We don't do "gay" weddings | Charleston, Atlanta & destination nontraditional wedding planner & designer | LGBT wedding planner

Sara Skinner September 15, 2015

I have a feeling this blog is going to ruffle a few feathers, but I'm ok with that. This has been on my mind for quite some time and I feel like I need to just go ahead and get it out in the open. I'll likely lose a few friends and a few likes on our Facebook page, but, again, I'm ok with that.

we don’t do “gay” weddings.

Nope, we sure don’t. You know why? Because there is no such thing as a gay wedding. I can’t tell you where to buy gay presents off their gay registry, I don’t know what their song will be for their gay first dance. There ain’t no gay hymns being sung at the ceremony, there is no “straight” section to sit in and Neil Patrick Harris probably isn’t on the guest list. Why? Because those aren’t fucking things.

And before you troll me and decide to lose your shit on social media, guess what? We don't do "straight" weddings either. We don’t do "white" weddings, or "black" weddings, or "Oriental" weddings (srsly, you will get punched if you say that in my presence), or "Muslim" weddings or any other wedding you're tempted to label.

You know what we do?

We do weddings!! Period.

We do big weddings, and small weddings, and medium sized weddings. We do weddings with two grooms, a bride & a groom, two brides, and weddings for gender queer clients, too. We have hijabi brides (salaam, sis), we’ve learned ASL to communicate with deaf grooms, we’ve had the coolest trans bride covered in tattoos that wore a black velvet wedding gown (holy cannoli that was rad!), we’ve had clients in recovery that throw a dry wedding and still end up dancing til dawn. Absolutely everyone is welcome here and your traditions, culture, language and preferred pronouns will be respected and remembered.

We do pop up weddings and elopements. We do incredible, authentic, unique, breathtaking, heartfelt, swoon-worthy weddings. We do weddings so filled with love and heartfelt joy that our entire team straight up Ugly Cries as the couple exchanges their handwritten vows.

We do super unique, weird, quirky weddings. We also do super traditional church weddings. We do nikkahs at mosques. We do fusion weddings combining time honored cultural traditions with the most important, meaningful pieces of their love story to create something entirely unique to our couples.

We do weddings where the clients want to hang cakes from the ceiling with Cirque du Soleil performers swinging around it. We do backyard weddings with food trucks. We do ultra luxe ballroom weddings with seven course meals and French Service. We do weddings where instead of exchanging rings, they both get tattoos. We do weddings where the bride is escorted down the aisle by her children and they have a "family ceremony" where they all pledge to love one another and to go forth as more than just a husband and a wife, they begin a whole new life together as a family. We do weddings where it's just the couple, their officiant, me and a killer photographer on a cliff overlooking the sea.

We do weddings where the couple has their best friend in the entire world get ordained so he can legally marry them using a ceremony script the three of them wrote together. (That wedding hit us right in the feels.)

the couple's best friend, Alan, officiated the nuptials in this photo

So, I guess my point is, yes, of course we do same-sex weddings (and all the other ones too)! I’ll even do a wedding if you’ve voted for Trump… And for us it's really about everything except the orientation of our couples, cuz let's be honest, that's none of our damn business anyway. #amiright?!

We don't care how you love, the only thing we care about is that you love. (yeah, yeah, yeah, we already know like 40 other wedding planners have stolen that line from us, but we’re the originals, lol!)

We love love! We love it in all its many forms. We love helping our couples celebrate their love for one another more than anything and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't thank the good Lord for allowing me to do what I love.

And speaking of Him, I believe with all my heart that the greatest commandment we were ever given was to love one another (Matthew 22:36-40) and that's exactly what I intend to do. I'm confident that when I'm called to account for my life in front of my Creator, all He's really going to care about is that I did my best to love folks without judgement and helped them celebrate their love for one another.

Now how about we all enjoy some photos of a few weddings that just make us happy, happy, happy?! You can't tell me that seeing people this happy makes you do anything but smile!

mike allebach, the creative genius behind the lens for this photo, is available for travel to all 50 states and abroad

a ceremony filled with love and the promise to go forth as a family was just perfect for this couple

who says you can't wear a tuxedo with flip flops?

a traditional church wedding with 11 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen at peachtree road united methodist church in atlanta

scarlet plan & design boone hall plantation wedding

photos courtesy of the click chick photography, allebach photography, dana cubbage weddings, VUE photography, creative wedding photography, achor & eden, style me pretty, you are raven photography

this blog was originally published September 2015 and updated November 2019

The Scarlet Wedding Tour | Charleston Wedding Venue Tours | A Wedding Show Alternative | Charleston, Atlanta, New York Nontraditional Wedding Planning & Design

Sara Skinner February 9, 2015

This past weekend was easily one of the hardest and most rewarding weekends of my career. My team and I have spent just about the last full year talking about, planning, designing and pulling off essentially 4 events in one day. We took engaged couples and their loved ones on tours of 4 of Charleston's most amazing wedding venues before ending with a super fun private after party. Each venue featured a different design by a Scarlet planner complete with live models styled by a Scarlet stylist, full tablescapes, floral designs, tastings by award winning caterers, cocktails, epic wedding cakes (and even a cake made entirely out of cheese wheels!), and so much more!

More than anything I need to thank my incredible team and our amazing sponsors. Without them this event never would've happened. I love all of you!

My venue was Boone Hall Plantation. Most people opt for the Cotton Dock, but that's not what we wanted. We went for the Back Patio and it was perfect for my design! It's funny how my design went from being super Tuscan inspired to ending up kind of a mash up of all things "Sara". I basically created a wedding that was entirely 100% me without even realizing it! We mixed some Italian/Tuscan pieces, a killer vintage airstream, farm tables topped with mismatched plates that could've been just as easily at home in my Nonna's cupboard as they were on our tables, fun travel themed pieces like vintage globes and suitcases (thanks, Whitney!), a little bit of my love for Wes Anderson flicks, and some very fun Boho touches to create this one of a kind theme!

Enjoy!

vendors

click on any image to enlarge

Sweet Taylor Girl one of our favorite bloggers (Holy City in Heels) acted as our lovely bride model paired with Max owner of Holy Smoke Smoked Olive Oil as our handsome groom. We put Taylor in a stunning lace Sareh Nouri gown (arguably one of my favorite designers EVER) with an illusion neckline and back. I mean, what's more Italian than lace? Niente! Max was decked out in a classic black tux from Charleston Tuxedo.

I'd say this "cake" is probably my favorite piece of this entire design. I mean, seriously? A cake made entirely out of cheese-wheels is legit the coolest thing I've ever seen and perfect for the couple that loves savory more than sweet! And with a cake like this, there's no need to wait until late in the evening to slice that bad boy and mangia!

Vintage globes throughout the tablescapes kept the vibe fresh and unexpected.

Individual baguettes wrapped in kitchen paper with a spring of rosemary tucked in atop vintage china plates with gold flatware completed our "Family Style" feel on the guest table. If you're in the market for gorgeous vintage plates, gold flatware or any other unique table toppers, look no further than our friends at Polished!

Sweet Brydon at By Brydon Fine Paper Designs absolutely knocked our paper suite out of the park with the colors she chose and the design we collaborated on! And how about that canary yellow diamond on Taylor's ring? Amazing!

click on an image above to enlarge it

With the bride getting so much attention and say so when it comes to the wedding plans, we KNEW we had to do something pretty epic for the fellas! A vintage airstream inspired by Teddy Roosevelt and all his manly machismo decked out as a quirky cigar lounge and bourbon bar was perfect!

click on an image above to enlarge

click on an image above to enlarge

Friendor Spotlight | Forage + Fleur by Rebekah Clark Moody | Scarlet Wedding Tour Sponsors | Charleston, Atlanta, New York Nontraditional Wedding Planners & Designers

Sara Skinner December 15, 2014

I am starting to get incredibly excited about the Scarlet Wedding Tour, y'all! We've got less than 2 months to go and so much in store for our guests!

Today I'm delighted to introduce everyone to the super talented Rebekah Clark Moody of Forage + Fleur. She's so much more than just a talented young woman, she's sweet and funny and kind and we just adore working with her and introducing her to our clients. She's one of the floral designers guests will see on the tour and she's doing two of our fabulous venues! Her designs will be at The Historic Rice Mill and Upstairs at Midtown.

How long have you been in the event business? and/or business for yourself? I have been in the event industry for almost three years (wow, time flies) and I launched my business in August 2014.
What inspires you? Authentic moments. Whether it’s sitting down for an intimate dinner with family and friends or getting to know new people at creative gatherings, I love spending that time to create memories. Beautiful light. There’s just something amazing about working on a project when the lighting is just right. I recently worked on my first styled bridal shoot where we recreated the English countryside. Looking through the camera lens when the light highlighted the model and my floral bouquet, how could you not get inspired? And lastly an amazing meal. Sitting down with good friends and good food inspires me greatly. The structure and menu of a well planned meal has the ability to make me think creatively of how a well designed arrangement could compliment the moment and enhance the atmosphere.
What will guests of the Scarlet Wedding Tour be seeing from you? Soft, lush blooms with lots of greenery mixed in. The floral arrangements that I design are very natural and whimsical. I forage and work with flowers in their natural state. If my flowers or greens naturally fall to the right I put them on the right. When you see my designs I want them to look as if these flowers naturally grew together and I simply put them in a vase with unique variations and vibrant colors.
What are some of your favorite venues to work at? Some of my absolute favorite venues in Charleston are River Oaks Charleston, Boone Hall, and Runnymede Plantation.
What do you love most about this industry? I love the ever-changing nature of the event industry. Each and every event is unique, so it is fun to collaborate with other creative vendors to make each event remarkable. We as artists evolve and change over time. It’s inspiring for me to see our work evolve and change through our collaborative process.
What do you hope guests of the Scarlet Wedding Tour will take away from this experience? Inspiration and peace of mind. The wedding planning process can be quite challenging, so having good vendors that can help guide you along the way is crucial.
Name one thing/place someone coming to Charleston from out of town must see or do. I would spend a day downtown, walking along the Battery, exploring all the beautiful historic homes, and eating at some amazing restaurants... like the Ordinary, Husk, or Two Boroughs Larder. Ok, maybe that is more than one.

Losing the Wedding Cake | Non-traditional Wedding Sweets | Non-traditional Weddings

Amanda Knight March 13, 2014

So we haven't gone completely mad when we say you should "lose" the wedding cake. We really mean that you shouldn't feel like you HAVE to go the traditional route when it comes to choosing your sweets for your guests. There are no rules when it comes to having (or not having) the big old wedding cake for 250 people. If you don't like cake, you don't have to serve cake. Or at least not an entire cake for everyone.

One of my favorite new trends I've been seeing pop up in several of my weddings is the smaller sized cake simply for cutting purposes and a huge dessert bar filled with all their favorite goodies. I mean, what do you do if neither of you really enjoy cake? I suggest tossing it out the window (not literally!) and serving your dearly beloved something you both actually enjoy.

What if your first date was at a fabulous little coffee shop and you shared an incredible little donut and would love to share that special moment with everyone? Get your "cake" made out of donuts!

And who says pie is just for picnics? We beg to differ! Go for something outside the box and serve up adorable little miniature pies. Or feel free to go even crazier with pies on a stick!

Or do what Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds did when they got hitched in Charleston at Boone Hall Plantation just last year, serve a little bit of everything! They had the cake flown in from Virginia and had tons of amazing local bakeries put an incredible dessert station together for them with everything from strawberry shortcakes to s'mores bars to tiny little tartlets.

The possibilities are really quite limitless when you realize that your wedding is all about you and your new spouse. There is nothing holding you back from serving what you want how you want it! So be brave and throw that wedding cake out the window!