Venue Spotlight: The Duke Mansion

One of the most charming & unique venues in Charlotte is The Duke Mansion. One of my best friends held her rehearsal dinner there, and my husband and I frequently walked past it when we lived in the neighborhood. It is a beautiful historic mansion in the leafy upscale Myers Park area of Charlotte that now serves as a bed & breakfast. For years, The Duke Mansion was a hot spot for rehearsal dinners & bridesmaids' luncheons, but due to neighborhood restrictions and some other red tape I'm not overly familiar with, they were never permitted to hold weddings or receptions. I was ecstatic to find out that this is no longer the case! The Duke Mansion is now available for weddings & receptions and I absolutely cannot wait to plan {or attend!} a wedding at this beautiful historic venue! The options for decor are endless and will be extra fabulous with the existing details of the mansion itself.
I was unable to attend their big celebration in late January to celebrate the addition of weddings to their service menu {which got rave reviews!} so I set up a lunch meeting with Aundrea, the sales manager. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch in the library and then she gave me a tour of the entire property- which is amazing! I especially loved the sleeping rooms on the third floor whose ceilings rise & fall with the original architecture of the house.
It is truly a charming place and I am so excited to see the amazing celebrations that will get to be held at such an amazing and historic part of Charlotte!

{All photo credit + copyright: Tommy McCart Photography}

All you need is LOVE...

"General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around." {Love Actually}

That quote is the beginning of one of my very favorite movies, "Love Actually" and I find it particularly appropriate for Valentine's Day. Yes, it may be a "Hallmark holiday" but it's still a day to celebrate love. Any kind of love. As a wedding planner and happily married woman, I like to celebrate the romantic kind, but I'm also a big believer in the love between friends or siblings, between a parent & a child, between an aunt or uncle and their nieces & nephews. Regardless of romantic or marital status (on Facebook or in real life) we all have love to share and there is someone (or hopefully several someones) to share that love with! Oh- and those giant hearts made of chocolate covered peanut butter are a major plus to this holiday too!

Special blog love from me to my Valentines- my sweet husband, Steve & Norm the pug. And, of course, I can't forget about my fabulous clients + friends celebrating with their first Valentine's Day as an engaged couple or as husband + wife!

Top row (L to R): Adam + Jennifer 10/2/10~Brian + Katherine 7/3/10~ Erik + Meredith 11/6/10~ Johnny + Kelly 9/25/10
Middle row (L to R): Taylor + Katie 2011~ Logan + Jason 7/2/10~ Danny + Beth 10/9/10
Bottom row (L to R): Jennifer + Craig 7/11/09 {photo credit: Firefly Images} Me with Steve + Norm the pug {photo credit: Lucy Parker Photography} Matthew + Heather {photo credit: Kristin Byrum Photography} Mandie + Drew {photo credit: Bert Reed Photography}

Lots of love to you all!
{xoxo}