Vibrant, Colorful Summer Wedding at Homewood!

The last few months have been strange. We have been working hard to reschedule most of our 2020 weddings to 2021 and working on finding ways to keep all of our vendor friends and couples informed as we learn about new restrictions and policies in North Carolina surrounding weddings. While it has not been easy, we are so grateful and lucky to be working with such amazing couples and vendors to create wedding magic and provide memorable days for our couples and their friends and family! After many quiet months at Carolina Love Events, we slowly started getting back into elopements and micro-weddings at the beginning of July and we are thrilled to be back! We wanted to share one of our recent Homewood wedding days with you!

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Hannah and Cameron were such a pleasure to work with! We had a blast planning their gorgeous summer wedding at Homewood this past month! Of course, we kept all safety and social distancing policies in mind when planning this wonderful couple’s special day.

Michelle and Sara and Stuck In Love captured all of the details and moments perfectly from this wedding day!

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Vendors

Venue: Homewood

Planning & Floral Design: Carolina Love Events

Photography: Michelle and Sara

Videography: Stuck In Love

Ceremony Music: Allegro Music

Reception Music: DJ Lucas London

Catering: 67 Biltmore

Officiant: Friend of the Couple

Hair and Makeup: Silver Ceiling Beauty

Dessert: Cakes by Gray

Getaway Car: Coats Classic Cars

Staffing: Blue Ridge Event Staffing

Bar and Beverages: Asheville Beverage Company

Details

Wedding day details should be uniquely yours! Hannah and Cameron’s wedding invitation suite was the perfect elegant summer suite and it looks so beautiful styled with delicate wax seals and jewelry! Plus, we love the fun handkerchief reminding everyone to keep their sh*t together!

Flowers

Hannah and Cameron really wanted a vibrant, bright floral color scheme! We actually used the groomsmen ties as inspiration for the floral design and really like the way the flowers came together!

Getting Ready

The day started with the bridal party getting ready for the big day!

Silver Ceiling Beauty did a stellar job on Hannah’s hair and makeup! Hannah’s hair looked gorgeous in that curled low bun and we especially liked her bridal headband! The sweet pictures of Hannah’s friends and family helping her get ready for her special day are a delight!

Cameron look so handsome in their navy suits! We really love the ties that he and his groomsmen had on! Fun fact, we used the groomsmen ties as inspiration for the wedding floral design and it is a great mix of colors! Once everyone was ready, it was time for group pictures and prepping for the ceremony!

Father Daughter First Look

One of the sweetest moments on wedding days is the father daughter first look! We love seeing the father of the bride’s reaction as he turns to see his lovely daughter in her wedding day attire!

Welcome Table

Guests were greeted at Homewood with a thoughtful welcome table that exhibited all of Hannah and Cameron’s past family wedding photos! We enjoyed displaying these precious pictures on Homewood’s antique grand piano for family and friends to admire!

Ceremony

Hannah and Cameron decided to use Homewood’s Great Room for their ceremony and use the historic and unique fireplace as their ceremony backdrop. Of course we wanted to bring in some floral elements to their ceremony and the couple asked us for vibrant, colorful and lush floral pieces, so we did just that! We used an assortment of summer greenery with bright colored blooms to create a lush and romantic setting for their ceremony. We finished the design with some lovely gold candle holders to add an elegant touch.
The ceremony was even more special as the team of Allegro Music played some beautiful songs that were special to the couple. We always appreciate the addition of live music during wedding ceremonies!

Cocktail Hour

Once Hannah and Cameron were officially married we reset the Great Room for their wedding reception while guests enjoyed some drinks and appetizers! Blue Ridge Event Staffing did a great job letting guests relax and appreciate the delicious food and signature cocktails! It’s always fun when couples come up with some signature cocktails for their guests to have on their wedding day! It’s a great way to add specialty cocktails on the bar menu and give your guests a fun taste of your favorite spirits and drinks! Hannah and Cameron worked with Asheville Beverage to create their custom menu which included a cosmopolitan and a gin and tonic for the bride and groom’s signature drink! The drinks were paired with some delicious appetizers: chili lime shrimp skewers and mini French style galettes.

Reception

In keeping with social distancing policies, we set up multiple round tables in the Great Room so that they could easily spaced apart to create a comforting yet pleasing layout for guests. The guest tables were adorned with a mix of loose greenery and loose blooms surrounded by beautiful votive candles. Our favorite touch was using Hannah and Cameron’s childhood photos as the table numbers! We loved seeing these sweet memories of the couple growing up!

Sweetheart Table

The show stopper of the reception, in our opinion, was the sweetheart table! We used a lush, summer greenery garland and added a variety of flowers from the color palette throughout the garland. We then draped the garland over the sweetheart table and finished the look with some of our gorgeous gold lanterns and small votive candles throughout. It was definitely one of our favorite pieces to date!

Introductions & First Dance

Dinner started off with Hannah and Cameron’s fun newlywed introduction and their first dance to “Your Song” by Elton John!

Dinner & Entertainment

Once the couple said a few sweet words and welcomed their friends and family, dinner was served!
67 Biltmore came up with a wonderful menu for this wedding featuring sliced steak with chimichurri, spinach, walnut and chevre stuffed chicken breasts and pasta primavera with veggies and fresh Parmesan. The entrees were paired with some delicious scalloped potatoes, charred brocolini and a summer salad!

During dinner DJ Lucas London led the newlyweds into a shoe game which was a fun treat for guests as they learned a little bit more about the couple and shared a few laughs! This is a great way to entertain guests during the reception and have fun with your new husband/wife! We know that COVID-19 restrictions are difficult and limit the type of activities you can participate in at weddings, but this is a really wonderful way to still create a memorable reception! Some of our other favorite ways to have some socially distanced fun include table dance-offs, newlywed trivia and any other participation game your DJ or band can come up with!

Golden Hour

Most vendors will agree: golden hour / sunset pictures are some of our favorites! We always make room in our timelines to give the newlyweds a chance to sneak out during the reception with their photographer and videographer to capture some intimate, romantic moments when the lighting is just right!

Cake Cutting

After dinner and toast the newlyweds cut into their delicious wedding cake prepared by Cakes by Gray and opened up their creative dessert bar to the guests!

Parent Dances

We ended the sweet moment with an even sweeter one as we got into the father daughter and mother son dances. Throughout the evening, guests had a blast using the Polaroid guest book to leave a personalized note and their picture for the Mr. & Mrs.!

Sparkler Exit & Get Away Car

The couple was sent off with a fabulous sparkler exit and took off in a stunning vintage get away car from Coats Classic Cars! Hannah and Cameroon took advantage and had some pictures taken with car during the day and we have shared some of our favorites below!

Thank you Hannah and Cameron for allowing us to be a part of your special day! We are so thrilled to have gotten to know you and work with you to make your perfect wedding day become a reality!
Congrats to the newlyweds!

AVLToday submission: VOICES: Nikki Sciurba // A Love Note to My Fellow Wedding Industry Professionals During COVID-19

We are so thrilled to be featured on AVLToday Voices for our love letter to our fellow industry professional in the time of covid-19.

VOICES: Nikki Sciurba // A Love Note to My Fellow Wedding Industry Professionals During COVID-19

Photo by Ashley Schulze Photography

Nikki Sciurba is the founder of Carolina Love Events, a boutique wedding and event planning company in Asheville, NC. This is a contributor-submitted Voices piece. Want to join the conversation? We invite you to write for us. Learn how to share your voice here.

Wow, what a few months it’s been. I have the best job. Seriously. THE. BEST. People tell me all the time, “You must love your job, it’s got to be so much fun.” And honestly most of the time it is. Besides the standard perks of a small business owner, I get to work closely with couples and families as they plan one of the happiest days of their lives. To share in those intimate moments is an unspeakable honor and one I don’t take lightly.

Photo by Anastasiia Photography

As someone who adores their job, I can say that right now I hate my job. COVID-19 has ravished our industry and community and when we are finally able to come up for air, things may look very different.

As a wedding planner, I am deeply entrenched in the rescheduling and cancellations of dates on a daily basis. I’m in constant communication with our brides and grooms but also with each of their vendors. It’s a heartbreaking task each and every time. I’ve had difficult discussions about job loss, family members’ health concerns, and the emotional toll—all direct impacts of the virus. And I hate being the bearer of bad news. I hate not having an exact answer on what our couples’ weddings may now look like. I hate telling them about this new restriction or this new development.

On the other side, I hate having to inform my beloved vendors that they’ve lost more income for 2020 with each necessary reschedule or cancellation. I do all of this with a focus on fully supporting our couples during some of the hardest decisions of their lives. All the while, worried about the small business I’ve worked nonstop to build over the last five years but never allowing this to interfere with my recommendations to our couples.

For wedding industry professionals, rescheduling our couples is a double-edged sword. Not only are we losing the majority of our 2020 revenue, by moving our 2020 couples to 2021, we are now losing the ability to book new events next year as well. We are now limited to one year of income for two years of dates. But we take this all in stride, never wavering in our positivity and reassurance—our couples and their special days are more important. We must protect them, support them, and put our own concerns about our small businesses and how to support our families aside.

Photo by Blue Bend Photography

So wedding industry professionals, this one’s for you. Throughout this pandemic, I’ve spoken to what feels like every one of you and I’m so proud of the grace, empathy, and compassion I’ve witnessed. The perseveranceand flexibility you’ve shown is inspiring. Our community has truly banded together in an effort to give our scared, emotional couples all of the support, comfort, and encouragement that they need and deserve. We are resilient, hard-working, go-getters—that’s how we became small business owners in the first place. Our response to this crisis is such an honorable example of putting others first, their struggles and concerns before our own. Hang in there everyone, there’s a small light flickering at the end of the tunnel and we are strong enough to get there.

Couples, if you’re reading this, love on your vendors extra hard. Don’t let your vendors’ dedication and hard work go unnoticed. We are keeping smiles on our faces, supporting you and your decisions while fighting our own battles behind the scenes. The landscape of our businesses may have changed but no matter what, we will show up for you 100% and give you the best day of your life. Stick with us—we promise all the stress and uncertainty will ultimately be worth it when you are surrounded by your loved ones on your wedding day. And during that moment, your vendors will be in the background, so grateful for the opportunity to use our creativity to bring that joy to life. And when you’re officially married and cuddled on your couch with your new spouse a few days later, be sure to leave us all one hell of a review.