Hi all! As usual, I’m going to cut right to the chase here on the ole blog-a-roo. I would love to be that girl that whips up homemade pasta, but in reality, I’m a busy business owner in the middle of wedding season and I just sold my pasta maker on Ebay. (No lie.) When I heard about Parla Pasta (made in HighPoint, North Carolina – NC represent!), I felt like I had discovered this life changing secret.

This family-run business has been creating small batch pastas since 1985 and their slogan is right up my alley – “We Speak Pasta.” Can we say Speaking. My. Language. Much.?

As a card carrying Italian, pasta is my favorite food group. I take my pasta seriously. As with most frozen pastas, I wondered how fresh Parla would be but it honestly blew me away with it’s restaurant quality taste! With many classic varieties like Cheese Ravioli and Asiago Tortellini, I highly suggest keeping Parla Pasta in your freezer for a quick go to meal any day of the week. I’ve provided a list of retailers below as well as a quick recipe for Asiago Tortellini with Quick Tomato Cream Sauce below. As they say in Italy, Salud!

 

They say good things come to those who wait! And I’ve definitely waited long enough to blog about Megan and Brian’s November wedding at Charlotte Trolley. Megan and Brian are not only a perfect match, they are fun, interesting and sweet as can be.

As members of the North Carolina Air National Guard, they also serve our country proud each and every day right here from Charlotte, NC. Considering I can barely put together a piece of Ikea furniture and Megan is an aircraft mechanic, I’m pretty much in awe of her. And Brian? Well he’s a BA in his own right and I know he’s in awe of Megan too. To be truly impressed, here are their official titles:

Megan – C130 Aircraft Mechanic at the North Carolina Air National Guard

Brian – C130 Loadmaster at the North Carolina Air National Guard

Thank you both for your service. You truly rock the air.

In addition to serving our country on a daily basis, they are sweet as can be. The talented Tricia Coyne documented their fun wedding and knocked it out of the park once again. Let’s take a walk down Megan and Brian’s memory lane today!

When Megan and I first met, she told me she wanted a wedding that had a vintage feel so we incorporated that into various parts of her big day. Her birdcage veil was one of those pieces that just screamed vintage! I loved it! The veil was lovingly made by the groom’s uncle.

Megan’s soft curls were the perfect style for the veil.

What a classic beauty. #Swoon

Before the ceremony Tricia snapped some photos of the guys having a pre-wedding beer on the Common Market’s legendary patio. Here’s the handsome groom:

And his posse! Word Up.

And we can’t forget Meg and Brian’s pup, Herc, who served as ringbearer. What a cutie!

The ceremony was held at the Charlotte Art League which neighbors the Charlotte Trolley Museum in South End. For a ceremony backdrop, Megan and Brian’s friend Jen (who is a talented chalkboard artist in Charlotte) created a giant chalkboard backdrop that perfectly framed the couple as they said their “I Dos!”

Megan, Brian and Herc walked back down the aisle as a happily, married family! Herc looks so excited!

Keeping with the vintage theme, guests were treated to Coca-Colas in glass bottles post-ceremony along with champagne and appetizers.

The bridal party headed outside to colorful and busy South End for post-wedding photos. I loved the guys socks and bright orange suspenders. If you can’t tell, they were definitely characters!

Megan wanted a short dress with a vintage feel, and when she couldn’t find what she wanted she turned to Erin Foley and RCB Fashion. Erin did a wonderful job pulling together a custom dress that fit Megan’s vision!

The girls posed by Megan’s Dad’s vintage car. This was my favorite picture from the wedding because it really embodied the look Megan wanted for the day! Plus she and the girls look gorge.

For the reception, Megan wanted kelly green and First Impressions Linens definitely delivered! Silver mercury glass and orange, white and green flowers from Pink Petunia completed the look. The colors popped in the neutral Trolley Museum space and against the yellow trolley!

I loved Megan’s white bouquet accented with beautiful brooches. Here it is artfully perched in one of the wicker trolley seats at the Trolley Museum.

We did several small cakes with different styles of textured buttercream on the cake table. Angela’s Sugar Shack delivered five gorgeous and delicious cakes – all with different flavors and fillings!

Perched on top of the cake was a Scrabble inspired topper! Definitely a Triple Word Score.

Surrounding the cakes were family photos from Megan and Brian’s family members cutting their own wedding cakes. This is such a special touch for a cake table!

Meg and Brian – I loved spending this planning year getting to know you two and look forward to many more dates at Treehouse chatting about life over a glass of wine. XOXO and much happiness to you both!

That concludes my 2015 wedding year blogs…and I’m already 5 weddings deep into 2016. Eek.

Needless to say I’m playing catch up on the ole blog here but I promise they will all be worth the wait!

In the meantime, hope you are having the happiest of summers!

Full Vendor List for Megan and Brian’s Wedding:

Ceremony Venue:  Charlotte Art League | Reception Venue: Charlotte Trolley | Catering: Delectables by Holly | Florist: Pink Petunia | Cake: Angela’s Sugar Shack |DJ:  Will Puckett| Photographer: Tricia Coyne   | Custom Wedding Dress: RCB Fashion |   | Invitations: Three Little Birds | Linens: First Impressions  | Makeup/Hair: Next Level Makeup

Hey there party people! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve blogged, I know. My last blog was right before the ill-fated Superbowl when my beloved Panthers went down. Guess I needed a little bit of time to get over that heartbreaking loss. But really, I’ve just been buried in behind the scenes wedding prep for my upcoming busy wedding season. 2016 is bringing me 11 weddings (wow!) and they start at the end of this month. Then it is officially go-time! So my goal between now and then? To blog my last 2 weddings from the end of 2015. Better late than never right? Let’s get this started with Angela and Hunter’s big day back in November at the beautiful Van Landingham Estate.

Photo Credit: All pictures by the uber talented The Schultzes. 

Angela and Hunter are the sweetest couple and absolute dream clients. They were laid-back, fun and just plain easy to work with. And now we’re pals. I love collecting friends (aka wine night buddies) along the way in the this crazy business! With a great team of vendors by my side (including one heck of a band that kept the party going all night!) Angela and Hunter’s wedding was an absolute ball.

Angela and Hunter tied the knot at the adorable chapel at Christ Church. I’d never been to this church before and thought it was so beautiful, perfect for an intimate wedding!

You know what else was beautiful?  Angela’s bridal gown from Lily Rose Bridal! I loved the detail and the low back.

And she was not messing around with her shoes which were, let me just say, fierce. #obsessed

After the church, Angela and her crew arrived at Van Landingham for photos. The lush grounds at the estate are perfect for wedding party pictures and bride/groom portraits.

The florals were probably my favorite part of the wedding design. Pink Petunia did an amazing job with Angela’s color palette of gray, purple and green. I loved the anenomes, succulents and bright purple colors.

The hedges at Van Landingham sure do get a lot of wedding action! They are perfect for framing happy couples in between them.

Angela even had a pretty succulent in her hair.

Back Porch Orchestra played tunes that had the crowd dancing all night long with their energetic, bluesy music. I have to admit I love a band with a female lead singer! She totally rocked it!

  The delicious cake by Wow Factor Cakes was beautiful as usual! If you’re getting married in the fall and getting a Wow Factor Cake I highly recommend the pumpkin flavor!

Three Little Birds provided a custom invitation suite that dazzled in shimmery gray paper.

Custom koozies kept everyones drinks cold (and are always a good idea!)

Angela and Hunter danced the night away.

…And the guests enjoyed a smores bar for a final sweet treat!

Full Vendor List:

Ceremony Venue:  Christ Church | Reception Venue and Catering: Van Landingham Estate | Florist: Pink Petunia | Cake: Wow Factor Cakes |Band:  Back Porch Orchestra booked by East Coast Entertainment| Photographer: The Schultzes |  Wedding Dress: Lily Rose | Hair/Makeup:Whos the Fairest                             | Invitations: Three Little Birds