Greetings Everyone!
We Have Moved!
Bride on a Budget has reinvented itself and established a new WordPress home! 🙂
We are now Carolina Events Coach (CEC)! We hope to see on the new WordPress site!
Happy Planning!
Felicia (CEC)
Congrats Fatiha & Josh!
Congrats Fatiha and Josh! You are such a beautiful couple!
Fatiha and Josh held their ceremony at a Raleigh Mosque on Thursday, June 14, 2018. They celebrated their vows on Friday, June 15, 2018 with friends and family members. The Reception was held at A Step To Gold Ballroom and the After Party was held at The Cannon Room (in downtown Raleigh).
The Reception hall was beautifully decorated in purple, teal green and white, the wedding theme colors exuded a serene and elegant ambience, one suited for a summer wedding. There was a live painting and poem provided an artist, Fuze; and a balloon twister was also onsite for little ones that were seeking their own engaging entertainment.
A few hours after the Reception, the bride and groom and their wedding party arrived via a Party Bus to The Cannon Room! The bride requested that the vibe at The Cannon Room deliver a chill/relax mood, to allow guests to either dance when they decided or relax.
Shortly after the bride arrived at The Cannon Room, she changed into another beautiful gown (opposite of her beautiful ballroom reception gown) and continued to celebrate this wonderful occasion with her husband, family and friends!
Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Adams! Here’s wishing you many years of love, peace and happiness!
Felicia (Bride on a Budget)
Creative Partners
Venues:
A Step To Gold Ballroom (Reception)
The Cannon Room (After Party)
Photographer:
Florist:
DJs:
Arnie (A Step To Gold Ballroom)
DJ Smooth Entertainment (The Cannon Room)
Caterer:
Mecca Market (Mohammad)
Cake Designer:
Rentals:
Premier (Table Linens)
Party Reflections (Napkins)
Deejays Rentals (Chairs)
Balloon Twister:
Live Paint Artist & Poet:
Hair Stylist:
Pur Bella Hair Salon (June 14th Ceremony)
Makeup Artist:
Bartender:
Gather Together (Katie)
Day of Coordinator:
Wedding Planner:
Congrats Raven! Our 2018 NCCU Grad!
Raven, I am so proud of you and your accomplishments! It was a pleasure celebrating your special day with you! I wish you many more successes!
Felicia
Romantic Memorial Weekend Elopement
An intimate Memorial Weekend Elopement
I LOVE simplicity, especially when it comes to weddings/events! There is something so regal, intimate and honest about a simple, yet elegant wedding or event!
Crystal and Jon said their vows to one another as Judge Davis officiated, with a few close friends in attendance, on Friday, May 25, 2018. Crystal, wore a beautiful white sundress and adorned her hair with a beautiful flower; while Jon, dressed semi-formally with a bow tie, escorted his beautiful bride to the front of the room. This handsome couple stood face-to-face as they expressed their love and commitment to one another with their vows.
A few hours later, the couple met with a few friends and family members for an intimate dinner at Manning’s, to celebrate their union. The ambiance of the venue, as the couple wished, was inviting, yet intimate. Their elopement, followed by an intimate dinner, provided them with the type of stress-free and loving union that they wished for.
I do believe that these two will cherish their blissful romantic Memorial weekend elopement for years to come, most importantly, I believe that they will continue to grow in love each day!
Congrats Crystal and Jon!
Felicia (Bride on a Budget)
Top 10 Moments of the Royal Wedding: May 2018!
The Top 10 Moments of the Royal Wedding!
I enjoyed watching EVERY moment of Meghan and Harry’s beautiful wedding (the televised version that is, LOL)! I have been to a castle, NOT the Windsor, but to a castle nonetheless! 🙂
I believe I teared up at least three times and I COULD NOT stop watching how much Harry admired Meghan on that special day (you can tell that he is completely in love with Meghan)!
I always take the time to appreciate every little detail that the bride and groom integrate into their special day (more often than not, many of the details provide insight about their personalities, that I appreciate seeing). Naturally, you could tell that an abundance of planning and detail went into Meghan and Harry’s wedding, however, I found many of the details (the details NOT the cost of the wedding, LOL!) to be simple, yet very elegant (i.e. the floral arrangements were so beautiful), I LOVED and appreciated that aspect of the wedding.
Below are my TOP 10 Favorite Moments from the Royal Wedding:
10. The Ceremony Duos (the officiants and her attendants, got to love them!)
9. The Gospel Choir’s Performances
8. The Wedding Guests List (The Bride and Groom were SO thoughtful about who they invited)
7. The facial expressions of some of the guests during that wedding ceremony (that was PRICELESS!)
6. Meghan’s entrance (such a beautiful song; also Prince Charles escorting her)
5. Meghan’s mom teary-eyes as they rode together to the ceremony, BEAUTIFUL!
4. The way Harry looked at Meghan throughout the ceremony, JUST BEAUTIFUL!
3. The wedding photos (especially of the bride and groom together)
2. That veil, WOW!
1. Meghan and Harry making their way to the Reception (it was a “Bronx Tale” moment for me when Meghan reached over to unlock/open Harry’s door for him, OH MY GOODNESS, I appreciate this couple)!
Best Wishes to the Bride and Groom! I have no doubt that they will advocate for so many communities/causes, making a wonderful difference globally.
Felicia (Bride on a Budget)
April Showers May Bring Flowers
April Showers “May” Bring Flowers
Greetings Everyone,
Happy Spring!
This year, I noticed that many of the trees and flowers bloomed a little early (a welcomed and beautiful sight for me, given that Spring is one of my favorite seasons). As I attended many different events between January to April 2018, I noticed that some of the centerpieces WERE NOT flowers. Many of the centerpieces were creative arrangements of tissue paper in tin cans or silk/latex flowers in vases. I became SO excited seeing these creative versions of floral arrangements because: 1) it is possible that many of the arrangements would be less expensive than an actual floral arrangement and 2) such a beautiful arrangement would not have to be discarded/face decay because it could be recycled.
While you are planning your special day, please do not rule out receiving a quote for silk/latex flowers; please also consider being creative with your centerpieces (i.e. a stack of vintage-looking books, a stack of your favorite movies-VHS boxes/DVD cases, three different framed pictures of the bridal couple, 2-3 bottles of wine, guests’ favors, a small cupcake stand filled with cupcakes, a vase with baby’s breathe, a vase with seashells, or a vase with pinecones/ornaments, depending on the season). If you decide to keep with tradition and use real flowers, please consider having your floral arrangements delivered to a hospital or nursing home (to make someone’s day/cheer them up). Additionally, there are organizations that can also repurpose your floral arrangements, one such organization is Repeat Roses (I do not receive any proceeds from mentioning this organization).
Happy Planning!
Felicia (Bride on a Budget NC)
An Easter Weekend Wedding: Congrats Kareem & Renee!
Congrats Kareem and Renee, as you continue to make beautiful memories!
Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons, I also believe they are the best seasons for weddings! Saturday, March 31, 2018, was the perfect setting for a beautiful Spring Wedding (this day set a beautiful tone for Mr. & Mrs. Washington, their wedding party and guests). As guests arrived at the church, they were promptly greeted by the Groomsmen standing at the door of the church, while the Bridesmaids greeted guests as they stepped into the foyer, a picture perfect setting!
The church was adorned with a set of hand-tied burgundy and white floral bouquets, on every other row. A silver arch (adorned with a burgundy and white floral arrangement) was placed just below the pulpit, with a white prayer bench positioned center of the arch. Jazz music (I remember listening to Kenny G’s ‘Forever In Love’) provided an inviting and relax atmosphere as guests filled the church in anticipation of the union of the Bride and Groom!
At 3:55 pm, the hostess, Ms. Sherrie Benjamin announced that the ceremony will begin shortly, in addition, that everyone should remain seated as the bride enters. I LOVED this gesture, it allowed everyone to see the Bride in her beautiful wedding gown as she passed each row. The wedding party began their procession promptly at 4 pm and everyone made their way to cocktail hour at the reception location.
While the bridal party’s entrance was a relax and regal one at the ceremony, the bridal party’s entrance at the reception set the CELEBRATION tone! Everyone knew it was PARTY TIME as the bridal party made their entrance on a favorite song and the guests cheered them on! Of course, the all time favorite was the Bride and Groom’s entrance! Just after Mr. & Mrs. Washington’s entrance, they did their first dance, with the Groom letting his Bride share a dance with her brothers and then her son, it was so beautiful!
As always, I’m intrigued by the Day of Coordination/logistics that take place at a wedding. I LOVE to see how all of the details come together and are executed to create that special day for the Bride and Groom. Ms. Sherrie Benjamin stepped in as a wonderful assistant to the Wedding Planner/Day of Coordinator. I was amazed by her ability to multi-tasks and complete so many of the Day of Coordination duties to assist the Wedding Planner/Day of Coordinator (as the Wedding Planner/Day of Coordinator assisted the Bride and Wedding Party), to bring all the details to fruition. Ms. Sherrie Benjamin and the Wedding Planner/Day of Coordinator executed a beautiful Easter Weekend Wedding!
I wish Kareem and Renee much peace, love and happiness as they begin their life as Mr. & Mrs. Washington!
Felicia (Bride on a Budget)
Plan Your Special Day With Wedding Spot (A Honeybook Company)
Plan Your Special Day with ‘Wedding Spot’!
Wedding Spot is a website that provides a snapshot (the location, cost, maximum number of guests and a few pictures of the venue, all on one page with concise detail) of wedding and event venues. This resource can be handy in assisting you with wedding planning; it may also help in easily pinpointing a few venues that meet your wedding budget or theme, while eliminating site visits to other venues that are not a good fit, so that you can focus your time on venues that may be a good fit.
In addition to the previously mentioned details, a description of the venue, time restrictions, the venue’s contact information and website and several other amenity details are easily viewable (a snapshot of the most pertinent information to make your process of selection feasible). I do not receive any proceeds from promoting the Wedding Spot website. I believe this resource is a valuable, accessible, and inexpensive means of making your wedding planning process more efficient by comparing the offerings and price of each venue.
Happy Planning!
Felicia (Bride on a Budget)
Upcoming Bridal Events
Greetings Everyone,
There are a few upcoming Wedding Shows and Events occurring in/near the Raleigh-Durham area. Before attending any Wedding Shows/Events please ensure that you have created an email address specifically for Wedding Vendors/communication (preferably your wedding hashtag/wedding theme/wedding date).
Happy Planning!
Bride on a Budget (Felicia)
The Eat, Drink, and Be Married Wedding Show at Castle McCulloch Tuesday, March 20th, 2018, 6-9 pm
Art in Bloom at North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) Thursday, March 22nd, 2018
Empire Eats Catering Tasting Event and Event Showcase at All Saints Chapel, Tuesday, March 27th, 4:30-6:30 pm
Southern Wedding Show + Expo (Spring) at North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Saturday, April 21st, 2018, 11 am-4 pm
Southern Wedding Show + Expo (Summer) at North Carolina State Fairgrounds, Saturday, August 11th, 2018, 11 am-4 pm
The Big Fake Wedding Raleigh at The Merrimon-Wynne House, Thursday, September 20, 2018, 7-9 pm
Midtown Wedding Showcase at Hilton North Raleigh Midtown, Sunday, October 28th, 2018, 1-5 pm
Upcoming Spring Trunk Shows
Traditions by Anna Sample Sale at Traditions by Anna, March 8th-24th, 2018
Unveil Fashion Show Benefit at Vidrio, Thursday, March 22nd, 2018, 7-10 pm
Toni Federici Veil, April 6th & 7th
Checkout The New ‘Bride On A Budget NC’ Website!
The new Bride on a Budget NC website!
The new website displays information about Bride On A Budget NC (the background and purpose), the services provided, a gallery of wedding pictures, and reviews from previous clients. If there is any wedding information that you would like to see on the new website/shared in a blog, please let me know. I hope you enjoy surfing the new website!
Felicia (Bride on a Budget)
Bride on a Budget 