Despite gale force winds, Ooh! Events prepped for the pitmasters Sunday at the Charleston Maritime Museum. The Festival Finale celebrated three of our favorite things: B-B-Q, Blues & Brew. The event was presented by Certified SC Grown and Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine.
The Sweet & Lowdown theme for the event was steeped in Americana and of course, Lowcountry charm. Casual, no fuss, no muss – B-B-Q just as it is against a bright blue sky and a festive backdrop. Collections of vintage Coca-Cola bottles and fruit crates held bright blooms and earthy ferns on warm well worn farm tables. Weathered corrugated tin bars and shanties offered shelter, Jim Beam and Moonpies to the spirited attendees. Bluegrass filled the air and a good time was had by all!
Thanks BB&T Charleston Food & Wine Festival – looking forward to next year!
Another real wedding from Ooh! for you. The elements that I love so much: the rich purples and blues in her bouquets, the eclectic mix of turquoise glass on the tabletops, and the dropped planks holding mixed greenery and candlesticks from the ceiling. The ceremony and reception were both held at Alhambra Hall, which is literally a short jog away from the Ooh! headquarters.
This is the reason I’ve been researching/obsessing trees For a few reasons….. because we love a challenge and sometimes make our job more difficult by never wanting to do the same thing twice, because most of Charleston’s beautiful venues and plantations have oak trees as focal points, and most importantly because Lisa wanted a life-sized faux oak (say faux oak three times fast!) in the tent at this beautiful event. With the help of Peter’s lumberjack skills, some paper-mache, an energetic Carmen and a keen eye from Lisa, the trees were fabulous!
Tiffany blue, apple green and chocolate brown……some of my favorite color combinations for weddings in Charleston and especially for printed materials. I’m loving the oak tree illustration and the heavily scattered leaves in the middle picture. These invitations are designed and available at www.wileyvalentine.com. I”m obsessing on oak trees, hopefully you’ll soon see why.
Sometimes I have to boast, especially since I was not a part of this event (I was constructing life size faux trees and hopefully they will look good enough to deserve a blog post in the future). I’m so thrilled to work with such talented people such as Lisa Thomas, who designed this and Jerri Heater, our amazing coordinator at Ooh!. This was the extraordinary wedding of Lisa Ashby at Lowndes Grove, Charleston…..a subtle palette of ivory, creams and whites set in the lushness that we call home. These table runners were custom made from vintage doilies and the centerpieces are also all in vintage milkglass- no two centerpieces or tables are completely alike and I LOVE that. I’m holding fast to the idea that we are unique (just like everyone else!).ÂÂ
Look below for the bigger picture……
These were the alternative tables- our antique farm plank tables with unfinished wood chivari chairs and ivory cushions.
This is an outdoor dressing tent that we did for Jessica Hofford. Remember Braveheart…..this reminds me of when that French/English princess came to visit Braveheart himself and then they “talked” about ceasing the war, blah blah blah….and you are never really sure WHAT happened except the movie alludes to the fact that she has a baby later on and that it could possibly be the offspring of Braveheart himself. I looked all of that up by the way, and it’s not historically accurate but whatever, awesome tent anyway! That fainting couch makes me swoony.
It’s fine to brag right? No? How about being really really proud, prideful, full of pride? No? Who cares. All of these lounges and tents are OURS and I LOVE THEM. No, I didn’t personally purchase those butter yellow leather silver studded lounge chairs from Shine….but when Lisa whispered that she might purchase them, I was her comrade in fabulous purchases and whispered back loudly, “Doooooo it! Nobody will know until they are actually delivered to the warehouse and then maybe they won’t notice unless we talk about it too much”.
And see the white lounge furniture? The reupholstered white leather antique mahogany wood couches? Those lines…….YUM. Ooh! Events as well, you can rent them.ÂÂ
I could go on and on about those Raj tents, ours also but I think that should be a whole different post.  These particular lounges were all at Lowndes Grove for Martha Kent and Michael.
This is from the same fishing themed rehearsal dinner, Michael and Martha Kent, as the branded floor decal. Getting these up the steps at Hibernian Hall in Charleston was FUN! Alright, I’m not the one who actually gets the big stuff up the steps but I certainly cheer those on who are doing the hard work. You know how when you are trying to get young children to do something that they aren’t totally sold on, by saying things like “Bet you aren’t strong enough to carry this grocery bag! Bet you can’t do it!” Well, it also works on men of all ages. It’s the least I can do. Creative Motivation.ÂÂ
Anyway! These are Ooh!’s very own shanty shacks and I love the possibilities of these. I’ve hung mason jars with candles from the center, oyster chandeliers, placed them over buffets….over dining tables…..on stage for band props. In case you were wondering how we got the tin to get all rusted- we used this fun solution of IRON paint (how cool is that?) and then this second solution where you painted over it, left it outside—you could actually see the rust appear before your eyes. If you want me to dig up where I got that stuff, just comment.
Martha Kent’s father handwrote this invitation where Susan Duffie facilitated the note into printing for all invites.  What doesn’t Susan do at Out of Hand?  I don’t know, I just know that I call her all of the time and she always has the answers. This is one of my favorite invites that Susan has done because it’s elegant and it has that precious art of the hand-made. Heather Forsythe designed the logo that is carried throughout the wedding. Heather’s eye is so amazing that sometimes I am jealous (in the good kind of “you go girl!” way).
Sometimes I have to boast, especially since I was not a part of this event (I was constructing life size faux trees and hopefully they will look good enough to deserve a blog post in the future). I’m so thrilled to work with such talented people such as Lisa Thomas, who designed this and Jerri Heater, our amazing coordinator at Ooh!. This was the extraordinary wedding of Lisa Ashby at Lowndes Grove, Charleston…..a subtle palette of ivory, creams and whites set in the lushness that we call home. These table runners were custom made from vintage doilies and the centerpieces are also all in vintage milkglass- no two centerpieces or tables are completely alike and I LOVE that. I’m holding fast to the idea that we are unique (just like everyone else!). 
