Jenna and Shawn

 

The Ultimate Southern Bride & Groom Wedding

<< Previous Stop Play > Next >>

April 23, 2011

Jenna Parks and Shawn Olender met through mutual friends around the time they were both moving to New York City. The two enjoyed the romance of discovering the big apple together over a “long-distance” relationship between Brooklyn and Queens. In 2009, the couple moved to Jenna’s hometown of Durham, NC, so she could  partner with her mother, Donna Parks, the founder of Southern Bride & Groom.

Although Shawn is from New York, his Upstate small-town background had him well-prepared for the transition of moving to the South. The pair bought a house, got engaged over a hike in Hanging Rock State Park, and began preparing for the ultimate Southern Bride & Groom wedding!

Jenna and Donna knew a lot about Triangle weddings, but they knew that they couldn’t do it all themselves, and enlisted the help of Barbara Clark of An Elegant Affair to help iron out all of the planning details. Jenna says, “Barbara’s calming nature helped ease the way through the process and her team was amazing during the wedding weekend.”

Bay 7 was the perfect ceremony and reception site, with its urban feel that Jenna and Shawn had grown to love in their city days. It also gave them a proud feeling that they could show their New York friends and family such a special piece of Durham’s history and future.

The team that assembled the room and décor for the big day could not have done a more incredible job of bringing Jenna’s vision of a sunny spring feeling to fruition. Floral Dimensions created a stunning altar look in the loft, using forsythia. “Next to seeing Shawn, my favorite moment of the wedding was when I walked in with my dad and saw the flowers – they took my breath away,” says Jenna. The reception had a more elegant feel, adding on to the vibrant yellow, the element of silver linens, china and chiavari chairs from American Party Rentals. The décor was set off by the lighting effects created by Island Sound.

A “New York to North Carolina” theme was created with the invitations that Paperwhites designed with original drawing of the Lucky Strike Tower and the Brooklyn Bridge- original sketches by a friend of the couple’s. The theme continued at the wedding with tables named various NYC neighborhoods and NC towns. LipService Contemporary Catering ran with the theme as well, providing several Southern appetizers such as deviled eggs, mini BLT tartlets, Cajun tuna on skillet corn cakes, and poached pear and chicken sausage skewers. The salad was topped off with fresh locally-grown strawberries and goat cheese from Celebrity Dairy Farms. Dinner featured items such as barbeque shrimp and cornbread-stuffed chicken breast with tomato jam. Guests raved about the food for months. “You often hear that the bride & groom don’t eat their meal at a wedding, but we made sure to eat every bite,” said Shawn. The food frenzy did not stop with the dinner though- guests were treated to lemon cream raspberry puree and chocolate cappuccino flavored couture cake designed by Sweet Memories Bakery.

The bride wore an Amy Kuschel gown from Lana Addison Bridal. The feather flower accent on the bodice was complimented by the vintage earrings and hair piece from Bel Canto Designs. Custom-designed Butter shoes by Simply Soles in yellow added a flash of sass to the look. The bridesmaids and mother of the bride wore gowns from Alexia’s Bridal Boutique with hand-crafted jewelry from Silverland Jewelry & Gifts. The men wore charcoal gray tuxes from Bernard’s Formalwear.

The mood of the evening was complimented by the music, something that was very important to the couple. As guests entered the ceremony, they enjoyed beautiful classic music by Elegant Violin Duets. A singer all her life, Jenna enlisted the help of friends to sing two songs during the ceremony as well. During the cocktail hour and dinner, John Brown’s Jazz Trio performed the highest quality music with his jazz trio. After dinner, Ryan Pflumm of Spin got the party started and the crowd danced the night away- between trips to the ShutterBooth. Each photo-strip that the guests received had the couple’s personal Lucky Strike logo.

Other special things that the bridal party enjoyed over the wedding weekend included a bridesmaid lunch at the University Club at the top of Durham’s University Tower, a beautiful and delicious rehearsal dinner at Parizade, followed by an after-party at East End Wine Bar, a trip to Bella Trio Day Spa for hair & makeup. The men got ready at the Durham Marriott, where most of the guests stayed, and the ladies got ready at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club.

As you can see from the photographs on this page, the ShutterBooth was not the only photographic element to the event. “Dara Blakeley Photography captured every moment of the event and was a joy to be around on my special day,” Jenna says, “And I am so grateful that we decided to hire a videographer, because the day flew by and I am so thankful to have both still photography and videography from which to remember my day.” Below, enjoy the teaser video by Southern Video Design. An extended trailer can be found on the Inspirations Page.

Jenna & Shawn Wedding Sneak Peak from Jenna Parks Olender on Vimeo.

Wedding Consultant: Barbara Clark, An Elegant Affair
Bridal Luncheon: University Club
Rehearsal Dinner: Parizade
Ceremony & Reception: Bay 7, American Tobacco Campus
Minister: Reverend Robin Renteria
Caterer: Lip Service Contemporary Catering
Wine: The Country Vintner
Beer: FullSteam Brewery
Photographer: Dara Blakeley Photography
Videographer: Southern Video Design
Bridal Gown: Amy Kuschel, Lana Addison Bridal
Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Lynn Lugo, Alexia’s Bridal Boutique
Mother of the Bride: Nicole Miller, Alexia’s Bridal Boutique
Men’s Formalwear: Bernard’s Formalwear
Florist: Floral Dimensions
Décor Items: Table of Contents
Cake & cookies: Sweet Memories Bakery
Invitations: Paperwhites
Calligrapher: Calligraphy by Carrie
Ceremony Musicians: Elegant Violin Duets; Jenna’s alumni co-members of the UNC Loreleis a cappella group; Former Clef Hanger and accompaniment friend
Reception Musicians: John Brown Entertainment Group- jazz trio
Reception Music: Ryan Pflumm, Spin
Linens & Rentals:  American Party Rentals
Lighting: Island Sound
Transportation: Thorpe’s Inc.
Guest Accommodations: Durham Marriott Convention Center
Bridal Accommodations & Bridal Suite: Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club
Hair & Make-Up: Jodi Galeazzo, Bella Trio Day Spa
Hair & Make-Up for Wedding Party: Bella Trio Day Spa
Bridal Jewelry: Bel Canto Designs
Bridesmaid Jewelry & Purse: Silverland Jewelry & Gifts
Bride’s Shoes: Butter custom-designed by SimplySoles
Wedding Favors: ShutterBooth
Floral Preservation: Victorian Seasons

---

Back to Real Weddings