April 2014 – Jackie Fogartie

If you’ve ever wondered how to pull off a rehearsal dinner fit for a Southern belle, I’ve got just the event for you! This weekend I coordinated both the rehearsal dinner and wedding reception of an absolutely lovely couple, Mark and Laura-Nelle. They had a Southern BBQ themed rehearsal dinner and a monogram-heavy preppy Southern wedding complete with a biscuit bar! Can’t wait to show you both events! First up is the red and white rehearsal dinner complete with sunflowers and mason jars.

The mother of the groom, Kathy, had every detail meticulously planned out and it ended up being such a fun celebration to kick off the wedding weekend.

The dinner was held at the Charlotte Trolley Museum, which fit the theme perfectly. My favorite part of the event was the mason jar favors. Guests drank their beer, wine or non-alcoholic beverage out of a mason jar. I loved the red and white gingham stickers on top of the mason jars that matched the invitation and tablecloths.

Guests wrote their name on the chalkboard tags tied around the mason jars and took a jar home as a party favor. I love this idea and so did the guests!

Here’s the happy bride and groom with their mason jars! How cute are they?!

So. Lets talk food. Because isn’t that what makes or breaks a party? The catering was done by Plate Perfect, one of my favorite caterers in Charlotte. They are part of the restaurant group that owns Mama Ricottas, Midwood Smokehouse, Pacos Tacos & Bad Daddys. They always do a great job with presentation, taking extra care with details on the buffet table and food displays.

I wrote the menu on a chalkboard with chalkboard markers. When you’re writing in chalk, definitely get the markers, it’s much easier to write in the marker than regular chalk. And it even made my handwriting not look as terrible as normal!

On the menu was BBQ sliders, mac and cheese, veggies and yummy appetizers too – all from Midwood Smokehouse. My favorite app is the Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno which is as good as it sounds – a little spicy if you can take the heat!

There was a beautiful salad…

…and of course BBQ sliders.

I loved the galvanized serving pieces Plate Perfect brought, including the candle holders and the 3 tiered tray for the buns.

I also loved these pig napkin holders.

Silverware was rolled in white linen and tied with burlap ribbon.

Desserts were from Amelies and were to die for. The different colored macarons were beautiful…

…and the salted caramel brownies might just be the best dessert I’ve eaten in literally forever.

The tables had red and white gingham cloths with mason jar arrangements filled with daisies and sunflowers.

Of course no good Southern style rehearsal dinner would be complete without Sweet Tea…

…or a monogram, like the one on this DIY sandwich board created by the bride and groom to direct guests.

It was a busy working weekend, but always fun when you work with good people and fun families. Congratulations to Mark and Laura-Nelle and I can’t wait to feature their gorgeous wedding reception soon!

It’s no secret I love to throw a party and when I do, I use a few simple tricks to bring that extra wow factor. I’m talking super easy things that take your party up a notch without having to plan ahead or better yet, spend tons of extra money. I’ve got loads of party tips, but for now I’m going to give you three party tricks that will make your life easier and make people think you are the hostess with the mostess. Plus, since you’ll have all this extra time, you can sit back with a glass of vino and wait for your party guests to arrive with no stress. Score!

Scrapbook and Specialty Paper

I love the specialty paper aisle at stores like Paper Source and Michaels. Not because I’m a scrapbooker but because it’s a super cheap way to add a pop of color or pattern to a party. I especially like using the paper for place mats like I did at this uber fancy dinner party...

..and layered place mats using different colors and sized papers here at this strawberry-themed party.

Ribbon

Ribbon is another easy way to add something extra to your get together. I spend a lot of time in the ribbon aisle dreaming up ways to use new ribbon…I think I need a life? Or maybe I’m just really awesome. Here are a few ways I’ve used ribbon in the past:

At my recent Aladdin Mason Colllection party I tied ribbon to the backs of chairs which looked great and was super easy to do. Party Tip – don’t tie the ribbon to tight or it will be hard to get off and you’ll totes break a nail.

For a teacher retirement party, I found specialty ribbon that fit the theme and tied napkins/plastic silverware with it. Using ribbon is a great way to dress up paper napkins and silverware.

At my nieces baptism party I glued paper flowers onto a single pink ribbon on the back of the chairs for a pretty pink look.

Flowers

No surprise here, everyone loves flowers. But I especially love to use them in unexpected containers – like the beer steins I did for Mr. Fo’s birthday awhile back.

I also like to think outside the box when it comes to floral arrangements. For a blueberry themed baby shower I added real blueberries to floral arrangements to complement the theme.

And depending on the occasion, flowers in a mason jar (like here at Trish and Andrew’s wedding) can be so very sweet. And notice the ribbon wrapped around the mason jar – that’s a combo of two party hacks right there!