Annsley's Wedding Trends for 2021

March 18, 2021

Hey y’all and welcome back to the blog! This week we are continuing our series on 2021 wedding trends! This week our Director of Sales, Annsley, is giving her opinions on wedding trends for 2021! Let's get started!

Tented Events

As we work with clients who are planning events for spring and fall of 2021 and even into 2022, a big trend I see is tented events. I think now more than ever, people are looking for spaces outdoors to gather. Whether that is for dining, weddings, social events, etc. Tents are a key factor in outdoor events as tents create a space to gather. I think when most people think of a tent, their first thought is a basic frame tent. However, at SOHO we see tents as a framework to build off of. Tents create a temporary structure for many fun accessories: flooring, draping, floral installations, custom branding, etc. There are countless ways to customize your tented space to create a unique experience for you and your guests.

Sailcloth Tent - Wedding in Alys Beach, Florida

Flooring

Another trend I see is event flooring! This is personally one of my favorites. I had flooring at my wedding 4 years ago and at that point it wasn’t something that we saw a lot of. Now, I feel like this is a priority for some of our clients. I believe flooring can change the look of an event. Until you can experience an event with flooring, it is hard to understand how much of a difference flooring makes! I love before and after photos of a tent with flooring. It completely transforms the space! Flooring also opens another door of customization options. Not only are there many options for the finish of flooring you choose, we can also do porch extensions with acrylic railings. This hands down elevates the experience for your guests creating a “wow” factor!

Branded Events

A trend I have seen continued to grow in our region over the last few years is event branding! Custom wraps whether it is for dancefloors, bar and stage façade inserts, tents, etc. I personally love the customization this can add to an event. I don't see this trend going anywhere anytime soon… I think this is just the beginning for event branding!

Custom dancefloor wrap courtesy of Decal Doodle - Wedding in Fairhope, Alabama

Our team continues to push the boundaries in all of these three areas. We love creating unique experiences for our clients!

I hope y’all enjoyed my 2021 wedding trends! We would love to know what your favorite wedding trend for 2021 is, so let us know in the comments!

Cheers!

30A Wine Festival ReWined

March 05, 2021

Hey y’all! Welcome back to the blog! This week is very exciting as we are going to do a rewind on the 2021 30A Wine Festival. This is a wonderful weekend long wine festival that is held in the stunning Alys Beach, in Florida. It is hosted to celebrate a rich and diverse collective of food, wine, and community and all in benefit of The Children’s Volunteer Health Network. Every year we love working together with the Alys Beach team and many other vendors to create an amazing experience for the attendees.

The festival itself is broken out into numerous events over the weekend, each one separate and unique. Because there are so many great events happening during the festival we thought it might be fun to do a rewind and highlight each event. So let's get started.

Thursday

The Oysters and Champagne Dinner was the first event on Thursday evening on Kelly Green. For this event the design wanted to mix a bit of modern and clean with natural elements that have depth and texture. To achieve this we went with our white Losberger tent in a 50’ x 70’ to define the space. We brought in our: wine country cross back chairs, white wood curved bars, boxwood walls, oyster plates and oyster forks. The mix of the white and brown helps to achieve the overall feel of modern but still coastal. And how cute are our oyster plates, right?!

Also on Thursday was the Tequila - Frida Party in Central Park. This event was designed with plenty of color and fun in mind. Because of this we chose another white Losberger tent in a 40’ x 60’ to define the space. This allowed for the many colors to pop inside the tent. To help achieve the envisioned design of this event, we brought in our: boxwood walls, gold chameleon chairs with copper cushion caps, hammered ice gold band chargers, arrezzo brushed gold silverware, gold rim plates and bowls, amber goblets, coupe glasses, Collins glasses and shot glasses. These rentals helped tie the bright colors together making for a colorful and fun party!

Friday

On Friday the Evening Land Wine Dinner at Caliza Pool is next up. Caliza pool is a beautiful poolside venue with modern architecture so we wanted to coordinate with those modern elements for this event design. We brought in our: acrylic metropolitan tables, ghost chairs, sentry silver silverware, wine country plates, smoke beaded glasses, and footed glass bowls. These rentals really help to pull together a modern dinner inside a beautiful modern space.

Also on Friday was the Thompson Wine Dinner at Arboleda Park. The Thompson Wine Dinner was inspired by the style and feel of Italy. With crisp whites and pops of blue, yellow and green, the elements helped you feel transported to the Italian Riviera. For this event we brought in our; king estate tables, wine country cross back chairs, sentry silverware, wine country plates, and plenty of 11oz wine glasses. The combination of these rentals created a laidback Italian vibe. We love the lemons as place cards!

Saturday

Saturday featured the Chalet Dinner at Firepit Park. This dinner was designed with a natural and industrial feel. Because of this, we brought in: 8 farm tables and cross back chairs. These wood elements contribute to the overall feel of natural and industrial. Fisher’s Flowers provided some great wood pergolas to display some industrial lighting. We love the details of having the fire pits on and blankets for each guest.

Sunday

Sunday kicked off the final day of the wine festival with the Gospel Brunch at Gulf Green. As the name would suggest we wanted to bring in elements of a church to this event so we chose our oakwood pews. The dark color of the pews really pops against the white and green colors of Gulf Green. What a beautiful setting to enjoy some brunch and gospel music!

The final event of the 30A Wine Festival 2021 was Rose Croquet on Kelly Green! With a beautiful white Losberger 50’ x 70’ to build the event off of, the team wanted to have a bright white event with pops of pink and green. To pull this vision together we brought in our fun acrylic ghost chairs. These allow for the beauty of the location to pop. We also had boxwood walls that featured the brackets for the croquet game. Fisher’s Flowers provided some beautiful florals in coordinating colors to add the final touch.

That wraps up a wonderful weekend of events for the 2021 30A Wine Festival! We love getting to be a part of this special team of vendors every year and we are so excited for 2022! Have you been to the 30A Wine Festival in Alys Beach? If so, tell us your favorite event!

Till next time,

Cheer!

Tell Us Your Engagement Story - Finalists

February 19, 2021

We are excited to share each of the stories from our finalists in the Tell Us Your Engagement Story contest! Voting will take place on the official Facebook page for SOHO Event Rentals. Voting begins on Friday, February 19, 2021 at 12:00 pm CST and concludes February 26, 2021 at 11:59 pm CST. The contestant with the most likes at the conclusion of voting will be awarded our Grand Prize, the second most likes will be awarded our Runner Up Prize and the third most likes will be awarded our Honorable Mention Prize. Check out our previous blog for full details on the contest!

COUPLE: ABIGAIL + BRANDON
Engagement Date: 08.15.20
Wedding Date: 11.06.21
Their Story:
Our sweet friends and I were throwing my fiancé his birthday party. Brandon decided to go out for a boat ride before sunset. He let all of our friends know that he was going to propose on the boat! I was completely clueless! On the way back to the dock, he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! I was in so much shock and then just broke down in tears! This was the happiest day of my life and I can’t wait to marry him in November of 2021!

COUPLE: AMBER + SAM
Engagement Date: 12.22.20
Wedding Date: 08.14.21
Their Story:
To start this story, Sam and I have been dating for a little over five years. During those five years, we've experienced a lot of life together -- the highest of joys and the lowest of pains.

I met Sam's family for the first time in December of 2015. They were the sweetest, most genuine family, and I pretty much knew instantly that I wanted to call them family one day too. One person in particular was his grandmother, BB.

To give you a little background on BB, she was the most spunky, high energy woman I have EVER met. At 75 years old, she was doing somersaults over the back of couches and walking into a room doing her impressive high kicks. At family get togethers, all the young kids would follow her around the house like a little line of ducks. She loved to dance and sing, and she was filled with so much life. If she hadn't have been a preschool teacher, I 100% believe she could have been in Hollywood. And the best part, BB loved her family. Seeing how much she adored Sam and how much Sam adored her was really special.

Around 2017, B.B. started losing her memory. It was getting harder for her to be on her own and she was slowly losing her little spark we all knew and loved. Come to find out, B.B. was diagnosed with dementia. The same awful disease my granddaddy died of when I was 6 years old. It's a scary and difficult thing to watch someone you love so much become someone you don't really know.

As her dementia progressed, visits with B.B. were very different. The one place we loved to take her, though, was a small park in Hoover, Alabama called Aldridge Gardens. There is a beautiful pond with a fountain and a pavilion over the water to have a picnic. You could watch the birds and walk through the open trails. It was so peaceful and quiet, and BB always enjoyed it. It was our little escape from reality.

In 2019, BB was called home to Jesus. Sam was by her side in the hospital, minutes before it happened.

Fast forward to 2020. Sam and I frequently discussed marriage and what our future plans were. We decided to wait until 2021 to make our next big move since 2020 was such a wild year. Little did I know, Sam had went through the entire ring process and was working behind the scenes. He got the ring in on Sunday night, December 20th. Both Sam and his family knew there was no way he was waiting a second longer to propose.

He called me on Tuesday and asked if I wanted to go look at Christmas lights with his three nieces (ages 2,5,7), his sister and brother-in-law. We had a small Christmas get together right afterwards, so I was looking forward to a very Christmasy night! He told me that the lights were at Aldridge Gardens, the park BB loved to go to. We hadn't been back in a long time, and I thought it would be beautiful to see our little park lit up in Christmas decorations.

I parked my car and started walking through the gate. I saw Sam in the distance, standing right by the water. I was confused why he was all the way over there, but rolled with it. Once I turned the corner, Sam looked so handsome. He was standing there all alone, hands in his pockets, looking right at me. It all hit me at once... he was about to propose.

He told me to walk closer and as we held onto to each other, we both started crying. It felt like the whole world stood still in that moment and we were the only two people to exists. It was that same peaceful feeling we got years before -- Our little park, our little escape. And I have no doubt Sam's guardian angel was smiling down on him with every word he spoke.

It was the sweetest day filled with the sweetest emotions. I couldn't have imaged a more perfect spot to say yes to my forever, the love of my life. I pray we live life as full as B.B. did and I will always thank her in my prayers for our little corner of the world, Aldridge Gardens.

COUPLE: DARLA + DOM
Engagement Date: 03.15.20
Wedding Date: 04.24.21
Their Story:
7 years ago, when Dom and I started discussing our future together the conversation came up about engagement and marriage. I told him I thought it would be nice to have my closest friends and family present for an engagement. Something to know about me is I am pretty indecisive and when put under pressure I tend to change my mind at least 10 times back and forth (imagine me planning this wedding). Therefore, when the conversation became more serious in the past 2 years I made sure not to mention any details about the engagement. I realized this is something we will cherish for the rest of our lives and he knows what would make us both happy.

Fast forward to March 2020. My now Matron of Honor was planning her wedding and had an event for us to attend the weekend of March 15. Dom and I moved to Nashville, TN a few years ago so we are about 6 hours from friends and family in Alabama. About a week and a half before we were set to drive down, my aunt reached out to me to ask if we wanted to come over for a crawfish boil Sunday when we were in town. Typically, I would not make plans on a Sunday before we drive back to Nashville (it makes for a very long day driving in so late) but, I would never turn down crawfish and extra time with family. We agree to the crawfish boil and think nothing of it again until we arrive in Alabama for the weekend. At dinner Friday night my mom mentions not having anything to wear on Sunday, I pause with a puzzled look and say, “It’s a crawfish boil, I am wearing a t-shirt and leggings”. Thankfully, my mom thinks quick on her feet and responds “Yes, but your aunt wants to take Easter pictures since you won’t be back in town”. Well that makes sense, so I also decided I needed to find something to wear!

Sunday rolls around and we are getting ready to go to my aunt’s house for lunch. My mom, (who is usually fashionably late to any event), comes and tells me goodbye and she’ll see me there. I tell Dom how confused I am as I figured we would all ride together. He shrugged it off as no big deal but at this point I decide I need to put some pep in my step because my family does NOT wait on you to eat! I hurry to get ready and out the door. We are a little over half way when my cousin calls to ask where in the world we were. This was actually because we were way ahead of schedule but, it makes me more anxious to get there so I tell Dom to speed up (he didn’t). We finally arrive and head inside, I notice no one was in the dining room eating which was odd since I fully assumed they would be eating without me especially after the call. I walk towards the back patio and notice some balloons, everyone is outside and my mom is holding her phone pointed directly at me. I ask Dom, “What is this?” and his response was “What do you think?” (the balloons included a giant engagement ring so yeah one could assume I knew). I kept going outside and look around the corner to notice all of my friends standing there (they had hidden their cars behind the shed so I had no clue). That is when it really hit me. I turned around to find Dom already down on one knee behind me. I was so in the moment I jumped when my cousin shot off a confetti popper. I said “Yes”, and we were able to have a mini engagement party to celebrate.

Dom not only remembered that I wanted our special day to include the ones closest to me, but he also pulled off the perfect surprise! He was somehow able to keep it all a secret despite having to get dressed up for “Easter pictures” (which turned out to be ENGAGEMENT pictures) and including my friends whom we were with all of Saturday night! It truly meant the world to me that he would go into such detail in planning the perfect engagement for us and it couldn’t have been a better way to start our journey to forever!

COUPLE: KASEY + KRYSTOFER
Engagement Date: 12.11.20
Wedding Date: 01.08.22
Their Story:
I would love to start this story with saying that I was never suspicious of anything, but then that just wouldn't be me! In the weeks leading up to our engagement night I had been working crazy hours and traveling quite a bit. Due to that I had decided that I wanted to do an all out date night! I absolutely love going out in downtown Mobile for literally everything that it offers so one night I got home and told Krystofer about the plans I was wanting to do. We would start the night out at one restaurant for appetizers, move on to another for entrees, another stop for desserts, grab a night cap somewhere, and then end our "tour of dauphin street" down at Mardi Gras park to see the Christmas tree. I was so excited for this and counting down the days. Here's where the suspicion comes in to play.. So one night while I'm expressing my excitement that we're just a week out, Krystofer suggests that we start our night at the Christmas tree instead of ending with it. He made valid reasons for the change so I didn't think too much about it, but the gears had started to turn. Fast forward a few more days, we're chilling getting ready for dinner, not talking about the date night and he mentions that he wants to get a bit more dressy for the occasion. I go into high alert at this point and prompt him for more information about what he was thinking of wearing, to which he responds that he is going to break out the khakis....here's where I entered full suspicion mode. Krystofer can definitely fall in to the category of a jeans person so this was an interesting choice. Moving on now, it's now date night! Looking back I can't believe he was able to keep his composure, once the day came I had dropped the majority of my suspicions with how relaxed he was acting. We get ready and head out. When we pulled up to our first stop, Mardi Gras Park, we park and begin walking up to the tree. I am totally distracted now as there were people spread out through the area and actually a photo shoot going on; very surprising. So we wait our turn and then finally get to enter in to the awesome tree light tunnel (pictures explain this better than words!) We walk through as we are getting ready to exit back out, he grabs my hand and when I turn around to find him down on one knee! Suspicions were all right but I still couldn't believe the moment. I was in so much disbelief in fact I apparently said "shut up!" before I was able to get out a "YES!" Again, pictures captured this moment all too perfect. While all this was going on, there was a photographer there snapping away at these classic moments; Krystofer had somehow timed it all just right to where there was a newspaper photographer down there doing a story! Wild! Somehow, there's still more too! Potentially the best part of the whole proposal moment was when I finally started to focus on things around me, our whole family came walking up to us, they had been watching from their cars across the park! Krystofer really outdid himself! I was and still am just so grateful for the amount of time and thought that he put in to making this night so perfect.

COUPLE: KAYLA + ETHAN
Engagement Date: 12.11.20
Wedding Date: 11.5.22
Their Story:
I met Ethan when I was 14 years old he moved in next door I knew his family previously through the school I went to but I never met him. I went to play Pokémon go with his brother and he tagged along. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him for the first time. He stole my number out his brothers phone and he became my best friend and hasn’t left my side since. I’m 19 now and he’s 21. I was his first girlfriend, first kiss and so on. We moved into our home two years ago. We’ve been inseparable since I was 14 years old. We now have a 7 month old daughter named Skylar Jade Farr.

COUPLE: KAYLA + CALEB
Engagement Date: 01.10.21
Wedding Date: 10.23.21
Their Story:
We were on vacation with my whole family in West Windsor, Vermont. This was my boyfriends first time flying on a plane, seeing snow, skiing, etc! That morning, we went to a Ski Rental near our Airbnb and skied till the afternoon. He kept falling, but finally got the hang of it haha!! When we got back to the Airbnb, he asked if I wanted to go on a hike, so of course I said yes. I made up some hot cocoa before, and then we went exploring just the two of us. We were talking about all the animal prints in the snow, and what they could be (I chose dinosaur prints). We got to a stopping point, and he held my freezing hands and told me how much he loved me, how appreciative he was for me, and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me and continue to grow together. He got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him which I of course said yes!! I have been hoping to marry this man for the past couple years so I was ecstatic! We then walked back to the Airbnb where my family was waiting (they didn’t know if he proposed or not). I hid the ring in my pocket, and waited until dinner time to give a toast about us getting engaged. They were all super excited & we celebrated for the rest of the night.

COUPLE: MADISON + JASON
Engagement Date: 12.30.20
Wedding Date: 04.23.22
Their Story:
We planned a trip for Gatlinburg, TN with my family and Jason's mom. Unfortunately, due to COVID Jason's mom wasn’t going to be able to make it down for Christmas and our annual Christmas vacation trip. We were both bummed but to our surprise (so I thought), Jason's mom showed up to dinner in Gatlinburg. After dinner, we rode up a ski lift to a place called Anakessta where we hiked what felt like a mile on a swinging bridge with the wind howling. Before Jason got down on one knee, he asked everyone “Are you ready” haha. In that moment, I knew it was happening and I answered the easiest question of my life, YES! I jokingly told him after he proposed, that I’m making him write his own vows and he has to ask the audience if they are ready lol.

COUPLE: MARY KATHERINE + HARVARD
Engagement Date: 04.12.20
Wedding Date: 11.06.21
Their Story:
We met at my good friend’s wedding in Alys Beach, so my now fiancé Harvard planned this huge proposal in Alys Beach. He hired a photographer, hired hair and make up for me, and our parents got rental houses to surprise me after he proposed on the green. He put in so much effort to make this happen with months of planning and inviting friends. However, this was in the midst of Covid and DeSantis put a rental ban the weekend before! It was scheduled for April 4th, 2020. His parents ordered over 100 cups with that date and location saying "they are engaged." Since the rentals were canceled he couldn't wait any longer and proposed at my apartment (I literally had wet hair and was in my pajamas). It truly was the sweetest most organic moment. Now we have 100 cups with the wrong date and place, but it’s something we will laugh about forever. At the end of the day the wedding is what matters, not the proposal!

We hope you enjoyed these stories as much as we have! Head on over to our Facebook page to vote for your favorite.

Til next time.

Cheers!

Sara's Wedding Trends for 2021

February 17, 2021

Hey y’all and welcome back to the blog! I wanted to take a second to reintroduce myself. My name is Sara and I am the Sales Manager here at SOHO Event Rentals! This week we are discussing some wedding trends that I feel like we will see in 2021! While every couple and every wedding is different, there are some details that are increasingly popular for this year.

Unexpected Colors and Patterns

As we head into this new year, I feel like unexpected colors and the use of patterns will be a trend we see in 2021. Over the past few years, neutral colors and tones have been popular, but I foresee a turn toward brighter colors and fun patterns that mirror the joy and happiness of a couples wedding day. Some of this can be inspired by one of the pantone colors of the year, Illuminating yellow. These colors can be incorporated into numerous wedding details, including; rentals, linens, florals, stationary, food and more.

Tented Events

With obstacles still posed by Covid-19, couples may continue to prefer outdoor spaces to allow for safe gatherings of their loved ones. Because of this, we expect a surge in interest in tent rentals. At SOHO we carry so many beautiful tents that will create a beautiful defined space for your wedding while remaining open and airy. In addition to the tent itself, I expect an increase in tent accessories, including; flooring, lighting, and draping. These accessories will contribute an intentional design aesthetic contributing to the beautiful design.

Individual/single serving foods

Another obstacle of the Covid-19 Pandemic was the need to eliminate self service meals such as buffets. Couples got creative in terms of meal service because of this and I feel we will continue to see this trend in 2021. I have loved seeing creative food displays that make individual servings both unique and fun. Miniature cakes or individual cheese boards are a fun way to still make a statement with your meal. I also love anything that is premade in a single serving container; individual shrimp cocktail, tacos, individual charcuterie boards and more. The creative options are endless.

Non Traditional days of the week

The combination of rescheduled weddings and new booking for 2021 has meant that Saturday dates book up quickly. Because of this, couples are turning to less traditional dates to celebrate their nuptials. I predict we will see an increase in Friday and Sunday weddings throughout 2021. I also feel we may see an increase in weddings being held earlier, such as brunch weddings.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of my favorite trends.

Til next time.

Cheers!

We're social, come join the party:

Annsley's Wedding Trends for 2021

30A Wine Festival ReWined

Tell Us Your Engagement Story - Finalists

Sara's Wedding Trends for 2021

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