Welcome!



As one of the most popular Charlotte wedding planners, this Carolina Wedding Design (CWD) blog will update you on the latest tips and trends we're seeing in the wedding industry. We'll also showcase different client stories along the way to show you what real brides and grooms are experiencing with us! We offer all types of packages to fit your planning/design needs, so feel free to contact us if you'd like...704.541.9100

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Lydia Nims | Bridal Session | Tara Mauldin Photography

Elegance. Grace. Sophisticated beauty. Heart of gold. True beauty.
This is Lydia Nims Mobley.

These photos below are just a snippet from our 4 hour bridal session with our photographer friend Tara Mauldin.

We were on the water, in the garden, at the cotton mill, in the field, in an old shed, on the stairwell, on the terrace......needless to say our options were endless and abroad.

I wish we had time to share ALL of them with you. It's definitely one of my favorite shoots of all time. Check out Tara's blog to see more of our session!
Tara Mauldin - you are a rockstar.

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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Welcome new CWD clients, Shelby Gordon & Paul Hidalgo!

This fun, sweet couple are planning their ceremony & reception, along with their parents, at the Marriott City Center on October 2, 2010 in uptown Charlotte. We are thrilled to execute all of those final details to create that perfect wedding day for you both!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Welcome new CWD Clients, Liz & Kirk!


CWD Welcomes new clients

LIZ HANCOCK AND KIRK WARD


Energetic, happy, grateful, excited, in love.........this is Liz & Kirk.

Kirk is so smooth he hired a photographer to capture the entire proposal in Freedom Park - we LOVE grooms that think ahead!!

Today, we head out to begin the search for the perfect venue for their 2011 fall wedding. The criteria? relaxed, open, unique with a Spanish flare...

Liz & Kirk we are thrilled to begin this planning journey with you - it's going to be SO. MUCH. FUN!! ~hgb


Friday, June 25, 2010

CWD has two weddings this weekend! Congrats to both couples!

CWD has two weddings this weekend! Cortenay will be down in Fort Mill at a private estate and Heather will be at the Wachovia Atrium uptown. Happy Wedding Weekend to Leslie Brown & Clayton Galindo AND to Katie Connell & Adam Schnug! Here's just a tad of info about wedding day details for both couples.

Leslie & Clayton's wedding day will be filled with beautiful citrus colors at Clayton's parents' estate. Tents are set up along with portable restrooms... we can't wait to set up the rest of the details tomorrow. This will be a FUN celebration full of citrus colors such as yellow, green and orange. We have a few fun surprises planned for all of their guests. Can't wait... congrats Leslie and Clayton!

Katie & Adam's will be showing the 'city' to their guests throughout their wedding reception at the Wachovia Atrium uptown with lots of city scapes and unknown facts about Charlotte. This couple, from Hickory, loves music and a good party... and have the perfect band in place! Congrats Katie & Adam... it's going to be a blast!

We'll be sure to post pictures as soon as we receive them!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Wish Upon a Wedding Launch Party!


Here's today's article in Creative Loafing about the Launch Party for Wish Upon a Wedding tomorrow night....It is open to the general public and we invite EVERYONE to attend this free event! What an amazing organization.......it's heart wrenching so bring a kleenex!

Anyone can get involved (ie you do NOT have to be in the wedding industry).

Please email us directly if you're interested in volunteering or donating products & services! info@carolinaweddingdesign.com

Monday, June 21, 2010

Thank you Vendors | Nims & Mobley Wedding

Thank you to ALL of our top notch vendors that helped perfect Lydia and Jeremy's wedding Sat night! Our couple is boarding the plane right now to head to Anguilla. I spoke to them again this morning and they could not be more thrilled with the outcome.....'perfection' they said.

River Hills Community Church, Mary Meier & Rev Bruce Jones
Violin & Harp, Wolfgang and Bette Roth
Organ, Jonathan Poe
Voice, Clay Nims
Beauty, Jami Svay
Venue & Food/Beverage, Palisades Country Club
Photography, Tara Mauldin & and 2nd shooter, Becca
Videography, Alan Daly of Crown Alley Films
Lighting, Kristen Prestwood of Sterling By Design
DJ, Neil & Rashaad (aka Shaady) of Split Second Sound
Band, The Fabulous Kays (via East Coast Entertainment)
Transportation, Southpark Limo
Chairs & Dance Floor, Classic Party Rentals
Decor & Design, Carolina Wedding Design

Monday, June 14, 2010

Thank you Vendors!! Phifer/Dubose

Thanks to all of our fabulous vendors for this past weekend's wedding for
Tiffany Phifer and Ryan Dubose!

Photos to be posted soon....What an awesome party!

Harp Occassions - Joan Johnson
Violin - Winfred Marecheau
Soloist - Jodie Goff, Richard Dawkins
The Atrium Uptown - Marla Neely and her amazing crew
Best Impressions Catering - Justin King and his rockin' team
Cakes by Victoria - Victoria Moore
The Flower Diva - Carrie Strubel
DJ Dexter Dynamite - Joshua Avery
Tim Hines Photography - Tim and Ebony
Dreamlight Films - Matt Francis and Katherine
Nasheika Moore - makeup
Courtyard Marriott - Misti Henley

Monday, June 7, 2010

PHOTOS | Sex & the City 2 Charity Party!

Our Sex and the City 2 extravaganza was a huge success! 100 fabulously dressed women attended in order to show support to the local charity Meals on Wheels/Friendship Trays of Charlotte and of course to see the new Sex and the City movie.

The night started with a walk down the hot pink carpet and a photo op, with our lovely photographer Lucy Parker. No night is complete without good food, tasty drinks and a pair of stylish SHOES!!! After a few martinis and finger foods from Eat Here Now, the girls all headed back out to the hot pink carpet to strut their stuff so that we could determine the winners!

Then, it was off to the main event...the MOVIE!!!

It was a great night as we raised hundreds for Friendship Trays!
Thanks again for all the support! :)

If you attended and didn't see your photo here, we'll have all of the photos on our FB page this week...stay tuned!


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Client love....


......honestly warms our heart to read these messages. Caroline and Keith both were very organized themselves, but they quickly learned about all of the tiny, yet uber important, details that come along with planning a wedding....even the 'simple weddings'.

When interviewing planners in the beginning, they knew they wanted to stick to their budget and didn't know if a planner was really necessary. She has told us time and time again, it was the BEST money they spent on the entire wedding. They were also very grateful to see the immediate monetary savings that we were able to pass along to them from other vendors.

We hope all of the other planners out there love their clients as much as we love ours!

Thank you Caroline & Keith! Love you guys!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

HAPPY WEDDING DAY AMANDA & THOMAS!!!

It's finally here....the BIG wedding day! This pair of sweethearts has been planning this weekend for a year. CWD is thrilled to be a part of the day!

The day starts with hair & make-up, then a short trip on the trolley to the University City United Methodist Church for the ceremony. Their wedding day wraps up with a gorgeous reception at Byron's Southend. We'll be posting pictures as soon as we receive them by the fabulous Critsey Rowe!

Can't wait Amanda & Thomas!!

xoxo, Cort

Friday, June 4, 2010

eSession - Lydia & Jeremy

What do you get when you cross a hot zoo, a madly in love couple, a backdrop of a plethora of species, a killer photographer, and a road trip full of karaoke sing-alongs?? This one of a kind eSession!

Lydia, Jeremy and I packed up the car on Good Friday and headed to Asheboro Zoo. A little lunch at the infamous Lexington BBQ? YES PLEASE. With our bellies full, we progressed to Zoo Parkway......where we found just that......a 'park-way' as there was no movement on that road. Bumper to bumper traffic. After finally arriving and witnessing, literally, the most popular day at the zoo for the year, we chatted and decided it was way too crowded and hot (about 93 degrees) to try and conquer the shoot. So we rescheduled....which only meant more sing-alongs in the car and completely RANDOM conversations!! (nuclear, 'revelant', idear, and whistle tips to name a few) This couple makes me cackle laughing - it's priceless. I adore Lydia....but I also adore Jeremy!! He's easy on the eyes, has the best sense of humor, and takes care of his woman! I love it. He had even practiced his different 'looks' for the shoot....Jeremy you're a mess.

Take Two Zoo Trip = MUCH better circumstances. Perfect weather, nice breeze, minimal crowds and a very relaxed couple. We all truly had so much fun. I believe we shot for four hours! (Which typical eSessions last 2 hours or less). Have we mentioned how much our photog rocks?

Enjoy these photos from our photographer and dear friend Tara Mauldin! PLEASE check out her 2 part blog post to see more photos from this session. She worked her tooshie off to capture the most detailed and exotic photos for us. I do have to mention that the animals were most cooperative that day as well - they knew it was their moment to shine. =)

Lydia and Jeremy will say 'I do' this month! We can't WAIT to see those pics.....at which time we'll also be able to release the bridal portraits that are probably some of my favorites, EVER.

hair/makeup/styling by the Look
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Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Thank you Vendors! Obleski & Wetherington Wedding

What a beautiful wedding weekend for Catherine (aka Cat) and Ray on the weekend of April 23rd-25th!

A beautiful, large white tent was the setting in the backyard of Cat & Ray's home in Weddington for the rehearsal dinner on Friday and post wedding brunch on Sunday. Saturday night as the couple danced the night away at their reception at the Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge, some of our CWD team went back to the Wetherington Estate to hang the tent walls as an intense storm fast approached. In wanting to make sure we kept the ground and decor dry under the tent for Sunday's events, we drenched ourselves and hung about 30 tent walls as quickly as two people could possibly hang them in the dark......and we're pretty sure we heard a neighboring coyote in woods which outlined the property looking for a dry place to sleep. THAT was motivation enough to hang quickly!

Thank you to the team of vendors who worked together to create a perfect weekend for Cat & Ray! Also, thanks to Richard Israel for sending over pictures of their wedding weekend to share with you all!

Friday Rehearsal Dinner Vendors:
Party Reflections
Best Impressions Caterers - a SPECIAL thanks to Josh Dernosek!
Richard Israel Photography
Park, Inc.
Kimberly Carper Trio via EastCoast Entertainment

Wedding Day Vendors:
St. Mary's Chapel
Reverend Dr. Patrick Maloy
Carolina Strings
Ballantyne Hotel & Lodge - a SPECIAL thank you to Kelly Randazzo, Gina Bailey, Tobias Colvin and Anthony Fernandez
Richard Israel Photography
Carolyn Shepard Design
Who's the Fairest- Kymm (hair & make-up)
Ballantyne Limo
The Troupers Band via EastCoast Entertainment

Sunday Post Wedding Brunch
Best Impression Caterers - SPECIAL thanks to Josh Dernosek!
Party Reflections

xoxo, Cort








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