Southern Protocol

Alissa and Jim tied the knot  at the beautiful William Aiken House on King Street, and their over the top Chicago personalities made for an incredibly fun weekend!

We started off with a super sweet ceremony in the courtyard (the bride walked down the aisle to a version of a Ben Folds song), then headed to the house for homemade runners, vintage birdcages, rustic chic charm, and plenty of family love. Seriously – the love was overflowing. Doesn’t everyone look so happy?!

Thanks to our lovely vendors:
Venue: Patrick Properties
Photographer: Brandy J Photography
Caterer: Fish
Entertainment: Complete Music
Flowers: Stems

I don’t know how we’ve been so lucky, but the couples we attract at Southern Protocol are blissfully, tug at your heart strings happy. We love it. So blessed.

Case in point of these fairy tale couples is Hanna and Heyns, who oozed preciousness in their affection for each other. The couple tied the knot at the beautiful Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, then had a sweet brunch reception immediately following in the Cathedral’s Parish Hall… needless to say all the guests were obsessed with the waffle and ham biscuit stations… such a nice change from evening wedding food!

They honestly didn’t even deeply care about all the teeny details involved in their big day – they were just so happy to start their life together. Nevertheless, it was a simply marvelous morning decor wise! Gorgeous honeydew linens set off pink, orange and coral flowers, willow branch arrangements filled the Parish Hall’s almost floor-to-ceiling windows, and guests left with wedding-inspired cookie cutters. And of course we can’t leave the out the ADORABLE cupcakes and mini presentation cake (I honestly think photographer Richard Ellis should submit the picture below of the little boy eating one to a magazine).

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Heyns and Hanna Vanderbilj! I’d wish you all of life’s happiness, but I know that you already have it.

Thanks to all of our wonderful vendors:
Flowers: Stems
Cake and cupcakes: The Cake Stand
Photographer: Richard Ellis Photography
Entertainment: Doug with Party All the Time DJ
Caterer: Beyond Expectations

It was a crazy wedding weekend at Southern Protocol, and Ohio lovebirds Nikki and Kasey got us started off right on Friday! The couple had their ceremony at the gorgeous beachfront Stella Maris church, and a reception at the Creek Club in I’On followed.

For whatever reason Lizz and I feel the need to “name” every wedding we have – giving it a tagline that helps us define the atmosphere and ambiance; for this Creek Club affair, with custom made paisley table runners, sprigs of wildflowers everywhere, and a million mason jars, we went with “sophisticated picnic.” And it was perfect.

I especially loved the wine bottles that tied every table together: the couple’s last name is Jolly, and the labels read “Eat, Drink and Be Jolly” – SO CUTE!

As always, thanks to our vendors who all helped to make the day wonderful. We miss you already, Nikki (and Jackie!!) Hope Aruba is fabulous

Flowers: Charleston Stems
Catering: Jacob’s Kitchen
Photographer: Jennifer Bearden
Cake and Pies: WildFlour Pastry
DJ: Silverman Sound

Take a peek at our wedding this past Sunday…

Despite the crazy heat wave, and a a few afternoon showers- it was still a beautiful day for the lovely Lauren and David and their “Funky Vintage” wedding.

Many thanks to The William Aiken House, as always everything they do is flawless, Anne Bowen of Stems for making the vision happen, and Lauren Cowart Photography for these fabulous images.

It’s time for another entertaining class with Southern Protocol, Stems and Canape! On the schedule for next Wednesday, June 16th? How to throw the best warm-weather fete in town.

Summer gatherings are the best gatherings, with fresh food, light drinks, and a general jovial air because it’s finally everyone’s favorite season! We’ll show you how to be the premiere summer hostess, whether you’re planning an adults-only dinner with a funky twist, or entertaining with children for July 4th.

As always, the hour and a half class will include wine, snacks and a take-home folder, as well as lessons on how to budget and prepare, tablescapes, tips and tricks in set-up, flower arranging, in-season flowers, recipe examples, and a short food demonstration. Whew! What a jam packed class perfect for you and a few friends.

The class again is next Wednesday, June 16th from 6:00 – 7:30, and will be $35 a seat. For more information or to RSVP (only a few seats left!) please send an email to contact@southernprotocol.com.

It was a very festive late afternoon of bites, bubbly and beautiful dresses at our Cynthia Rowley bridesmaid collection launch yesterday! Lots of brides and bridesmaids to be, plus many more who just wanted to mingle and admire.

Canape’s miniature bites were light, fluffy and wonderful – while I was a huge fan of the summer ratatouille (I’m down for anything with goat cheese), the obvious hit of the night were the mini orange-scented almond cakes. Supposedly Cynthia’s popping that recipe up on her blog sometime soon… be on the lookout!

As always, the flower arrangements from Stems were to die for… I couldn’t stop staring at one of the model’s fluffy peony bouquet! The modern studio was transformed into a sweet garden party, and the fun and fresh flowers definitely helped that!

And of course, there were the dresses. The owner of Bella Bridesmaid (where the dresses will be sold), Allison Longe, knew the collection front and back, and every single bride-to-be that scanned the collection found something she loved. What’s even better? The bridesmaids that tagged along had a blast trying the dresses on – and they loved them, too!

So many thanks to Charleston Weddings Magazine for their coverage, Jennifer Bearden and Leigh Webber for capturing all the details and atmosphere with their cameras, and to all of our lovely guests! The full collection is now available to see and try on at Bella Bridesmaid, conveniently located right above Cynthia Rowley’s King Street shop!

(Note: All photos here courtesy of Jennifer Bearden!)

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Ivester! Ruthie and Mike tied the knot at the gorgeous Lowndes Grove Plantation Friday evening with an intimate group of family and friends.

We had been crossing our fingers all day that the rain would cease and desist in time for the 7:00 ceremony, and seriously like magic, the second Ruthie started her big walk down the aisle the sun popped out and made everything glow! After the blissfully happy couple tied the knot, they ate and drank and danced under the tent, using the old house as a backdrop. Big fluffy flowers interlaced with moss filled the tables, and simple-sweet wicker looking lanterns hung from the ceiling. Add in the ocean-soft blue, and it was a perfect night on the water!

A huge thanks to all of our fabulous vendors:
Stems, flowers
Jimmy Snyder Band, entertainment
Patrick Properties, venue
Fish, caterer
Fish, cake
Charleston Angler, the adorable koozies!
Charleston Harpist, ceremony music
Patrick Cox, photography

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Laird! Laurel and Hunter tied the knot at Legare-Waring in Charlestowne Landing on Saturday… even in the steamy heat, the night was perfect!

The bride was absolutely stunning in her straight-from-the-1930s dress, complete with birdcage veil. The groom and his posse looked pretty suave, too, with cotton and berry boutonnieres. The sweetest part of the ceremony? Hunter snuck in to one of Laurel’s favorite consignment shops and secretly purchased a diamond-filled wedding band that she’d been obsessing over… after Hunter gave the official exchange of the rings, he turned back around and pulled out the resized consignment shop ring – imagine the tears and laughter that followed!

Guests ventured from under the oaks to the house for their cocktail hour, nibbling on delicious bites from Tom Smith catering. The women in the bride’s family, in a scene straight from Steel Magnolias, had spent the whole day putting together the centerpieces, and they were sweet and simple: bunches of feminine flowers adorned some tables, while huge branches decorated with little buds drew the eye up. And how cute are the birdseed favors?

A good time was had by all! Congratulations to Laurel and Hunter – hope you’re relaxing on your Costa Rican beach!

Thank you to the night’s vendors:
Stems, personal flowers
Elise Testone and band, entertainment
PDA, lighting
Atlantic Tent, tent
Tom Smith, catering
Staff of Legare-Waring House
Jen Bearden, photography

Just a reminder about our sure-to-be-sensational event launching Cynthia Rowley’s bridesmaid collection next Tuesday! Bites from Canape, gorgeous flowers from Stems, heavenly dresses that are perfect for your bridesmaid or an upcoming wedding you have to attend this summer… there’s no reason NOT to come! Charleston Magazine will be documenting the event, and a team of girls from Bella Bridesmaid (where the dresses will be sold) will be on hand to take measurements and appointment dates. Come one, come all! And if you really want to be a dear, send your RSVP to charlestonevents@cynthiarowley.com.

It seems as though everyone in retail is getting into the bridal industry these days – everyone from Net-a-Porter to J. Crew and now Cynthia Rowley is dabbling in the world of wedding fashion. Cynthia Rowley’s whimsical and oh-so-pretty collections make for a perfect aesthetic for bridesmaids dresses that you really CAN wear again!

It only makes sense for one of the launches for the line to take place in Charleston, seeing as how our lovely city is one of the top destination wedding cities in the country.

So whether you’re a bride, bridesmaid, or just really love pretty dresses, please join us for the super sweet collection’s debut Tuesday, June 8th from 4 – 6:30 pm. The garden-party theme event will be held at 208 Coming Street, and will include tasty bites and bubbly (from delicious Canape) while you admire the garments. While the line’s distributor is Dessy, the local Charleston retailer that will house the anticipated line is none other than Bella Bridesmaid – conveniently located just upstairs of Cynthia Rowley’s King Street shop! Girls from Bella Bridesmaid will be at the event taking measurements and appointments for fittings.

While the party is open to all, we’d just love you to pieces if you’d RSVP to charlestonevents@cynthiarowley.com!

There’s nothing better than spending a gorgeous Sunday afternoon overlooking Marion Square, having some tea and finger sandwiches in pretty dresses – and doing it all for a good cause!

We had the distinct pleasure of being the guest speakers at St. Matthew’s Spoleto tea room kick off event yesterday, and it went so fabulously. Children, parents and grandparents filled both tea times and enjoyed entertainment, delicious food, and a brief lesson on etiquette and the art of taking tea! All proceeds from the event directly benefit St. Matthew’s Outreach Learning Center – read about the extremely beneficial center here.

It’s always so much fun to see children and adults learning together, and everyone looked like they were having a wonderful time. What’s even better? Over $1100 was raised – not even including gift shop sales! What a lovely start to St. Matthew’s 10 day tea room activities. We were also lucky enough to be featured on the front page of the local section in today’s Post and Courier!

Couldn’t make it yesterday? Have no fear! St. Matthew’s  will hold afternoon tea May 28-June 6 from noon til 4:00 pm in concordance with all of the Spoleto festivities. Stop in for tea, live entertainment, Charleston Artist Guild Exhibition (the paintings are incredible!), historic sanctuary tours, and a gift boutique. Carry out of all their scrumptious food (tea plates, scones, desserts, etc) is also available.

St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church is located at 405 King Street. 843.579.0420.

A belated congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. Aaron and Emily Harris!

The so-in-love Syracuse, NY couple tied the knot at the beautifully Southern River House at Lowndes Grove Plantation Saturday, May 8th. Even though stormy weather was in the forecast, the night couldn’t have turned out more perfect – guests danced like crazy under the bulb lights for hours!

Big puffs of peonies, hydrangeas, garden roses and orchids, plus apple green sashes on cocktail tables made the evening super romantic, and we were absolutely in love with the main centerpiece. Plus, the cake was to die for cute; another fabulous job by Lauren and Will at The Cake Stand. And thanks to DJ-turned-random-photographer Josh Silverman for the postcard-esque photo he snapped above! We’re currently waiting on a disk with more pictures, so we’ll definitely share when we get them!

Our Fabulous Vendors:
Patrick Properties
Josh Silverman, DJ
AV Connections, lighting
Connie Duglin, linens
Picture Infinity, photography
The Cake Stand, cake
Stems, flowers

We’ve just been busy bees recently at Southern Protocol! Amidst meetings with all of our wonderfully fabulous brides, etiquette classes and style mavens, we’ve had time to make appearances on all kinds of medias…. check us out in the following!

Kristen Hankla’s interesting Post and Courier article about the appropriateness of pet names to strangers and in the workplace. Read it, honey!

One of our sweet as sugar brides from this past March chose beautiful Coren Moore dresses for her bridesmaids, and then loved them so much she let them profile her wedding for the blog! We couldn’t be blushing more about the nice things Keiemi had to say about us Talk about pretty! Read Part One and Part Two.

Our Summerville Junior Cotillion wrapped up the other month, and the Cotillion Group was so proud they put their proper little pumpkins in the paper! See the Journal Scene article here.

As we head into the summer months, we’re heading into etiquette and manners camps! Local radio station WFCH Public Affairs interviewed Lizz and I about teaching little kids manners, and if they really DO enjoy it (answer: YES!). Their main goal was to advertise our upcoming camp with The Gibbes Art Museum. Click here for details on the camp, and here for a link to a clip of the interview!

The busiest two and a half weeks in Charleston are almost here! The SPOLETO events will commence on Friday, May 28, and we couldn’t be more excited for 17 days of arts and leisure.

We take charity work and giving back to the community very seriously here at Southern Protocol; in our greatest effort to give back we annually partner with the St. Matthew’s Outreach Learning Center and coordinate a week of manners camp. This year, however, we are SO happy to announce that we will be the featured guest speakers for St. Matthew’s Tea Room Kick-Off charity event!

St. Matthew’s has one of the most highly anticipated tea rooms during SPOLETO festivities, and each year they try to really amp up its opening. This year, we invite you to join us on Sunday, May 23 for a Family Tea. We will be giving a lesson on “The Art of Taking Tea” – complete with our faaabulous High Tea attire, I might add! – as well as tea etiquette and history. Immediately following will be a traditional tea party, complete with finger sandwiches, sweet treats, and entertainment. It truly is a great way to spend an afternoon!

To help fit in to everyone’s busy end of May schedules, we have decided to offer two tea times: the first will be held at 12:30 pm, with a second session following at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children (we ask only children ages 4 and up to attend), with all proceeds benefitting the St. Matthew’s Outreach Learning Center. This is an absolute STEAL for such a festive afternoon of learning and fun. Please RSVP to Christy at christyEstephenson@gmail.com, or 843.579.0420.

Grab your daughters, sons, mothers, grandmothers, or anyone else for this fantastic event! Can’t wait to see everyone there! For more information on the center, please visit www.connectinghands.org.

It was an absolutely flawless holiday weekend for everyone in the Lowcountry – but an even more special and fabulous one for lovebirds Haley and Jayson. The pair was married at St. Luke’s MUSC chapel downtown, then moved over to Edisto Hall at the James Island County Park for some dancing and drinking!

Haley wasn’t originally thrilled about the venue of choice, but the end result became a true testament that you can take any space and transform it into the perfect wedding site. Ivory drapes cascaded over the windows, tables were adorned in royal blues, ivories and pale greens (no coincidence that Duke is the couple’s favorite team), and beautiful station displays truly made the normally casual space into a super sweet surrounding.

Congratulations Haley and Jayson – and thank goodness Duke pulled out a win for you Saturday night!

A huge thanks to Haley and Jayson’s vendors of choice:
Tom Smith Catering
Forget Me Nots
Damon Smith Photography
Honeybee Bakery
Jay Maxwell Music By Request

Do I even need to tell you how upset I am I can’t post what I have deemed one of the most precious pictures of all time for this entry? Hopefully it will be coming soon!

Most late spring calendars are positively chaotic with business – it makes for a fun and festive introduction to the warm months of summer. There’s Mother’s Day, graduations, Memorial Day, Kentucky Derby parties, and just the plain old “it’s gorgeous outside let’s get together tonight” gatherings galore.

Join Southern Protocol, Stems, and Canape on Wednesday, April 21st for a laidback evening of how-to entertaining in preparation of all your late spring soirees. Southern Protocol will outline two different tablescapes, sneaky tips and tricks, plus activities that will engage your children; Stems will show you how EASY it is to grab local, in-season flowers and transform them into elegant centerpieces and accent decor; and of course Canape will treat you to an easy, quick appetizer and a few variation recipes. What a night!

Grab a girlfriend or two and come on over to 208 Coming Street! Wednesday, April 21st from 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Seats are $30. Please RSVP with name and email to contact@southernprotocol.com.