Rachel & Preston | Donovan Manor

As Raleigh wedding planners who have executed dozens of weddings at Donovan Manor, we were SO excited to get an inquiry from Rachel and Preston for their wedding day. They already had their venue and an idea of a color palette, and they wanted to make it something that was unique and never seen before. We said “say less.”

Blue was important to the couple. Hiring a North Carolina wedding planner was important to them because they are both healthcare workers at UNC Chapel Hill. It felt like the perfect fit for a spring wedding against Donovan Manor’s ballroom. A blue wedding may seem common these days, but we were excited to turn this color palette into something with a unique twist.

Planning an Indoor Wedding Around Spring Weather

Rachel and Preston joke that every milestone of their relationship is impacted by rain. So, with a little bit of superstition, they decided to host the wedding completely indoors. Rain and weather is the toughest part of being a wedding planner, because we can’t control it! But we were ready to build an event that flowed nicely for them and their guests. Therefore, we took the risk of bad weather out of the equation. We get it, spring weather in North Carolina can definitely be unpredictable!

A Ceremony with a Garden View

Donovan Manor is one of the most popular wedding venues in Raleigh because it has a beautiful rose garden for ceremonies. Therefore, we decided to honor that element by letting it be a backdrop through the grand windows in the ballroom. For the reception, we decided to do a “flip” during cocktail hour. The complicating factor was that the couple wanted a band for their reception. The reception and ceremony both took place in the ballroom. That meant we needed to get creative to find a way to properly conceal the stage. We didn’t want it to be an eyesore during the ceremony!

Donovan Manor Reception Flip made possible with Draping

After lots of floor planning, measurements, and number crunching, we landed on my favorite solution: draping! We used a beautiful cornflower blue pipe and draping to create a wide “aisle” that concealed the stage and allowed us to have reception tables prepped behind the scenes, making for a quick and efficient flip.

When the ceremony was over, we had negotiated with the rental company to stick around and take the draping down during the flip, thus truly transforming the space to feel like two different guest experiences.

Floral Design: bringing in blues without hydrangeas

The ceremony design turned out beautifully. Again, we wanted it to be unique, so we came up with fresh ideas that weren’t just redoing the same old blue and white wedding. Even better, the bride said she wanted blue, but she doesn’t like hydrangeas. That instantly made it more unique, since we had to get creative with the florals we chose to build this look.

The aisle was lined with all blue stock and delphinium boxes. The altar featured a double sided half moon arch with a grounded meadow surrounding the couple in a unique ombre of blue to white. The aisle starters incorporated more white, with pops of blue tulip to tie in the deep blues on the altar. The couple loved the grand windows in the ballroom so much that we drew guests’ eyes to them by adorning them with green vines.

A cocktail hour turns into Coffee Hour!

The cocktail hour was also very fun to design! The couple jokes that their relationship is fueled by coffee because one of them works the night shift. So we transformed half of the cocktail hour into a “coffee hour,” where we sourced a custom espresso cart from Arbor Coffee Co. We created a cozy zone for guests to relax as if they were in their favorite coffee shop, and had a custom coffee shop logo created and printed onto coffee mugs for guests to take home as a favor.

The coffee shop logo featured cute little raccoons (I know, I was surprised when they asked!) The groom jokes that as a night shift nurse, he is nocturnal like a raccoon! LOL, we love it. Why not! The coffee mug display also served as an escort display, with each mug tagged with the guest’s name and their table assignment.

Dinner and Dancing on clouds at Donovan Manor

When it came time for dinner, guests entered into Donovan Manor’s ballroom to find a space set up for dinner and dancing. The room was split into two sections. Dinner had a unique zig zag pattern, as the bride had requested a unique seating arrangement so it felt fun rather than too structured or corporate. The tables featured BBJ La Tavola linens with embroidery and various shades of blue. The place settings created texture with pearl accents and unique geometric and floral patterns across the tables.

Dancing came after dinner. The bride and groom started the evening with a choreographed dance on a fog filled dance floor. This wow factor definitely made for amazing photos and added to the whimsy the couple was excited about! Rather than a traditional dance floor, they wanted to feel like they were floating on clouds.

A Donovan Manor Wedding we loved <3

It was such an honor to serve Rachel and Preston for their special day. We absolutely loved planning their private estate wedding at one of North Carolina’s favorite venues. Wishing them both all the best!!

Are you planning a private estate wedding in North Carolina? We’d love to be your wedding planner.

Vendor Team:

Wedding Planning and Design: Significant Events

Photography and Videography: The Chase Collective

Wedding Florals: Heritage Florals

Stationery, Paper Goods, and Favors: Let’s Revel

Rentals: American Party Rentals

Linens: BBJ La Tavola

Band: East Coast Entertainment

Audio and Special Effects: DJ Rang

Coffee Cart: Arbor Coffee Co

Catering: Donovan’s Dish