Duke Gardens Wedding

Shan & Sam’s wedding day paid homage to Shan’s heritage with Asian inspired touches appearing throughout their big day. Their Sarah P. Duke Gardens wedding ceremony and reception was filled with bright, colorful touches that really set this wedding apart. We hope you enjoy these images courtesy of Raleigh wedding photographer, Craig Carpenter of Luster Studios.

Images by Denise did the bridal party’s hair and make-up.

Bold colors and touches of bright blue were sprinkled throughout the wedding day, from Shan’s blue bridal shoes…

…To her sapphire blue necklace and the dainty blue touches on the trim of her veil.

Even Shan’s garter was this same stunning shade of blue.

The bridesmaids were not without their own elegant blue  apparel. Choosing bridal gowns of the same fabric but with different styles is a great way to let your bridesmaids pick styles that they’ll love and wear again without compromising a unifying bridal party look. Would you believe this bridal bouquet is actually made of silk flowers? The bride’s grandmother crafted silk flower bouquets for the bride and her bridal party.

String duos and trios are a wonderful addition to any outdoor ceremony. In an outdoor setting, these musicians help create an ambience in an open space. 

The bride, wanting to infuse elements of her Asian heritage, decided to use these handmade silk flowers centerpieces. Her grandmother in China made each flower individually!

These richly hued silk flowers perfectly complimented the floral pattern on these silk Asian linens.

Sugarland Bakery in Chapel Hill made this stunning cake. Look at the details in that cake topper!

Before the cake was cut, Durham catering company Sage & Swift provided a delicious dinner for the guests.

As a creative guest favor, the bride and groom used their couple nickname, Sham, and gave guests a sweet jar of “Sham Jam”. Personalized wedding favors are an easy way to incorporate elements that are unique to you as a couple.

Congratulations, Shan & Sam!

Read Full Post »

Duke Gardens Wedding

Summer and Stephen were married in a gorgeous springtime Duke Gardens wedding ceremony. This Durham wedding venue is one of our favorites for its natural and serene beauty.

We hope you enjoy some of our favorite wedding photos from Summer and Stephen’s big day courtesy of Raleigh wedding photographer Emily Alane.

Makeup For Your Day did a wonderful job getting the ladies ready for their big moment.

Your wedding day shoes can be a fun way to express your personal style. Summer’s dazzling bridal shoes were the perfect stylish touch peeking out from under her classic gown.

Summer’s dress was breathtaking- romantic gathers of fabric, a long train, and dainty buttons going all the way down the back of the dress. We loved her elegant bridal gown.

Many of our brides choose to incorporate vintage elements into their wedding days. Especially when those vintage elements have a significant meaning, such as the cameo necklace Summer wore- the same cameo necklace her grandmother wore on her wedding day.

Durham wedding florists Tre Bella did an exquisite job as always. The bridal party’s pink rose bouquets were stunning.

If you saw our Royal Wedding trends post you might remember that we predicted that lighter color bridesmaids dresses, like Pippa Middleton’s Maid of Honor gown, would become more popular in weddings. The floor length champagne colored bridesmaids dresses worn by Summer’s bridal party are a perfect example of this timelessly elegant trend. Now that’s a dress any bridesmaid would be proud to wear again!

The couple exchanged vows under an ethereal chuppah made of branches, vines, and a beautiful ivory fabric.

The rose and hydrangea centerpieces by Tre Bella helped create the romantic look the bride wanted for her reception decor. Mixing small floral centerpieces with tall floral centerpieces is a great way to add variety and create a more custom look to your wedding reception decor.

The bride chose a cherry blossom wedding theme, which was just perfect for this springtime garden wedding. Soft pink was carried throughout the wedding and reception including the pink rose bridal bouquets, the blush colored table linens, and even this cherry blossom inspired cake by Cinda’s Creative Cakes.

The evening’s dinner menu was catered by Durham Catering Company.

The band, Mr. Coffee and The Creamers, kept the guests dancing late into the night at this Sarah P. Duke Gardens wedding reception.

Congratulations, Stephen & Summer!

Vendors

Ceremony & Reception Venue: Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Floral Design: Tre Bella

Photography: Emily Alane Photography

Catering: Durham Catering Company

Cake: Cinda’s Creative Cakes

Makeup & Hair: Makeup For Your Day

Band: Mr. Coffee & The Creamers

Read Full Post »

Carolina Inn Wedding & Duke Chapel Wedding

Heather and Joe’s Duke Chapel wedding and Carolina Inn reception had the perfect vibrant spring color palette. This was such a fantastic couple to work with! They were so much fun to plan with!
We love to create custom inspiration boards for our couples when we began the planning and design process. Here’s a peek at Heather and Joe’s inspiration board:

Who doesn’t love seeing inspiration turn into an exquisite reality? Here are some of our favorite images from Heather & Joe’s wedding inspiration turned real wedding day.

Thanks to Kevin Milz for these amazing images.

Love the sash and brooch on Heather’s strapless lace gown. Heather’s dress was from one of our favorite wedding gown boutiques, Tre Bella Bridal in Durham.

Heather’s vintage inspired red shoes were the perfect little bit of colorful fun peeking out from under her dress.

Shorter length cocktail dresses are a great option for bridesmaids because they are sure to be worn again.

Ask your photographer to take plenty of detail pictures. It’s easy to overlook the detail elements of your big day when you get caught up in the excitement of your wedding and reception.

What an aisle to walk down! Duke Chapel is one of the most sought after Durham wedding venues.

The faithful bridesmaids lend a hand in bustling the bride’s gown.

The bride and groom decided to enter their black and yellow reception ballroom to the Steeler fight song “Black & Yellow” to pay homage to their favorite team.

The English Garden provided these dazzling floral arrangements. Next to the black linens, these yellow roses are very vibrant. And the height of these arrangements created an impressive effect without blocking guests’ view.

The stationary was incredible for the wedding! We mimicked the design on the cake and used the coupled monogram. This fantastic cake design is from Swank Cakes.

Guests also enjoyed pink sherbet at this southern class Carolina Inn reception.

As favors, the couple chose to give guests Bone Sucking BBQ sauce (a favorite of the groom’s) and deliciously sweet maple cookies from the bride’s home town.

Congratulations, Heather & Joe!!!

xoxo, Erin

Read Full Post »

Spring Time Inspiration at Duke Gardens

We’re getting excited for our spring time weddings here at Erin McLean Events. To get your own spring wedding inspiration enjoy these shots of our springtime shoot in Duke Gardens.

We chose cheery spring time colors such as soft blues, creamy yellows,  bright periwinkles, and pops of pink along with plenty of soft white touches to balance our color palette.

Milk glass vases like these make for great table decor. You can mix and match a variety of heights, shapes and patterns to create a truly custom look. Plus, colorful flowers will stand out against the creamy white glass.

Chiavari chairs, a favorite among brides because of their timeless look, allow you to customize the seat covers to seamlessly match your wedding colors. Here we added beautiful lilies to each chair for an extra touch of spring inspired decor.

An antique watering can offers a touch of vintage inspired fun to the decor.

We chose green favors of potted moss with dainty lace detailing as the guest favors for our springtime shoot. Get creative with your wedding favors. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have creative favors that will be memorable.

Duke Gardens is a gorgeous setting for wedding ceremonies, receptions, and of course bridal shoots like we did here! The gardens offer both indoor as well as outdoor venue options.

Wearing a fun pair of heels is a great way to let your personal style show through on your wedding day.

Hope this wedding inspiration got you just as excited for springtime as we are!

 

Photography: Courtney Gray Photography

Flowers:  Tre Bella

Rentals: Classic Party Rentals

Venue:  Sarah P. Duke Gardens

Read Full Post »

Judea Reform Center Wedding

Alison & Ariel were married this past December at the Judea-Reform Center in Durham.

Alison has a natural sense of style and fashion, and her stunning wedding dress did not disappoint!

The ladies got ready at The Washington Duke Inn.

The very talented photographer Martha Manning was there throughout the day to capture the many unique elements of Alison and Ariel’s big day.

Vintage touches, like the bride’s jewelry and the brooches in her bouquet, designed by Floral Dimensions, are a trend we are seeing throughout many weddings this year.

Ariel and Alison incorporated several traditional Jewish ceremonies throughout their big day. The first was the Tish, where the groom attempts to present a lecture on the Torah while his groomsmen and other guests jokingly disrupt his lecture. This is a great way for the groom and his guests to have fun and lighten the mood.

 

These photos are from the Bedekin ceremony where the groom places the veil over his bride. Before he sees his bride for the first time, the mother of the groom and the mother of the bride join the bride in greeting their guests.

We loved each unique tradition that made this wedding so memorable.

The cocktail hour featured damask print linens and a photograph from Alison and Ariel’s travels on each table.

Gmish set the mood for the evening’s ceremonies playing authentic Jewish instrument music.

Floral Dimensions did a spectacular job transforming the chuppah with an assortment of white flowers and baby’s breath.

John Hayes of Southern Video Design was there throughout the evening capturing every unforgettable moment on film.

Here’s a glimpse at another ceremony unique to Alison and Ariel’s Jewish faith,  the Benching is where blessings are sung to the bride and groom.

Ariel & Alison love to travel and wanted to incorporate this element of their lives into their reception. These escort cards feature a variety of stamps collected from their world travels.

The subtle frosted look of the centerpieces was perfect for their winter wedding.

Floating flowers in water is a simple way to add a lot to your reception centerpieces without spending a lot of money.

And of course there was plenty of dancing!

Congratulations, Alison & Ariel.

Read Full Post »

Bay 7 Wedding

Jordan and Mindy were married in the heart of downtown Durham at Bay 7 this past September. Bay 7 is a popular wedding venue, as it offers a chic urban backdrop for wedding ceremonies and receptions. This turned out to be the perfect venue for the ceremony and reception of photographers Jordan and Mindy who wanted to mix fun, whimsical aspects with traditional elements for a memorable day that was truly their own.

The groom and his groomsmen all sported colorful Converse sneakers with vibrant matching ties.

Mindy and Jordan chose to see each other before the ceremony. This romantic moment allows the bride and groom time to connect before their big moment. Plus it makes for some really sweet photographs thanks to JAGG Photography.

The bride and groom found these vintage doors at an antique shop. Decorated with gorgeous floral wreathes they make the perfect backdrop for their ceremony. After the wedding Jordan and Mindy are using these in their home. What a creative way to remember their wedding day.

Greg Warren Flowers created these beautiful bouquets for Mindy and her bridesmaids. They are the perfect colorful contrast against the bridesmaids’ classy little black dresses.

When Jordan proposed to Mindy he first gave her a ring pop before presenting the real ring. As a surprise for Jordan at the end of the ceremony, Mindy had the ring bearer come back down the aisle with ring pops for both her and Jordan. What a sweet surprise!

Mindy and Jordan didn’t want a particular color scheme. Rather, they wanted to let their creative and fun loving side show by incorporating a variety of colors into both their wedding and reception. From the vivid bridesmaids’ bouquets and wild flower centerpieces to the eye-catching candy bar, pops of color were carried throughout Mindy and Jordan’s big day.

The idea of featuring several smaller cakes of different flavors with complimentary designs is a growing trend among brides and their wedding guests who love the delicious dessert options.

Bay 7’s prime location in the historic district of Downtown offers a great location for some amazing photography of this Durham wedding.

Keeping with their fun colorful theme, the bride and groom had a balloon send off from their reception.

Congratulations Mindy & Jordan!

xoxo,

Erin

Read Full Post »