We are honored by this award! This is Jubilation’s 7th year in business and we think it will be our best yet! We are so excited about all of our upcoming brides and thrilled to be working at some new venues! Bring it on 2011!!!

Recognition for the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011 is determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 750,000 WeddingWire newlyweds. Our past clients are among those that shared their experiences on WeddingWire, the largest wedding review site in the nation.

Jubilation stands among the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire community, representing quality and service excellence within the wedding industry. Awards were given to the top wedding professionals across 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, and were based on the overall professional achievements throughout the past year.

“WeddingWire is honored to celebrate the success of the top-rated wedding professionals within the WeddingWire community,” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program, WeddingWire has the unique opportunity to recognize the best wedding professionals across the US and Canada. We applaud Jubilation for their professionalism and dedication to enhancing the wedding planning experience last year.”

We are happy to announce that Jubilation is among the very best Wedding Planners within the WeddingWire Network, which includes leading wedding planning sites WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee. We would like to thank our past clients for nominating us to receive the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011.

For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today. For more information on the Bride’s Choice Awards™ 2011, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.

-Dance your first dance to the same song your parents danced to on their wedding day

-The bride can wear a piece of family jewelry or take a piece of your Mother’s or even Grandmother’s dress and sew it into the linen on your own dress

-Display pictures of family members at their own wedding around your reception.

-Incorporate your families favorite recipes into your catering menu or as a favor make a cookbook with both families recipes

Here are some other traditions that I thought were really interesting-

African-American

Jumping the broom. Since African slaves were not permitted to marry in America, they would make a public declaration of their love and commitment by jumping over a broom to the beat of drums. The broom has since come to symbolize the newlywed act of setting up home.

Chinese

The color of love and joy in China is red, so during the ceremony the couple drink wine and honey from goblets tied together with red string.

French

The couple often drinks the reception toast from an engraved two-handled cup — the coupe de marriage.

German

The bride carries salt and bread in her pocket to ensure bounty; the groom carries grain, for wealth and good fortune.

Indian

The groom’s brother sprinkles flower petals over the couple at the end of the ceremony to ward off evil.

Japanese

The couple takes nine sips of sake, becoming husband and wife after the first sip.

Mexican

A traditional piñata is fun reception entertainment — especially for kids! A sweet addition: Guests often form a heart-shaped ring around the couple before their first newlywed dance.

Polish

For village weddings, friends weave a crown of rosemary leaves, symbolizing remembrance, for the bride.

Turkey

Before the bride walks down the aisle, she asks her single bridesmaids and relatives to sign the sole of her bridal shoes. After a night of dancing and prancing, tradition states that the person’s signature who has faded the most will be the next to marry.

Downtown Dressy:

            82 Queen has several small private rooms and can even host parties outside under a covered patio. The food is LowCountry cuisine. Can accommodate up to 36 people. This is one of may absolute favorite restaurants!!!

            Magnolia’s has a private room located upstairs and has its own private entrance. Again LowCountry cuisine. They actually have 2 rooms so they can have small or large parties up to 100. If having a smaller party you run the risk of another group in the larger room so I would say to consider this location if your party is over 40 people.

            Cypress is a modern restaurant with an Asian fusion menu. There private rooms can be separated or combined for up to 75 or as little as 15. Really cool bar with a 2 story clear wine cellar and open kitchen.

            Poogan’s Porch is an old Charleston Row house that has been converted to a restaurant. LowCountry cuisine. I actually had my own bridal luncheon at this location. Great for smaller parties.

            39 Rue De Jean has a great private room with its own entrance. They are French cuisine but in the private room can pretty much do whatever you want. Great for large parties, up to 150 guests.

Downtown Casual:

            Southend Brewery will host private parties on the second floor or you can use the third floor for cocktails & hors or a welcome reception. Great beers made onsite and a fun atmosphere at a great price for downtown.

            Tommy Condon’s is an Irish pub/restaurant. They have a private room or you can rent the patio for large parties. Very fun for cocktail parties!

Mount Pleasant:

            Old Village Post House has two private rooms one for small parties and the larger can seat up to 50. They also have an inn with 6 rooms. Located in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant (near Shem Creek).

            Red’s is VERY casual but really fun!! Located on Shem Creek. Fun atmosphere and very affordable. Also really cool spot for a welcome reception. This is a special place to me since this is where I met my husband!

There are also many locations where you can rent & bring in catering like a beach house or county park or even many of the same places that have weddings. These are the restaurants that I like best for private parties. I like the menus and the private space at each location. If you are looking for something else give Jubilation a call. We have done it all and would love to assist you in planning your rehearsal dinner!!

Catering- Buy Local!! Not only will you be supporting local farmers but you will also be getting the freshest produce. Let your caterer know that you want (and expect) them to also work with your “green” vision. This means that they should not use plastic water bottles and also should recycle. There are lots of fun hors d’oeuvres that produce no waste. So many times we see a lot of extra or wasted food from caterers just being thrown out. Make plans ahead of time to have any extras donated to a local food pantry. You must do this ahead of time and also keep in mind that some items (like seafood) cannot be donated for sanitary purposed.

Bar- Again let your bar service know what you expect. No plastic bottles! Make sure you have recycling setup and that the bar service will take care of taking the trash to a recycling center.

Transportation- Charleston is such a great place since it is centrally located in the Southeast. If you are having a destination wedding then most likely guests will be staying at hotels. Encourage them to carpool and/or provide transportation for guests so they will not all drive a car.

Flowers- Again, Buy Local!! There are lots of nursery’s that have florists onsite to help you. Have your centerpieces consist of a potted plant and then encourage guests to take them at the end of the night. It is also a wonderful keepsake for the bride & groom to plant in their garden something that came from their own wedding!

Favors- I always tell clients not to think of the favors as an after thought or just something if they have left over money. Instead use your “green” theme and do something like plant seeds or a donation to an environmental organization

These are just a few of

many ideas. Here are a couple of websites that might help if you want to have a Green Wedding.

http://greeneleganceweddings.com/

http://www.greatgreenwedding.com/

http://wedding.theknot.com/real-weddings/green-weddings.aspx

The Carriage House is the largest location. The ceremonies are typically held on the carriage house lawn which over looks the Ashley River. The river is quiet but on one of my first weddings on the lawn I did have a boat of “mooners” just before the ceremony. You can either have the ceremony facing the dock or facing the live oaks. I actually like it better facing the oaks. After the ceremony guests can enjoy cocktails on the dock & lawn or on the patio.  The patio is a fun place since they have a large fire pit. I have done smores around the fire pit which is fun for adults as well as kids. The patio can also be tented if the weather looks bad. This could then be used as a backup plan for rain. You always need a backup plan with outdoor locations. Then after cocktails guests move inside for the reception. The Carriage House has beautiful rafters and dark wood which works with pretty much any color scheme. The Carriage House is the safest location at Magnolia Plantation since it is the largest and is air conditioned (the others are not!).

Wedding in May under the oaks at the Carriage House lawn

 The Conservatory in Magnolia Plantation’s newest location. It is a greenhouse with a large wooden deck attached. Ceremonies at this location take place at the School House lawn. The Conservatory is best for parties of 75 or less. This is a beautiful location for those brides who are “going green”! The deck is very large are can also be tented if needed. The Conservatory is not available for rentals in the summer since it is not air conditioned.

The Veranda is probably my favorite location at Magnolia Plantation for a reception. Ceremonies here take place on the white bridge lawn. This location is tricky, the veranda floor is slanted so tables have to be setup with that in mind also it is open so no air conditioning. For large parties you can have dinner on the veranda then move the party to the lawn for dancing. My last wedding there we had 140 people seated for dinner (18 tables) then had a tent on the lawn where the band setup.

This reception for 50 guests was held on the Veranda at Magnolia Plantation in May

Group shot at Magnolia Plantation's veranda

Wedding reception inside the Carriage House for 145 guests

Of course being a wedding planner I always suggest that brides hire a planner for their wedding but at Magnolia Plantation it is really a must. Magnolia Plantation does not have any one on-site to assist in setup or break down or just general flow of the wedding and reception. It is the clients responsibility to coordinate all the rentals and vendors. At Magnolia Plantation you must hire all your vendors individually. There is no on-site rentals, bar or catering so everything needs to be brought in. Also at both the Conservatory and the Veranda setup can not begin until after 3pm. Jubilation has a lot of experience with each location and would love to assist anyone planning a wedding at Magnolia Plantation!

I graduated from the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Business Administration. After college I moved back to my home town of Kansas City, MO. I got a job at the Madrid Theatre as their Private Events Manager. The first event I planned was a 50th High School Reunion. I worked on Holiday Parties, Proms, Bar Mitzvahs, Sweet Sixteens and of course Weddings. I absolutely loved what I was doing and really felt that this was the career for me!

My friend got married in Beaufort, SC and I fell in love with the LowCountry. I moved to Mount Pleasant, SC in September 2002. I was hired as the Banquet Manager at Tristandowntown. I really got great experience in fine dining, wines and food but I missed the weddings. We mostly did corporate dinners and rehearsal dinners. We did a couple of small weddings while I was there but I had fallen in love with the LowCountry and wanted wanted to experience more weddings in this beautiful city!

I began Jubilation in January 2004. My first year I did 5 weddings, the next year 10 and the following 20. From then on I have done about 25-30 weddings a year.  I have been able to experience everything from beach weddings to black ties weddings and of course everything in between. Some of my favorite locations are; Magnolia Plantation, Hibernian Hall, Legare-Waring House, Rice Mill, Pavilion at Patriots Point and Creek Club at I’on. 

In August 2008 after 8 years of planning everyone elses weddings, I got married. We got married at the Pavilion at Patriots Point over looking the Charleston Harbour. Olive Photography shot our wedding. Karen Powel form OK Florist did such a beautiful job on the flowers. Two Three Ways was our band and rocked it out all night. Good Food Catering was amazing with gaspacho shots, a raw bar, fried green tomatoes and much more! In May 2009 we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Delaney Marie. I love my job and have really enjoyed all of my clients. Many of my clients have referred me to their friends which is a huge compliment. If you want to learn more visit Jubilation website.