Carolina Grove Open House

On the coldest day in January, the best of Raleigh, NC wedding market gathered together to create absolute magic in the only way we know how – perfectly. There was snow on the ground, our noses were red, our hands freezing, but our smiles were wide and our hearts full as we opened the doors to Raleigh-Durham’s premier venue, Carolina Grove.

There were a million odds stacked against us, an ice storm, delayed shipping and uneasy roads, but we rallied together and threw the most beautiful of events for newly engaged couples, couples deep in the planning process and vendors alike – and I must say, this team absolutely killed it.

The vision for this event was a warm, Scandinavian winter. With a warm purple & burgundy color palette mixed with ivories and golds to give plenty of negative space within the overall design, we were able to bring this vision to life.

Jen from Once Gathered blew all of us away with her 27 foot hanging floral installation over our head table complete with floating candles on top (yes, you read that right) of the florals and a stunning double ceremony arch that made all of our grand floral dreams come true.

Ashley Triggiano created beautiful felt stationery complete with a map of the vendor team and directional signage to help couples get from one place to another seamlessly (& beautifully we might add).

CE Rentals provided our tabletop elements, my favorite of which was the stunning velvet purple napkin that we chose to knot on each place setting. Greenhouse Picker Sisters provided all of our specialty rentals including a double lounge, the large welcome display, our photo booth backdrop, bookshelf bar backs and more.

Themeworks installed these oversized wicker hanging lanterns over the bar and draped the back porch to bring in extra coziness and soften the outdoors. HL Catering provided passed appetizers and Brewmasters overdelivered on their specialty cocktails that were, of course, pink and purple.

Magnolia String Quartet & Bunn DJ Co shared the music responsibilities for the evening. We were also blessed with a fun Lashes & Lips bar from The Beauty Tribe, our gown on our model was from White of Raleigh and Zim Zoom provided a super fun photo booth. Alpha Lit was also there with their fun marquee lights as well as Annie Timmons who took all of these beautiful photos.

As you can see, it truly takes a village to make these dreamy events come to life, and we are SO grateful for the one we have. This open house goes down as one of the most logistically challenging, yet rewarding, events in my career thus far, but as I always say, we’re just getting started.

HUGE thanks to this all-star vendor team that you can find by clicking their names below:

Venue: Carolina Grove

Planning & Design: Sweet Oak Events

Photography: Annie Timmons Photography

Stationery: Ashley Triggiano

Floral: Once Gathered

Gown: White of Raleigh

Beauty: The Beauty Tribe

Catering: HL Catering

Bar: Brewmasters

Rentals: CE Rental, Greenhouse Picker Sisters & Themeworks

Photo Booth: Zim Zoom Photo Booth

Musicians: Magnolia String Quartet & Bunn DJ Co.

Marquee Letters: Alpha Lit RDU