Southern Protocol

If you haven’t already seen the Spring 2012 Charleston Weddings Magazine, you must go get a copy! Everything in it is absolutely stunning and Lizz has two amazing features, “Sunny Shade” and “Petal Power”. We are so proud of her!

Here is the link for Brittany and Will. This is one of my favorite weddings. It was southern, charming and quaint and every little detail played into the “glamourous 1940s affair” at Lowndes Grove.

http://www.charlestonmag.com/weddings/feature/sunny_shade

Jennifer and Michael’s wedding was absolutely gorgeous as well. They’re goal was “rustic meets glam” and it was perfect for the William Aiken House. Lizz and Anne from Stems made the perfect team!

http://www.charlestonmag.com/weddings/feature/petal_power

Happy Day of Love! We hope everyone is eating as much chocolate as possible, because today is the only day its appropriate, right? Thank goodness for chocolate covered strawberries and candy apples…

I love this Valentine’s Day Card from GADABOUT, so simple but so fun : http://www.agadabout.com/happy-valentines-day/

And this quote out of the Spring 2012 Charleston Weddings Magazine I thought was too perfect for today :
” Life is the flower for which love is the honey ” by Victor Hugo, so sweet.

And for those of you who are still planning your dinner for tonight… a girl can’t go wrong with some delicious pasta and bubbly. Eat Live Run has this amazing recipe for Engagement Scampi…yum! http://www.eatliverun.com/engagement-scampi/

xoxo

Want to help share some love this Valentine’s Day? Whitney from Branch Design Studio shared this story/website with us, and it absolutely broke my heart to read

A family from James Island recently had their adoptive daughter, Veronica, taken away from her because of the Indian Child Welfare Act…. since she has 1% Cherokee blood in her.  According to the website, the birthfather wanted nothing to do with Veronica while her birthmother was pregnant with her, and still didn’t even after she was born. Now he wants her back, and because of this law he won custody over her.

The SC Supreme Court has accepted Veronica’s case, but a court date hasn’t been determined yet. I hope that Melanie and Matt (her adoptive parents) can get her back!

Whitney and Molly are putting together flower arrangements and cupcakes to deliver on Valentine’s Day around Charleston and 100% of the proceeds will go towards helping this family get their little girl back. Below is the Facebook event link they put together

www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1517843460&ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/246703645407305/

If you want to get involved or sign the petition, click on the following link:
http://www.saveveronica.org/veronicas-story/

Everyone loves Vera, how could you not? Did you see Sofia Vergara in that dress at the Golden Globes? To Die For. And after following her on Twitter (follow @VeraWangGang) and drooling over her new line, we love her even more! If thats possible. And she loves chocolate, cake andd donuts.

Vera’s Spring 2012 line is so amazingly gorgeous (don’t forget you can your own Vera dress right here in Charleston at Maddison Row!). Our favorites are the Gemma ( strapless sweetheart mermaid gown with asymmetrically beaded bodice and cut organza blossom hem with blizzard beading ), the Genevieve ( modified mermaid strapless sweetheart gown with asymmetrically draped peplum bodice and multi-tiered back over-skirt with horse hair bias trim ), the Georgina ( Strapless mermaid gown with fusions of shadow and chantilly lace and multi-tiered tulle skirt with cascading bias horsehair trim ) and the Ghillian ( Strapless sweetheart full a-line gown with asymmetrically draped drop–waist bodice and chrysanthemum organza blossom skirt ). We actually absolutely love all of them and it took forever to narrow it down to only these four!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous week so far

A big thanks to Sara’s dad for sending us this awesome (and delicious) website! Who doesn’t love chocolate covered strawberries? Check out Shari’s Berries website, there are gourmet dipped berries, dipped sweets, bakery treats, and so much more- including hand dipped football berries! Since Superbowl Sunday is in a little over a week away, I thought these were the perfect treat to bring to wherever you plan on watching the big game. It’s $44.97 for 12 Hand-Dipped Football Berries and $69.97 for 24 Hand-Dipped Football Berries

Go Giants!

http://products.berries.com/chocolatestrawberry/12-HandDipped-Football-Berries-40952?ref=SSSorganicgglbrand_sherry%27s+berries&prid=sbseogb&viewpos=14&trackingpgroup=SHM

So February is just around the corner, can you believe that?! I feel like it was just yesterday that we were all drinking our bubbly at the fabulous end-of-the-year sweets and champagne party. And with February a week away, we are getting so close to our 2012 weddings to begin and one of the first holidays of the year…. Valentine’s Day! So to prepare for this loooovely holiday (hehe), and the fact it’s a Tuesday morning in the office, I have found some delectable drinks to share with you.

Ok so maybe I didn’t find these… Pinterest may have helped a little… but here we go:

Pink Champagne Cocktails

One bottle pink champagne

200 ml bottle Limoncello (suggested 120ml all up)

2 tblspns pink sugar

Place pink sugar on small plate.  Wet edges of champagne glasses under tap then dip in pink sugar.

Fill champagne flutes with 1/4 Limoncello then fill the rest with champagne.  Serves around 10.

White Sangria with Pomegranate

1 bottle white wine

3 cans 7up or sprite

Grand Marnier (just a few ounces)

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

Slices of 2 limes

Ice

Pour all the ingredients into a punch bowl and wait for the seeds to float- then enjoy!

First of all, excuse my french, s’il vous plait.

Second of all, have you guys seen these YouTube videos? I assure you we have been working very diligently in the office. However, in between furiously typing on the computer, making phone calls and eating all of Lizz’s FUDGE covered Ritz crackers (ummmm, holy yum) that aren’t helping the future bathing suit bod (TLI?), we find ourselves taking “bathroom” breaks (more like watching-youtube-videos-breaks) from drinking too much tea, coffee and diet coke.

If you haven’t watched them, the links are below, they are a must. The videos started with Graydon Sheppard. He started a twitter, tweeted some funny things girls say and then coerced his boyfriend to make videos with him. Hes the best.

Sh*t Girls Say is a video making fun of the things us girls say all the time like, “I can’t believe I just ate all that”, “SHUT.UP.” and “First of all, ew.”. We didn’t think it could get funnier than that, then Sh*t Girls Don’t Say came along.  We’re pretty sure its even more hilarious. Our faves are, “Can I get a copy of your Nickelback CD?”, “I am SO glad I ate 6 chalupas” and “Does anyone know how to make Papyrus my default font?”.

p.s. we are so turning in our iphones for boost mobiles…

Enjoy : )

Happy Sunday! We hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather in Charleston this weekend; I dont think you can beat 70 degree weather in January!

Now that we are getting well into January, we figured we would do a blog on the top wedding trends for 2012. While every bride’s wedding is tailored to their own taste, the overall main trend for weddings in 2012 is a more formal, elegant and romantic wedding. Since the debut of the Royal Wedding, every bride has been dreaming of a romantic, elegant and feminine wedding filled with lace and sparkles. Here are a few that we think we will be seeing a lot of!

Gold. A white wedding gown will always be a symbol of tradition and elegance. However, in 2012, non-white dresses with hints of gold, nude, and champagne are going to be in. Vera Wang and Monique Lhuiller both have amazing Spring 2012 collections with golden-eque gowns that can be found at our very own local Bridal Chic Boutique, Maddison Row.

Sparkles. Okay, I know this sounds horribly tacky. But, the “sparkle” that I am talking about is far from that. It is, in fact, absolutely stunning. Adding sparkle to table accessories, flowers, cakes, invitations, dresses and even drink accessories is very “in” for 2012 and makes for a lavish, elegant wedding!

Lace. Another trend pulled from the Royal Wedding, Lace Wedding Gowns. Honestly, who didn’t love Kate’s Gown? Lace is also lovely atop table linens and any place where you want a simple, pretty detail.

Burlap. Burlap is a big trend for 2012, and for a southern, charming, rustic wedding it does wonders. It can be used as a table runner, tied around chairs, used on hors d’oeuvres trays, bouquets and even invitations.

Colors. Bright, charming colors are very in, especially for bridesmaids dresses. A simple, all white and neutral wedding can also be given a bit of southern, classy attitude with a small pop of color.

We can’t wait for all of the gracious, charming, stylish and southern weddings to come in 2012!

I know its already the fifth (?!) but, Happy New Year to everyone! Thank you, everyone, so much for such a wonderful year, we truly could not have done it without you. We had such a blast at the Bubbles and Sweets party (filled with champagne, lemon bars, chocolate truffles, red velvet cupcakes, cheesecake bites and mini molten chocolate cakes – YUM!) and having all of you there only reminded us of how lucky we are to work with you all.

Things are already super busy here in the Southern Protocol office and we are so ready to make 2012 the best yet! We wish everyone a happy, healthy and fun 2012

So, I, (Alexa) am only a new addition here at Southern Protocol, but I am already well-aware of how busy Lizz and Sara are with working on their beautiful weddings!  As a result, I was put to work on the Southern Protocol Facebook page, only to find myself day dreaming about each and every wedding I was given to look through!  After only a few hours, I am in love with all of the venues, cakes, lighting, dresses, flowers, delicious, saliva-inducing food, and of course,  the lovely brides.   This cake by WildFlour Pastry is one of my absolute favorites, isn’t it just to-die-for?  I  think so too You will have to check out some more of Lizz and Sara’s fabulous weddings on the Southern Protocol Facebook page, yes it is updated, and I assure you, with all of the wonderful photographers Southern Protocol has to work with, combined with the luscious tastes of the brides Lizz and Sara get to work with, you will not be disappointed!

We love R. Nichols here at Southern Protocol. Starting his tiny collection of stationary in his parent’s windowless basement and taking it to Barney’s, Neiman’s, and Gump’s only makes him someone to admire. And how adorable are these Holiday Bridge Note Cards from R. Nichols? They are blank inside but, not only will R. Nichols print a personalized greeting on the inside, but you can also have the cards personalized with your name or initials–very holiday-preppy might I add. Love the traveling cars topped with Christmas trees (you can picture it as a Griswold-esque National Lampoon’s Vacation or a picturesque White Christmas) and how perfect would it be to say the bridge being traveled is the one right here in Charleston? The Cooper River Bridge is,of course, what R. Nichols was trying to depict

Meet our fabulous new intern Alexa Wyatt, she is a graduate of Furman, and chose us over law school… we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her in the office…she’s already been busy updating our facebook page (we know, we know…it really needed it!) So, say “Hi” to Alexa when you see her out and about, and check out the facebook page- lots of great new pictures.

Check out Sara’s bride Katie and this classic Southern stunner at Summerall Chapel and The Old Exchange featured on EAD today!

http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/2011/12/02/classic-navy-pink-charleston-wedding/

A pic from Richard Ellis that we just pinned from a wedding on 10/1/11

Our new obsession with Pinterest is getting out of hand! I can’t ignore my children during the Holidays so that I can “pin it” for hours….which I can see becoming an issue and FAST!

But seriously, being in our field and  being able to create design boards that can so easily be accessed and added to by our clients is amazing! So after sending a million emails this morning I told Sara I was going to start adding to my Southern Protocol board on my Pinterest… go follow me & check out some of our favorite work from the past few years.