Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas from Shanna Lumpkin Events!

Christmas is such a special time for me to be able to reflect on the blessings from the year. 2010 has been a very busy and amazing year... celebrating almost eight years in business as a wedding and event planner. I have been honored to work with some incredible vendors... some of favorites and new vendors I am proud to know. I have worked with some amazing clients that I am proud to have met and can now call my friends.
But even more importantly- I am blessed beyond words to be a wife to my loving and supportive husband and a mother to my beautiful and precious daughter. Even though I have a career that requires me to give so much of myself, that sometimes consumes my days and nights and weekends too ;) ... walking through those doors at the end of the day... I am reminded that the most important people in my life are waiting for me on the other side.
For our Christmas cards this year, we were blessed to work again with the talented Adam and Allison Hudson! We decided to do something that Gentry Claire and I love to do together each Christmas... make gingerbread houses! We even brought my husband in on the fun!
Here are some of the shots from the day!
**oh... and I felt like maybe I should have put a disclaimer apologizing for the pda ;)
... but after all... I'm a wedding planner... so maybe I can get away with it ;)
We wish you a VERY Merry Christmas and a magical New Year!
Shanna Lumpkin, Shanna Lumpkin Events




Saturday, November 20, 2010

Envisioning an Event......Caitlin & Nick, A Rehearsal Dinner

A special thanks to all of the vendors who helped bring this vision to reality...
Rehearsal Dinner Location: Waverly Plantation, West Point, MS
Catering & Floral: Pretty Presentations, Meridian, MS
Rentals and Lighting: Busy Lad, Tupelo, MS
Photography: J.Malahy Photography, Memphis, TN
Musical Entertainment: Cityscape, Memphis, TN
Calligraphy: Sterling Calligraphy, Meridian, MS

























Thursday, November 11, 2010

Envisioning an Event.....Caitlin & Nick

Caitlin hired me about three months before she planned to marry the love of her life. It was a very short period of time to put on such an detail oriented and special event for guests from all over the country, but what a blessing to work for such amazing clients with such a unique vision. Even thought Caitlin and Nick both live in Los Angeles, they wished to have their wedding in Starkville, Mississippi home of Mississippi State University, where the father of the bride is an English professor. Her words to me in our first meeting, "If I could load my guests in a bus and drive them around this entire state, I would!" This sentiment stayed with me throughout the planning of the wedding and it was goal to help the guests experience all of the hospitality, comfort, and beauty that Mississippi has to offer. It is my pleasure to share their inspiration and their wedding with you. Enjoy.

A special thanks to all of the vendors who helped bring this vision to reality...
Ceremony & Reception: private home, Starkville, MS
Catering & Floral: Pretty Presentations, Meridian, MS
Cake: Old Country Bakery, Brooksville, MS
Rentals: Busy Lad, Tupelo, MS
Lighting: Davaine Lighting, Jackson, MS
Photography: J.Malahy Photography, Memphis, TN
Ceremony Bluegrass Musicians: The Larry Wallace Band, Starkville, MS
Reception Entertainment: Bo-Keys, Memphis, TN
Reception House DJ: Fred Wells, Chicago, IL
After Party Entertainment: Sissy Nobby, New Orleans, LA

Welcome Bags, Moon Pies, Pralines with White Chocolate Mississippi State Bulldogs,
and Peanuts & Cokes (with directions on how to properly eat them together)
The bride's bouquet
The bridesmaid's bouquets, made from material picked from the bride's parent's farm.

Boutineers of spotted quail feathers.

Ceremony location by the lake with a Chuppah covered in burlap.
Letterpressed ceremony programs

In each guests seat at the ceremony, they found a cowbell, a Mississippi State tradition.
The ribbon tied on each handle read, "Caitlin + Nick = Love"

Loved these pew markers.

An old wooden picnic table were guests were welcomed to sign the "guest book"

The "guest book" ... guests were asked to type a one line wish or message

Preceremony nibbling on boiled peanuts
Nothing like a soda in a cold glass bottle
Mississippi State's famous cheese
The guest's escort card for dinner
The guest's escort card for dinner
Dinner was served family-style and featured Mississippi favorites such as chicken and dumplings, chicken fried steaks, black eyed peas, fried okra, butter beans, rice and gravy, buttermilk biscuits and cornbread in cast iron skillets

Southern favorites, such as pimento and cheese sandwiches, were passed during the
"meet and greet" cocktail hour

Family-style seated dinner
A "Tree of Life" custom painted by Julie Collier. The sign instructed the guests... "You each have left an impression on their lives, now leave your imprint on their tree." Each guest used their thumb to add a leaf on the tree in various shades of green.

The delectable wedding cake created by Old Country Bakery.
Guests loved this classic yellow cake with hand-iced homemade chocolate frosting.

The grooms table was a good old fashioned pie contest with some of the state's
most famous flavors made by a variety of bakers.

Hand churned vanilla ice cream was the perfect companion for the pie.

The pie contest featured pecan pie, snicker pie, apple pie, honey hush pie, pumpkin pie, coconut pie, and Hershey bar pie... wanna know who won.... the apple of course! ;)

Push pins marked the cities where each of the pies were baked

The guests danced the night away to the music of The Bo-Keys from Memphis

The dancefloor and staging created a magical place in what just days before...
was just an empty field

The afterparty began with music from house DJ, Fred Wells, of Chicago

And in the wee hours, guests were treated to Sissy Nobby,
an artist from New Orleans, with a one of a kind style

Mr. and Mrs. Nick Wootton and me...
a happy bride and groom makes all of the hard work worth every minute!