Here at Soiree, March has brought a different madness than the Final Four (go heels!). With Charleston winding down from the recent Charleston Fashion Week, Tara’s appearance at the Nashville Lifestyles Bridal Show, the new blog, and us gearing up for our big spring weddings we’re all a buzz.

We’re also thrilled to learn that our wedding of Katharine Haklisch to Wes Earnhardt June 21st, 2008 will be featured in a top UK Bridal Publication, so Soiree is going global!

Here are some of my favorite details from that wedding:

Thank you to Liz Banfield for her always beautiful photography.

Charleston Fashion Week was “Fierce”!

Saturday’s Bridal Couture show featured upcoming collections from local/regional Bridal Boutiques..Jodi Moylan who owns White Boutique on Daniel Island showed her own designs as well.

I saw a lot of intricate design, appliques, and focus on the backs of the dresses. There were some trends like the one shoulder strap look, black and white (which is a hot color combination this year), and lighter materials.

The first collection from Belle Couture Bridal in Mt. Pleasant, SC featured dresses from Claire Pettibone.

The Madeline gown (back and front), the Juliet gown, and the Chantilly gown

Then, came White on Daniel Island with some fab looks!

From top left: Rosette Halter by Jodi Moylan's White Couture, frilly one shoulder by White Couture, structured one shoulder by Cotton Bride, strapless gown with rosette appliques by Manuel Mota

This year, a boutique from Columbia, SC- Bella Vista Bridal showed some really fab pieces, and utilized the concept of styling and props- love the parasol (I hear these are making a comeback this spring!).

from charleston fashion week

Love the idea of a short dress with ruffles. Dress by Alvina Valenta.

A new take on the strapless neckline. Dress by Lazaro.

Sleeves on a wedding dress are fab! Especially ones with such beautiful detail. Dress by Melissa Sweet Reverie.

One of my most favorite looks from the entire show. Dress by Enzoani.

Um, Fabulous Feathers. Dress by Bella Vista Couture-Private Label.

Gown Boutique of Charleston started their show with the youngest member of the wedding party and mixed in looks with one of my favorite colors- Purple.

She worked it!

Love the pop of purple.

The sparkly belt, amazing fabric, and the back of this dress really make a statement.

The best part of the whole show came at the end… a surprise proposal! One of the models in the last show had NO idea she would be getting engaged while wearing a wedding gown! Melissa and Ayoka brought her out on stage and the groom jumped up and surprised her by getting down on one knee!

The Unsuspecting Bride

Of course, she said YES.

Charleston Magazine did an amazing job putting on this event again, and the momentum keeps growing… All of the Editors were out supporting the event of course, and I had a blast catching up with them …

Ellen McGauley, Editor, Charleston Home , Kate Little (Soiree), Melissa Bigner, Editor, Charleston Weddings, Kate and Darcy Shankland, Editor, Charleston Magazine

Tara’s Trip to Nashville

The Mimosa Luncheon that featured Tara Guerard held this weekend at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center was a huge success! Lots of brides and industry folk came to hear Tara speak about “How to Make Your Day Unique and Plan the Perfect Wedding”…

She wanted me to get the word out about how some of her favorite vendors that she met. The first being Maples Wedding Cakes. They do beautiful, yummy cakes- all with fondant icing!

I don’t know about everyone else, but we have had several requests and used for many events the antique photo booths.. While we have had success with the ones that we’ve used, they tend to either “break down” or have had an unfortunate cheese factor to them. Tara discovered a new group of photo booth broken out by region that were really nice- so check them out for your next event: Photo Booth Nashville.

Soiree by Tara Guerard is so excited to announce our new blog: Tara Guerard’s BonBon Blog. We’ll be posting photos from our events, what’s going on in the industry, Charleston and beyond, and life in general weekly, so please check back with us regularly.

For all Nashville Brides…

Tara will be a guest speaker this weekend at the 2nd annual Nashville Lifestyles Weddings Bridal Show. Join Tara for a Mimosa Luncheon on Saturday March 28th from 11:00am-2:00pm at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. Tickets are $40.

Real Wedding- Michelle and Jeb: 09.13.08

Flowers by Soirée

When I think back on this wedding I think FUN! We had a different color combo than we had worked with before – bright orange, grass green, and vibrant purple, fun personal touches from the couple, and unique details…Even the bridesmaids’ shoes were cute and colorful- each bridesmaid had a different pattern.

Save the Date by The Lettered Olive, Shoes by JCrew

We have been at this location (The William Aiken House) many times before, so it’s always a “fun” challenge to come up with new ideas for set up and design here- so putting some swings in an existing pergola and playing on the atmosphere of a reflecting pond on site definitely kept the mood of the evening light.

Desserts by Jim Smeal

One of our fave elements from this weekend was our dessert display… our bride, Michelle, knew that she was not a “wedding cake” girl, so we compiled all of the family’s favorite desserts and made miniature versions of them. Then designed an entire display where guests could indulge and pick and choose their favorites!

With the state of the economy now, budget saving tips are important! So, one idea that worked for us here was to combine the menu cards and place cards… they were all hand calligraphied, but only one design had to be printed- and they added a different dimension to the place setting other than having the typical flat cards. I love all of the personal touches that reflected the family- the food was a perfect mix of Northern and Southern dishes from Clam Chowder shots and Lobster Rolls at cocktail hour to an amuse bouche of Hushpuppies at dinner, to the bagpiper escorting the couple out of the church which represented the brides’ family heritage to the getaway car…

Menu Cards by The Lettered Olive

The groom’s favorite dessert, however, are Krispy Kreme donuts. That was his ONLY request for the wedding, so of course, we take it and make it personal.

Donut Boxes by The Lettered Olive

The couple departed in a vintage Cadillac convertible owned by the groom- we even had to make sure the cans on the car were painted to match!

All of the photos from this wedding are courtesy of one of our favorite photographers- Squire Fox, who shoots for lots of national magazines, books, and fashion spreads. He’s so talented and his personality on a wedding day makes him a blast to work with.

You can see other shots from this wedding, which is currently being featured in the Charleston Weddings Magazine, Summer 2009 issue- Thank you Melissa Bigner and the Chas Mag team for the great feature!

We are also very excited here about the new addition to the Guerard family, Myers Rast Guerard. Myers was born on Tuesday, March 3rd, 8 lbs 6oz., 21″ long… Mom and baby are healthy and happy!

See you in Marion Square…

On a side note- Charleston is all a buzz with the second annual Charleston Fashion Week starting on Tuesday, March 24th. That night will feature the collections from the “Emerging Designers” discovered from a contest for local/regional designers to win a chance to debut their collections. The rest of the week features local designers and boutiques showing their favorite pieces from national/international designers and their spring collections. There is a even a bridal couture show on Saturday morning, featuring the newest gowns from the fabulous boutiques here in Charleston. If you live here, don’t miss it!