Real Wedding - Georgia
ABC Member Planner: Callie M. Rackley, PBC™, CWP, Sister Secrets Wedding & Event Planning, callie@sister-secrets.com, www.sister-secrets.com.Photographer: Brandon Powers Photography.ABC Business Involved: Virgin Farms Direct (floral).Non-member Business Involved: Singletary’s Flowers & Gifts, Corner Cakery, Sundown Farms Plantation, Jo Klem’s Bar-b-que Sauce & Catering, Tallahassee Photo Fun Booth.The Couple: Melissa is the first of my two sisters to get married. She is a quiet and reserved paralegal, while Cliff is a country boy working for the family business. They met almost seven years ago at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and felt the spark of something more. I admire their true dedication, love, and perseverance to stick it out until the end.Wedding Date: Dec. 8, 2012.Inspiration: The couple wanted a simple and chic wedding with a country kick. They also wanted an intimate ceremony and a larger celebration. The ceremony was held at the groom’s parent's land and was for immediate family only. There were no bridesmaids or groomsmen. The bride and groom did a “God's Knot—Cord of Three Strands” ceremony instead of lighting a Unity Candle. This was a very touching part of the day indicating the importance of faith in their marriage.Color Palette: Coral and pale green.Budget: $10,000.Guest Count: 150.Most Unique Design Element: At my request, Cliff designed wooden boxes for the reception centerpieces as well as the wood slices for the centerpieces outside the reception and for the cake stand. The handcrafted wooden cake stand was magnificent and each box was cut, nailed, and lacquered by hand.Biggest Challenge: The biggest challenge for me was fitting everything into a tight schedule and still being able to enjoy the day as Melissa’s older sister. This was also the first time I assembled multiple centerpieces by hand the day before the wedding, which became quite time consuming; however, they came out beautifully, and the roses opened up perfectly.Hindsight: This was only my second wedding, so there were many things that I learned from it. The biggest learning was that I should have brought staff! I look forward to the day when I can afford to pay staff that is familiar with the process of decorating for a wedding and does not need a lot of direction. In addition to bringing extra staff, I also will have better packing strategies for the next wedding. I lost several glass centerpieces that were dropped or crushed because they weren’t packed well. I would also pre-assemble many centerpieces before the event so it is less stressful the night before.
