We believe every wedding is special in its own right. Some make you laugh. Some make you cry. Some make you smile. Some make you reminisce. 

In this new blog series, we’ll be highlighting some of our most recent weddings. In each post, we hope to capture a little bit of what makes each ceremony so unique. We’ll be sharing special moments and photos from each wedding, as well as highlighting the vendors each couple used. 

Our first profile focuses on Leah Riker and Greg Atkins, who tied the knot at The Colonnade in Greensboro on April 7, 2018. 

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“Our wedding day was just perfect. The ceremony went off without a hitch, everyone had a great time at the reception, and we ate our fill of delicious food and danced the night away! The venue was decorated so simply yet so beautifully. Coupled with all of our loved ones in the room, we couldn’t have envisioned it better if we tried.”

- LEAH, Bride

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The Planning Process

A good venue sets the atmosphere. A good caterer makes mealtime a memory worth savoring. And, a good photographer ensures no moment goes uncaptured. 

Leah and her mom started planning for the wedding in October 2017 – about 6 months before the actual wedding date. Her advice for the newly engaged? “Make sure you pick a great venue, caterer, and photographer. Those are so important! Also make sure to take time to actually enjoy the planning process. Remember it doesn't all have to be done at once!” 

DJ: A&A Disc Jockeys
Hair and Makeup: Careaux Cartier
Officiant: Dave Widgeon
Rentals: Eventful NC

Wedding Coordinator: A Touch of Southern Events
Caterer: Pepper Moon Catering
Photographer: The Nixons
Florist: Blossoms
Bakery: Sweet Blossoms
 

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Decor

Leah and Greg chose to go with a simple color scheme of Leah’s favorite color: pink!

Simple and elegant, this monochromatic color scheme focused around coral with coordinating shades of pink. Pink was woven throughout the décor, with little touches here and there in the floral arrangements and bridesmaid’s dresses. The groomsmen coordinated in light grey suits with pink boutonnières. 

Favorite Moment

For Leah and Greg, their standout moment came during their reception. With the sound of Butterfly Kisses filling the room for the father/daughter dance, Leah graced the dance floor in her father’s arms. Halfway through their father daughter song, they were joined by all the other fathers and daughters on the guest list. “It really was a very sweet moment,”Leah recalled.

Food and drink

The culinary highlight of the day was Pepper Moon’s show-stopping mashed potato bar! Guests were able to fill their own martini glass with our signature smashed potatoes and then customize with a wide variety of toppings. A few of the favorites? Chopped bacon, diced ham, smoked salmon, shredded smoked gouda, shredded cheddar, salsa, sour cream, sautéed mushrooms, scallions and whole green olives.

Venue

For some, the standout feature of The Colonnade is the elegantly exposed brickwork. For others, it’s the towering ceilings. For Leah and Greg, it was its beautiful wrought iron railings and the natural light from our tall windows.

“The Colonnade really is such a beautiful place and it’s a great value, too. Along with the venue, our favorite thing about working with Revolution Mills Events was Jaime. She’s so thorough, very professional and always goes above and beyond to answer any questions.”

Ready to get started planning your own Greensboro wedding? If you’re looking to get a jumpstart on the planning process (or pulling together a last minute ceremony), take a look at our wedding guide or contact us to see how we can help. 

It’s no surprise that people love to get out of the office – but there’s also a number of business benefits to hosting corporate events. When done right, corporate events will help build relationships, boost employee morale, and cultivate creativity. They’ve even been shown to increase employee retention! 

Think beyond a corporate happy hour – consider getting out of the office and into a new space for your next meeting. Something as simple as shifting employees to a different surrounding can have a notable impact on their collective performance. 

Different surroundings can spark fresh discussions and generate ideas that might not have come from the confinement of your team’s everyday work area. In addition to providing a new perspective, it can relax employees, help with problem solving, and forge stronger working relationships. And, it shows your workforce that you’re willing to invest in new, and perhaps better, ways of working for them.

If you’re looking for something beyond a new meeting space, planning a fun corporate outing can be a little tricky. In order to be energizing and rewarding, your event needs to be fun, interactive, and engaging. Our suggestion? Consider incorporating games into your next gathering.

Icebreaker activities

To get the atmosphere going and put attendees at ease, open up with an activity that involves interaction and team work – prompt them to find a solution or work together to figure out an answer. As an added bonus, this type of game will subtly replicate the kind of dynamic needed back at the office.

Breakout

Put everyone into teams, give each group a set of numbered envelopes with the same clues enclosed, and challenge everyone to ‘breakout’ of a mythical room by solving each hint. This will ensure everyone has to get talking - without forcing it - and will get their creative cogs turning.

To add a bit of tension, you could set a countdown clock on a big screen to really channel everyone’s inner competitor and get the energy pumping.

Quiz

An alternative icebreaker could be the traditional quiz. It’s another easy way to get everyone interacting and it’s simple to set up. To make sure it doesn’t lose its spark, keep the questions fairly light-hearted, keep up a good pace, and include some polls that tie into the theme of the event.

To take it to the next level, consider giving each team a funny buzzer to sound when they think they’ve got the right answer - it’ll soon get people chuckling, and the competition among teams to push their button first will spice things up a bit.

Super-sized fun

Every event has some natural down time, but the last thing you want is for the energy in the room to go stale during these periods. To prevent this, it’s a good idea to have optional activities sprinkled around the room.

To put an enticing spin on what could otherwise be seen as lame board games, think big and supersize them! From Connect 4 and chess to yard pong and giant Jenga, we can make lots of giant sized games available to you. 

Because of their supersized stature, they’ll soon draw people in and get people engaged and mingling during the times when you’re not hosting.

Bingo

A round or two of bingo is a great way to sprinkle some corporate information into your event while maintaining the fun factor. You can tailor the contents of your bingo cards to anything you want - past success, key learnings, employee awards, short or long-term goals. But, be sure you pick out an entertaining emcee who can keep people engaged. Just because the content might be corporate, it doesn’t mean you can’t put your own spin on the traditional bingo approach.

Classics

Inject a bit of nostalgia by creating a corner dedicated to some old school classics, like Pacman, Twister, Hungry Hippos, or Monopoly . The trip down memory lane alone will spark discussion and get people sharing their past times, which is a great way for attendees to naturally build on new or existing relationships.

Casino corner

If a classic game corner isn’t your thing, or if you’ve got enough room to segregate multiple activity areas, a makeshift casino could be the perfect set-up. Simply provide everyone with a limited number of make belief casino chips and let their risk taking sides shine -- after all, taking risks is a big part of business too. 

If you can, try and think of clever ways to tie the odds back to your company. For example, instead of using 21 as the magic number in Blackjack, could you change it to an iconic number relevant to your business? Like how many year’s you’ve been in business for or how many employees you have? 

Prizes

To encourage participation and healthy competition, remember to provide some prizes. They don’t have to cost a fortune - it’s the thought that counts, but they’ll bring out the inner-competitor in everyone and increase all-round uptake at your event.

To keep them on topic, your prizes could be something self-branded (like a cupcake or stationery, for example) or something free from a sponsor or exhibitor. 

For help organizing a corporate event that reaps all your desired rewards, download our complete corporate and social event guide here, or get in touch with us here.

Your Day of Coordinator will coordinate the perfect sendoff! 

Your wedding day is supposed to be all about celebrating you and your new spouse. But a myriad of decisions, detailed schedules, and DIY projects can take the focus off of you and turn the day into a giant stress fest. 

We want you and your loved ones to enjoy your wedding day – and the best way to do that is to hire the right team of wedding professionals.

The Venue and Catering Manager

You can count on the Revolution Mill Events Team to be an integral part in making your day run smoothly. You’ll work with Jaime, our Venue and Catering Manager, to plan the logistics for your day related to the event space and catering. Jaime will coordinate with the Pepper Moon Catering team on the day-of to ensure hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and dinner are served on-time. The catering staff will cut and serve your wedding cake, pass champagne, clean up and pack a yummy to go box for you to enjoy after the wedding.

Jaime and her team will also guarantee the venue and its amenities are accessible to vendors at the scheduled times, the space is properly setup and the inclement weather plan is ready-to-go if needed. 

The Wedding Planner

If you need help defining your wedding vision, finding vendors or figuring out your budget, a Wedding Planner is a great place to start.  Their expertise can help lighten the planning load and keep you from making critical mistakes. They can assist you with everything from choosing your venue to your color scheme, offering etiquette advice, and being a mediator when things get stressful.  One of their biggest values is steering you toward the best vendors for your vision and budget, which saves lots of time. Planners typically help with wedding day coordination and logistics, although there are some who only do pre-event planning and design. 

Not all couples hire a Wedding Planner, because they feel confident in working through the planning phase on their own. In this case, we encourage all of our brides to hire a Wedding Day of Coordinator!

 

Day of Coordinator

Day of Coordinator is the commonly used term, but this vendor will typically assist you the month leading up to your wedding. Their primary role is to coordinate the logistics of your day and ensure everything you have envisioned runs as planned while you enjoy a glass of champagne with your bridesmaids! 

There are some wedding tasks you can delegate to a friend or family member, but wedding coordination is best reserved for an experienced professional. They will be committed to your day and allow your loved ones to celebrate every moment instead of working the night away. 

A professional Day of Coordinator will assist in contacting wedding vendors to confirm details, develop a timeline, setup your décor, help with the flow of guests, cue each stage of the ceremony/reception and find the groom’s missing sock!

One example where a wedding without a Day of Coordinator went wrong? At a recent wedding, the photographers missed the cake cutting because they were in the back eating dinner. It’s completely normal for photographers to step away and grab some dinner, but the DJ didn’t realize the photographer’s absence, and called for the cake cutting to start. As a result, this special moment wasn’t photographed. Because it’s the Day of Coordinator’s job to cue the reception and know where everyone needs to be, this could have been easily avoided!

We feel an experienced Day of Coordinator is essential for a seamless wedding day. Still not convinced? Here’s a quick overview of their general responsibilities: 
 

1. Make sure all the details you have planned come to fruition.
2. Establish the day’s timeline and distribute to vendors.
3. Function as the point of contact for vendors and bridal party.
4. Welcome and manage guest flow.
5. Handle last minute changes and keep vendors informed.
6. Make sure picture taking time stays on track.
7. Instruct you on what to do next, at every point of the day.
8. Orchestrate the setup of your personal items/décor.
9. Assist with your dress, pinning on corsages/bouts, etc.
10. Direct the rehearsal, ceremony and reception.
11. Problem solve any issues that arise (like a drunk guest or vendor that doesn’t show up).
12. Distribute any final payments and tips at the end of the day.
13.  Oversee cleanup and removal of personal items.
14.  Keep you calm and stress free so you can enjoy every moment!
     

While this list is by no means exhaustive, it should give you a pretty good idea of just how indispensable a Wedding Coordinator is to any wedding. Trust us: your future, married self with thank you for hiring someone to take the stress off of your shoulders! 

"Find your mask and wear it well, so your identity, no one can tell.”

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On February 3, 2018 we hosted the annual Autism Unbound Gala. With a theme of unmasking the possibilities, attendees were invited to wear their own mask or find one upon their arrival. Guests enjoyed a New Orleans themed evening of live music, bidding, and heavy hor d’oeuvres. 

Pepper Moon Catering put on a sophisticated spread of shrimp and grits, mashed potato bar, ham biscuits, and other southern favorites. 

The proceeds from Autism Unbound Gala: Unmasking the Possibilities benefited those with autism, their families, and their educators in Guilford County. Proceeds went towards funding Autism Unbound's classroom grant program, family social activities, housing initiative, and parent and teacher support training.

Check out a few of our favorite photos from the event below! 

Photos courtesy of Ross Photography. 

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Photo courtesy of Aura Marzouk Photography

With over 12 years of event management experience and impeccable attention to detail, Jaime has a talent for producing memorable occasions. She joined Pepper Moon Catering in 2015 to lead the Revolution Mill Events team along with managing sales and operations. From floor plans to flatware, Jaime works diligently to ensure every event is a wonderful client and guest experience. 

She is a graduate of Elon University in Business Administration and holds certificates from Cornell in Hospitality Management and the University of Georgia in Conference & Meeting Management.

Jaime says, “I have always been drawn to the hospitality industry and delight in taking a concept from start to finish. With each new event comes the opportunity to build long lasting relationships."

To get to know her a little better, we've asked her about a few of her favorite things. See her answers here:

• How did you get interested in event planning?
  Hospitality and event planning is in my DNA! When I was growing up my parents hosted many social celebrations and business functions. I can remember helping with the details from sending out invitations, selecting menus, planning seating arrangements, setting tables, welcoming guests, to helping the catering staff. I wanted to be involved with everything behind the scenes. Confession: I used to save up my allowance to buy all the bridal magazines!
   
•  What skills do you think are necessary for being an event planner?
  I think it's vital to be service oriented and very organized, while loving the details and having strong leadership skills. You have to know how to gracefully handle different situations and personalities under pressure.
   
• Favorite thing about your job: Every day is a new day! I love being able to work with a wide variety of event types and clients, which keeps things fresh. 
   
• What was your wedding color scheme? 
  We were married in 2006 and had a light pink and green color scheme. 
   
• Favorite feature of The Colonnade
  The windows and natural light they provide. 
   

• Favorite feature of Color Works Meeting Space? 
  Because Color Works is located in the middle of campus, I like that you get to experience the character of the Mill as you walk to the event space. 
   

• Favorite event planning tip?
  Remain flexible - things never go exactly as planned, but if you have a solid team of professional vendors you can rely on their experience to create a seamless event.
   
• Favorite menu planning tip?
  Stick with your theme. Consider your event theme when choosing, serving or displaying your food throughout the event. A beautiful outdoor wedding will best be remembered not only by the scenery, but also by the fresh and seasonal food and drink that accompanies it. 
   
• Favorite Pepper Moon Dish? 
  It's really hard to pick! But, probably the Short Rib Tart - it's the perfect blend of sweet and savory with a touch of tangy blue cheese.
   
• When you're not at work, where will we find you? 
  Usually at home enjoying the quiet of living in the country - cooking, exercising, reading, or gardening. The mountains are my favorite place to be!
   

Want to get in touch? Jaime can be reached via email at jaime@revmillevents.com or by phone at 336-362-6517. We look forward to seeing you at Revolution Mill Events! 

Courtesy of Chelle Photography

Welcome to Revolution Mill, the Triad’s exclusive provider of premier event space. Nestled in the heart of Greensboro, yet conveniently located to serve Winston-Salem, High Point and surrounding areas. We offer two distinctive event spaces; The Colonnade, a versatile indoor/outdoor space and Color Works Meeting Space, the perfect venue for meetings of all types.
 

Getting married? The Colonnade is the essential space to say, “I Do.” This historic space with its original maple, exposed brick, custom iron work, and enormous windows is perfect backdrop for any wedding. Whether you and your betrothed are planning a small intimate gathering or a grand scale wedding, the versatility of the Colonnade suits a wide array of visions and tastes. Click here to download our Wedding Guide.

The Colonnade works great for a corporate event as well!

With 8,500 square feet, The Colonnade is suited for both indoor and outdoor ceremonies. Our picturesque outdoor courtyard can accommodate up to 180 garden chairs. There are also several indoor arrangements where you can tie the knot, utilizing as much or as little space as you please. Plans include seating for 70 guests in the lower level with additional guests overlooking from the upper railing (up to 180), or seating for up to 130 guests in the front section off the lobby. Take a look at our Wedding Gallery here.

Of course, the fun and customizable options don’t end with your ceremony. Receptions at the Colonnade are all about choice. We can accommodate everything from a dance floor to a live band or DJ. Past brides and grooms have elected to include photo booths and other fun activities for their guests.

Color Works Meeting Space.

For other social and corporate events, the Colonnade can house up to 300 for standing parties or 200 for seated banquets. Please keep in mind that while maximum capacity is provided above, your final guest total will be affected by your specific set-up decisions.  Contact us today to discuss your plans and custom layout.

Having a Meeting? Color Works Meeting Space with its distinctive textures and industrial-chic feel is the place to be. It’s equipped to hold high tech corporate meetings plus a countless range of other social gatherings. Standing receptions can accommodate up 175 guests, while classroom and theatre arrangements can house 150 and 175 respectively. The 5,000 square foot space can be tailored to meet individual requirements and capacity is directly proportional to your desired setup.

As a part of the Color Works Meeting Space, you are afforded access to a long list of equipment at no additional charge. This list includes, (15) 60” round banquet tables, (22) 6’ classroom tables, (12) 30’ tall cocktail tables, (120) X-Back rustic wood chairs, (75) rolling ergonomic chairs, mounted drop-down screen & HD Projector, podium, and adjustable lighting. Additional equipment including staging, linens, décor, china, silver and glass are also available for an additional charge. For added convenience, specialty rentals for audio and visual services, professional valet parking, coat check services and floral arrangements can also be procured for extra costs. For an exhaustive list, please view our helpful Corporate Guide here.

Bon Appètit

Are you looking for the best catering experience and delectable delights the Triad has to offer? In addition to your rental, you have access to one of the best culinary experiences in the Triad via our exclusive caterer, Pepper Moon Catering. All food (with the exception of specialty cakes), beverage and equipment rentals must be secured through Revolution Mill Events/Pepper Moon Catering. Contracted vendors are welcome to provide other goods and services appropriate to the permitted use of the facility. It would be our pleasure to customize a unique menu for your special occasion limited only by Pepper Moon Catering’s 20-plus year experience and your imagination. We’re happy to answer any questions regarding the specifics of your event. Give us a call today.

Book a Tour

Due to our active event calendar, all tours and meetings must to be scheduled in advance to access the event spaces with our Venue Manager. Jaime Gilliam is our Venue & Catering Manager and can be reached via email at jaime@revmillevents.com or by phone at 336-362-6517. You may also take the Virtual Tour here.

After your visit, we will be happy to prepare a custom proposal for you containing all details needed for a successful event. Our detailed proposal will reflect the estimate of venue rental, food, beverage, rentals, security, wait staff, service charge and sales tax to give you a starting point of overall costs.

The Colonnade is located at 900 Revolution Mill Drive, Greensboro, NC 27405 and Color Works Meeting Space is located at 1000 Revolution Mill Drive, Greensboro, NC 27405. We look forward to meeting with you and making our history part of your future.