Shanna Lumpkin Events... new website launched

Check out our new website... www.ShannaLumpkinEvents.com

The tools of transforming a space...

It's unbelievable the transformation that can be made with lighting and draperies!
These are a few breathtaking images from a wedding I planned this fall for Lyndsay & Jay, where we transformed the Jackson Country Club into a magical, fantasy wonderland.
Special thanks to Stephen Barnette of Davaine Lighting
and Roy Adkins, Light & Glass Studio for sharing these photos.

Puja & Jay

This past weekend, I was blessed to assist one of my precious couples, Puja & Jay with their wedding! To honor both of their religious backgrounds and family traditions, I coordinated multiple ceremonies and receptions over the course of three days.

One of the most challenging and exciting parts of the entire weekend was the fact that the Saturday morning Hindu ceremony and the Saturday evening reception were in the same ballroom at the Old Capitol Inn. As a wedding coordinator, whenever two events are happening in the same room, for the same client, with the same guests... I really want to focus on giving a different experience each time. The second part of the challenge was the fact that we had less than 6 hours for the entire change!!!

See below for images of the room and the changes that were made from morning until night... keep in mind, I took these pictures with my sweet little Canon (that I LOVE... by the way) and they are NOT professional! Of course, I will post the professional pictures as soon as they are available, but I was too excited to share the story to wait! Enjoy!!

The mundap for the morning Hindu ceremony. The beautiful ivory draperies spanned from ceiling to floor, creating an ethereal backdrop. A traditional mundap was built upon a 16x16 platform stage that we placed on the Old Capitol Inn's wooden dance floor. Over 200 banquet chairs were covered in golden lamour covers and finished with an ivory bengaline chair ties.

The couple in the mundap.

The entire Hindu ceremony lasted around two and a half hours.

For the evening reception, a paisley gobo treatment was created for the pool in the garden patio. The pool was also roped off with lit stanchions of ivory and cream chiffon.


Then... 6 hours later, here is the backdrop that was created for the evening's reception. The ivory draperies were taken down and replaced with multiple layers of sage satin and luminescent sheer tulle. The paisley gobo light treatment was also featured on this backdrop.

Here is the view looking from the dancefloor of the seated guest tables and balcony. I LOVE the effect the lighting treatment created in the overall ambiance!

The guests were greeted with a custom illuminated gobo...
announcing the couple's names and wedding date at the entrance of the ballroom.

A view from the balcony.

Here are a few additional detail shots of the wedding.

For more pictures, visit Shanna Lumpkin Event's fan page on facebook, Puja & Jay's album.

Again, stay tuned for professional pictures to follow.

The bride & groom.

The wedding cake, created by The Cake Diva.

Floral by William Box Designs.

The first dance.

Hitched: Alexis & Aaron... feature in Jackson Free Press

One of my couples from this summer were featured in Jackson Free Press' new Hitched section. Their story is too cute - so I wanted to share it! Enjoy.

[Hitched] Alexis Larkin and Aaron Schwartz

photo by Adam Hudson Photography

story by Melia Dicker

August 19, 2009

Before Alexis Larkin and Aaron Schwartz met on J-Date, an online Jewish dating service, they each had gone out with people who had stretched the truth about themselves. Alexis had met up with a guy who had said he was 5 feet, 10 inches, but turned out to be shorter than she was, at 5 feet, 5 inches. Aaron had a date with a woman who described her body type as "cuddly" but turned out to be quite a bit larger.

When Alexis and Aaron connected on J-Date in spring 2007, they found each other's authenticity refreshing. After exchanging e-mails for a few weeks and talking on the phone once or twice, they agreed to meet in person. Both felt nervous.

"You've established a rapport at least over e-mail, so on the way there, you're thinking, 'Oh my God, what if we sit there for three hours, silent?'" Aaron says.

Alexis and Aaron met at the Dupont Circle Metro station in Washington D.C., on an unseasonably cold Friday night in April. They felt comfortable with each other immediately and found a place to eat sushi. Afterward, they had drinks at Kramer Books, and by the end of the evening, Alexis knew that Aaron was the man she was going to marry.

Whirlwind Romance

Alexis, a Jackson native who moved to D.C. to attend George Washington University, and Aaron, who grew up in Silver Spring, Md., got serious about each other quickly.

Three weeks into their relationship, Aaron received a scholarship to visit Israel. Around the same time, Alexis happened to find a cheap fare to Ireland, so she proposed a crazy idea: Aaron could meet her in Ireland after his trip, and they could travel together. Aaron isn't normally one to throw caution to the wind, but he welcomed the chance to be spontaneous.

Fortunately, the trip went well. The couple spent two weeks traveling in Ireland, Spain and Portugal. After being together for 24 hours a day, Aaron knew that he wanted to marry Alexis.

The next spring, in March 2008, Aaron was with Alexis' extended family in Los Angeles for a wedding. He pulled Alexis' parents, Dana and Jonathan Larkin, aside and asked for permission to marry their daughter. They happily gave him their blessing.

From then on, Dana and Jonathan were eager for Aaron to pop the question. "Every phone call between March and June was, 'Do you have any news?'" Alexis says.Fourth of July in Jackson Although Aaron had thought up a few elaborate ways to ask Alexis to marry him, all of them seemed silly."The only thing that I could think of that seemed appropriate for us was just to make a nice dinner and propose," he says. On June 24, 2008, he made a lamb roast, a tomato and mozzarella salad, and vegetables. He and Alexis ate at the kitchen table, a rare occasion because of their small living space.

After dinner, Aaron claimed that he had forgotten something and opened up a kitchen cabinet. He took out the ring that he'd hidden, knelt down on the wood parquet kitchen floor and proposed. Alexis excitedly said "yes." The pair enjoyed a quiet meal together before calling friends and family.

The Fourth of July holiday weekend was a natural choice for the wedding date, because as a teacher, Aaron doesn't get much vacation during the school year. The couple chose to get married in Jackson because it would be much more inexpensive than in Washington, D.C., and because Alexis' family had been longtime members of Beth Israel synagogue. Alexis had been named, bat mitzvahed and confirmed there, and her parents had been married there in 1977.

Mazel Tov!

On July 4, 2009, about 170 guests gathered at Beth Israel at 8 p.m., after sundown on the Sabbath, in accordance with Jewish law. Some of the male guests borrowed silver yarmulkes from a basket in the entryway to cover their heads.

Before the ceremony, Alexis and Aaron had gathered privately with their immediate families, two witnesses and the rabbi to sign the ketubah, the Jewish marriage contract that outlines the responsibilities of the bride and groom. After both had signed it, Aaron lowered Alexis' veil over her face, a tradition rooted in the biblical story of Rachel and Leah. Because Alexis' grandmother couldn't make the journey to the wedding, she watched these rituals via Skype, an online video messaging program.

In the synagogue, dramatic music filled the room as the wedding party processed in. They took their places alongside the Chuppah, the wedding canopy, which one of the members of the synagogue had designed and hand-carved out of wood. In keeping with tradition, the canopy was covered with a prayer shawl belonging to Aaron's dad.

Alexis came down the aisle, looking radiant in a strapless ivory dress with a scalloped neckline and a triple bustle. Underneath, unseen because of her long train, she wore a silvery sequined pair of low-top Converse sneakers. Aaron and his groomsmen were all wearing black Converses. Aaron took Alexis' hand and walked with her under the Chuppah. Their immediate families joined them. Rabbi Valerie Cohen, who officiated the ceremony, guided guests—many of whom were not Jewish—through the rituals. She explained the Havdalah, which separates Shabbat (the Friday to Saturday night Sabbath) from the rest of the week and is made up of four blessings. Nehemiah Luckett, a friend of the couple, sang the blessings to the piano accompaniment of another friend, Josh Wiener.

The ceremony continued with the Kiddushin, the betrothal, during which Alexis and Aaron shared a cup of wine and exchanged rings. Rabbi Cohen recited the Sheva Brachot, the seven marriage blessings, and gave the couple a priestly benediction. She then wrapped the bride and groom in a large prayer shawl, a tallit, which had belonged to Alexis' grandfather.

To conclude the wedding ceremony, Aaron wrapped a glass in a cloth and stomped on it. The breaking of the glass has several interpretations, including the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem and the irreversible commitment of marriage, but Alexis' favorite is: "This may be the last time Aaron will ever get to put his foot down." As Aaron broke the glass, the wedding celebration officially began, and the guests congratulated the newlyweds by cheering, "Mazel Tov!"

As Alexis and Aaron left the synagogue, Luckett sang Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm Amazed." Alexis and Aaron then spent a few minutes in seclusion, reflecting on their new life together, according to the ritual known as the yichud. Afterward, they took the Fondren Trolley to the reception, with fireworks exploding overhead.It was after all, the Fourth of July.

'Sexyback' Meets 'Hava Nagila'

At the glamorous Pan-Asia restaurant, with its 50-foot "water wall" fountain and elegantly lit sushi bar, guests helped themselves to foods like drunken noodles and fresh fish.

The DJ, Danny Brewer, introduced the wedding party, who danced in to upbeat songs like Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback." Alexis and Aaron high-fived their guests as they danced in. Folks from different generations gathered on the dance floor and kept it packed all night.

Later, the DJ asked guests to encircle the couple for the Hora. Alexis and Aaron sat on black chairs with no arms, and several of the strongest men lifted them into the air. The couple stretched a necktie between them and grasped the bottom of their chairs with their free hands, looking both thrilled and terrified as they bobbed up and down. Guests danced around the couple as the Hebrew Folk Song, "Hava Nagila"—"Let Us Rejoice"—began playing, while others stood around and clapped in time.

Once they were safely on the ground, Alexis and Aaron cut their cakes. Alexis' was four tiers tall, with pink fondant cherry blossom branches climbing the sides, in homage to the trees in Washington, D.C. Aaron's cake was shaped like brightly colored giant Legos, the toys he had loved as a kid and still loves today.

Guests snapped their pictures in photographers Adam and Allison Hudson's photo booth, and at the end of the evening they all lined up outside the restaurant. Wedding coordinator Shanna Lumpkin handed each guest a sparkler, which they held up against the night sky as Alexis and Aaron got into a white town car In just a few days, the newlyweds would head off to an adventurous 16-day honeymoon in Turkey.

Hitched: Laurel & Price... feature in Jackson Free Press

One of my precious couples from this summer were featured in Jackson Free Press' new section Hitched. Enjoy!

[Hitched] Laurel Miller and Price Donahoo

photo by David Legg
story by Melia Dicker

June 10, 2009

Mississippi State University senior, Price Donahoo was working in the library when sophomore Laurel Miller sat down at the computer across from him.

“I’m sure she busted me looking at her a couple times,” Price says. Later, he asked a mutual acquaintance to play matchmaker at a party.

“She introduced us to each other, and then just walked off and left us, which was really awkward,” Price says, laughing. “I found out a few months later that (Laurel) was dating somebody else, so I thought, ‘You must have blown it with that one.

A couple of months after that, Price saw Laurel at another event and found out that she was newly single. He re-introduced himself.

“I was with some friends, and he was just making us laugh for the longest time,” Laurel says. “I thought, ‘This guy is really cool.

“We finally went out on a date, and never looked back,” Price says.

The Proposal

Fast forward three years to July 2008. Price was then a law student at Ole Miss, while Laurel was an executive assistant at Summerhouse Style in Ridgeland. The long-distance couple talked about getting married the summer after Price’s graduation the following year.

Laurel’s family invited Price to join them on vacation to New York City, which he decided was a perfect location to propose. He picked out an oval diamond ring, asked for the approval of Laurel’s dad, Lee—which he happily granted—and made a few calls ahead to New York.

On July 3, 2008, Laurel wanted to eat at her favorite New York restaurant, the elegant Tavern on the Green, but Price told her it was booked. He said that he’d made reservations at Sparks Steakhouse instead—the site of a famous mob assassination—which Price, a fan of mafia movies, found intriguing. This wasn’t what Laurel had in mind, but she indulged him.

Price had arranged for a carriage to pick them up before dinner. What Laurel had thought would be “a random carriage ride” to a mob hangout was actually a romantic trip through Central Park with roses and champagne.

The driver stopped at the secluded Cherry Hill Fountain, where Price had hired a saxophonist to play the couple’s song, “Stand by Me.” As the sun set, Price got down on one knee and proposed.

“I was so nervous that I put the ring on the wrong hand,” says Price, who took Laurel’s right hand instead of the left. Laurel, of course, said yes.

The carriage then took the couple to Tavern on the Green, where Price actually did have reservations. After dinner, the couple met up with Laurel’s family and shared their news. They decided to be married on Saturday, May 23, 2009.

The Details

The couple chose a bird theme for the wedding. On her computer, Laurel designed her own Save the Date cards and printed them at home.Her mother, Mary, hand-addressed 800 invitations, estimating that 600 guests would attend.

Laurel and her mother designed the centerpieces and favors, and hand-selected gifts for the bridesmaids and flower girls: antique brooches. Village Beads strung them with freshwater pearls for the ladies to wear during the wedding.

The Ceremony

On May 23, a rainy Saturday, the pews of the Woodland Hills Baptist Church in Fondren filled with guests as an orchestra played. The stained glass windows glowed as the groom and the best man, his father, approached the altar with the pastor. Ten attendants for each side found their places.

The music changed, and the guests stood and turned to see Laurel’s entrance. Six feet tall and stunning, she wore a tiara and a floor-length strapless ivory dress with beading and lace, both from A Bridal Path.

After scripture readings and an exhortation by the pastor, Laurel and Price, both smiling, exchanged traditional vows and their rings. Afterward, as they stood at the altar facing each other, two vocalists sang “I Can Hear Your Voice” by Michael W. Smith. During the song, the couple laughed and chatted comfortably as if they were alone instead of in front of hundreds of people.

When the pastor presented the Donahoos, Price and Laurel kissed, and their guests applauded. The orchestra burst into a joyful Gaelic recessional, a tribute to Price’s Irish heritage, as the grinning bride and groom left the church. A bright red stretch limousine, one of only eight in the country, was waiting to carry them to the reception.

The Send-off

Strains of bagpipes, hanging paper lanterns, and Mary’s three black Scottie dogs greeted the newlyweds and their guests as they pulled up to Jackson’s Colonial Country Club. Inside, guests helped themselves to the buffet that included chocolate fondue and fried catfish from Price’s hometown of Belzoni.

Laurel and Price cut their cakes, which stood on wooden stands made by Laurel’s brother. The wedding cake had five layers, white with fondant birds and branches twisting around the sides. Price’s chocolate-iced three-layer cake was decorated with shotgun shells because he enjoys hunting.

The talented Memphis cover band, Almost Famous, kept guests young and old dancing all night. Laurel and Price took a break from greeting their guests to dance to energetic songs like “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Around 10 p.m., one of the band members asked guests to go outside to see off the newlyweds.

Laurel had known that her family had a final surprise for her, and it turned out to be a horse-drawn carriage like the one from the night of her engagement. She and Price beamed as they left the reception, ducking as their guests tossed birdseed at them. As a light drizzle fell, they stepped up into the carriage. The driver slowly pulled away, sending them off toward their week-long honeymoon in Belize.

Mona & Kristopher

Planning this week of multiple ceremonies... Thursday's Henna party, Saturday morning Hindu wedding ceremony, Indian luncheon, Christian wedding ceremony, and an evening reception and party...What an incredible experience! Going into my sixth year of planning weddings and events, sometimes I feel as if I could go on auto-pilot... not to indicate that I'm getting jaded...just comfortable. However, Mona and Kris' wedding certainly found me and my fabulous staff on our toes. This was my first Hindu-Christian ceremony and wow did we learn alot!

Thank you Mona, Kris and your precious families for entrusting such an important time in your lives to myself and my staff! We were blessed to be able to work with all of you!

The day started at 5:00 AM... My staff and I met at the Fairview Inn to prepare for the outdoor Hindu ceremony on the deck. Wendy Putt and her fabulous staff were busily transforming the wooden gazebo into a romantic and lush mundap, under which the couple would experience their Hindu marriage traditions. After the white wooden chairs were aligned, the custom painted aisle runner was in place, and the doli decorated with freshly strung orchids and jewels, we checked on the blushing bride. The festivities began with a festive and colorful ceremony on the front circular drive of the Fairview, as Kris was greeted by Mona's family and friends.

There was lots of singing and dancing!

The bride & groom

Under the mundap

The flowergirl baskets, created by Fresh Cut. They were one of my favorite details!

Mendhi (or henna) that is traditionally applied to the palms and feet of a bride. Once the henna dries, the reddish color underneath remains as a decoration on the bride.

The bride and groom and his family at the Mendhi party.

Mr. and Mrs. Graham

The bride and her bridesmaids before the Christian ceremony.

A beautiful ceremony at St. Matthews in Madison.

The bride and groom and her parents before the Christian ceremony.

One of my favorite moments, the bride and her father dancing...
with a very proud mama watching.


Special Thanks to all of the vendors
who worked very hard to make this wedding such a success...

Fairview Inn - Hindu ceremony and Indian luncheon

Fresh Cut - Florals for Henna party, Hindu ceremony, Indian luncheon,
Christian ceremony, and evening reception

KD Photographics - Photography

DJ Bally - Videography

Old Capitol Inn - Evening reception and party

Super Limo - Morning wedding transportation

Fondren Express - Evening wedding transportation

Style in the Sky - Birmingham

We are so excited to be in Birmingham, Alabama this weekend for Style in the Sky! Last night Hannah (my fabulous assistant) and I got into town just in time to attend the Rock the Runway Event at The Redmont Hotel. It was great fun. The models were rockin' out their Anne Barge, rock n roll inspired bridal gowns... accessorized with black leather gloves and black boots.

The models lined the roof top of the hotel with the night and city lights as the backdrop!

Tonight, we are getting ready for dinner with Sylvia Weinstock and we'll be able to see the fabulous cakes and finalist from the Style in the Sky cake competitions! what is it about cake competitions.. maybe it's because I can't make anything that's not out of a box... but I LOVE cake competitions! We'll of course post those pics tonight too!

Tomorrow... brunch with David Tutera... love him too!

Then, to cap off an amazing weekend, tomorrow night... a runway show featuring Anne Barge... we carry her Southern inspired fashions at A Southern Affair's bridal shop and cannot wait to see what's new in the line!