There is so much that goes into wedding planning to make the big day one to truly treasure forever: perfecting the guest list, location, flowers, photography, and much more. Not to mention the five-on-five game show competition. That’s right. Let’s back up a little.
After meeting in Nashville in 2016, Dan DeVore and Emily Kadeg happily tied the knot in Charleston, SC, on November 16, 2018. The couple wanted their wedding to be an intimate celebration, and Charleston’s southern charms, activities for their 27 guests of all ages, and the convenient distance from Tennessee made it the perfect weekend destination.
Seeking a special blend of traditional and non-traditional elements for their wedding, the couple partnered with Bouquets & Bowties, a full-service event planning team in Charleston. From there, the couple chose the historic Gadsen House as their venue and began to work with their dream team of vendors to set the rest of the planning into motion.
During a meeting with Chauncey Finch Boykin, owner and lead planner at B&B, Dan and Emily floated the idea of surprising their guests with some sort of Feud tie-in at the reception instead of hiring a DJ or band to perform. Chauncey was elated to hear about the reception theme idea, “We take such pride in personalizing events for every couple – we want each couple to have moments that are truly theirs. I love that Emily and Dan were thinking outside of the box!”
So why Feud? The game holds a special place in the hearts of the couple. For years, Dan’s family has played the mobile app version of the game over the holidays, including the first time that Emily visited during Thanksgiving in 2016. Since then, the couple has been watching Family Feud together almost every night.
Chauncey collaborated with Ann Cunniffe, owner and principal designer of Purple Magnolia Floral Design, to help set the Feud plan into reality. Both big fans of the show, ideas started spinning quickly on how to successfully carry out this theme. Logistics included the right set-up for contestants (and audience members), flowers, décor, Feud questions, and of course a host. Travis from Bouquets & Bowties was enlisted, and voila – host ‘Steve Hairby’ came to be.
After a beautiful wedding ceremony, formal dinner, and cake cutting, the Bouquets & Bowties team filtered in Family Feud’s theme music, welcoming guests into a nearby room decked out for the most elegant showdown show fans have seen. Dan and Emily had agreed to let the planners run with the theme so that most elements of the reception would be a surprise to them as well as their guests. The couple was elated with the end result, “It was so well executed,” Emily shared. “Chauncey is amazing.”
Pictured above, the groom’s sister, Holly, was thrilled by the Feud theme.
Bride vs. Groom, Kadegs vs. DeVores – the guests didn’t waste any time getting into the groove of the game, loving the surprise theme.
“We were excited to create a weekend where everyone could meet and enjoy each other’s company and this worked out even better than we’d hoped,” Dan explained.
While Team DeVore prevailed as Feud champs in the end, Emily’s mother and her uncle Roger delighted in the gameshow atmosphere, holding the Kadeg team strong til the end. Looking to the future, Dan said it best, “Bucking wedding tradition felt right, but this will also be the start of a new family tradition.”
For Chauncey and the planning team, watching the culmination of planning come together to give clients memorable, personalized events is the ultimate reward. This one was hit out of the park, the couple shared, “It was the perfect ending of the wedding day. Everything felt like us.”
What’s next for the couple? Stay tuned to see if their practice makes perfect headway to Feud’s main stage.
Special thanks to the amazing vendors for this celebration weekend: Bouquets & Bowties, Purple Magnolia Floral Design, and Emily Meeks photography.
