New Exclusive Wedding Venue!

Lakefront, private, beautiful venue close to Hilton Head Island, SC and Savannah, GA is Hampton Lake's Lakeview Room. This venue is now exclusive to Weddings With Leah and Downtown Catering Company.


























This new venue has a capacity of up to 200 guests, both indoor and outdoor spaces available, as well as beautiful covered porches overlooking the water.

 Boats are also available to rent and are a picture-perfect setting for pictures!
Hampton Lake was awarded the BALA Best Community In America Award! Why not get married here?!

Choosing the Right Style of Food Service for Your Wedding

If you have ever attended a wedding, or a formal affair, the meal is always that one aspect that will be remembered for being a hit or a flop.  Wedding food could and should be amazing and something to remember when you and your guests look back on your wedding day.  In the overall wedding budget, the largest amount of the couple’s money will be spent in this category, so thoughtful planning should be taken when selecting the caterer, the menu, and style of service for their wedding.  Our sister-company, Downtown Catering Company, can help you with these selections!

 When selecting a venue some venues have their own exclusive caterer or in house food and beverage department. Otherwise, a couple must research off-premises caterers to fulfill this position. 

Either way having a clear understanding of your budget and style of your reception, prior to meeting with your caterer, will greatly assist the catering sales team in determining the best menu and style of service for you and your guests.  

There are four different styles of service: seated dinners, buffets, cocktail receptions, and stations. 

A seated dinner is the most traditional and formal style of service.  A more casual “twist” on a seated dinner is family-style service where guests serve themselves and pass the dishes around the table. Family-style service helps to bring more conversation between guests especially those seated together that might not have ever met. Seated dinners do lend themselves to having more waitstaff present, but there is certainly more cost control when choosing a plated meal.  The actual selection of food, and number of courses, will determine the final price per plate.  Chicken is the least expensive protein, while combination plates of beef and seafood are more costly. 

Buffets have tended to get a reputation of being too casual at a wedding, but this doesn’t have to be the case. Buffets can be very elegant and presentation is key.  Buffets may help to save on staff costs, but more food is prepared since guests serve themselves. Buffets do allow guests to have a varied menu of options.  

Cocktail receptions are often chosen for shorter receptions and receptions that happen in the late afternoon or early evenings.  Cocktail receptions may be elegant or casual and should be filling enough if taking place over a dinner hour.  Since many hors d’oeuvres are more intricate in preparation, cocktail receptions may become costly. Price depends largely on items chosen and the number of pieces of each item. At least 6 hors d’oeuvres should be chosen for a 2 hour reception and at least 9 for a four-hour reception. 

Finally, stations have become very popular over the last few years as they tend to allow the guests to mingle and socialize.  Stations provide a wide variety of food selections and allow some interaction between the guests and the chefs. Since food has been en vogue, and many couples are self-proclaimed “foodies,” stations tend to offer a showcase in themselves and highlight items the couple really loves. 

Small bites, comfort foods, and late night snacks are on the scene while mashed potato bars have been replaced with upscale ‘mac and cheese’ stations.  Your catering professional will help you understand which style is best given the style and formality of your wedding as well as offer menu suggestions based on their own specialties.  Trends in food are always changing, but it is the part of your reception that your guests will remember the most-for better or for worse. 

Hilton Head Monthly Bridal Show 2013

Come and visit me at The Hilton Head Monthly Bridal Show Feb 10th from 1-4pm at Hampton Hall Clubhouse. There will be some great vendors in all categories at the show and it is a wonderful way to meet everyone face-to-face. There will be drawings for a $250 gift certificate to Best Buy as well. Don't forget to bring an engagement picture to enter to win a 2-page spread of your wedding in the Monthly's Magazine!
I hope to see you there!

Busy year!

Whew! What a great start to wedding planning for 2013! A lot of engagements are underway which means busy brides searching for all things wedding.  Weddings With Leah's calendar is just about full and I am super excited to get back in action.
The last wedding on 2012 was in November and my first one in 2013 is for Annie and Jason at The Rose Hill Mansion. It is sure to be a beautiful weekend and a lovely affair.
The last wedding of 2012 was for Alicia and Drew at Shipyard Beach Club on Hilton Head Island.  Alicia and Drew decided to have a 'first-look' together after Alicia finished getting ready in her suite at The Marriott.  Drew met her out by the beach and they were so excited to have that moment together.
Photographers, Amelia and Dan, captured the moment beautifully.

After their moment together, the wedding part boarded the Sea Pines Trolley for pictures around Hilton Head Island. 

The ceremony was picture perfect and Alicia's nautical color palate of navy, white and yellow was just right for a gorgeous beach front venue. 

Flowers were arranged by Flowers by Freshcuts, and the guests danced the night away by DJ Alan Palchak booked through HH Entertainment. 

Downtown Catering + Events perfectly executed a delicious plated dinner and made sure all the guests were full and happy!

Wexford Plantation Wedding

Andrea and Brandon's wedding at Wexford Plantation, June of 2012, was one I will never forget. The most unique ceremony spot: the 18th fairway of a prestigious golf course overlooking the Intercoastal Waterway.  They were lucky that the course was under renovations otherwise they would not have had that opportunity.  It was so peaceful out there and as you can tell from the "painted" looking sky, it was a beautiful June summer day.

A Floral Affair created, on-site, spectacular orchid trees!  It was a tad challenging getting everyone and their equipment needs on to the course, but thanks to several golf carts, we made it work!
Wexford Plantation Clubhouse provided a scrumptious buffet dinner, Sheri from Sheri's Edible Designs created a delicious wedding cake that finished the meal perfectly.
Andrea and Brandon recreated not one, but several, 'famous' dances for their first dance. From Dirty Dancing, to Thriller, they had the crowd roaring with applause. Way to go guys!!!

The Neons, band from Atlanta, keep everyone's feet moving with a 7-piece band and two lead singers that tore the house down. I am so happy to be working with them again this weekend!
Additional vendors not to be missed: String Trio from Hilton Head Entertainment, and without the amazing photography from Hunter McRae, these images would not be possible. Thank you Hunter for, yet again, phenomenal work!

This beautiful September morning I am stuck sitting at the car dealership getting an oil change thinking about how much I'd rather be outside enjoying the weather. This is the time of year I fall in love again with this area!
September is the kickoff to cooler days and nights, and less mosquitos and love bugs. More importantly to you, the bride, it is the start of phenomenal wedding weather!
I do love June Weddings, but not near as much as fall weddings.  If you are thinking of getting married in the Lowcountry, consider spring and fall.  My favorite months are March-April-May, Sept-Oct-November.

You can never be too sure of how the weather is going to be on the day of your wedding, but it is better to pick months with seasonal temperatures, then making your guests sweat in the heat of the summer!

Amy + Ben Unique Wedding Ideas

Would I wear this bridesmaid dress again? Heck yeah! Look how fun and summer these are! I love the look Amy went for throughout this wedding. Amy was a DIY wedding master! From ceremony programs, menu cards, cake table touches, vases and floral containers, Amy thought of it all!
Henry Kretchmer, from A Flower Garden, touched off her containers with amazing, but simple, arrangements.  I love the chevron table runner Amy put together as well.

It was the groom's birthday the day of the wedding, so as a special touch to Ben, a former baseball player,  Amy put together the cutest 'grooms table' all baseball inspired (see canvas pics of Ben on the table).  Peanut filled buckets and baseball accented cylinders. I wish I had the time once the wedding kicked off the get a shot of the baseball grooms cake! (I'll get one soon)

Also, this cute chalkboard timeline of their 'love story' sat on the center mantle in the venue. Simplified date breakout from the day they met, to their wedding date 8.25.12.  Congratulations Amy and Ben!

Additional vendors: Venue: Honey Horn Plantation, Caterer: Downtown Catering + Events, Music: Outback Entertainment, Wedding coordination: Weddings With Leah, Shannon Cronin; Photography: Dylan Wilson; Lighting: HH Lighting

It's LIVE!

I can not be more excited to have had Nest Design Group put together my amazing website! Please enjoy the pictures of my past real weddings and call me for any wedding planning assistance in the Hilton Head Island, Charleston, Lowcountry and Savannah, GA areas.
I love to blog, write, plan, organize and execute weddings and events. I'm up for any challenge and my past life in theater/dance is so similar to my current life in weddings and events-each one is a production with only one shot to impress your audience (aka your guests!). Don't go at it alone, have a solid behind-the-scenes production team behind you (aka. ME!) and enjoy all the hard work and details you have passionately put together over the course of your engagement.