Carolina Wedding Design

I was worried how everything was going to turn out. Thankfully everything was totally amazing. I've never
Attended a more perfect wedding thanks to Heather and all she did. A plus. She really knows what she's doing and is extremely professional.

Heather,
Carol and I want to thank you and your staff for performing beyond our expectations from the
planning phase throughout out the wedding and evening celebration. The schedule of events could
not have been executed more smoothly and perfectly. Thank you for providing our daughter Ashley with your personal touch throughout the entire experience. You were a major part of this special event and certainly made the experience a memorable one. We would not hesitate to recommend you and your firm to any interested parties in the future. We hope we can see you again upon our return to Charlotte...
Your the Best..
Love, Regards and Thanks from the Borello's

Carolina Wedding Design helped make my wedding planning seamless from Day 1. My planner, Heather, was both professional and courteous. Heather's attention to detail and precision put me at ease as we planned my dream day. Not being a native to Charlotte, I trusted Heather's expert advise and experience as questions arose in the planning process. Heather quickly learned my taste and "vision" so that she could help execute the perfect day. My wedding was not just a party, it was truly an event that impressed everyone who attended. Heather's relationships with other vendors helped ensure that wedding day went on exactly as planned. All of my family's wishes and concerns were addressed by Heather. I feel honored to be a CWD bride, and I don't know how I would have done it without Heather!

The best decision I ever made during the course of planning our wedding was to hire Carolina Wedding Design and Cortenay Matters. Shortly after I became engaged, I relocated 600 miles from my hometown of Charlotte to be closer to my fiance. While this could be a little nerve wracking for any bride, Cortenay kept me organized, relaxed, and on top of things. She is talented, creative and made all of my hopes and dreams for my wedding come to life while still helping me make responsible choices regarding our budget. She was involved in every aspect of planning, from negotiating vendor contracts to helping me choose the perfect dress. On the day of the wedding, she greeted me bright and early in my suite to make sure I was as relaxed as possible for my big day and she made sure the night went smoothly and that I was able to enjoy every minute - from bringing me my sandals when my feet were tired from dancing to making sure that I always had a drink in my hand. I didn't have to worry about any of the business that comes along with wedding planning on my wedding day and I was able to relax and know that everything would be perfect at the reception. All weddings have hiccups and little things that go wrong during the day - but if you hire Carolina Wedding Design you won't know it. At least not until you get back from your honeymoon and have time to chat and debrief! And that feeling is priceless!

As the "father of the bride", my involvement picked up in intensity down the stretch. Our daughter Jessica was more involved with Heather throughout the process (over several months) than my wife and I were. As the weekend approached..and as all of the details had to be finalized..I was in contact with Heather quite a bit.

We coudln't have been more pleased. She is truly a "pro's pro" and her advice and counsel to our daughter Jessica was invaluable. In addition to the professional side of our relationship, she became a family friend. We recommend her with the utmost confidence that others would be equally as pleased.

John and Donata Phillips

I can't say enough positive things about Heather, Cortenay and Carolina Wedding Design. They exceeded my expectations in every respect and helped make my wedding day gorgeous, classy, seamless, and stress-free. Heather was always very responsive and as my mom said "worth her weight in gold". She incorporated all of my must haves, but at the same time provided great advice and recommendations. Her personal touches, especially on the design front, made my wedding one of a kind. CWD's vendor contacts were all great and I had no complaints - from the officiant, photographer, DJ, ceremony musician, and florist. The industry connections are a big plus because it saves time, money and the headache of doing your own research. Looking back, I can't imagine planning my wedding without Heather and Carolina Wedding Design. Heather is not only an awesome planner but the utmost professional, and most importantly, a great friend. I highly recommend CWD!

I honestly cannot say enough wonderful things about Heather Bryson! Having Heather be a part of my wedding day was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Working with Heather allowed me to be calm and relaxed and enjoy the process. She made everything SO easy and a lot of fun. I really feel that she went above and beyond to make sure that my day was amazing. She is super organized and has a great relationship with like every vendor you meet. Everything turned out so beautiful and better than my wildest dreams!!

Let me open my letter by saying that my wedding day was the absolute best day of my life. Carolina Wedding Design, and specifically Cortenay Matters, had everything to do with making that day magical, and completely stress-free. As a Project Manager at a large financial institution here in Charlotte, I am very focused on both the details, and flawless execution of any initiative on which I am working. I also have pretty high expectations, and am not always easy to please. Cortenay’s attention to detail, her creative touches, and unmatched communication and organizational skills impressed me, and gave me the confidence to fully put the planning into her hands. I was able to just relax and enjoy that very special engagement period with my husband.

One of the things I loved about working with Cortenay was the fact that she gave me “Type A” personality results, but delivered them with a “Type B” kind of calm. Cortenay was always tee’ing up my wedding chores for the week, and sending me gentle reminders about what deliverables were around the corner. She never let us slip off of our timeline, but she did this all with a composed, relaxed demeanor. She was such a joy to work with!

The theme of our wedding reception was “Romantic English Garden,” and was held at my now husband’s private residence. The décor was absolutely outstanding, and Cortenay pulled it all off in less than 4 months (from planning to execution). My favorite touches included the vintage books that Cortenay ordered as part of our center pieces. She selected works that represented our education, travel experiences, and hobbies. She also hung delicate bird cages on a few of the trees in the backyard near the tent and had the florist fill them with roses and peonies. It was so beautiful. Our wedding guests were most complimentary of the wedding details, and I heard from many friends/family members that it was the best wedding that they had ever attended.

Furthermore, the vendors that Cortenay helped me select were top-notch, and because of her established relationships, I also received discounts for their services. Since we condensed our wedding planning from the normal 12 months, down to just 4, this was obviously a pretty hectic time for us. I can’t tell you what a benefit it was to be able to interface with only one main contact (Cortenay) vs. having to coordinate separately with our florist, photographer, cake baker, rentals rep, DJ, caterer, make-up artist, church coordinator, bridal shop, etc. My husband has said that hiring CWD was the best money we ever spent, and he wishes he could have “a Cortenay” to help manage the other major projects in our lives!

In closing, I would just like to say a heartfelt “thank you” to Cortenay and Carolina Wedding Design. I will always look back on June 8th (wedding day) with such joy and happiness, and I am ever grateful to Cortenay for her sage advice, hard work, and for caring about our big day as much as we did.

Katherine Jones Moore

My husband and I worked with Cortenay to plan our dream wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina. When we first became engaged I had felt that I would be able to take care of the wedding myself without the help of a wedding planner. After talking with my mother, we decided that hiring a wedding planner couldn't hurt and we made the decision to hire Carolina Wedding Design. It was by far the best decision I made throughout the entire wedding process.

I cannot begin to explain how amazing and talented Cortenay is at her job. She took care of everything and made the whole wedding planning process an actual joy. As much as I loved working with her during the whole wedding planning process, I have to say that her services during the days surrounding and including the wedding were invaluable. I am a very high strung individual and had already accepted that I would most likely be freaking out on the day of the wedding with whatever issues would arise. I could not have been more wrong. I was more relaxed on my wedding day than I am on a day to day basis! I knew after over a year of working with Cortenay that she could handle anything that happened and she did. Everything was flawless and I did not have to worry about one little thing the entire day. Not to mention that everything we had worked on turned out beautifully and that our wedding was a huge hit with all our guests!

I could go on and on about how it would be a huge mistake not to choose Carolina Wedding Design as your wedding planner but I will stop here! I HIGHLY recommend you do yourself a huge favor and pick them though :-D

Hiring Carolina Wedding Design was the best decision my husband and I made during our entire wedding process. We knew Cortenay and Heather were amazing planners due to a friend's recommendation and flawless wedding that they had planned. What we were not expecting was how much attention was paid to every detail of our wedding and how much less stressed we were immediately after hiring them. Cortenay and Heather truly took the time to know us during the process, as evident our event was beautiful and uniquely "us." The big day was perfect and relaxing. With the expertise of Carolina Wedding Design my husband and I were able to enjoy the best day of our lives without a worry.

Carolina Wedding Design is more than just a company...they are family, your confidant, and friend through the entire wedding planning process. They really care about their brides and take time to get to know you personally to make sure your wedding is catered to what you like.
I cannot imagine planning my wedding without Cortenay Matters! She made the process so painless and REALLY fun! All of the stress of planning a wedding never phased me because I completely trusted Cortenay and the Carolina Wedding Design team. Hands down best experience possible! They go above and beyond and I would recommend them to any bride! They are the BEST in Charlotte and made my fairy tale wedding come true!!!

Hiring Heather Bryson and Cortenay Matters with Carolina Wedding Design was THE ABSOLUTE best decision my fiance' and I ever made when it came to our wedding! After getting engaged and starting the process of planning our wedding, we thought we could save money and plan it ourselves. That thought lasted about 5 minutes. I was completely overwhelmed and didn't have a clue where to start. So, we looked into hiring a wedding planner, met with a few, and just completely clicked with these two women. These girls know what they are doing!!! I trusted them so much that I was willing to just show up that day and get married. Her vision and creativity for our multi-cultural wedding was second to none. I cannot say enough good things about CWD...not to mention, they saved us thousands of dollars in the process! We worked mostly with Heather, who is just a doll! We had a blast every time we got together to do wedding stuff. Seriously, if you are engaged and planning the most UNFORGETTABLE day of your life, CWD can take your dreams to the next level. I cannot imagine our wedding without them. They will always be a part of our life! BEST MONEY EVER SPENT! hands down. So happy to be able to write a review on their behalf. THANK you CWD! Love you girls!

Heather thought of details that we never would have thought of. She was adept at keeping the event moving at a great pace. Such a pleasure to work with. Amazing job!

Hands down, the best first decision my husband and I made together after we got engaged was to hire Heather Bryson to plan and coordinate our local wedding. We chose the full service package and cut back in other areas of our budget to accomodate because we knew we wanted someone other than our mothers (and us) to "stress" over all of the details so that we could just enjoy the experience. Never once did I see Heather seem stressed over anything and it freed us all up to focus on the things we really wanted to. For that alone, Heather and her team were worth more than what we paid. We had peace of mind the entire time that everything would turn our great, and it truly was beyond our expectations. Kirk and I highly highly recommend the full service package, but at minimum the mend-the-end service. You won't regret it for a second. Heather did everything she possibly could to make sure Kirk and I had the best experience leading up to the wedding and on the day of, and we couldn't be more thankful. Aside from all of that, we definitely benefited from vendor discounts and favors because of Heather! Worth every penny.

Heather was amazing to work with. We started planning our wedding long distance, and once I finally moved to Charlotte, I was extremely busy in my new job as a physician. Heather did EVERYTHING in her power to coordinate and maximize the productivity of the time we could actually work on the wedding. I cannot recommend Heather enough - she is PERFECT for the busy bride who has limited time for wedding planning. She utilizes your time efficiently, turning even car rides into productive meetings. She understands when things come up and you're busy. Heather quickly and easily grasped what was important to us in our wedding day, so I could completely trust her with our vision. It allowed me to focus on my family, my friends, my fiance, and my job. And, I got to relax and enjoy the wedding itself and the creativity of our vendors without managing anything - because Heather was already doing that! And our wedding was MORE amazing than I could have imagined it.

Heather also had amazing contacts and helped us get top notch vendors. But she wasn't limited to what she already knew, she's willing to be flexible and try different things to make her bride and groom (and mother of the bride) happy. We actually went with a fabulous venue that she hadn't worked with previously. Additionally, she was a great resource when we had trouble making our decisions. She never pushed her opinions - instead, she'd thoughtfully reflect back comments we'd made and helped us make decisions based on what we had already told her about our vision for the wedding.

Finally, Heather is a great person, a great friend, and a great human being. I don't think she's ever met a stranger. My entire, VERY crazy family loved her. She's extremely personable and made the entire process very fun. On one of our more crazy wedding planning days, Heather made a point to pull over and help out when we witnessed a car wreck on - proof that Heather's generous and kind spirit isn't just an act - it is who she is.

Cortenay Matters, a partner of Carolina Wedding Design, was our wedding coordinator for my daughter's wedding. As the mother of the bride, I can say that she is an absolute pleasure to work with. She is professional, detail oriented, listens to your ideas and vision for your wedding, will bend over backwards to fulfill them, and will guide you and make suggestions if you need some ideas. She keeps you on track with timing and budget, is always upbeat and genuinely excited about your wedding and devotes 100% of her attention to you, especially in the 2 weeks before your date, finalizing all the last minute details. Cortenay truly takes all the worries "off your plate", handles everything you wish her to handle, and keeps the whole experience positive and happy. The vendors she recommends are excellent and that alone is a relief knowing that those people are known by her and will do a good job for you. As a mother of the bride who really wanted to enjoy the whole wedding planning experience, I do not think I could have coordinated such a beautiful, elegant wedding without her expertise. Many days she kept me sane and worry free, and that to me is priceless! I would highly recommend Cortenay Matters and Carolina Wedding Design.

With my busy schedule and being relatively new to Charlotte we thought it would be good to hire a wedding coordinator. From the minute we met Cortenay we knew she would make our wedding special but I honestly had no idea how amazing it would turn out thanks to all of her hard work. We described to Cortenay what type of wedding we wanted in the beginning and from then on she exceeded all of my expectations. She has an incredibly positive, calm and upbeat personality which when combined with her professional business savvy ways makes her the answer to every brides prayers. She has great contacts in the industry and you know when you hire them you are getting the best of the best. Because of Cortenay I was able to have the wedding of my dreams while staying within budget at the same time. She helped us through every step of the wedding planning process and was even more priceless in the month leading up to my wedding. She went above and beyond in every aspect. I can not even begin to describe how reassured I felt knowing that she was handling all of the final details of the wedding, meeting with vendors to make sure everything was on schedule, and at the same time being such a wonderful friend to us with all of her love and support. Throughout the process she has become someone that is like family to us. Not a day goes by that I don't think back to how wonderful my wedding day was. It was everything I ever wanted and more thanks to Cortenay.

CWD and Heather were FANTASTIC. Heather planned my entire wedding. She took my words and thoughts and turned them into an amazing wedding ceremony and reception. My husband and I had so much fun at the wedding and its all thanks to Heather!! CWD has great relationships and strong work ethic, which made the planning process seamless. Thanks again CWD!

Wow were to begin to express how we feel about the amazing job that Heather did for our daughters wedding. From the first time that we met we felt so comfortable with her and already felt as though the stress had been lifted. The whole process of planning the wedding was so much fun, and we feel like Heather always was very professional, understanding, and gave us honest and great advice, she always listened to our opinions and guided us as made our choices. Always a pleasure to work with her. We were even more than happy when the "Big Day" arrived, everything went so smooth and in fact we think that the day from beginning to end was PERFECT!!! Thank you Heather for giving our daughter a true "Fairy Tale Wedding".

CWD made my daughter's wedding a fairy tell that surpassed even our expectations. No one likes the expenses that are associated with wedding these days but Heather and Courtney brought great value for the entire experience.

Carolina Wedding Design made this the most wonderful day imaginable. It was definitely the right choice in choosing CWD for the planning and implementing of our daughter's wedding. Everything was perfect from the first day we started working with Cortenay Matters through the end of the evening of the reception.
Cortenay listened to what our daughter wanted on her special day and made it come true. CWD is fabulous and we could not have done it without them. Thank you for making this day one we will never forget.
Wayne and Kathy Johnson

Carolina Wedding Design provided us with the wedding of my daughter's dreams!!!! Heather was a dream to work with..her vision, knowledge, organization, and communication made planning our daughter's wedding both FUN and stress free! When we first met with Courtney and Heather, we were immediately impressed and put at ease. These girls work with the motto "Get the most bang for your buck!"

Two of the best decisions that we made for the wedding were #1 choosing to have a wedding planner and #2 deciding to work with Cortenay Matters from Carolina Wedding Design. When we first met Cortenay we knew immediately that she was the right fit for us. The reason we chose Cortenay was because she had a great personality, lots of energy, full of ideas, very professional, and seemed very determined to keep us on budget : ) When me & my now husband first started working with her a little over a year ago we knew we wanted the wedding to have a modern feel, be lots of fun, and have great food. Cortenay pretty much took it from there. Her relationships and connections with vendors were great. Wedding day was amazing. One of the things we were apprehensive about initially was the idea of a "reception style" reception with food stations but we knew we could trust Cortenay so we stuck with the idea and I'm so glad we did. It was a hit. Everyone commented on how amazing the food selection was and how much fun they had. The dance floor stayed full the entire night. We had so many guests coming up to us commenting on how impressed they were with our planner and the CWD team. (Their attention to detail, timeliness, professionalism). And all we have to say is "that's our Cortenay". So a big thanks to Cortenay Matters and Carolina Wedding Design for a stress free year and a Wonderful Wedding Day!!

xoxo,
Talisha & Brian

LOVE LOVE LOVE you guys! I had great service from Heather Bryson, and I feel like we became great friends! The only reason they didn't get a 5.0 is because of my schedule mixed with Heather's schedule sometimes didn't work out. But I feel like Heather went above and beyond on me and my hubby's wedding and I wouldn't have been able to do any of it without her. She made me and the entire wedding party feel comfortable and relaxed all day long! I'm so grateful for all of the hard work of Heather and her team! Thank you Carolina Wedding Design for making my wedding day amazing!!

Heather was great to work with, she was very creative, knowledgable about what would work and what wouldn't work and had great relationships with vendors (which led to some discounts!).

We had our dream wedding and she helped bring our vision to life, I would definitely recommend Carolina Wedding Design for planning your wedding!

CWD is professional and creative. They base decisions on a combination of client needs/wants and their knowledge of what works. The entire planning process of 18months went smoothly and the day of the wedding, the CWD team was outstanding. Many of our guests mentioned the attention to detail that made our wedding just perfect. We couldn't have asked for a better firm to work with!

A close friend referred my family to Carolina Wedding Design when I got engaged last summer. We could not have been happier! We selected the “Marry Me” package and would not have known what to do without Heather Bryson. She went above and beyond with everything and made our wedding the most incredible/STRESS FREE day of our lives. I would tell Heather an idea and she would pull it together with detail in such a way that I could never have imagined. We were engaged for ten months and in that time Heather felt like family. My entire family is forever grateful for all that she did – there are just no words to describe the top notch service that both Heather and Cortenay provide. Thank you both for everything!!!
Kellyn McLamb Harrod

Our wedding was above and beyond our wildest dreams and that was because of CWD!! They preformed as promised in every area and then so much more! Heather made the wedding planning process easy and so much fun for all of us. Heather is an incredibly talented young woman who gave us fantastic ideas to make our wedding so special ! All of their vendors were fabulous to work with. The vendor discounts she was able to get more than made up for CWD's fees. We most highly recommend CWD!!!

Cortenay was amazing to work with as a wedding planner! I honestly can't say enough about her and the services at Carolina Wedding Design. I had come to them thinking I had most things done and really needed help on the planning piece, but I was so unaware of the time how much more there was to do. Even after hiring her, she was able to cut some things from my budget, and I actually ended up paying less for my wedding and added several vendors I didn't think I could afford (transportation, video, etc.). When I started working with Cortenay, I honestly didn't even realize how involved she would be (because I asked her to) and she went with me to dress fittings and hair trial runs. She was even there the entire day of my wedding which was such a comforting feeling. She treated every question or request I had as if it were the most important thing she had on her plate, and would respond to my frantic late night emails as well. I only wished I had hired her sooner in the process before signing with any vendor so she could help me make the best decisions (I started working with her with about 4 months left before my wedding).

THANKS CORTENAY!!

A MAGICAL DAY…..that is only one of the many ways to describe my daughter’s and her husband’s wedding day on April 8, 2011! THE most beautiful, lovingly, well planned day with attention to every detal that I could ever hope to imagine! All due to Cortenay Matters, a partner of Carolina Wedding Design (CWD), who patiently and expertly guided the couple from the planning stages to the most well organized and beautifully orchestrated day and evening imaginable!

I cannot recommend enough Cortenay Matters and Carolina Wedding Design! With her partner, Heather backing her up on THE DAY, they make a great team! Thanks so very much, Cortenay…. you and CWD are PRICELESS!!

CWD

When we first got engaged we were so excited to start planning our wedding.  Soon we realized the amount of work and level of details set before us and decided to hire an expert. In discussing our intentions with several vendors, the name Carolina Wedding Design came up multiple times.  The first meeting was a bit daunting, and my husband had his doubts, but when they laughed at his dumb jokes we were sold! Once we described our vision of a fun, yet elegant, cherry blossom theme, they embraced it with enthusiasm and there was no looking back.  Cortenay Matters is the perfect balance of professionalism, organization, and personality, all wrapped up in a highly energetic bundle of fun. Even the nitty gritty details were addressed in a manner that made the entire process enjoyable, and we looked forward to every meeting with Cortenay.  (I think my husband is a bit sad now that we don't get to hang out her on a weekly basis) 
March 19th was upon us in no time, and CWD brought in reinforcements for the big event.  Cortenay was on point, focused and determined to make this an unforgettable day for us and our guests.  She rolled in with two way radios, headset and utility belt, as if ready to lead a platoon of pink commandoes into the jungle of matrimonial ceremony.  Not only was the venue breathtakingly beautiful, the entire wedding was perfect down to the last detail. Everyone had a grand time. When we had originally talked about a cherry blossom theme, Cortenay designed the most incredible cherry blossom vision.  She planned our cherry blossom arbor, custom cherry blossom cake, and our amazing cherry blossom decor for our reception. We had so many compliments on how beautiful the wedding was and we owe it all to Cortenay and Carolina Wedding Design.  Thank you for making our wonderful day so much greater.


Much love,

Joyce and Chris Bettini

Working with Carolina Wedding Design and Cortenay Matters was by far the best decision my husband and I made in planning our wedding! I personally didn't want to stress about one of the most important days of your life, and I put full trust in CWD and Cortenay! Throughout our planning process we had a few hurdles to get over with our reception location and Cortenay handled the situation with professionalism. She handled every detail with such focus and passion. It was a pleasure to work with Cortenay and CWD for our December wedding! Both my husband and I were pleased with the service we recieved for the value. And will always call Heather Bryson & Cortenay Matters our friends.

Working with Heather at CWD was such a joy. She made the last month of my wedding planning a breeze! She handled everything. I couldn't have done it without her!

Hiring Cortenay Matters at CWD was the best wedding decision we made! Not only was our wedding PERFECT, but our engagement was fun and stress free. For seven months, we had the best time with Cortenay planning our wedding. She is extremely organized, professional, and efficient. It is amazing how much progress we made month after month, week after week. Cortenay is also tremendously creative and skilled at turning wedding dreams and visions into reality. She is someone you can trust to make your BIG DAY better than you've ever imagined!

Rev. Shirley Anne was full of energy and love! She fit the mood of our casual wedding and provided her services with charm and all smiles. I would HIGHLY recommend her officiant services to anyone planning a wedding in OBX! Fantastic!

With Love,
Nicole and Jonathan

Absolutely awesome! We worked primarily with Cortenay. She is extremely organized and took care of every last detail. She was professional, sweet, kind and everyone loved her! THANK YOU Carolina Wedding Design!!! You gals are fabulous!

Heather and Courtney were the BEST ! I don't know what we would have done without them. They helped make the wedding wonderful !
ARLENE Hidalgo

The wedding was wonderful due in large part to Carolina Wedding Design's involvement. The event would not have been the same without them. Their recommendations and ability to pull everything together and make it happen in a very professional way sets them apart. It removed much of the pressure from the wedding party and the result is a lot of great memories. We cannot thank them enough.

Hiring Heather was the best decision we have ever made. It took the burden off us (the family) and put it on Heather. She did a fantastic job.

Joe and I had a wonderful experience with Carolina Wedding Design. We chose the “Mend the End” package which basically meant that CWD took over contact with our vendors four weeks before the wedding date. We were both afraid that we would have an issue with letting go – but I am so glad that we did. Cortenay was the lead on our wedding, and as a result of her professionalism and impeccable coordination, our wedding was a fantastic event. The best part was that because Joe and I didn’t have to worry about vendors, coordination, or set up, we were free to entertain our guests and enjoy our wedding weekend.

I want to give a couple of examples that illustrate how CWD went above and beyond to make our wedding a success. Like all brides, I had labored over the colors, décor and vibe of our special day. On the Wednesday before the wedding, Cortenay came to our home to pick up all the decorations and beverages for the wedding. When I walked into The Dairy Barn on wedding day, it was truly seeing my vision come alive. Everything looked beautiful!

Cortenay created a detailed wedding day itinerary which was distributed to all the vendors. Now, I have been a part of many weddings, and typically, the wedding party is stressed and rushed. Not with Cortenay at the helm. We were relaxed and ahead of schedule the entire day. As a result, I was cool and composed when I walked down the aisle. The entire wedding day, Cortenay was right there when I needed her. From reapplying lip gloss, to wrangling drunk guests, to making sure that my Grandma’s antique cake topper made it home safe, Cortenay and her assistant Sarah did it all!

Of course, no wedding is perfect. I found out the day after that there had been some issues with the catering. We had no idea. Cortenay and Sarah completely shielded Joe and I from any drama that was going on behind the scenes. We ate, danced and mingled with our guests without a care in the world.

Truly, the money we spent to hire CWD was our best wedding investment. I can honestly say that we couldn’t have done it without her. Words cannot express the gratitude we feel for everything Cortenay did to make September 5th the best day of our lives. Thank you!!

I'm was an out-of-town bride, we got married in my hometown but I live 1000 miles away right now. Leading up to the wedding, CWD was very organized and helpful. I could have gotten away with using them only during wedding week but that said, their recommendations along the way and their connections with vendors saved us time and money.

Heather and Courtenay were invaluable on Wedding Day! They were very organized, on top of everything and seemed to be in 3 places at once. Our family commented so many times that my (now) husband and I were so calm during the day and relaxed at the reception - I owe this to CWD!

I began planning my wedding thinking I could do it all. As the time drew near, I quickly gained a new understanding of what it means to plan a wedding! I was given Cortenay Matter's name by a friend who highly recommended her. Cortenay helped me organize the details of my wedding and was there to assist my guests and I with anything we needed all the way until the last guest left the night of. If you are looking for a professional to help you organize and plan the details of your wedding while providing excellent customer service, I would highly recommend Cortenay Matters with Carolina Wedding Design. You will not be disappointed!

I could not have gone through the wedding process without Heather and CWD. I was so overwhelmed at the beginning of the planning, but Heather made it easy and managable. I was living out of town planning my wedding and Heather always had an organized schedule for me when I was in town so we could get things done. The day of my wedding I was completely stress free... everyone was coming up to me saying they had never seen a bride as calm as I was. I knew Heather and the CWD team had EVERYTHING under control. They were so prepared for any "surprises" that could have come up. Heather even ended up sewing a rip in my dress at the reception. It was SUCH a relief the day of having a great team handling my wedding details. There was no stress on my mother or any of my family and we were all able to actually enjoy the day. CWD goes above and beyond for your wedding day. We LOVE CWD!

I contacted several wedding planners in the beginning and was immediately impressed with the timely and friendly manner that CWD responded. It only took a few minutes in our first consultation to know that I would use them for my wedding. Not only were they extremely easy to work with, but really listened to my wishes for my special day. I informed them of my budget and we were able to get everything that I wanted and more. Cortenay Matters was my direct contact and by the end of the first few weeks, I felt I had made a friend for life. She was very professional and easy to work with. Cortenay is very percise and a stickler for detail. My wedding day was beautiful and I was able to enjoy it completely. I want to thank Cortenay personally for all her hard work in making my wedding such a special and memorable event.

Carolina Wedding Design was absolutely amazing to work with!! They made my wedding more beautiful, special, and perfect than I ever could have imagined. They took away all the stress of planning, and made the whole experience fun and enjoyable! Carolina Wedding Design was always available to answer questions whenever I needed help. They were worth every penny spent!

Carolina Wedding Design FAR exceeded anything that we could have hoped for or imagined! Because of Heather, we were able to relax and enjoy every step in the process and the outcome was perfect too. As my daughter stepped into her dress on her wedding day we were all so happy and relaxed and she said to me, "WHAT would we be doing today without Heather?!" EVERY detail was covered for us includng many things that we would have never thought of doing. As a bonus, we grew to love Heather and Courtney as people and dear friends-LOVE them-they are truly the best!at what they do! Carolina Wedding Design was a gift to us for which we will always be grateful.

Carolina Wedding Design was amazing to work with! I would highly recommend this team to any bride that needs help planning from the beginning or just "Mending the End." Cortenay was very responsive and always went above and beyond. Thank you, Carolina Wedding Design for making sure my special day was perfect!

You'll soon figure out that planning a wedding requires that you make thousands of decisions, big and small. Hands down, the best decision that we made for our wedding was hiring Heather Bryson with Carolina Wedding Design. Not only did she prove herself to be the absolute best in her field, but she also became a good friend and a very dear person to us. Because of Heather, the wedding planning process was fun and enjoyable, our wedding day was orchestrated perfectly and we have wonderful memories from this special time in our lives. Do yourself a BIG favor and put your wedding in Heather's capable and loving hands. You can thank me later. :o)

Heather received one of the first phone calls when I found out I was engaged because I knew she had to be a part of the big day. She was also the wedding planner for my sister's wedding two years ago so I was familiar with her work and knew we couldn't survive without her.

I really cannot say enough great things and thank the CWD team enough for pulling off an amazing event. I have said it time and time again, if I could go back and change anything about my wedding it would be to have them as full service planners from Day 1 instead of just the last 30 days to help me pull it all together.

Heather is amazing. She is always there to help you make decisions, answer a frantic phone call, and help you be excited for your big day. Knowing that the CWD team was in charge brought such a sense of peace to both Clark & I and allowed us to truly enjoy the weekend instead of worrying about all of the details. CWD always has the well being of their clients in mind at all times and will do what it takes to ensure things get taken care of properly & stressfree.

I can't thank these ladies enough, all I can do is send all of my friends & family their way because I truly feel CWD is the best and know they will be in great hands.

Love, love, love...
Sarah Clark Hopfer

Heather handled everything from making appointments to helping change my shoes when my heels began to hurt at the reception. She was worth every penny we spent. We pulled together our wedding in 3 months and it almost felt as though we had time to spare. She worked around my husband and I's hectic schedule (I worked two jobs in NC and he lived and worked in GA). She was worth every penny we spent (and they were very reasonable pennies!!). Even though Heather was planning many other weddings, it felt as though I was her only bride!

As we sit and write this three months later, we have only happy memories of every aspect and every detail of our daughter's wedding. And from a mother’s perspective, it was literally “a dream come true for me”. Heather arranged everything and all we had to do was sit back, choose this and that, and enjoy the process. Every detail was like a story-book memory; shopping for Georgia’s wedding dress, sampling menus, meeting entertainers…. We were having fun while Heather did all the work. We depended upon her expertise for everything. And it all came without an ounce of stress!

If we could give only one piece of advice to the bride and parents of the bride… it would be to hire Heather Bryson and Carolina Wedding Designs as their wedding planner. After doing so, move forward with confidence that you have hired the most energetic, competent, organized, confident and incredibly loving individual possible. Do not micro manage her… she is an expert, professional and the best at what she does. She will take the reins and guide you step by step…. And that’s the way it should be.

To conclude:

We gave ourselves and our daughter the gift of working with Heather and her Full Service “Marry Me” Package. What Heather gave us in return will never be forgotten… a perfect, stress-free three months of wedding planning…. and a Perfect Wedding Day.

Thank you Heather!
We Love You!
Marye Jo and Greg Hartley
703-966-2014

Heather and Cortenay were amazing. I wish I had hired them sooner. However, I thought that I would be fine planning the wedding on my own. However, a month before the wedding, I was about to go insane with all the details, and I was no longer enjoying being a "bride-to-be." As a result, I contacted Heather and Cortenay and purchased the "mend-the-end" package and had them handle all the details for the last four weeks before the wedding. They wrapped up all the loose ends, coordinated vendor payments, schedules, and just generally kept me sane. On the day of the wedding, rather than having to worry about making sure everything was taken care of, I was able to relax and enjoy the experience. My father and stepmother said they were thrilled that they were able to enjoy the reception, dance, and visit with their friends and family, instead of having to rush around fussing over details, distributing payments to the vendors, supervising vendor breakdown and transporting all of the gifts back home after the bride and groom departure. The value received was far in excess of the price and without Heather and Cortenay, I am sure I would not have enjoyed the wedding nearly as much. I highly recommend that you consider using them.

Cortenay was AWESOME! Living in Los Angeles while planning a North Carolina wedding, Cortenay took care of everything. Her ideas for our wedding perfectly matched what we wanted. Besides being an awesome wedding planner - Cortenay is an awesome person!

Heather is an accomplished multitasker who sees everything threw to perfection. Her personality was made for wedding planning and you can tell that all of the vendors look to work with her. She was completely organized, creative and helpful with the entire production even offering advice on last minute changes the night of that created a once in a lifetime event. She is so personable that I heard many praising complements from other guests about her. I owe so much of the succes to her and all of her time and energy. Anyone can truly trust that Heather will deliver an unforgettable day!

Heather Bryson is an exceptional wedding coordinator. I could not have been more pleased with the service and expertise she provided me. She took over the wedding responsiblities about 30 days before the event. She took away all the stress I think many brides feel the month before their wedding. I was totally relaxed before my wedding and for the entire wedding weekend. The execution of the wedding and reception was perfect - it could not have run more smoothly. I absolutely enjoyed the entire wedding weekend and I can not thank her enough for the work she did for me.

Heather was absolutely wonderful to work with. I had nothing to worry about the weekend of my wedding. She had everything completely orgainized and not a thing went wrong. She did a great job of communicating with my vendors and orgainizing the wedding party.

Heather and Cortnay are amazing!! They will keep you organized, on budget and most important, confident that your event will be perfect. Each has fabulous ideas that they tailor to your personality. No cookie cutter weddings for them!!!
Check these ladies out! You will not be disappointed.