Welcome Brooke Coleman to the Sweetgrass Social Family!!

Today we want to take a moment to welcome Brooke Coleman to our Sweetgrass Social family and we could not be more thrilled! Brooke will be joining our team as a wedding consultant for our bride's who are in need of day of services. We first met Brooke when she worked with us as an summer intern for us a little over two years ago and we absolutely fell in love with her. She did a fantastic job as an intern and we quickly saw the great potential she would have as an event planner. After her time with Sweetgrass Social she gained additional experience by interning with other event planners and also came back to work with us as an event assistant several times. Brooke is very ambitious and a absolute perfect fit for Sweetgrass Social. We are so excited to welcome us to our team!!

From Brooke:

My name is Brooke Coleman and I am excited to say that I will be joining the Sweetgrass Social girls! I graduated from the University of South Carolina in Columbia with a hospitality management degree. After two internships with wedding planners in Charleston, including Sweetgrass, and a fantastic experience with the Masters Golf Tournament there was no denying that events are what I am passionate about. Sweetgrass Social is a great fit because we share a love of all types of events and love a challenge. I look forward to meeting everyone and can't wait to get started!

The Seven Rules of Wedding Toast Etiquette

While toasting the bride and groom is part of tradition, it can often be a stressful and difficult task! Use these seven wedding toast tips from Southern Living to make your toast memorable... for all the RIGHT reasons!

As part of tradition, the host of the event always goes first, then the groom may toast his bride, followed by his family and friends, and lastly, the bride's family and friends. Keeping it clean and making it heartfelt are the two most important aspects of giving a Sweetgrass Social wedding toast, but below are a few more pointers to keep you on the right track. There are even some for receiving and listening to wedding toasts.


Giving a Toast
Rule #1 Brevity
Be brief with your wedding toast. It's best to stay around 2-3 minutes.

Rule #2 Rehearsal
Even spontaneity requires a little forethought so if you're winging it, think about the order or the major points beforehand. Practicing out loud won't hurt either!

Rule #3 The Crowd's Attention
Attract and maintain the crowd's attention! Don't tap your glass or fidget - stand, speak loudly and enunciate.

Receiving a Toast
Rule #4 Self-Appreciation
Don't drink to yourself - avoid raising your glass when a toast is being offered to you - and please, oh please, remain seated.

Listening to a Toast (for the Wedding Guests)
Rule #5 The Host Toasts First
Always let the host do the first toast. If you see champagne glasses on the table, this indicates a toast will be made so if you want to contribute, hold off until after the host!

Rule #6 Always Participate
Even if you're a non-drinker, raise an empty glass but don't just sit there. If you may be called upon to do a toast, have a few on hand just in case!

Giving a Toast as a Host
Rule #7 Let the Guests That Are Giving a Toast Know
Inform which guests you want to give a toast - don't put anyone on the spot. You want the toast section to go smoothly, with heartfelt sentiment and if you put someone on the spot, there's a chance they may not be able to come up with anything meaningful.

Date Night at Home: Macadamia Nut-Crusted Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa

It's that time of the week again - date night at home! Before the craziness of yet another work week, sit down with your man this weekend and enjoy a nice dinner at home - just the two of you. This week we have a delicious recipe catered to all this warm-weather we've been having: macadamia nut-crusted tilapia with pineapple salsa, snow peas and cilantro lime rice. This exotic dish is a romantic escape in itself, courtesy of Cosmopolitan.com.

Macademia Nut-Crusted Tilapia with Pineapple Salsa
Ingredients for fish
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup crushed macadamia nuts
2 tilapia fillets (about 3-4 ounces each)

Ingredients for salsa
1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
1 tbsp minced red onion
1/2 jalapeño, seeds removed, minced
1/4 cup minced cilantro
Salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put flour, egg and nuts in three separate shallow dishes.
Dredge each fillet first in flour, then egg, then nuts.
Place on oiled baking sheet.
Bake 12-14 minutes, until golden brown.
While fish is baking, make the salsa - combine pineapple, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve the fish when it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

Sesame Snow Peas
1 cup snow peas
1 tsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
Salt and pepper

Rinse snow peas but don't dry. Place in a microwaveable bowl and microwave for 45 seconds on high. Stir in butter, sesame seeds and salt and pepper.

Cilantro Lime Rice
Add 1 tbsp lime juice to the water when prepared 1/2 cup long-grain white rice. When done, stir in 2 tbsp chopped cilantro. 

Mismatched to Match!

Belle the Magazine helped us with today's blog post - The Secrets for Successful Mismatched Bridesmaids! We've seen the mismatch trend emerge over the years, and we love it! Whether our Sweetgrass Social Bride is calling the shots, or the bridesmaids are allowed to choose their own frocks, we all know that budget, body type and taste are the most important factors. Belle has got it down to a science and the way they look at it, we have four choices in mismatching.

Option 1: Using different shades of the same color dress
Neutrals, including grey and beige have been very in this year. Neutrals make mismatching easy because that unified image still exists. All the dresses can be short, to give the bride the center of attention, or long and short can be mixed. Accessories are used to bring together the mismatched look - when everyone has the same flowers, shoes and/or hair, the looks are all brought together.

 The above photograph was taken at a wedding planned by Sweetgrass Social Event & Design.

Option 2: Using different colors of the same style dress
Choosing the same dress, but in different tones that relate to the wedding palette can look really beautiful and elegant, while still giving the bridal party that pop of color. Everyone looks uniform because it's all the same dress, however, the different colors can be used to bring out the different elements in the wedding decor that the bride wants highlighted.

Option 3: Using different styles of the same color dress
With three or four different dress options for your bridesmaids, you can really aim to fit everyone's body type and budget while sticking with the look you wanted for your bridal party. Letting your bridesmaids weigh in on a decision like this is one they are often thankful for - if they have to buy the dress, then I'm sure they'd prefer to pick the dress.

The above photographs were taken at weddings planned by Sweetgrass Social Event & Design.

Option 4: Using the same dress with mismatched accessories 
For a more subtle mismatch, keep your girls in the same gown but mismatch their accessories! Earrings, shoes, rings, and necklaces are just the most obvious ways of accessorizing a bridesmaid's dress. To really mix it up, allow your favorite girls to accessorize the way they want (with your approval of course) and let each individual style emerge.

Option 5: Free style!
We dipped our feet into this in option 4, but trusting your bridesmaids with their sense of style will grant them the freedom to wear whatever in their closet. Provide guidance on this one without choosing for them.

 The above photograph was taken at a wedding planned by Sweetgrass Social Event & Design.

Michele & Matt Kopec's Wedding Day Film!

Michele & Matt Kopec were one of our wonderful Sweetgrass Social couples from earlier this year. They were married on May 26, 2013 at the William Aitken House on King Street. 

We worked with photographers, Rod and Tara from Red Shutter Studio, as well as the videographers from Absolute Wedding Films who produced this "wedding trailer" for the newlyweds. We loved being a part of Michele & Matt's special day and wanted to share it with y'all! Just click on the photo below to watch!

Bridesmaids Duties, huh?!

Blue Nile Fine Jewelry helped us with today's blog post by creating this great how-to interactive guide for our Sweetgrass Social Bridesmaids!

As a bridesmaid, do we ever really know what's expected of us? Each bride is different and may expect certain things from their ladies in waiting. Everything from dress shopping to gifts, the bridal shower to your speech on the big day, this guide will answer all your questions!

Click on the chart above to learn more about your bridesmaid duties!

Pets in Weddings

We all love our pets and treat them as family, but should we include them in our big day? Check out these tips from brides that have both regretted having their pets included and enjoyed having them.

1. Be sure your venue allows pets

2. Find a family member who loves your pet as much as you do, so that they can tend to the pet during the ceremony in the case that the pet needs to go potty

3. Have treats handy in case of a distraction to get them re-focused

4. Be sure to review your guest list and see if anyone is allergic and/or terrified of certain animals

5. If you're planning on giving them an outfit, try it on before the day-of to make sure they don't battle trying to take it off for the duration of your ceremony

6. Check with your vet to see if there are any anxiety medications your pet can take to calm them down if they tend to get rowdy in a large crowd

7. Go ahead and accept the fact that your pet probably won't perform exactly as planned.