Our Wedding: Finding the Perfect Venue & Wedding Planner

Right up there on the importance scale with the dress, is your Wedding venue!
True story, Russ and I booked another venue and changed it once we laid eyes on Board & Batten. Let me also add we planned our wedding in three months so finding a venue was already a challenge on that short of notice. We also decided on a June 22nd date, which if you are familiar with Southern Summer’s it could be hotter than hell! Our original plan was at a golf course, having both our ceremony and reception outdoors….are we crazy?! Yes, the answer was yes and I was already stressed that 1. it would be so hot and 2. we didn’t have a great backup plan for weather.

Our wedding planner, Ashley Cash from The Graceful Host (I’ll go more into detail on how amazing she is below), was touring this brand new wedding venue that just happened to open their doors a few months before our wedding date. Board & Batten! Ashley was sharing this venue tour on her Insta stories and my mouth literally dropped. I messaged her immediately and asked if they had June 22nd available? Sure enough, they had availability and to top it off we were one of the very first people to be married on this property, how cool is that!

The second we walked into Board & Batten there was no question that this would be the place we wanted to get married. From the moment we met the Board & Batten team, they made us feel like family. Hospitality is certainly at their heartbeat! Board & Batten blends rustic charm with modern-day sophistication. They only host one event a day, so it’s an all-inclusive event space that was designed and built to handle all of your needs. I instantly fell in love with the pine wood herringbone detail and the modern floor to ceiling windows surrounding the property. The natural light is everything in this space, even in the bridal suite. The attention to detail was perfection. It is dream venue to say the least.

Hands down THE best wedding venue in North Carolina, no question!

I mean look at this venue…

If you’re like me and are completely smitten over this wedding design, it’s thanks to our wedding planner, Ashley Cash from The Graceful Host. I realized quickly that planning a wedding by ourselves in three months was not a task I wanted to take on alone. I’m a very hands on, DIY kind of girl by nature. I often put together events and photoshoots for a living but when it came to our own wedding day, I knew we needed to hire experts! A wedding planner is an absolute must ladies. Our day went off without a hitch thanks to Ashley Cash! We both said after that we felt so calm and relaxed during our day and that was 100% thanks to Ashely for making sure everything was so seamless, start to finish.

I had a handful of meetings with local wedding planners and I think the most important thing when deciding on a wedding planner is finding someone you instantly click with. I’m a very laid back kind of girl and I needed someone who shared the same energy as me. I didn’t want to feel someone else’s stress on our wedding day and Ashley couldn’t have been more cool, calm and collected! However, when it comes to her work ethic, she is a power house and organized beyond belief. A rare combination to find to be honest! With every meeting and interaction Ashley exuded confidence in her ability to make this day the best possible day. We had her full attention at all times and when questions and concerns came up, Ashley made this three month planning process completely stress free!

I trusted her so much so that I let her book some of our wedding vendors! Being in the wedding industry she works with so many talented vendors and I knew her expertises would be key to book vendors that fit our vision, bringing it to life. For example, our florist. Have you seen these flowers, I mean WOW…that was all Ashley. She knew Melanie from New Creations Flowers was the right girl for the job, as we were looking for unique and out of the box ideas!

When it came to wedding morning, I was surrounded by my friends and family, listening to my favorite playlist without a worry in my mind. It was one of the most calming and peaceful mornings I could have hoped for and I’m forever grateful to Ashley for creating that full service experience, start to finish.

Photography by Breathe J Photography