Google+ Boone Hall Plantation Archives - Southern Weddings

Southern Weddings

Tag: Boone Hall Plantation

We’re starting this week on a seriously lovely note, thanks to today’s Boone Hall wedding! Amanda and Jason’s story is nothing if not serendipitous–she runs a stylish boutique, he owns an antique wholesale company, and after meeting at his store and falling in love, they became partners in crime at antique festivals around the country and across the globe. It’s no surprise, then, that their wedding was chock-full of the prettiest vintage finds, most of which they pulled from their own collections. I can only imagine how special it is to now have these same pieces in their newlywed home!

Thanks so much to Whitney Neal for sharing this sweet day with us!

I had recently moved back home to the Kentuckiana area (Louisville, Kentucky and Southern Indiana) from Chicago for my next adventure in life. I had always dreamed of opening a boutique, and while planning my store opening, I also helped my mom redesign her hair salon. One day, while scouting for display products, my mom suggested we go to a place called Blue Ocean Traders that sold all kinds of interesting things. My mom, her business partner, Dyan, and I went one March afternoon, and were totally amazed by all the beautiful antiques! While shopping around, the owner, Jason, started helping us and showing us around the warehouse. Dyan said after leaving, “That’s your man, Amanda, he is the one!” Jason and I proceeded to email about product details, and of course, I had to go back for “more wall sconces to finish my mom’s hair salon project”…and more wall scones and more wall sconces. On one of those trips for more wall scones, Jason asked if I was available for dinner that night! Of course, I agreed. We quickly learned how much we had in common–we are both entrepreneurs, always looking for that next best antique. We quickly joined each other for 5 A.M. wake up calls to antique markets across the country!

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? We did, and it was the best! The whole day, I was anxious, and I didn’t feel like myself until our first look. I will never forget that moment. We laughed, we cried, and we sweated a lot…Charleston is really hot in mid-June!

Describe your wedding flowers. They were gorgeous! The flowers and decor were one of my favorite things to plan. I have an obsessions with fresh flowers, and we used lots of coral and minty green colors.

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? My aunt and godmother, Donna, read the Irish Blessings. It was beautiful and so meaningful.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did not. We both cried the entire ceremony, and never would have never made it through it if we had!

Y’all, how gorgeous is Amanda’s swiss dot veil? Love!

My family has always traveled to Charleston for vacations and I have always had a love for the area. We both knew we wanted to do a small destination wedding there with our favorite people in attendance!

Boone Hall Planation is undeniably Southern! Our wedding had an old Southern glam feel, complete with lots of beautiful antiques. We brought all of our own farm house tables, settees, lighting, and decor, all the way from Louisville. Our meal was served family-style, and we had a biscuit bar at the end of the night! It was so yummy!

What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? Working with amazing vendors! We were also able to provide a lot of our own decor.

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. We had a small cake and cake pops. They were so cute and delicious! The cake was coral (of course!) and we used my own jadeite cake stands for the display.

We both loved our first dance so much!! Our song was “Bonfire Heart” by James Blunt. It was fun, fast-paced, and really showed our love and the spark that we create for each other. We truly have so much fun together.

Tell us all about the proposal! I tagged along with Jason on one of his buying trips to Europe, and we had an amazing trip, hopping fences to be the first at the antique markets, and enjoying great dinners in small villages throughout eastern Europe. On the last leg of our trip, Jason took me to Eger, Hungary, where we spent a day enjoying wine and visiting the charming wineries. He proposed to me at one of the wineries, telling me how he knew we were meant to be. He said, “There was time in my early 30’s when I wasn’t sure I was suppose to be married. and I was okay with it. I had a wonderful life and got to do what I loved every day. I never felt what my friends had talked about with their wives until I met you. I now know that I am meant to get married, and that person is you.”
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 120
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We love spending time together, helping each other grow, and pushing each other to new levels with our careers. Hopefully, we’ll be starting a family soon!

Photographer: Whitney Neal / Videographer: Low Country Wedding Films / Planner: The Burlap Elephant / Venue: Boone Hall Plantation / Florist: Jaclyn Journey / Wedding Cake: Cakes by Kasarda / Caterer: Salthouse Catering / Rentals: Dress & Dwell, Blue Ocean Traders, and Ooh! Events / Band: Calhoun’s Calling / Paper Products: Blue Glass Designs / Bride’s Gown: Matthew Christopher / Bride’s Veil: HeadCandi / Bride’s Jewelry: Dress & Dwell and Lulubelles / Hair and Makeup: Meg Workman / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: BHLDN and Dress & Dwell / Menswear: Banana Republic and Collard Greens

lisa Written with love by Lisa
7 Comments
  1. avatar Cambron reply

    I love the invitations! Where are they from?!

  2. avatar Amy reply

    Oh, just beautiful. Loved looking at the smiling bride and groom. Look at all the love – Many happy wishes for lifetime of beautifulness – in every way.

  3. avatar Jess Petrie reply

    What such an adorable couple and wedding. The photography is simply outstanding too. Gorgeous work

  4. avatar Emily reply

    Every detail is seriously gorgeous, but my favorite might be the seating chart board – perfection!

  5. avatar Classic Wedding Invitations reply

    The bride is stunning! Congrats to the happy couple!

  6. avatar 10 Gorgeous Blue Bridesmaids Dresses from Real Weddings | Mine Forever reply

    […] Whitney Neal Photography via Southern Weddings […]

  7. avatar Kaitlyn reply

    Beautiful wedding! Where are your shoes from??

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!

Reply to:
close

Can y’all believe there are just TWO sleeps until Christmas? I still have a few more gifts to wrap, but a few days ago, I spent the evening wrapping gifts and watching Gone with the Wind with my mama–it was the perfect #SouthernHoliday evening! Given my love for Gone with the Wind, it’s no surprise that I’m a huge fan of plantation weddings, and Jillian and Marc tied the knot at one of my very favorites, Boone Hall! With a venue that is so lovely on its own, it’s a joy to see this understated decor style, complete with sweet Southern details. As an interior designer, Jillian sure knew how to visualize the space, and I’m certain they made the right decision to go with natural accents to complement the gorgeous surroundings.

Cheers to Paige Winn for sharing this beautiful day with us!

I decided I wanted Marc to be my something blue, since he was in a blue suit. My something old was my vintage beaded clutch from the 1950’s that I received as a bridesmaid gift at my best friend’s wedding. My something borrowed was an embroidered handkerchief from my mother that had belonged to my grandfather’s aunt. Last but not least, my something new was a ring my mother gave me that she had made. She has one made for her too, so we have matching mother-daughter rings.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? From Marc: As Jillian and her mother started their walk, the music changed and my emotions overcame me. The moment was ideal and the weather was perfect. I will never forget watching her walk towards me and thinking about spending the rest of our lives together.

We wanted to have a destination wedding that was still intercontinental. We planned a trip to Charleston to check out some places and fell in love with Boone Plantation. We loved that it was rustic, on the water, and told a story.

Marc and I are definitely a traditional couple in terms of design. We wanted everything to look natural and complement the gorgeous surroundings of the Plantation. Our flowers were a mix of succulents, dusty miller, silver brunia, crane kale, white chrysanthemums, lots of magnolia leaves, and some cotton.

What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The biggest challenge was being in Buffalo, New York, planning a wedding in Charleston. As an interior designer, I am able to visualize a space, but I still wanted to be at the Cotton Dock all the time, thinking about draping, seeing flowers in person, etc. Thankfully, we had a great team of people who we worked with closely to bring our vision come to life. Marc and I were able to make a few trips to Charleston for tastings and meetings–we couldn’t possibly miss a tasting, especially when it came to our cake!

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We served fried green tomatoes, a raw bar, shrimp and grits, mac and cheese, and mini chicken and waffles, and Firefly sweet tea vodka and lemonade was passed at the guests arrived. Since we had a destination wedding, we wanted our food to reflect the South and really create an experience for our guests.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. From Marc: I had just joined Facebook when I came across a post from a college friend. I “liked” it, and one other person did as well: Jillian. We were not friends, but I clicked on her picture from my phone. There were a few visible pictures, and one in particular was a great picture of her holding a live octopus from the ocean. I messaged her about how neat I thought it was and we started up a conversation. A week later, we met in person, and the rest is history.
Tell us all about the proposal! We went skiing in our neighboring ski town, Ellicottville, NY, on December 23, 2012. It was a crisp, clear winter night, and after a few hours of skiing, we stopped at the top of a mountain. It seemed Marc was just looking for chapstick, but once he started talking about love, I knew something was up. The next thing I knew, he was down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of our lives together. Marc had skied for two hours with the ring in his pocket, but after the proposal, we were both extremely nervous to get down the hill safely–I actually took it off, put it back in the box, and made Marc carry it down!
When did y’all get married? October 10, 2014
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 60
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I went to NYC for the weekend with my mom to look for a dress–it was a good excuse for a girls weekend in New York, and a chance to see one of my best friends. We had a ton of appointments crammed into a few days, and I ended up with a dress I never thought I would like. It seemed so busy, but my consultant was right. I knew it was the one when I put it on, even if I didn’t want to admit it at first!
Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? We didn’t do a first look. I really wanted Marc to see me for the first time on the day of our wedding when I was walking down the aisle. It just felt very romantic and sweet to me, and I am happy we didn’t do a first look.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We had our close friend read a poem, “The Art of Marriage,” by Wilferd Arlan Peterson.
Describe your wedding cake or dessert. Our wedding cake was a simple and delicious two tier-ed cake, decorated with fondant. It was vanilla and alternate layers were filled with hazelnut filling and white chocolate mousse.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We are enjoying being married and looking forward to starting a family.

Photographer: Paige Winn / Planner: Natalie Knox of Boone Hall Plantation / Venue: Boone Hall Plantation / Florist and Rentals: Tailor and Table Event Design & Styling / Catering and Cake: DuVall Catering and Events / DJ: DJ Ben Felton / Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas / Bride’s Gown: “Sofia” by Matthew Christopher / Hair Stylist: Carly Militello / Bridesmaid Hair Stylist: Ash & Co Bridal / Makeup Artist: Makeup by Nicole / Bride’s Shoes: Badgley Mischka / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “7243” in Emerald by Alfred Angelo / Menswear: Kenneth Cole

marissa Written with love by Marissa
3 Comments
  1. avatar Nicole reply

    The photo of them dancing is the sweetest :) And I LOVE her necklace!

  2. avatar Caleb reply

    Beautiful photos! I love the venue.

  3. avatar Nicole reply

    I was lucky enough to watch these two beautiful people get married in this amazingly gorgeous location! I’m getting married soon and only hope my wedding turns out half as successful as theirs did!

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!

Reply to:
close

As y’all may know, every summer, we welcome a lovely intern to our office! Erin, our current intern, is a Texas girl from Princeton University, and she’s been a huge help to us with everything from photo shoot prep to working on the blog over the last month. Since she has a soft spot for colorful outdoor weddings, we thought she’d be the perfect person to write today’s post! -Lisa

Even though Elizabeth and Greg call Chicago home, their destination wedding at Charleston’s Boone Hall Plantation was a true Southern affair! By using vintage Boone Hall postcards as escort cards and displaying gorgeous peaches throughout the reception, Elizabeth and Greg captured the visual beauty of the South, while little touches, like providing fans to the ladies and offering tours of historic venue during cocktail hour, captured Southern hospitality at its best. But the best parts about Elizabeth and Greg’s wedding were the heartfelt details: personal vows written by the bride and groom, naming their first dog Boone after their venue, and choosing to wed in Charleston so that they have many reasons to return to the beautiful city!

Thanks to Amelia + Dan for sharing Elizabeth and Greg’s big day with us!

Did you have something borrowed, blue, old, and new? If so, do tell! My something old was a locket with a photo of my grandparents inside, which I wore on my garter. My something new was my wedding gown. My something borrowed was a bracelet from a close cousin of mine, and I wore Something Bleu shoes, which have a blue gemstone in the sole.
Describe your wedding flowers. Branch Design Studio did the most incredible job on my flowers. At the end of the altar were two rustic wooden wine barrels with vintage peach crates containing peach spray roses, coral peonies, peach ranunculus, white stock, yellow finesse roses, daisy feverfew, and scabiosa pods. My bouquet was made of mostly peonies and peach Juliet garden roses. It also included ranunculus, dusty miller, and a few yellow craspedia pods. The bridesmaids’ bouquets had white and yellow peonies with peach garden roses as well. Since their dresses were yellow, I added scabiosa pods to their bouquets in place of the yellow craspedia.

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? We decided to do a first look to enjoy a moment alone together before the ceremony began. This way, we were also able to enjoy more time with family and friends during the cocktail hour, as we took a majority of our photos before the wedding started.

While planning our wedding, I made three trips to Charleston. For all three, it was raining when I visited Boone Hall. Therefore, I knew that on the day of the wedding, the weather was going to hold out for us, and the plantation was even more stunning in the sunshine.

We had rustic wooden wine barrels with clusters of peach arrangements on them at each of the four doors as you stepped into the Cotton Dock. In addition, each of the doors had lush rectangular wreaths covered in peach roses and peach stock. Mason jars hung from the ceiling containing peonies and ivory tea lights at varying heights. Above the sweetheart table hung more mason jars containing ivory tea lights and peach blooms strung from twine. Peach garden roses lined the tables, as well as wooden boxes of peonies, roses, dusty miller, and craspedia. Each window in the Cotton Dock had a cluster of vases and mason jars with coral peonies and ivory tea lights.

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? We wanted to make Charleston’s rich history a focal point of our wedding celebration. The mansion was opened during the cocktail hour for guests, where they were able to take tours and learn about Boone’s history. For seating assignments, we used black and white vintage postcards of Boone Hall. Since Boone Hall was once known for growing cotton, we had puffs of raw cotton strung along the back wall. They also were known for growing pecans, which we had incorporated into our desserts. We had fresh peaches in vintage peach crates throughout the venue, in addition to sugared peaches on the hummingbird cake. We gave out vintage fans to the ladies before the ceremony–as my mother in law put it, a Southern gentleman endures the heat! We were sure to have our DJ play many of our Southern favorites to complete the picture!

Describe your wedding cake or dessert. We chose hummingbird cake, as it was a favorite of ours from our first visit to Charleston. It brought another Southern aspect to our wedding for our guests to try. The cake was decorated with fresh sugared peaches to go along with our peach theme for the wedding weekend, and it was absolutely delicious! Greg was so excited about the cake that he fed himself first when we cut it! In addition to the cake, we had a dessert table with bite-sized desserts including s’mores bars, lemon tarts, caramels, and chocolate pecan bites. We also had a groom’s cake decorated like a Jameson bottle.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Our friendship began in high school and continued on as we both attended Indiana University. While our friends attempted to set us up from the beginning, it wasn’t until I was back home for the summer in Chicago that sparks started to fly. Greg’s profession is with the Chicago Blackhawks, and with a little encouragement from my close friend, our new story began the summer night they won the 2010 Stanley Cup.
Tell us all about the proposal! From Greg: When we first started dating, Elizabeth made it clear that the key to her heart was sushi with a side of spicy mayo; it was her guilty pleasure food and we would enjoy it often. As I began to think of different ideas that encompassed our early dating for a proposal, I kept coming back to sushi. I finally came up with the idea of a custom fortune cookie detailing our fates and fortunes and, although fortune cookies are not traditionally served at sushi restaurants, I hoped it wasn’t too much of a stretch. I made a reservation at one of the nicest Japanese restaurants in Chicago and delivered the fortune cookies and a bottle of Dom Perignon earlier in the afternoon before dinner that night. When we arrived at dinner, the plan was to have them bring out the chocolate-covered strawberry (another favorite of Elizabeth’s) and fortune cookies as an amuse bouche. They eventually brought the appetizers without having brought the fortune cookies, and I had to convince Elizabeth to visit the restroom so I could track down the wait staff to get the cookies out. Thankfully, they did, and while she thought something was amiss, she played along as we opened our customized cookies. I read mine aloud, saying “Mine says ‘You will find a girl who will make you want nothing more in life than to make her smile,’ what does yours say?” Her message said, “You will be with a man who will love you, respect you, and care for you for the rest of your life.” Then, I got down on one knee and proposed. She said yes and we celebrated over sushi and champagne before meeting friends out later that night.
When did y’all get married? May 11, 2014
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 95
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We wrote our own vows in order to be able to say what we really wanted to give to one another in our marriage. My favorite phrase was “I promise to laugh with you, encourage you and inspire you,” as these are things we wish to maintain as our love grows over time.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. I chose to walk down the aisle to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D.” It is such a lovely, classic song, and it was especially beautiful played on the strings by Classical Charleston. For our first dance, we chose “Hey Pretty Girl” by Kip Moore. The song’s lyrics really resonated with Greg and how he saw our relationship unfolding. Before we opened the dance floor to everyone, we danced to “Dancing in the Moonlight” with our immediate families. This was “our song” long before we started dating, going back to our early high school days. It was the perfect song to get the dancing started on such a beautiful night.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We are working on decorating our new home in the city and look forward to getting our first dog together (named Boone)! We have recently done some traveling in Europe and are excited for a tropical getaway for our honeymoon once the cold arrives in Chicago. From there, we look forward to starting a family!

Photographer: Amelia + Dan / Videographer: Life In Rewind / Planner: Pure Luxe Bride / Venue: Boone Hall Plantation / Florist: Branch Design Studio / Cake Baker: D’lish / Caterer: Cru / Rentals: Event Works / Lighting: PDA / DJ: Dream House Productions / Bride’s Gown: Monique Lhuillier / Bridal Salon: Ultimate Bride / Paper Products: “Carolina” by Bella Figura / Bride’s Veil: Weddings 826 / Hair and Makeup: Ash & Co / Bride’s Shoes: Something Bleu Oyster Bed D’Orsays from BHLDN / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: “D564” in Daisy by Dessy / Groom’s Attire: De Louice / Groom’s Shoes: Russell & Bromley / Groomsmen Attire: Tommy Hilfiger / Calligraphy: Write By Mike / Men’s Salon: Old South Barber Spa / Ceremony Musicians: Classical Charleston / Pastries: Wild Flour Pastry / Transportation: FingerSnappin’ Entertainment Trolley, Charleston Style Limo, Vintage Limousine

Pure Luxe Bride is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

Written with love by Southern Weddings
4 Comments
  1. avatar Olivia Cox reply

    In love with everything about this wedding — from the warm and welcoming color scheme to the simply elegant place settings and gorgeous floral arrangements everything is perfect. Definitely sharing this post with my bride-to-be cousin!

  2. avatar amelia + dan reply

    thank you so much for sharing this sweet couple’s wedding day! :)

  3. avatar d’lish reply

    Hey there! Great post and so happy to see the wedding cake in all it’s glory :) Hoping maybe the creator of the groom’s cake can get some credit (not sure who it was) because it’s a great cake and they deserve to be recognized, too! :)

  4. avatar Southern Weddings Weekly Round-Up – Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] Elizabeth and Greg are Chicagoans, but they couldn’t resist the charm of Charleston for their wedding! Chelsea and Will fell in love with their venue, Castleton Farms–it was right in the middle of their two home states. Sarah and Mike incorporated family members into their wedding in the (literally) sweetest way. Leah and Tripp‘s wedding was so sweet and Southern, and we love the story of how they met! […]

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!

Reply to:
close
Top