What to include in your wedding day emergency kit
And why you shouldn’t get married without one Have you heard the story about the bride who popped a button on her wedding dress right before the ceremony? It happened to a bride who was getting married at Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn in Simpsonville. Fortunately, she was best friends with Windy Hill manager Lauren Burns, who had just what the young bride needed. “She didn’t have a sewing kit,” Burns said. “Luckily, I had one nearby. Crisis averted!” Think of it as the Murphy’s Law of weddings: what can go wrong will go wrong without some level of preparation. For brides, and even grooms, being prepared means having an emergency kit. “Without an emergency kit, a small problem can turn into a big problem quickly,” Burns said. “It’s...
Here’s why you should high-five your wedding venue owner
A peek at the hard work that goes into setting up for a wedding It’s the part of weddings you don’t see: lawnmowers buzzing, vacuum-cleaners vacuuming, and tables and chairs being shuffled—again! “Setting up inside Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn is different every week,” said manager Lauren Burns. She’s not kidding. Chairs are constantly being moved from one side of the 10-plus acre property to the other. There are 200 chairs inside and 200 outside that must be perfectly placed for each wedding. “Many brides will see a photo on Windy Hill’s Instagram page and say, ‘That’s exactly how I want the chairs to be arranged for the ceremony,’” Burns said. Preparing the barn for the couple and their guests is no small feat either. Every inch...
Yes, it’s okay to wear jeans and cowboy boots to a barn wedding
How rustic venues have changed the rules of wedding fashion Make no mistake, white gowns and black tuxedos are still the top fashion choice for brides and grooms. But as more couples choose barn weddings over more traditional church weddings, the rules of “what not to wear” are starting to loosen up. “Barns have that country feel. It’s a more comfortable feeling,” said Lauren Burns, manager of Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn in Simpsonville. Proof of that comfort can be found on Windy Hill’s popular Instagram feed. If you scroll through the photos, you’ll come across grooms that decked out in light-colored tuxedos and wheat boutonnieres. “A lot of our grooms lean toward khaki. I’ve even seen a few with jeans and cowboy boots,” Burns...
The 2020 wedding date that’s filling up quickly
Brides want it, grooms will appreciate it someday Admit it, if you’ve been married for a long time, it may take you a second or two (or three) to remember your anniversary date. But for a lucky few who plan to tie the knot on a certain Saturday in 2020, remembering will take little to no effort years from now. We’re talking about October 10th—also known as 10-10-2020. “We’ve had close to a dozen brides call and ask for that date,” said Lauren Burns, manager of Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn. “I have to tell them it’s already booked and that it was one of the first dates on our 2020 calendar to go.” Why wouldn’t it be? Repeating numbers or dates on a wedding invitation look super cute! And Oct. 10 isn’t the only date next year that’s...
5 photos that will have you dreaming of a fall wedding
From place settings to bridesmaid dresses, fall colors dazzle It’s no surprise that September and October are the two most popular months for weddings. “Brides especially love the coolness in the air. And who doesn’t enjoy gathering around a fire pit on a crisp autumn night?” said Lauren Burns, manager of Windy Hill Wedding and Event Barn. While cooler temperatures are reason enough to insist on a fall wedding, brides also love the kaleidoscope of rich colors associated with the season—reds, oranges, yellows, browns, deep greens and purples. “I love the different colors that come with fall,” Burns said. “They make wedding photos more vibrant.” Burns pulled together five of her favorite fall wedding photos taken at Windy Hill Wedding &...
Getting married? Don’t forget to create a wedding hashtag
How hashtags have become a ‘must’ for social media savvy couples Wedding dress—check! Catering service and deejay—check! All-day reservation at Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn—check! But wait, there’s more. One of the first things brides need to think about when planning a wedding is the all-important wedding hashtag. In this age of Instagram, hashtags are used not only to document the engagement, but also the wedding planning and the wedding itself. No social media savvy couple can get married without one! “Brides take these hashtags very seriously. They sometimes spend months coming up with one,” said Lauren Burns, manager of Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn. Wedding hashtags come in all shapes and sizes. Some are funny. Some are...
The wedding question that won’t go away: ‘Who pays for what?’
The Venue Question: Choose a Space That Shapes Your Wedding Day You think you’re just picking a space with four walls—or maybe no walls at all—but a wedding venue sets the tempo. It dictates the dress code, the menu, and the mood. Choose wrong, and you’ll spend the day fixing problems instead of making memories. Choose well, and everything flows, from the first toast to the last dance. This is where your budget, your headcount, your in-laws, and your Pinterest boards all come to fight it out. But you’re the bride, so you win. Start With Location and Logistics Before the fantasy barn or boho mountaintop, ask yourself a blunt question: How are your guests getting there? You can fall in love with a vineyard three hours from the nearest...
What Season Is The Most Popular For Weddings? (Hint: It isn’t summer)
The 5 most popular months of the year for weddings, ranked Make no mistake, Summer 2019 has been a busy time for the staff at Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn. “We’ve been booked all summer. With the exception of two days, every available date in June, July and August has been rented out for weddings,” manager Lauren Burns said. But summer is merely a warmup for fall, which is officially the most popular season for weddings. According to Wedding Wire, one in three weddings take place in the fall—with most couples choosing to get married in October. “Brides will call and say, ‘We don’t have a date for our wedding yet, but we know we want it to be in October,’" Burns said. October has been the most popular wedding month for the past...
Why Customer Reviews Are A Business’s Most Important PR Tool
In the three years it’s been open for business, Windy Hill Wedding & Event Barn in Simpsonville has received dozens of excellent reviews. “It makes us feel great when customers take the time to leave a review. What they experience on one of the biggest days of their lives is extremely important to us,” manager Lauren Burns said. For Burns, customer reviews are more than an acknowledgment of a job well done. They allow her to take her already-successful business to the next level. “One bride wrote, ‘They let us come in earlier than normal to set up.’ It’s helpful to us as a business to know what the customer wants,” Burns said. One study found that 97-percent of online shoppers check customer reviews before making a...
It’s Time For Companies To Start Planning Their Holiday Parties
Image via Pexels Stepping out into the world with your own lease, your own key, and your own set of mismatched kitchenware is exhilarating. It’s also, let’s be honest, financially terrifying. The first months of independence can teach more about money than a decade of school ever did. And while the personal finance world likes to preach in spreadsheets and sweeping generalizations, young people need something closer to the ground—advice that doesn’t talk down and doesn’t assume a six-figure salary at 23. Here’s a blueprint that starts where most of us do: with just enough, and not a dollar more. Budgeting Isn’t Restrictive—It’s the Map That Shows You Where You Actually Live A budget, in the early days of living alone, isn’t about...