Happy Thanksgiving!

On this day of giving thanks and appreciation, Ellen and I would like to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and leave you with the following inspiring quotes:

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day. ~Irv Kupcinet

Enjoy your holiday!!!

Savannah's Kennedy Pharmacy - a new event venue

Ellen and I attended a preview of a new venue space in Savannah last night. The Kennedy Pharmacy space was built in 1890, the 1st level was a pharmacy and its 2nd level a residential apartment. In 2007, SCAD along with the Historic Savannah Foundation and its owners the Davenport House Museum forged a partnership to rehabilitate the space. The renovation kept the integrity of the living space and the pharmacy is a fabulous space to rent for an event. The building is directly across the street from the museum. I envision an intimate wedding ceremony in the garden at the museum, cocktails on the patio at the museum, the walk across the street for an intimate dinner reception. Or it’s a great site for a small rehearsal dinner.
Right now there are no photographs of the building on the website www.davenporthousemuseum.org but we took some last night. The building is at 323 E. Broughton Street, Savannah, GA. Enjoy!!! Sorry for the lack of photo creativity...this is why you hire professional photographers! :)

Budgeting Tips

How much is my wedding going to cost? This is the single most asked question we get when speaking to new brides. There is no doubt that budget plays a huge role when planning a wedding. So how do you have fun planning the most important part of your life and not be stressed over the budget? Here are some quick ideas to avoid stressing out over your budget:

Before starting your planning process, define the vision of your wedding, the style and theme. It’s better to know what you want before you starting planning then changing directions several times during the process.

It’s important to know who is contributing to the budget and how much their contribution will be. Today, wedding funds can come from the couple, bride’s parents, and grooms parents. Discuss the budget openly with who ever will be contributing to find out how much they are willing to spend.

Prepare a budget detailing all the categories of the wedding. Remember that what most determines your budget is the number of guests you plan to invite. 50% of your budget goes towards food and beverage. Research all the vendor categories; do some leg work to find out what the average costs are for things in your area or where you plan to have your wedding. This will take the stress and guess work out of preparing your budget. It’s also going to take some time to gather this information. We suggest if you don’t have the time to do this leg work call a wedding planner. Hire them for a few hours to help you prepare a budget. Not only will you have a well planned budget but you will learn a lot about the area and what you can expect. It will be money well spent. If you don’t know what categories make up a budget, there is so much available for free on the internet. www.theknot.com and www.weddingchannel.com have great budget templates to use. Once you have your budget, stick to it!! Good luck, have fun with your planning and have a fun and stress free wedding day.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

From the minute we met Sarah and Rob, we knew this was going to be an unbelievable couple to work with. Both Sarah and Rob are extremely artistic and Sarah had some really fabulous ideas for their wedding. With both of them living in NYC and being very urban, having a more Lowcountry feel to their wedding was important to them. She definitely wanted a ceremony on the beach and the backdrop for the reception would be in the back yard of her parents phenomenal home on the beach. Sarah and Rob had a vision in mind and we created that vision for them. Special Thanks to Tracy Turpen Photograpny for capturing their special moments forever.

Local ABC Luncheon

Last Tuesday, Hilton Head Island was the host for the first ever local networking group of the SC branch of the Association of Bridal Consultants. The luncheon was well attended with over 40 local wedding professionals. Above are just a few pictures of the tablescapes.

Oh My God!

We did it! Talk about blood, sweat, tears, a few laughs and a couple glasses of wine, we are live! The new website it up and looking fantabulous! For more information about who we are and what we do please visit us at www.amandaroseweddings.com. Our goal for the new blog is to post at least once a week. It will be done by either Linda or Ellen so please be on the lookout for future postings. Until then, Happy Planning!