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Author: Catherine

Bride Amy shares the festive details of her New Year’s Eve wedding at Boone Hall Plantation!

It’s almost 2018, friends, and I hope some of you are headed to a wedding on Sunday night! I’ve always wanted to go to a wedding on New Year’s Eve. Everyone is already in a celebratory mood, other plans are usually overrated, and while my wedding-loving heart has a lot of favorites, nothing beats a dressy winter fete in my book! Bride Amy agrees: “New Year’s Eve was an unreal time to start our marriage. Not only is it already a party, but it’s also a time to reflect on your past friendships and look forward to the future.”

I’m so excited to introduce today’s bride, Amy, to tell you how she created a New Year’s Eve to remember for her guests (including Hoppin’ John!!) as she married her military man, Ryan, in Charleston!

Thank you to Sean Money + Elizabeth Fay and Fox Events for sharing this beautiful wedding!

Tell us the highlights of finding your wedding dress. I had found a designer I loved, Berta Bridal, and she was having a trunk show at L’Fay Bridal in NYC. we decided to round up all of the women in my family and Ryan’s and have a girls weekend to see some plays and go dress shopping. We pulled several to try on and to my surprise, we fell in love with the first dress I had pulled. It looked nothing like what I had pictured for myself, but it was perfect in every way.

What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? I wanted to make sure our bridal parties didn’t spend a fortune to participate in our wedding, so we took care of the bridesmaid dresses and tuxes for both parties. I used Rent the Runway for the girls, and it was very cost-effective.

We chose Grace Church Cathedral after we went to visit one Sunday when they were having a special service called the Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan. Some of our best family friends live in Scotland, so we were excited to participate in a service honoring their heritage. The church was breathtakingly beautiful, and the bagpipers were unbelievable. We couldn’t wait to invite our Scottish friends to our wedding there. As for our reception venue, we had a lot of out of town guests and wanted to treat them to a quintessential Charleston wedding. There is something about the drive down the Avenue of Oaks there.

What advice would you give to someone currently planning a wedding? Weddings have so many elements that you don’t think about when you begin planning. I would suggest sitting down together and prioritizing two or three of the big details. This way, when you get together with your planner, they know that the band, bar, and flowers are most important and they can help you save on other details.

We had several brainstorming sessions with Lauren Fox of Fox Events. There are so many details in a wedding, I struggled to picture it all complete, but Lauren took all of my ideas and tied them together.

Our favorite Southern detail was serving “Hoppin’ John” on New Year’s Eve. Many of our guests were not familiar with this Southern recipe featuring black-eyed peas, bacon, and collards. The appetizer was delivered to each guest in a tiny mason jar, and the waiters shared the significance of Hoppin’ John, which is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck.

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. Our most memorable song was our first dance to “You Make my Dreams Come True” by Hall and Oates. It’s not a traditional first dance song since it’s quirky and upbeat. Ryan and I always loved this song and felt like it explains us, so we took some dance lessons and had a jazzy wedding dance choreographed for fun. This was a nice bonding experience leading up to the wedding.

We had Jim Smeal design our wedding cake to mimic the lace on my gown. It was one of my favorite details from the wedding: he nailed it. Not only was the cake stunning, but tasted amazing too.

Tell us your love story in one sentence. Once blind dates to the 8th grade dance, serendipity brought us back together 10 years later.
Tell us all about the proposal! While we were dating, Ryan was going through the special forces qualification course in Fayetteville, NC while I worked in Charleston, SC. There was a phase in training when Ryan was completely out of contact for about 3 months, with only one or two weekends back in civilization. What I didn’t know is that during those few short days, Ryan was planning our engagement. When Ryan completed this long stretch of training, he drove to Columbia, SC to ask my dad for my hand in marriage, and my dad tearfully (happy tears!) said yes. Ryan came home Labor Day Weekend and took me on a date. I thought we were celebrating his halfway point in the army. After dinner, we stopped by our favorite spot, Zero George, to grab a drink and see our friend Justin. We were taken to the porch and at that moment, I knew it was about to happen. The porch was covered in candles, flowers, strawberries, and a bucket of champagne to celebrate. It was perfect: just the two of us, sitting on a swing, laughing and crying.
When did y’all get married? December 31, 2016.
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 150.
Did you decide to do a first look? We opted not to do a first look. I had dreamed about a traditional wedding and couldn’t wait to see the look on Ryan’s face as we saw each other for the first time as I walked down the aisle. It was a moment I will never forget.
What was your favorite detail from your wedding? My favorite detail was our invitations and all of the stationary from Studio R. I had no idea invitations could include the level of detail that they did. Since it was New Year’s Eve, we used gold foil press and lined the invitation in glitter. The envelopes were black with gold calligraphy. They were so ME!
What was the hardest part about planning your wedding? The logistics of having a holiday wedding were difficult at times but worth every bit of the trouble. Our reception venue, Boone Hall, closed at 10pm, so we decided to have an after party to ring in the new year on the rooftop of the grand bohemian hotel.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? More than $100,000
What was your most memorable moment from your wedding day? We chose to sit at a table with both of our families since it’s so rare to have everyone in one place. We will never forget the warm glow on everyone’s face from the candlelight or the laughs that we shared. In the crazy hustle of a wedding day, it was one of the few moments when time seemed to slow down and memories were made.

Photographer: Sean Money and Elizabeth Fay | Planner and Florist: Lauren Fox, Fox Events | Videographer: Wedding Headline | Ceremony Venue: Grace Church Cathedral | Reception Venue: Boone Hall Plantation | Wedding Cake Baker: Jim Smeal | Caterer: Cru Catering | Band: Groovetown | Paper Products: Studio R | Bride’s Gown: Berta Bridal | Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist: Charlotte Belk | Bride’s Shoes: Stuart Weitzman | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Monique Lhuillier from Rent the Runway | Menswear: Berlins

Written with love by Catherine
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Bride Lilly shares her Charleston plantation wedding to Bobby!

One of my favorite wedding details to check out is how the bride and groom choose to create a guest book! I’ve seen some pretty creative keepsakes, but never had I heard of Lilly and Bobby’s idea! “Instead of doing a typical guest book, we decided to collect post cards from places that we traveled throughout our engagement and have guests write little notes or advice on them. My mother-in-law has them all and she is sending them to us throughout the whole first year of our marriage. It is a great way to extend the wedding fun throughout the whole year and we love being reminded of all the fun memories when we get one in the mail!” I absolutely love this idea! Not only are the postcards themselves keepsakes from their travels, but now they are full of love and advice from their wedding guests!

I’m so thrilled to hand it off to Lilly to share all the meaningful details of their day, and I know you’ll especially love the wedding favor that is now a family tradition!

Thanks to Rach loves Troy for these lovely images!

When did y’all get married? April 15, 2017.
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 143.

Tell us the highlights of finding your wedding dress. I knew that I wanted to shop for my wedding dress at 1-2 places in Charlotte, NC and that I wanted to only bring my mom and my best friend to keep from having too many opinions. The first stop was Hayden Olivia and I thought it was such a beautiful spot – we felt so special! I tried on 7 or 8 dresses, but I knew I wanted a dress that had lace sleeves and I ended up choosing the 2nd or 3rd dress I tried on. I didn’t cry at first, but as soon as we put the veil on, I looked at my mom and started crying and we all knew it was the one!

My something new, borrowed, old, and blue: My something new was the earrings my husband gave me on our wedding day, my something borrowed was my mom’s pearl bracelet, my something old was the lace from my mom’s wedding dress that I wrapped around my bouquet, and my something blue was my mom’s garter from her own wedding.

Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? We decided to do a first look in order to save time after the ceremony for celebrating and mingling with our guests that had come from near and far to share our special day with us. We are so happy that we did this because it really helped to calm our nerves and it even gave us some extra time to take a few cute pictures with our sweet dog!

What were some of the most meaningful or special parts of your ceremony? Did you write your own vows? (If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line?) Have any special readings, traditions, or participants? Our ceremony felt so magical because it was set in the middle of the Avenue of Oaks with all of this beautiful moss blowing in the wind – it was such a peaceful setting. We both felt it was really important to write our own vows so that we could really make them unique to us as a couple. My favorite line from his vows was: “I will forever be your biggest fan, supporting your passions and desires, because I know that the world is a better place with you by my side.” His favorite line from my vows was: “I promise to build a home and a family with you that is full of laughter, patience, acceptance, and love so that our children can witness firsthand how wonderful life can be if you have your best friend by your side.” My cousin also gave a beautiful reading of “The Art of Marriage” by Wilferd Arlan Peterson. We thought the words really served as important lessons and reminders of the type of marriage we wanted to create together.

What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? Instead of doing a champagne toast for all of our guests, we brought a few bottles of champagne to have the bartenders hold on to just for us and our wedding party to use during the toasts. This was a great way to save money because often whenever the toasts start, people already have a drink in hand and the champagne goes to waste. But of course as the newlywed couple, we still wanted to have a little champagne on hand to celebrate!

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? Did they have any special significance to you? There were a few reasons that we thought Legare was the perfect spot for us. I am from North Carolina and Bobby is from New Hampshire, and we live in Boston now. I grew up vacationing in Charleston and it really felt like my home away from home. Once Bobby and I started dating, he would visit Charleston with me and he fell in love with it too. I knew I wanted to have a Southern wedding, and we wanted to share one of our favorite places with all of our friends and family. As soon as we saw Legare Waring House with its beautiful landscape and stunning oak trees, we knew we had found the perfect place!

What was your most memorable moment from your wedding day? My favorite memory is the feeling I felt when we were all seated at dinner and the light was just turning to dusk, and I saw all of our family and friends talking and laughing. Having my new husband by my side and seeing all of our favorite people in the same place getting to know one another was a feeling and a memory I will never forget.

Tell us your love story in one sentence. We met our freshman year at UNC on my birthday (of all nights) and our friendship eventually turned into something more because we were always seated next to each other in classes (both our names begin with H), and we also played on the same intramural soccer team. It was fate!
Tell us all about the proposal! Bobby proposed on a beautiful fall day in October 2015 when we were in town for UNC’s homecoming football weekend, which we’ve been going to every year since we graduated. We live in Boston now, and I had actually flown down early on Friday to meet up with a friend and have lunch on campus. I didn’t think he was arriving until later that night because he had been gone all week on a work trip. My friend and I were walking around campus and as we approached the Old Well, he came up behind me and surprised me! He proposed in front of the Old Well and I can barely remember anything he said because I was so surprised. The best part about it (other than the proposal) was that my parents and a lot of our friends were in town so we had the whole weekend to celebrate with them!
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. The songs that we used for the ceremony and first dances were really important to me because I wanted them all to have sentimental value. For the seating of the grandmothers and mothers, the musicians played “Your Song” by Elton John. I loved this choice because my dad used to play that song for my mom on the piano when I was growing up. I walked down the aisle to “Chasing Cars” by Snow Patrol (a personal favorite) and for the recessional we chose “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles because it had a great lively beat to it which indicated to our guests at the end of the ceremony that it was time to celebrate! For our first dance, we danced to “You and I” by John Legend which my husband suggested and I absolutely loved. And for the father-daughter dance, we picked “My Girl” by the Temptations. I’ve been dancing with my dad to that song all my life after seeing “Father of the Bride” with him and it only made sense to dance to it together on our wedding day!
What did you serve for your wedding cake or dessert? Why did you choose it? For our wedding cake, we wanted something classic, Southern, and a little unique. One of my favorite Southern desserts is banana pudding so when our cake baker offered that flavor as one of our choices, we had to say yes! It had real bananas and vanilla wafers inside it and was absolutely delicious. And the presentation of the cake could not have been more lovely with its classic white icing and beautiful sugar magnolia blooms. It was perfection!
What was your favorite detail from your wedding? My favorite detail was the favors for our guests. My mom baked homemade pecan chewies for each of our guests with the pecans from my great-uncle’s pecan farm. This was a nod to my great-grandmother who gave my mom and dad homemade pecan chewies on their wedding day as they were leaving for their honeymoon “so that they wouldn’t go hungry.” So we wanted to pass that same sentiment and tradition on to our guests!
What was your favorite thing about wedding planning? My favorite thing about wedding planning was all the special moments I got to share with my parents and my in-laws. Putting on my wedding dress for the first time with my mom, practicing the first dance with my dad, and making welcome bags with my mother-in-law were truly wonderful memories that I will always treasure. My husband and I also took dance lessons and it was a great way for us to make time as a couple during our busy week and just have fun together!
What was the hardest part about planning your wedding? The hardest part of planning our wedding was having to do it from afar. Since we live in Boston and the wedding was in Charleston, SC, we really had to rely on our planner and our family to help us stay organized and get through all of the logistics. We even picked out our venue by having my parents visit it and take videos – we didn’t see it in person until 10 months into the planning process!
What advice would you give to someone currently planning a wedding? It is very easy to get caught up in the details of planning a wedding and forget why you’re getting married in the first place. Make time for yourself, your family, and your significant other because those are the people that make this special time so memorable. Your wedding day goes by in the blink of an eye, and what you end up remembering the most are the moments you shared with all of the people you love and care about – not the little details that go into planning a wedding.

Photographer and Videographer: Rach Loves Troy | Planner: A.Caldwell Events | Venue: Legare Waring House | Florist: Tiger Lily | Wedding Cake: Sugar Magnolia Cake Boutique | Caterer: B. Gourmet Catering | Bar: MIX Bartending | Rentals: EventWorks | Lighting: Innovative Event Services | Ceremony Music: Classical Charleston | DJ: DJ Josh via OtherBrother Entertainment | Invitation Suite: Scotti Cline Designs | Bride’s Gown: “Estelle” by Modern Trousseau | Bridal Salon: Hayden Olivia Bridal | Bride’s Veil: Jennifer Leigh Couture Veils | Hair and Makeup: Paper Dolls | Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Annabelle” in Ciel Blue by Jenny Yoo | Groom’s Tuxedo: Loro Piana from Julian Style | Groom’s Shoes: Tom Ford | Groomsmen Attire: The Black Tux | Getaway Car: Lowcountry Valet and Shuttle | Wedding Nanny for Dog: Dog Tired

Written with love by Catherine
2 Comments
  1. avatar L+ B | Legare Waring House | B. Gourmet Catering reply

    […] One of our favorite venues of all time.. Legare Waring House! This venue just screams Southern elegance, and we’re so excited to unveil this wedding on our blog! We worked with our good friends from A. Caldwell Events, who without fail creates the most beautiful, Pinterest worthy weddings.. This one just so happened to be published in Southern Weddings Magazine! […]

  2. avatar Legare Waring House Wedding in Charleston, South Carolina reply

    […] Legare Waring House Wedding by Rach Loves Troy […]

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Bride Molly shares her playful oceanfront wedding to Austin!

Today’s wedding is just a breath of beachy fresh air full of playful, glam details, and I couldn’t love it more. That’s why I’m so excited to introduce you to today’s bride, Molly, whose beau, Austin, proposed in a pink library on the same darling island where they hosted their wedding. Fittingly, their big day was full of touches of pink complemented by gorgeous watercolor paper goods, tassel details, and lots of blue and white ginger jars!

Everything about these photos is just plain fun, which is why it doesn’t surprise me that not even a power outage could dampen the mood. Molly says, “A huge storm rolled through as we were all on the dance floor that caused the power to go out. It ended up getting resolved, and we had power soon after, but even without lights and music, our guests were still having a blast.” Read on to see the rest of this oceanfront fete!

Thanks to Shannon Kirsten for these lovely photos!

When did y’all get married? May 13th, 2017.
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 190.

Tell us the highlights of finding your wedding dress. My mom, one of my sisters, and two of my best friends joined me on the hunt. I am very particular, so when I saw my dress, I knew it was the one. It ended up being a pretty easy task for me!

What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? Our wedding fell on Mother’s Day weekend so florists were few and far between. We ordered our flowers from Fifty Flowers and our amazing day-of planner (who also doubles as a florist) was able to create all of the floral arrangements the day before. Also, the wedding cake. Since we went simple, it kept the cost down.

What was Southern about your wedding? I loved the traditional children’s wear that we used for the ring bearers and flower girls (all 7 of them) and monogramming anything we could get away with.

What were some of the most meaningful or special parts of your ceremony? I loved walking down the aisle with my veil over my face and having my father lift it up once I met Austin at the end. I also loved the cross that was the backdrop of our ceremony, representing faith in Jesus as the foundation of our marriage.

What was your favorite thing about wedding planning? I loved the design aspect and seeing everything coming together from beginning to end. From the invitation suite, to the centerpieces, to the welcome bags and paper products…making sure it all fit the look and feel we were going for.

What made you choose your ceremony and reception venues? I’ve always loved the Boca Bay Pass Club as a venue. The beautiful Gulf of Mexico in the background, the blue & white chinoiserie wallpaper in the bathroom, the green lawn where we pitched our reception tent…the list goes on. It was perfect for us. We also loved the fact that it felt like a “destination” wedding even though it’s not far from where we are from.

Our first dance was to Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love.” Austin and I love Van Morrison’s music and always knew we wanted to use one of his songs for our first dance. The lyrics of this song are so sweet and meaningful. It was perfect for us. The father-daughter dance was to James Taylor’s “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You.” My dad and I had so much fun dancing to this song. At one point he picked me up and twirled me in his arms. The mother-son dance was to Van Morrison’s “Days like This.” Austin and his mom are both great dancers and love this song.

Tell us your love story in one sentence. Austin and I were high school sweethearts that went our separate ways (but stayed friends) during college and then immediately following my college graduation, we knew we were “the one” for each other.
Tell us all about the proposal! Austin asked if I wanted to go to Boca Grande, FL for the weekend. Since that’s one of my favorite getaway spots, of course I said yes. On Saturday, I was in my bathing suit and cover-up ready to hit the beach, but Austin had different plans. He rented a golf cart for the day and asked if I wanted to take a ride around the [adorable] island. Sounded good to me. We made a little stop at what I’ve always told him was my favorite library. It’s painted pink with huge front doors made of coral with a lush courtyard in the back. We took a stroll through the library, and before I knew it, he was on one knee. of course I said yes, so we popped some champagne and spent the day basking in our excitement and spreading the news. That night Austin took me to my favorite restaurant on the island, The Temptation (aka “the temp”), and low and behold our parents were nestled up in a cozy round booth in the corner of the restaurant. He had invited them down to dinner to help us celebrate!
Did you decide to do a first look? We went back and forth on our decision but ended up doing a first look. I am so happy we did. It was a special moment [and one of the only moments] we had with just us. Plus, it gave us more time to celebrate with everyone at our wedding and more time for pictures.
What did you serve for your wedding cake or dessert? Dessert wasn’t a huge priority of ours so we kept it easy and went with a simple wedding cake from Publix. It was vanilla with a strawberry cream filling and cream cheese icing…delicious!
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $50,000-$75,000.
What advice would you give to someone currently planning a wedding? Don’t worry about everyone’s opinion, because everyone will want to share theirs. Whether it be positive or negative. Focus on the positive and that your best, most fun and special day ever is right around the corner!

Photographer: Shannon Kirsten Photography | Planner and Florist: Caroline Ruth Designs | Additional Planning: Sarah Tucker | Venue and Caterer: Boca Bay Pass Club | Flowers: Fifty Flowers | Wedding Cake Baker: Publix Bakery | Lighting and Rentals: US Tent Rental | Specialty Linens: La Tavola | Farm Tables and Vintage Furniture: The Reserve Vintage Rentals | Band: The Atlanta Funk Society | Paper Products: Shannon Kirsten | Bride’s Gown: “Teresa” by Hayley Paige | Earrings: Ann Taylor | Hair Stylist and Makeup Artist: Ali Pullen & Heather Jo Herman from Acqua Aveda Salon | Bride’s Shoes: Jimmy Choo | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “Lauren,” “Newbury,” “Lacey,” “DC,” “Lolo,” “Riggs,” and “Amber” in “Going to the Chapel” by Joanna August | Groom’s Attire: Mr. Porter and Burberry | Groomsmen Attire: The Black Tux

Written with love by Catherine
5 Comments
  1. avatar Priscilla Henriques reply

    Wow, what a stunning wedding! Amazing wedding for an amazing couple! Honored to have been a small part! – Priscilla (The Reserve Vintage Rentals)

  2. avatar Lucy Clarke reply

    A fun and special day indeed for Molly and Austin! Love how all the details came together to create a light, fun and breathtaking moment!

  3. avatar Shannon Kirsten reply

    My favorite wedding thus far! Thank you for featuring us! – Shannon Kirsten

  4. avatar 2017 : YEAR IN REVIEW reply

    […] Then we had my friends Molly & Austins wedding in Boca Grande. We photographed and did all the stationery (more pics to come). It was recently featured on Southern Weddings here […]

  5. avatar BLUE & BLUSH BOCA GRANDE WEDDING reply

    […] So sweet to have this beauty featured on Southern Weddings, you can see more photos and read what Molly had to say about the day here […]

Southern Weddings reserves the right to delete comments which contain profanity or personal attacks or seek to promote a business unrelated to the post.  And remember: a good attitude is like kudzu – it spreads.  We love hearing your kind thoughts!

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