It goes without saying that a strong vendor team always takes a wedding day from good to great! And a well-organized and detail-oriented planner is a must. I recently worked with Ashley Shannon, who works alongside her husband, producing bespoke weddings and events at Ever Ash Weddings. We sat down for an interview to find out more about her planning style, Crane Cottage, and Rachel and Nick, whose wedding we worked on together.

Tell us about your planning business and planning style.

My planning business can be described as a boutique wedding management, planning, & design company. We thrive when working with clients that value the following: genuine connection (we love to get to know our clients), the tiny details, and the storytelling component of weddings. We take the term partnership seriously and love working with clients that we vibe with from the get-go to ensure that a solid level of trust and transparency exists throughout the planning process!

Our design style can be described as romantic garden-chic, and we always love to play with muted tones, organic and true-to-life floral designs that mimic nature, and custom paper goods.

What is your favorite part of the wedding day?

My favorite part is two-fold: Seeing the bride walk down the aisle, as well as seeing them enter the reception space of their dreams.  Seeing the final product of design that we’ve worked on for a year or more is something truly special.

Why do you love weddings at Crane Cottage?

I am completely in love with the architecture of the cottage, paired with the natural vegetation surrounding it. It suits our planning style well, and the venue provides clients with many ways to create and build their dream wedding.

From garden ceremonies to tented receptions and the lovely courtyard in between, you can really get creative with which spaces you can use to entertain your guests. The various spaces allow for variety throughout the event, ensuring your guest has a unique experience at each point of the evening.

What was your favorite part of planning this wedding?

My favorite part was definitely working with Rachel and her mother, Frances, on all of her details personal touches, and bringing her vision to life. We worked to create her dream vision within her budget without sacrificing anything that was truly important to her – such as her custom wedding invitation suites and wedding day stationery.

We got creative where we needed to and had to make some tough decisions throughout, but the fact that I was working with such wonderful clients made it all that much easier and enjoyable. Trust was established early on in the planning process with the three of us, and that allowed me to guide them where they needed to be!

Can you share with us how Rachel and Nick met?

Rachel’s high school friends and one of her bridesmaids invited her to Jax Beach for the Fourth of July in 2019. Her high school friends who invited her had a group of friends in Jax Beach – and you guessed it, Nick was one of them! The only thing the two chatted about was what she was drinking that night, so it wasn’t quite an immediate spark. Their friends that were there that evening, Tom and Paloma, actually hit it off and kept in touch after the Fourth.

Tom and Paloma were planning a beach day a few weeks later. Nick overheard this plan and asked Tom to tell Paloma to bring Rachel. They had their first official, sparks flying kind of conversation on that beach day! On their second date, Nick invited Rachel to go to Savannah with him for the weekend. After the two-day trip, they could both tell they were really into each other. 

Rachel and Nick’s Proposal

Three years later, Nick got on one knee in Spain while on a family vacation together, and then on May 6, 2023, they were wed just a few hours south of where they originally fell in love. 🙂

Thank you so much to Ashley for chatting with me, I loved learning more about her process for design and more about Rachel and Nick’s love story. If you want to follow Ashley on Instagram to see more of her stunning weddings and designs you can find her here.

Planning + Design: Ever Ash Weddings

Venue | Jekyll Island Club Resort, Crane Cottage

Photography | Meredith Ryncarz Photography

Videography | Shea Visuals

Floral | Marble & Pine

Band: Anita & The Party Life with Music Garden

Ceremony and Cocktail Hour Musician | Anne Durant

Cake | Serendipity Market & Bakery

Rentals | Beachview Rentals

Beauty | Pamper Polish & Primp

Stationery | Ivory Isle Designs

Bridal Gown | The White Magnolia

Bridal Shoes | Loeffler Randall