Event Therapy™

2 oz. vanilla vodka
1 oz. creme de cacao
1 oz. buttermilk
1 tbsp. chocolate sauce
3 drops red food coloring
8 drops of vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting for rim

Add vodka, creme de cacao, buttermilk, three drops of red food coloring, and vanilla extract to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a glass rimmed with frosting.

Cheers!

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This past Sunday, Events by La Fete participated in the Carolina Inn Wedding Show.  It was so energizing to see all the enthusiastic brides, grooms and families!   Made me very excited for all of our weddings in 2012!

This year, the Carolina Inn changed things up a bit and introduced a fashion show by Alexia’s Bridal.  Those gowns were gorgeous and the fashion show was so glam!

The theme for our display was definitely mirrors and more mirrors!  I love how mirrors reflect light and lighten a space.  We used a large mirror on an easel for the “seating chart,” tiny mirror discs for the place cards and a tabletop mirror for the table number.  All were hand painted by Carrie Shuping with Calligraphy by Carrie.  The custom petal linen was provided by CE rental, the sexy ghost chairs were provided by Themeworks and the vintage china, glassware and flatware were provided by Party Reflections.  I really wanted the display to feel feminine and romantic and Fresh Affairs (as always) delivered perfectly with the airy arrangement of French Tulips!

I’ve attached some amazing pics from Azul Photography for you to enjoy!

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Claire and Larry were married at the historic Saint Mary’s Chapel in downtown Raleigh on November 12, 2012 and the reception followed at the Capital City Club.  Claire was such a beautiful bride and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to be working with a fellow Eastern NC girl!

Claire’s bouquet, designed by Fresh Affairs, had a piece of her mother’s veil wrapped around the ribbon that was holding the stems together and her father’s wedding band was attached to the veil.  It was absolutely breathtaking, but most importantly, was a sentimental nod to Claire’s mother and late father.

Claire’s favorite flowers are ivory roses, so we carried that theme throughout.  The bouquets, centerpieces and cake were all overflowing with ivory roses!

The Craig Woolard Band kept the party going from the moment they took the stage. They have such amazing energy and the dance floor was packed all night!

Special thanks to Azul Photography for capturing these gorgeous images!  My favorite is the bride and groom recessing down the aisle with the chapel doors perfectly framing them!

Reception Vendors: Cinda’s Creative Cakes, Fresh Affairs, Azul Photography, The Craig Woolard Band, Capital City Club, Classic Party Rentals and pianist Al Bethune.

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I love flowers and cake and linens and lighting, but I really love food and drink!  I am obsessed with the mini trend and just wanted to share some really cute and unexpected ideas for passed hors d’oeuvres, served with a tasty mini beverage (of course!).

If you are on Pinterest, you have probably seen some of these pictures.  In addition to food, I’m also obsessed with Pinterest.  If you haven’t joined, its the most fun place on the web, but don’t plan on getting much else done….

I don’t see how it can get much better than mini tacos served with mini shots of patron!  And such a perfect presentation for a crisp green and white wedding.

Next, mini shepherds pie served with shots of guiness.  I think all the gentlemen at your party would get a kick out of this!

And we can’t forget those with a sweet tooth… Donut holes with coffee (maybe spiked with Baileys!?)

These were my favorite, so I had to share.  My friend Michelle at Triangle Catering also does a mini hushpuppy filled with BBQ and served with a shot of BBQ sauce, how cute it that?  And as I’m typing I’m thinking of all the endless options… mini pancake skewers with mimosas! or gnocchi skewers with shots of chianti!  There are so many more fun ideas and  I hope these ideas will help get your creative juices flowing!

Cheers!

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When thinking of the perfect drink for celebrating a New Year – the go-to is usually a classic champagne cocktail.  With that in mind, I was browsing Martha Stewart Wedding, and this Lavender Champagne cocktail caught my eye.  I can especially see this as a fabulous signature drink at a reception where the color palette includes some shades of purple.  I think my favorite part of this idea is how totally unique it is!

The recipe can be found here:

Ingredients:

Cheers! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year’s!

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I am so thrilled to share some very exciting news with you!  One of our weddings has been featured in Inside Weddings magazine!  I have been dying to share Despina and Simon’s beautiful story, but wanted to wait until the feature came out to do so.

This is a truly amazing couple that had a truly amazing wedding day.  The two were married at the Duke Chapel in Durham, North Carolina this past May.  The reception followed at the Grand Marquis Ballroom.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  First, here is the 8 page spread which came out in the Winter 2012 issue of Inside Weddings.

The article pretty much sums up the story of Despina and Simon, but I have to highlight some of my favorite parts of their wedding!  First, Despina is all about the glam, so she carried that theme throughout the wedding starting with her Vera Wang gown from Alexia’s Bridal.  The stunningly unique invitations (from Maria Scheel Invitations and More) were custom made for Despina and adorned with a small lavender swarovski crystal.  We mimicked the clear invitations with hand painted lucite squares (bought from lowes!) for the table numbers and clear glass chargers which held the menu cards.  We used tons of glass vases with flickering floating candles and mirrors throughout the centerpieces so everything sparkled (thanks to Fresh Affairs!).

The cake (from Cinda’s Creative Cakes) was one of my most favorite design elements.  Because Despina loves sparkle, the cake stand we chose was adorned in thousands of swarovski crystals.  Despina’s favorite flower is the phalaenopsis orchid so to really make the cake stand out, we submerged stems of the orchid in glass containers that separated each tier of the cake!  Each layer of the cake was also adorned with hanging swarovski chandelier crystals.  It was truly a work of art and of course the cake was as yummy in your mouth as it was on your eyes!

Rocky Top hospitality did an amazing job with the 3 course surf and turf dinner and to top it off, they brought in cones of chocolate that were (…drumroll please!) filled with champagne and garnished with a strawberry for the toast!   As chocolate is my most favorite thing on earth, this was clearly a highlight for me and I’m quite sure everyone at the wedding thought so as well!

Lastly, and what makes my job so wonderful and so fulfilling, was the look on Despina’s face when she entered the ballroom.  She twirled around on the dance floor and exclaimed that this was all she had dreamed of and more!  Music to my ears!

Here are a few more images from the always amazing and fabulous Walters + Walters (in case you didn’t get enough!)

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Who doesn’t love a photo booth?  I, for one, am a huge fan and don’t see this trend fading away any time soon.  However, if you are looking for a way to trim the budget, check out these super cool instant digital cameras from Polaroid ($300) and set up your own photo booth!  Guests can snap images to leave in an album and take one as a keepsake from your event.  The printer can be set to print dates as well as custom borders.  And the most awesome part, you’ll have the instant camera for years to come!

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The choice of venue for Saturday’s ceremony and reception was the Weymouth Center in Southern Pines.  It was the most perfect fall day!  The feel we were going for was “enchanted garden.”  Custom made Mason jar lanterns were strung from the grand pine trees dotted throughout the property, hundreds of floating candles (provided by Fresh Affairs) created a soft sparkle beneath the beautiful glowing tent (provided by Classic Party Rentals), and colorful roses (homegrown by the bride’s mother!) adorned the ivory and gold speckled linens from CE Rental. DJ Jeff Simpson had guests dancing from the moment they arrived in the tent until the very last song!  Delicious food was catered by Elliot’s on Linden, with gourmet cupcakes shipped in from D.C.’s famous Georgetown Cupcakes (a favorite of the bride and groom).

My most favorite memory from this wedding was the ceremony.  The groom grew up Jewish and the bride Christian.  They had both a Rabbi and a Minister perform the service together (under a Chuppah) with the traditional 7 prayers delivered by the Rabbi in Hebrew and then translated in English by the Minister.  Such a beautiful ceremony to witness!

The day’s memories were again captured by the ever-so-talented Vesic Photography.

Looking forward to posting the wedding video by Heart Stone Films, so stay tuned!

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This October wedding weekend (and photography) was so beautiful I have to share in two posts!

Rebecca and Charlie held their rehearsal dinner at the Fairbarn in Pinehurst, NC.  I love this venue, especially all of the wonderful twinkly lights!  So festive and absolutely perfect for the occasion.

Rebecca and Charlie really wanted to have a “fall festival” feel to the rehearsal dinner.  To make this happen we decided to have games (think custom bocce ball sets with the couples wedding date!), a very talented caricature artist (Bruce Stevenson) and wonderful food from Elliott’s on Linden served family style on long farm tables from Classic Party Rentals.  After dinner guests were treated to an ice cream bar, complete with Charlie’s favorite oreo ice cream shipped in from Boston!  YUM!

I hope you enjoy part one of these images from Vesic Photography!

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I am so excited to share these pages from the latest edition of Weddings Magazine.  We had so much fun designing this special table for the kiddos!  Check it out below… and then tell me how much you want some peanut-butter-and-jelly sushi rolls!  YUM!

For more fabulousness check out www.weddings-magazine.com

Happy Friday!

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Alas, we have a solution for all you double-dippers out there!  Edible hors d’oeuvre containers!

Have your caterer (or your husband, girlfriend, sister, mother, brother, whoever) make these lovely servers out of baguettes.  You can fill the baguette with anything yummy and bite sized.  The crudite and dip idea shown in this picture is simply perfect!  And the best part… no clean up!

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It’s that time of the year.  Let the holiday festivities begin!  If you are hosting a Christmas party or New Year’s celebration – you must try this delightful treat of drink.  Or maybe I should say dessert.

With Ghirardelli chocolate? Don’t mind if I do!

The perfect holiday party treat!

Here’s the deal:

Ingredients:

• 4 ounce(s) 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
• 1 cup(s) half-and-half
• 1 tablespoon(s) amaretto (almond liqueur)
• 1 teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup(s) whipped cream

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Dave and Lindsay met in Charlotte, NC at a “group dinner” with mutual friends.  Everyone knew each other at the dinner except for Dave and Lindsay.  They ended up sitting next to each other, and have been together ever since.

Getting married in Chapel Hill was a no-brainer for the couple.  They have a mutual love for the town, the school and the Carolina Inn.  They both grew up going to UNC football and basketball games and the Carolina Inn was always a meeting place for their family and friends.  ”We love going back there to relive old memories and create new ones,” says Lindsay.

From the Bride, “The most special part of our wedding day was the wedding ceremony.  We got married in the Episcopal Church on Franklin Street, The Chapel of the Cross.  It is such a beautiful church with stained glass windows, old wooden benches and a slate floor.  The whole experience was so moving – being in one room with our closest family and friends, wearing our wedding attire and exchanging our vows was truly magical.”

The bridesmaids wore light blue strapless dresses by Thread and our groomsmen wore traditional tuxes with custom-made yellow and light-blue cummerbund sets by Alexander Julian. 

For the flowers, we chose a romantic yet sophisticated look with white calla lilies, hydrangeas and roses from Tre Bella.  

I was especially excited about planning this Chapel Hill wedding for fellow UNC graduates because we hired my most favorite band ever, the Atlanta Showstoppers!

Photography by Walters and Walters.

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Kelly and Simon’s Raleigh wedding drew inspiration from the bride’s favorite childhood story, The Little Prince.  Creativity led the way with save-the-date bookmarks and custom post-card invitations that featured illustrations and quotes by author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  The ceremony was held at the beautiful All Saints Chapel in downtown Raleigh on June 26, 2011.  We chose Marbles Kids Museum as the reception location for the whimsical ambiance and kid friendly interior.  The couple wanted to make sure all guests felt welcome to bring their children and that they were well entertained while the adults socialized!

The theme was carried through with a French menu catered by Rocky Top Hospitality and a red rose-topped wedding cake from Swank Cakes.

Photography by Lauren Mann.

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I had the pleasure of working with the talented Heather White of Wander & Scrawl on a wedding a few months ago at the  North Carolina Museum of Art.  The guest book she made was amazing! It was a compilation of images from the couple’s engagement shoot, which took place at the Museum Park.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to go see the beautiful grounds that surround the museum, you really should.  It’s perfect for a casual stroll or a bike ride…and as evidenced by these images, ABSOLUTELY PERFECT for an engagement shoot.

After seeing these images from their engagement session on Heather’s blog, I just had to share them.  Juan and Laura met at the museum.  They were two strangers exploring the same exhibit, and the rest was history.

What’s amazing about these images is that Heather was able to capture the couple’s personality so perfectly.  It couldn’t be more obvious that this is a couple that loves to dance, loves art, loves life and love each other.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!

 Amazing, right? Check out more on Wander & Scrawl on their website.

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Who doesn’t love candy apples?  Who doesn’t love the cocktail version of such a delicious treat?

The ingredients:

• 1 ounce Baileys Caramel Irish Cream
• 1/2 ounce Smirnoff Green Apple Flavored Vodka
• 1 slice apple
• 1 teaspoon caramel

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I love emails like this!  Melts my heart!

Thought you might enjoy this one – pretty much sums up how the bride felt about her wedding coordinator

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We are gearing up for a ginormous wedding this weekend on a farm in the lovely town of Newton Grove, NC.  We are expecting close to 650 guests and the wedding party is another 20!  Set up began Monday with the tent installation by Classic Party Rentals.  I have to share this layout because it makes me laugh.  Rebecca and I artfully color coordinated the details so specifically that de-coding our map will be quite the endeavor!

All kidding aside, this is just a partial behind the scenes glimpse of what goes into the planning process.  7 different table sizes and styles all with different colored linens and table arrangements and 13 different vendors contributing their expertise.  4 of our La Fete girls will be on site for 3 days to oversee and assist with set up and to make sure all the details are in place perfectly.  I get so excited working on events like this!  We will be sure to post the pictures so you can see the before and after!

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Bronwyn and Ben’s ceremony was held on August 21, 2010 at the Chapel of the Cross on Franklin Street.   Being from Chapel Hill, both Bronwyn and Benjamin are avid Tarheel fans, as are their families, so the Historic Carolina Inn was the obvious choice for the reception.

The bride wore an exquisite Pnina Tornai dress purchased at Kleinfelds in New York for the ceremony and then changed into a second dress, also by Pnina Tornai, for the reception.  Bronwyn allowed the bridesmaids to choose their own black satin faced taffeta dresses, from designers Lazaro, Alvina Valenta or Jim Hejlm.  They were also given the option of mermaid or trumpet style.  As a bridesmaid gift, Bronwyn gave each of the maids a set of double strand fresh water pearls.  To differentiate the maid of honor from the rest of the bridesmaids, Bronwyn purchased a black feather and crystal headpiece from Kleinfelds for her to wear.

The color theme was easy for Bronwyn.  She wanted something that would always be considered timeless and classic.  Thus she chose blacks and cremes with gold and platinum accents.  Seating tables featured romantic pomander-style centerpieces draped with delicate Swarovski crystals and designed by Fresh Affairs.  Each arrangement was made primarily of antique roses, peonies and hydrangeas with very minimal greenery.  Customized platinum calligraphy was used for the place cards and menu cards, so all paper material matched her colors perfectly (thanks to Maria Scheel Invitations and More!). Special attention was paid to lighting, including a projection of the new couple’s monogram on the all-white dance floor and pinspots to make the tall floral arrangements sparkle. The elegant cake from The Art of Cake had platinum detailing, sprays of sugar flowers and a breathtaking birdcage topper with sugar lovebirds.  The Carolina Inn provided a five course seated dinner complete with a sushi bar and chilled seafood station for cocktail hour and mini milkshakes and warm chocolate brownies for a late night snack!

Of course, none of this magical day would have been possible without the love and support of Bronwyn’s mother, Joan Duffield.  To further personalize the wedding, Bronwyn and Joan were able to share a special mother / daughter dance after Bronwyn’s first dance with Ben.

Walters and Walters could not have done a more perfect job of capturing the evening! Enjoy the pictures!

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