The Latest News from the Wedding Scene

Unwind with day-of yoga, Brawley House expands, the Ritz offers tea, and how to go vintage

June 17, 2011

Retro Rentals
Last March, Katie Dowens and Jill Curione of The Charmed Event launched the Charmed Prop Shop, an antique furniture and décor rental service that lets you transform any space into elegant vintage ambience. You can style your lawn ceremony with 1950s club chairs, put your cake on an antique vanity, place your centerpiece flowers in old-fashioned mason jars, or even surround the dance floor with shabby-chic rocking chairs. Plus, antique furniture makes for a charmingly vintage engagement session. The online catalogue on charmedpropshop.com launches in late June, so after you’re finished browsing, pick up your items from the Lake Norman warehouse (or have them delivered), and enjoy the old-fashioned touches.  By appointment only. charmedpropshop.com

Warrior Pose
Because it’s hard to fit in a massage the day of your wedding, brides are making time to hit their yoga mats on the morning of the Big Day at home instead. Schedule an appointment with a personal instructor from Y2 Yoga, who will arrange an in-home visit for a few hours before you say “I do”—the one-hour session will calm your nerves and energize you for your wedding day. A $75 one-hour lesson covers up to six people, so you can keep it solo or invite the bridesmaids. You can also escape to Y2’s breezy, ultra-Zen studio in Cotswold. 280 S. Sharon Amity Rd., 704-456-9642, y2yoga.com

Estate Edition
Mooresville’s turn-of-the-century Brawley House added another rustic touch to its wooded, twenty-three-acre estate. A new barn modeled after the white Victorian house itself and its exquisitely large wraparound porch will be able to hold more than 300 guests for a standing reception. You can hold your ceremony in the courtyard and send your guests inside for dinner and dancing under the barn’s hanging chandeliers, or set up tents for an outdoor reception. Cost is $60 per person and includes eleven-hour access to the house for bridal party prep and cocktail hour, the barn, and in-house catering.  601 Williams St., Mooresville, 704-664-7964, charlottebanquethall.com

Tea Time
Upgrade your bridal luncheon or bachelorette party by a full eighteen floors with an Afternoon Tea at the Ritz-Carlton. For $42 a person, you can choose where in the hotel you’d like your tea time, meaning you can have your guests sipping chamomile in the lush Urban Garden, or Darjeeling in the lounge of Urban Sip. You can also customize your menus, choosing from savory noshes like scones with lemon curd and grilled portobello mushrooms with goat cheese pesto. To make it an extra-precious afternoon, have the staff serve up items that match your wedding colors.  201 E. Trade St., 704-547-2244, ritzcarlton.com