Celebrations Archives - Page 2 of 4

SWS Christmas Traditions

Don’t you just love this time of year? The hustle, the bustle, the boxes and bows, the Christmas cards and the twinkle lights? I do. But to be quite real with you, I have been struggling to get into a festive holly jolly mood this year. Work and life have been kicking my butt, which makes me feel like I have been wearing a “Holiday PR Face” for the last couple of weeks. Just going through the motions and the routines… trying to enjoy traditions and not just run right through them! Does anyone else ever feel this way? Is it a sign of my old-er age?

To help me get into the holiday mood, I have asked the 2 cats sponsors what their favorite Christmas traditions are… and boy do they have some awesome ones!

Meet these bloggers: Liz from I Heart Vegetables // J from A Hot Southern Mess // Samantha from It’s All In The Details

So my goal is to get the house in order and my work caught up before Christmas Eve so that I can sit back, relax and enjoy this time of year! However, in the midst of all my work these past couple of weeks, I have really tried to trickle in a few of my favorite Christmas traditions. In case you missed my post early this week, my family did try to pick our “progressive dinner” tradition back up, but with a twist. It was so fun eating a lot and exchanging gifts.

On Tuesday I decided to clock out at 5PM to meet my family for my all-time favorite movie {year round, not just in December} Christmas Vacation! Despite the fact that it was released in the 80s and it was definitely not created in HD, it was playing on the big screen at the fancy-shmancy Cinebistro! I was giddy over having the chance to hang out with the Griswolds on the big screen. I purposefully sat next to my dad so that I could run lines with him. {Yes, practically I have the entire thing memorized… sad right?} I was even rocking my Christmas Vacation t-shirt too!

While we have so many fun family traditions - watching Christmas Vacation {and then spending a month referencing all of the hilarious lines from the movies} has to be, by far, one of my all time favorite things. With that being said, I think I am going to pop a lactose pill and drink a glass of Spiked Egg Nog in my Official Christmas Vacation Moose Mug. Don’t believe me? Be jealous of my uber fandom.

What are your favorite holiday traditions? Are you spending this weekend getting ready for Christmas or are you already partying it up?

As always, thanks to everyone who loves and supports this blog! Go check out the awesome bloggers of this SWS post! Say hello - they are wonderful ladies! Cheers, y’all!

Liz from I Heart Vegetables // J from A Hot Southern Mess // Samantha from It’s All In The Details

CELEBRATE SOUTHERN: Cotton and Magnolia Thanksgiving Setting

by Susan

Yes, I’m that girl. The girl who has her Thanksgiving tablescape in mind a month or so prior to the holiday. I also had my tables moved and set last week. Yes, LAST WEEK! A week and a half prior to Turkey Day!! You see, I suffer from the occasional bout of anxiety, and having our tables set and ready, put me at ease and allowed me to be a bit more creative and a lot less stressed. So today, while we are Celebrating all things Southern - I want to share my place settings for Thursday with you!

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I “borrowed” a bucket or two of cotton from a Carolina farmer? Remember how I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do with the cotton branches? Well… I think they were put to great use! Who knew that Magnolia leaves and Cotton Plants paired so well to form an elegant, festive look?

As you can see, I put some of my golden wedding decorations to use for this table setting too. {I have 200 gold chargers in my closet in case any one needs to rent them!} I also used a few of our left over golden glitter votives, because what’s a celebration without a bit of glitter?? The burlap runner was actually cut off of a humungous spool of burlap from Liz’s wedding {that her mom gifted me at the end of the night! i.e. best gift ever!}

I did swing by World Market this past week and found a great deal on these burgundy cloth napkins, a wine bottle turkey outfit, and these oh so fun gold and white striped candle sticks!

While I LOVE decorations and awesomely creative centerpieces, I feel like the excessive details are not 100% necessary for Thanksgiving. My table, while it looks nice, does look a bit “empty” in the eye of this event planner. But that was done for a reason. We are a “pass-the-green-bean-casserole” kinda family. We try to put as much food on the table as possible, rather than plating up in the kitchen like we do for normal dinners.

I spray painted magnolia leaves {again, “borrowed” from my parents’ front yard} with a metallic gold spray paint, and then used a sharpee to write little notes on them. My favorite being “Gobble Gobble!” My original plan was to write each person’s name on them in a fancy font but as it seems, our guest count keeps changing and I didn’t want anyone to feel left out.

And since I do not like to waste great crafting supplies, I threaded a few more cotton balls and hung them on our wedding wish tree! I absolutely adore the rustic, yet chic look of the cotton plant as a decorative piece. I highly recommend you “borrow” some for your own home next year!

Are you hosting Thanksgiving at your house? Do you have anything special planned for your decor? I’m really excited to bring together both families, lots of food {including gluten free stuffing!!} and tons of pies and sweets. Tis the season y’all!

Now join the Celebrate Southern fun! Share a Southern-Inspired post of any topic! We welcome and love posts about crafts, fashion, home decor, recipes, holiday traditions, pets, and even reviews of great southern restaurants and cities! Grab a button and link up below! Then come back later this week… Olivia Benson is taking over my blog! {Yup, you read that right! See you then!}

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November 9, 2013.

by Susan

If it were at all possible, I would pay anything and everything to rewind the clock to exactly one year ago today: November 9, 2013. A day full of glitter and details. A day of love, joy, and plenty of happy tears. A day my creative party planning skills were at their finest. A day when every single person who means the world to me, were all in the exact same room. A day I partied like a rockstar on cold medicine. The day I said “I do” to the love of my life.

With that, I bring you the 3 minute highlight film of our wedding day.

Meet the Geoghegans!

And for anyone else who is a big fan of weddings, glitter, love and horrible dancing - click here for our “featured” wedding film. It’s about 10-ish minutes long and really, really makes me smile.

We are spending today out celebrating… Which basically means I am wearing glitter and we are eating a lot of delicious food. Expect a recap later this week! Oh happy day, y’all!

No Blog Post Today

by Susan

This is why there is not a new blog post today:

There was a come-to-jesus meeting last night between my husband (the engineer), my dad (our builder) and my mom (our realtor.) Hence the need for multiple glasses of wine. It was a doozy of a family dinner. BUILDING a house is a very stressful thing. PLANNING to build a house is even more of a headache. Pray for me.

Oh, and did I mention I’m beyond exhausted and in recovery mode? I worked an out of town wedding all weekend long. It was a wonderful, rustic, full-of-love, wedding celebration for some amazing clients.

The morning after the wedding, the mother of the bride told me she needed to speak with me. I immediately felt like I didn’t do something right, or that I didn’t live up to her standards. But instead giving me a hard time she gave me a bottle of champagne and a $200 tip. Take note, THAT’S the way to treat your wedding planner when you think she has done an excellent job! Honestly, I was floored. When the MOB had just handed me an envelope and said “This isn’t nearly enough… I couldn’t have survived this last week without you…” I wasn’t expecting much at all. As a wedding planner, people never remember to tip me, so even though money is great, it usually is just the thought that counts. Her words of affirmation and gratitude were more than most clients express. Between the generous tip and her overall appreciativeness and thankfulness, THIS was the way to end my wedding season.

Yes, this was my last wedding of extremely busy year. It was by far my best and most successful year of event coordinating yet: An awesome and incredible year full of terrific brides and grooms, 90th birthday celebrations, and overall joy! I’m beyond flattered that so many brides and grooms have felt confident in my business and have trusted me with their big days. I’m so thankful for the love and support of my friends, family, vendors and clients!!

Sorry there’s not more bulk to this post… and I’m so sorry that we missed the Say What, Saturday?! from this weekend! I was beyond disappointed when I arrived at my hotel, in the middle of Nowhere, Virginia, and there was no internet, cell service, or even a hotel room phone and television! But what’s a girl to do?

Join me tomorrow for the Celebrate Southern Linkup! Bring your favorite Southern-Inspired posts {think recipes, crafts, fashion, adventures!} young or old, and linkup!

Cheers y’all!

DIY Wedding Wish Tree + Giveaway!

by Susan

As I was planning my own wedding, I knew I did not want a traditional guest book. I went back and forth on what exactly I DID want… narrowing it down to something pretty, something unique, and something I could use again or use to decorate my house.
I ended up going with two things. 1. A DIY sign for my house, that all of our guests signed during Cocktail Hour and 2. A Wedding Wish Tree.
I spent hours googling to find perfect Wedding Wish Tree. Like I said, I really wanted it to be unique, and since Wish Trees have become more and more common at weddings - I definitely wanted something that fit the look of our celebration: Classy and Glam, with a touch of Fun. To save money I put my event design skills to work and I made my own Wedding Wish Tree.

Wedding Wish Tree with beads and candle globes

So, as a professional wedding planner, why do I love Wedding Wish Trees?

1 // They are pretty! I’m all about event details and a Wish Tree give a nice touch to any celebration.

2 // It was a conversation starter! Wedding Wish Trees get people up and out of their seats! Put it near a dance floor {not on top of it, but near it} and encourage guests to mingle!

3 // Unfortunately we didn’t get to talk to everyone at our wedding. Reading back through all of our tags was so much fun and a great excuse to call people up a month or two later! {We actually didn’t read through our tags until 5 months after our wedding! Whoopsie!}

4 // Believe it or not, I am still using my tree! I decorate it seasonally and have white Christmas lights hanging on it now. It’s a great reminder of our wedding… something I walk past daily.

I love how our friends and family put thought into their notes to us! Some of them were sentimental, some were terrific words of advice, and some were just down right hilarious. Here, have yourself a giggle:

Funny Wedding Advice for Bride and Groom

Funny Advice for Bride and Groom on Wish Tree Tag

So you want to make your own? Here’s what you need:

Sticks.

I bought mine at Garden Ridge {They cost me less than $30 for all of them.} Make sure they are strong enough to hold your decorations. I also purchased white sticks, so it was less work. But you can easily spray paint them!

A vase or container to hold the sticks.

Make sure it is something tall and narrow, but with a wide enough mouth to hold the branches. Buy something that goes with your theme! If you have a rustic themed wedding, consider a large mason jar, a bucket, etc.

Beads.

Candle Holders.

Don’t forget to buy the candles for these! I forgot and sent a friend out the morning of my wedding to buy them. I recommend fake tea candles.

Tags.

I went the DIY route with these also. I purchased the tags in a variety of sizes and colors. I decorated them with stamps and ink, glitter, and purple bakers twine.

Don’t forget: You may want to make a sign, explaining the tree to guests. You should also include at least 5 pens!

Did you use a Wish Tree for your wedding? Did you get any funny advice from your friends and family?
Also!! I am teaming up with a bunch of lovely ladies to make it rain!! That’s right, it’s not too late to get yourself entered to win some serious MOOLAH! I mean really, who doesn’t like money? And who doesn’t like winning money? Yeah… that’s what I thought! Here ya go!