Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South [Hardcover]

Tara Guerard (Author), Liz Banfield (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 2006

From the Southeast's preeminent wedding designer, Tara Guérard, comes Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South. This unique new book puts readers on the most coveted guest lists to the most spectacular events, and goes behind the scenes for an insider's look at how these glamorous affairs come to be.
Southern Weddings showcases 10 splendid weddings, and shares the tools-and tricks-of the trade Tara has learned from over a decade of working in the event world. Each of the weddings featured in the book are beautiful, yet markedly different from one another-from a seaside soirée to country club chic to rustic plantation. Each section is peppered with behind-the-scenes shots of Tara and her crew as they work their magic. With secrets, tips and advice galore, practical how-tos and easy-to-digest text paired with stunning photography, Southern Weddings is destined to become the classic resource for brides who wish to capture the entertaining traditions of the Old South with a decidedly modern flair.
Southern Weddings features an extensive resource section with info on:
Caterers
Cake makers
Wedding dresses and designers
Floral designers
Room design and layout
The details that make the event

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South
By Tara P. Guérard
Photography by Liz Banfield
In Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South, the region's premiere wedding designer, Tara Guérard, brings to light her native culture's centuries-old reputation for celebrating one of life's most important occasions with her own twenty-first-century spin.
Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South places you on the coveted guest list to Guérard's most spectacular events, and takes you behind the scenes for an insider's look at how her glamorous affairs come to be. With secrets, tips, practical how-tos and advice galore paired with stunning photography, Southern Weddings is the guide for brides who wish to capture the entertaining traditions of the Old South with a decidedly modern flair.
Through ten of Guérard's favorite weddings, she shares the tools-and tricks-of the trade she's learned from over a decade of working in the service industry. Every chapter imparts fresh information as each wedding-from a seaside soirée to country club chic-represents a different style, different challenges, and a different focus. With Southern Weddings, the consummate entertainer-slash-hostess shows readers how they can follow suit with a range of topics including choosing a venue and vendors, selecting colors, and set-dressing your way to a truly memorable celebration. Finally, an extensive resource section provides information about caterers, cake makers, wedding dresses, flowers and design details.
As they embark on their own wedding planning adventure, Southern Weddings gives readers glamorous inspiration and a peek behind the curtain that allows them to feel that Guérard's weddings are happily within their grasp.

About the Author

Tara Guérard is the Southeast's premier event designer. Her company, Soiree, Inc., has been featured in InStyle Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Elegant Bride, and Southern Living Weddings. She was picked by Modern Bride magazine as a Top 25 Trendsetter.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 1 edition (December 8, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941711935
• ISBN-13: 978-0941711937
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Weddings in my Home Town, December 28, 2006

By 

Carolyn Thompson "Mom MD" (Sullivans Island, SC, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South (Hardcover)

I purchased this book not because I'm in the wedding planning business or have a wedding in my future, but because I live in Charleston and love to entertain. I felt this book would give me ideas I could generalize to other types of events. I was not disappointed. By paying attention to the featured weddings, I could see recurrent themes in the way that Ms. Guerard operates - selecting a theme that is expressed in many ways throughout the event, draping, tenting, the importance of color, etc. An example is the common use of banquettes in the reception space. I'll bet that Ms. Guerard has this down to a science - a carpenter who can knock these out quickly and a seamstress who, using blocks of foam, can drape these with fabric, creating something elegant from relatively inexpensive materials. This is not a how-to book, though each featured wedding has instructions for creating something dramatic used in that wedding. I know there are plenty of handbooks on the market; this is an idea book with beautiful settings and photography.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabu pics, March 13, 2007

By 

K. Finlayson (Pittsburgh PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South (Hardcover)

As a northerner, I find the south fascinating and unfamiliar, and this book does nothing to dispel that notion - it only adds "gorgeous" to my description. I was particularly struck by the photography - the lush details that were captured, and the timeless look that would make any bride proud to display such photos for years to come. It even made me troll over to the photographer's website to see more!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Book, January 3, 2007

By 

L. Hollender - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Southern Weddings: New Looks from the Old South (Hardcover)

This book displays the extraordinary ideas by Tara Guerard. Tara's ideas are truly one of a kind. This book is a great addition to your collection and a fantastic inspiration.