The Season

The Season staff was able to assist with their first Hindu wedding throughout the last weekend of July.  Komal and Ankit’s wedding was a three-day event held at The Forum in downtown Rome and was conducted in Sanskrit.

Along with many Indian wedding vendors, The Season helped coordinate some specialty rental items for the dinners, the groom’s processional, and assisted the bride with the basic coordination of all her selected vendors.  Mostly, The Season staff provided the waiters and waitresses (plus clean-up staff) for the meals.

Check out the pictures from the beautiful wedding and reception! Note: These photos were taken by Holly Lynch, not the professional photographer!

The Groom's procession down Broad Street.

The entrance to the ceremony.

The stage featured a Mandap, a decorated canopy where the ceremony took place.

The head table at the dinner reception.

A view of The Forum arena with enough tables and place settings for 700 guests.

The statue at the entrance to The Forum's arena, where the ceremony was held.

This past weekend, The Season celebrated the wedding of Kelly and Josh. The bride and groom envisioned a “green” wedding day.  Check out all the details that made this wedding eco-friendly! 

Kelly is very artistic and creative and was inspired to create many of the elements for her ceremony and reception.  Guests were greeted by a thumbprint ‘guest book’ as they walked in to the reception area.  She drew the tree (below) herself!

Kelly and Josh's 'guest book' - a thumbprint tree.

The bamboo arbor (below), constructed by Kelly and one of her brothers, featured a romantic sheer linen canopy made by the Mother of Bride.  Bussey’s Flowers, Gifts & Decor decorated the arbor with Bells of Ireland, delphinium, fuji chrysanthemums and curly willow.  The ceremony sure was hot!  However, guests remained cool with buri fan programs. 

The bamboo arbor was made by the Bride's family. Flower arrangements were done by Bussey's Flowers, Gifts & Decor.

The reception area was shaded by large oak trees on the edge of a pond.  The tablescapes featured burlap tablecloths with beige overlays, lotus flower napkins and the bamboo and river rock centerpieces made by the Bride. 

Lights and rice paper lanterns floated above the reception area. The bar, live band, dj and dancing were under the pavillion!

The eco-friendly elements of this wedding included: all-natural corn cups and embossed corn napkins, recycling bins, soy candles, bamboo chinese flying lanterns, organic hard candy wedding favors, the bamboo arbor, bamboo and river rock centerpieces and, of course, their get-away Smart car.   

Other elements made by Kelly included the river rock table number holders and the moss and bamboo cake base.  She also designed and made her own cake topper!

The cake by Honeymoon Bakery featured a rainforest scene - it even included a waterfall.

All rental items, Bussey’s Flowers, Gifts & Decor, Two Can Do catering, the Honeymoon Bakery cake, the transportation rentals and The Season were local companies.  Working with local companies allowed the Bride and Groom to cut down on their wedding’s  impact on the environment.   

The Season has always encouraged collaborative wedding planning.  Kelly and Josh’s wedding was a perfect example of how The Season always works together with the Bride and Groom to design their dream wedding day.

Potties. Power. Parking.

Those may very well be listed in order of importance. These three “P’s” are integral elements for planning any wedding and many times they are overlooked when using an outdoor venue.  Outdoor weddings occur most oftentimes during the late spring and summer and it is important for guests to remain hydrated.  Therefore, providing a place with easy access for guests to relieve themselves is necessary. 

The Season uses Johnny-on-the-Spot, a company providing full-service bathroom trailers for special events such as The Atlanta Steeplechase and the Peachtree Road Race.  These are no port-o-potties.  They come equipped with running water and mirrors and The Season adds fresh flowers, scented candles, hand soap, and bathmats.

The President 18 model from Johnny-on-the-Spot.

Summer outdoor ceremonies and receptions are most comfortable (temperature-wise) toward the evenings, and as the sun sets, the lights must come on. Whether your ceremony is at dusk and the dinner reception is under a chandeliered tent or they are in the middle of the afternoon, you need to consider power for the band, fans, the caterers, and, of course, that potty.

Power can easily be cut off to an event if breaker boxes to a house or building become overloaded.  Meggie and Buck’s tent reception below had both chandeliers and white string lights lining the inside of the tent, all of which utilized a generator.  The Season can coordinate all tent rentals and meet the power needs of both large and small-scale events.

Meggie and Buck's chandeliered tent wedding in March 2009. Photo courtesy of Bryan Johnson.

Parking at an outdoor wedding, or at any wedding for that matter, can sometimes be on grass.  If there is a chance of rain, there should be a backup plan, especially since grass can quickly turn to mud. Straw can also be laid to supply more traction and can be raked up following the wedding.     

Questions to be considered for parking are:

• How far is the parking from the event venue?
• Should golf carts be rented to shuttle people back and forth?
• Should parking attendants be hired to direct traffic?

With all the excitement of the big day, don’t wait to think about these details when planning an outdoor wedding.  Better yet, let The Season think about them for you!

Holly has been quite busy at The Season since her recent blog posts in February. However, there are many updates. She’s moved in to a new office in historic downtown Rome, Georgia at 250 Broad Street along with Riverside Gourmet and Bussey’s Flowers, Gifts & Décor.  The grand opening of these shops is today! Come down and visit.

 Her office has been painted a fresh green, many wedding photos by Katherine Birkbeck Photography now adorn the walls, and a quaint table with fresh flowers is set and ready for this summer’s many wedding planning meetings.

Don’t forget to check The Season’s new Twitter account – @theseasonevents

Holly says stick with her while she figures out all this new technology!

I started as the “New Intern” at The Season in May and have literally hit the ground running.  This weekend I assisted Holly with my first wedding –Lauren and Blake’s!

I had no idea what I was exactly getting myself in to when I started this internship, but I was blown away by all the neat things Holly pulled together.  The wedding cake from Honey Moon Bakery was delectable, the flowers from Bussey’s were lush, and the catering from Two Can Do was delicious.  Lauren and Blake’s guests danced the night away to Ready Or Not’s music under an extravagant tent complete with chandeliers from Unlimited Party & Event Rental.

The arbor by the lake with flowers by Bussey's Flowers, Gifts & Decor.

I was amazed at all the details that went in to a wedding and Holly pulled them together so flawlessly. From the classic 1940s black car the bride rode in to the ceremony to the lovebird invitations and fan programs she designed, Holly certainly thought of all the details. She was even able to hold off Saturday’s storm until five minutes after the bride and groom left the reception!

The beautiful tables before the reception!

I am excited to now be a part of The Season team and am ready for the next wedding!

Note: These are pictures Holly took. Pictures from professional photographer Jerrod Brown are on the way!  In the meantime, check out his website at Jerrod Brown Photography.

So, I’m teaching the first of four seminars TONIGHT on the basics of wedding planning.  This is an ideal class for anyone getting married in the next year or two.  We will go over what to expect from each vendor, the order of your ‘to-do’ list, and lots of tips and hints for everything from flowers to cocktails to alterations! 

We had a ball at the bridal show last weekend, and several attendees from the show will be at the class tonight.  I’m looking forward to meeting more brides as the weeks unfold!  Here we are at the show!

And here’s my super-cool Big Bird yellow tablescape!

If you are reading this and want to attend the wedding planning class tonight, just check out the website’s upcoming page to get more info!

Happy Planning!

I’m spending today getting everything ready for the Northwest Georgia Bridal Show. The Show is tomorrow at The Forum in Rome from 1 to 5 p.m. Come see us!!  For more show info, go to www.romeweddings.com.

I love the bridal shows because everyone you talk to LOVES weddings. We love weddings and it’s awesome to be around other professionals who share the same passion, but it’s also so invigorating to talk to brides and their moms and friends all day. 

I’m also thrilled that some of my best vendors and friends in the business will also be there.  Bussey’s Flowers, Sincerely Yours, Harvest Moon, and Honeymoon Bakery will all be there. 

In fact, I should note that on the front page of the newly redesigned website for The Season, all of the photos featured in the 8 navigation links are all Bussey’s arrangements.  So beautiful!!

I hope to see everyone tomorrow!

I’m often asked about my super-fun job and the stories that I must be able to tell.  So, I thought I’d start a blog to share my thoughts and reflections about the events that I am proud to be part of.  Since this blog will also be a view into the stories behind the events and this company, there are also a few categories that pertain to my various interests and hobbies, too.  It’s all loosely tied together – you’ll see!

So, to get started, here’s a short introduction to The Season.  The author of this blog, primarily, is me – Holly Lynch – owner of the company (along with my super-supportive hubby, but he prefers to remain anonymous).  There may be other contributers along the way, but most of the posts will be from me.

The Season is a full-service event and wedding planning company.  Although my background is in corporate events and marketing, The Season is primarily known for being THE wedding planner in this area.  We love weddings. But more on that later. . . 

Although I am the owner, The Season is NOT a one-woman show.  We have a part-time staff of 13 others, all professionals in their own right, but who are gracious enough to work for The Season as often as possible.  Everyone is trained by me [and I'm trained by the Association of Bridal Consultants, lots of higher education and specialty classes, and awesome professionals in the industry who are kind to me!].  Of the 13 other fabulous people who work at The Season, one is always an intern.

Since I was once a lowly intern while in college, I return the favor now to a student every semester. “The Intern” gets to do lots of things – some are boring, like putting stickers on favor boxes.  Sometimes, there’s a much more fun task, like corralling the flower girls!  So, The Intern will have a guest spot on this blog, too.  Currently, The Intern is Jimmy – we LOVE Jimmy.  We call him “Jimmy The Boy Wonder”. He probably hates that, but he’s been an excellent intern and we are grateful for all he does here.

Here’s the team! (Missing a few who couldn’t make the team photo op!)

Enough about us.  Let’s get going!