed. In just two short weeks we successfully pulled together one of the nicest ceremonies and reception I have every coordinated. One of the main reasons we were so successful, besides being extremely lucky that some of my top vendors happened to have availability, was the trust and confidence the bride and mother of the bride put in Grand Occasions Inc. Thank you Carrie and Jolete for putting your trust in me, you were a joy to work with!

Congratulations Carrie & Les

&

Best Wishes for a Lifetime of Happiness!