Your guests are coming from all over the country to beautiful South Carolina to celebrate your wedding day. Staying true to what the South is known for, hospitality, here are several ways to serve up southern hospitality and ensure your guests are most comfortable at your wedding:

First up, uninvite those pesky MOSQUITOS – They won’t stand a chance at feasting on your guests if you arrange to have the grounds sprayed by a professional company like Mosquito Nix or Mosquito Joe. You should also plan to have natural bug repellant available just in case. I love these repelling bracelets.

Serve up Pre-Ceremony Beverages – Whether it’s a hot summer day or cool afternoon, serve up something refreshing and delicious to your guests as they arrive for your outdoor ceremony. Fruit infused sparkling water, hot tea bar, bellinis or hot toddies…you choose the sips (or spirits) and your guests are sure to delight.

Ashley Seawell Photography

KEEP GUESTS COOL

Butler pass chilled towels infused with lemon or eucalyptus oil while guests are waiting for your beach ceremony to begin or during your cocktail hour if taking place outdoors.

Rent several large white patio umbrellas to provide added shade for your outdoor ceremony. Dress them up by having your florist wrap the poles in greenery or wrap the bases in large nautical rope, depending on your setting and design concept.

Provide a basket of fans for your guests to grab if they desire an extra breeze to keep cool. You can plan to order one for every 2 guests. (Don’t forget to rent fans for your reception tent!)

Lowcountry Weddings

KEEP GUESTS WARM

Pashminas in your wedding color palette serve as a beautiful little detail that will keep your guests warm all day and night. Ranging in price from $5 to $50, you can decide how lavish they’ll be. For outdoor reception, consider placing a rolled pashmina on every other seat or draping them ever so beautifully over your ceremony chairs.

Ashley Seawell Photography

Another great way to keep guests warm at your outdoor wedding is to hire a local company to setup a portable coffee bar and serve up signature lattes and cappuccinos. Throw in a dash of Bailey’s and a display of delectable sweets and your guests will delighted. I love this coffee cart from Corner Perk that Meagan and Chris had for their wedding last fall at Oldfield.

Ashley Seawell Photography

Don’t forget to rent space heaters if the temperature is expected to dip below 60 degrees.

Create a Beautiful Bathroom Amenity Basket – These are provided for your guests in case they have a minor emergency or just need to be refreshed. I love displaying the items on a beautiful tray with a softly scented candle and petite floral arrangement. I wrote a post about what your basket should entail.

Provide Comfortable Shoes for Dancing – Some guests will grin and bear the pain of their Jimmy Choo stilettos, but others will be ready to kick off their heels as soon as possible. No one wants to see bare feet in their wedding photos and we surely don’t want anyone to step on broken glass! Keep your ladies happy by providing a basket of flip flops in near the dance floor. Go with gold or silver (if available) since the colors blend with any color palette and coordinate with all dresses.

Cheers y’all!

Embellished Events | Jen Leiti
Boutique Wedding Planning & Design
Serving Hilton Head, Savannah, Beaufort and Charleston, SC
(843) 757-7762
Hello@EmbellishedWeddings.com

You know that feeling you get when you check into a really swanky hotel and see the lavish amenity basket in the bathroom? Ahhhh, now that’s hospitality! Well, why not give your wedding guests that same experience?

One small and easily overlooked wedding detail is a restroom amenity basket filled with mini toiletries and other items that may come in use for your guest’s comfort throughout your wedding. Often displayed in restrooms and created to suite each gender, the baskets include everything from hair ties to blister control. The cost is typically around $100-$125.

Wondering what you should buy? Here are some recommendations:

Packaging:

Baskets come in many shapes and sizes. Stick to something smaller in size so as to not take up unnecessary counter space. I love utilizing sweetgrass baskets, which are made locally here in Charleston, SC. Sweetgrass basketmaking has been around for over 300 years and and is a Gullah traditional art form, passed down from generation to generation. They’re great for flower girl baskets as well! You can buy them here.

What to Include:

Here are some of my top recommendations of things to include in your wedding amenity basket for guests to use. The items that have “x2” indicate you should buy two, one for the men’s basket and one for the women’s basket.

Wedding Party Gift Ideas:

Speaking of toiletry bags, how about monogramming one for your wedding party and filling it with useful goodies? This is both a practical and thoughtful gift that will endure years of good use.

Left Etsy // Right Etsy

Until next time, Happy Planning!

Embellished Events | Jen Leiti
Wedding Planner & Coordinator + Luxury Design Services
Serving Hilton Head, Savannah, Beaufort and Charleston, SC
(843) 757-7762
Hello@EmbellishedWeddings.com

Happy Fall Y’all! Not only is today the start of the colorful foliage season in the Lowcountry, it’s also a popular time for brides and grooms to come into town for planning their 2016 weddings. If you’re not sure how many trips to take or what should be accomplished in each trip, I’ve provided a guide for you right here on the blog.

Q: How many trips should I plan to take during the course of my destination wedding planning process?

Ideally, you should plan to make 3 trips to your town before the Big Day, whether it’s Hilton Head, Beaufort, Savannah or Charleston, SC.

• Trip 1: Find your ceremony and reception venue
• Trip 2: Design Planning
• Trip 3: Tastings, Logistics and Planning

Tip: You should hire a wedding planner prior to scheduling trip one. This way you can save valuable time by having your planner do the legwork of recommending places that fall within your vision and budget, and setting up the site visits. I enjoy joining my clients for their site visits. It allows me to ensure they’re asking the right questions and also take notes on their behalf.

Trip 1: Venue Search

Prior to your first visit, your wedding planner will provide you with a shortened list of venues to research online. Once you’ve selected your top 3 or 4 venues and have the dates for your trip in place (airlines booked), your planner will setup an itinerary at the various locations. You should be able to accomplish this in one weekend (arriving Friday and departing Sunday).

Trip 2: Design Planning

Your second trip should take place 6-8 months prior to your wedding date and should include 2 full days of meetings, preferably during the week. During this visit, you’ll focus solely on the design aspects of your wedding, or as I call it, “painting the picture.” This visit will consist of several meetings with vendors and an in-depth meeting with your wedding planner. Your itinerary could consist of:

DAY ONE:

• Site Visit at Venue – discuss layout and flow, brainstorm ideas, find out what needs to be rented vs. what is provided
• Event Rental Showroom – see/fee/select the items being rented for your wedding
• Meet with Planner – draw room diagram, select linens, discuss draping and lighting

DAY TWO:

• Flowers – bring the room diagram so your florist can count tables and have a visual. Also bring inspiration photos. Your florist will want to see a picture of your gown when discussing bouquet.
• Lighting Company – plan functional and aesthetic lighting for reception and rehearsal dinner (if needed)
• Hair/Makeup Trials – you can postpone this to trip 3 if needed

Trip 3: Tastings, Timelines and Logistics

Your final trip can take place 2-4 months prior to your wedding. Two months is cutting it close in my opinion, but definitely feasible if work/personal life is busy prior to that. Like trip 2, this one can also take place over the course of two full days, preferably during the early week.

DAY ONE:

• Meeting with Planner – Logistics Planning, Timeline Creation, Finalize design details…and so much more
• Reception Menu Tasting – check with your caterer to find out policies on quantity of menu items you may select as well as the number of guests who may attend
• Cake Tasting (my favorite!) – bring photos of inspiration…and your sweet tooth!

DAY TWO:

• Final Meeting with Florist – revise quantities and update designs as needed
• Meet with Officiant/Pastor to Plan Ceremony Service – this can also be done over the phone, but it’s always nice to meet in person if time allows
• Rehearsal Dinner Planning & Tasting, if needed
• Hair & Makeup Trial, if needed

Planning a destination wedding from hundreds of miles away may sound daunting, but with proper scheduling and direction from your planner, it is actually much easier than one may think.

If you’re recently engaged and planning a destination wedding in Hilton Head, Savannah, Beaufort or Charleston, SC, please do send us a note to tell us about your vision and inquire about our planning services.

Happy Planning!

Embellished Events | Jen Leiti
Wedding Planner & Coordinator + Luxury Design Services
Serving Hilton Head, Savannah, Beaufort and Charleston, SC
(843) 757-7762
Hello@EmbellishedWeddings.com