Bright Ideas



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Bright Ideas | Amber Crowe & Kevin Kelley; September 22, 2006, The William Aiken House

“Nothing about my personality is understated,” laughs Amber Crowe as she explains the approach behind her nuptials to Kevin Kelley, where bold color and unchecked whimsy reigned supreme. “I knew I didn’t want anything traditional except the white dress,” says the New Bern, North Carolina, resident. To help materialize the one-of-a-kind event, Amber sought out the talents of Gathering Floral + Event Design’s Heather Barrie-Ahern. With the bride’s direction to steer clear of subtle and her chosen color scheme of bright orange, lime green, and hot pink, Heather transformed The William Aiken House into a spectacle of audacious swaths of fabric, splashy centerpieces and florals, and coordinating design elements. Every detail of the evening—from the table linens to the cake—conspired to render exactly the vivid, dynamic atmosphere Amber had hoped for. “The ambience was fantastic. Heather knew I wanted fun, colorful, and unique, but since I live in North Carolina, I really had to give her the reins. She took my guidelines and ran with them perfectly,” she says. But the best part for Amber? Winning over her skeptical groom. “At first Kevin wasn’t on board at all with the bright colors and whimsical motifs, so him being so impressed and happy with the end results was such a reward.”

The Wedding Row

May 9 2019
Morning, lovelies! Boy, do we have one for you today. But before we get into all the goodness, let’s get acquainted with the stars of the show … A meet-cute at a mutual friend’s birthday...

May 8 2019
Some brides just have such a knack for talking about their Big Day that we have to let you hear their own words on the matter. So it is with Angelia, who wed her now-husband Bobby at Old Wide Awake...

May 7 2019
We’ve heard our fair share of wedding day blooper stories here at The Wedding Row, but this may be the first time we’ve heard of the bride’s wedding band falling through the cracks of a rooftop deck...

May 7 2019
Amanda got an early gift the year Zach walked into her pre-birthday celebration with a couple of their mutual friends. The two Wilmington, North Carolina, dwellers hit it off immediately, and nearly...

May 3 2019
Spring is in full swing here in the Lowcountry—in fact, it feels more like summer outside—so we’re celebrating this first Friday in May by sharing an appropriately colorful shoot. Event planning...

May 2 2019
It’s not often that we get to talk about farm life here at The Wedding Row, so we’re especially excited to share the story behind today’s engagement shoot. Emma and Blake, who live in Nebraska but...

May 1 2019
When Mike swiped right on Ryan on OkCupid, he inadvertently created their future wedding hashtag: #MikeSwipedRy. And thank goodness these two found each other, because their wedding just goes to show...

April 30 2019
Good morning, Wedding Row-ers! Pour yourself a big cup of coffee (or is it Tea-day Tuesday?) and get ready to dive into one seriously gorgeous post, if we do say so ourselves. Cayleigh Hopkins of The...