Now that we are totally immersed in Valentine’s Day goodness, we’d like to share one of Kristin Vining and Weddings And The City’s sensational weddings from last year. Grace and Sean were married at The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte in August. According to Grace, Tiffany and the lovely team at WATC helped her realize her dream-come-true! “She stood by me patiently as I changed my mind dozens of times and always offered me great suggestions! When our day finally came everything flowed flawlessly and we couldn’t have asked for a better turn out. In the logistical aspect of wedding planning, Tiffany is absolutely professional and reliable but even better, we discovered a life long friend!”
More from Grace … We met when Sean was in his 3rd year with the Charlotte Bobcats and I was working at a local hole in the wall bar about 2 blocks from the arena where he played. It was the “place to be” for meeting up and having some drinks before a night on the town, so he and his friends walked in one day in November after one of his games. I was behind the bar and he sent over one of my co-workers to ask if I would be his girlfriend! Of course he was being silly and I laughed it off and said “yeah right!” I eventually gave him a chance and we became great friends and quickly escalated to having the beautiful relationship we have today.
On our second year anniversary, that also happens to be Valentines Day, we went to Miami for the weekend. Thinking that we were just celebrating our anniversary and the holiday, I was totally caught off-guard when he surprised me … 13 minutes after midnight on – officially – February 14th I walked into a rose petal and candlelit covered room with 11 beautiful flower arrangements with red roses and white lilies. On each arrangement was a card with a picture of us on the outside and on the inside a different reason why he loved me. He walked me to each arrangement and had me read each card. At the 10th vase I thought it was over but there was one more left. At the 11th arrangement, of all white roses and lilies, the card read “for all these reasons I want to know…will you marry me?” I turned around and behind me was Sean on his knee holding my ring!
When it came to planning the wedding, I must say that Tiffany at Weddings and the City made the planning process effortless! She totally rocked! I would have to say the most unique part of our wedding was where we had our ceremony. We were privileged enough to be the very first couple to get married at The Urban Garden at the Ritz Carlton. The Urban Garden was the perfect setting for a very sticky August day allowing for the natural light of the sunset yet still providing comfort and air conditioning for our guests. It is located between the Ritz and the Bank of America building and is basically an indoor garden area with windows surrounding about 75% of the room. From there we moved our party to the grand ballroom where the mood transformed from a natural outdoor type setting to a classy-chic formal setting. I decided I wanted lots of red and at our reception that’s what I got! We covered the entire ballroom with red draping and it truly made an impact and set the perfect mood for our reception.
For more of this smokin’ hot couple, take a look at their Engagement Shoot, Kristin’s blog of their Wedding, and their feature on Weddings And The City!
Photography: Kristin Vining / Wedding Planning & Design: Weddings And The City / Ceremony: The Urban Garden at The Ritz Carlton / Reception: Grand Ballroom at The Ritz Carlton / Cake: The Ritz Carlton / Flowers: A Place For Flowers / Gown: Lazaro from J Majors / Shoes: Christian Louboutin from– Saks 5th Ave / Bridesmaid’s dresses: Alvina Valenta from J Majors / Tuxedos: Elevee / Rings designed by Sean May and Mike Ealy from Skatell’s / Hair & Make-up: tylist for portrait: Who’s the Fairest, Kymm McLean / Invitations: Three Little Birds / Music: Split Second Sound / Rentals: Classic Party Rentals, Cloth Connection and Extravaganza / Favors: Chocolate Menus by Totally Chocolate Wedding / Photobooth by Carolina Photo Booths