With school starting in the coming weeks, it’s inevitable that fall is right around the corner. I am all for pumpkin-everything, but Kristen and Rick’s wedding has me hanging onto sweet summer days for just a bit longer. With the help of A Fox Event, Kristen and Rick planned an intimate summer soirée at the Legare Waring House that allowed them to spend a bit of extra time with each guest (and stretch their budget a bit further!). With personal details weaved throughout, like Japanese Aralia leaves from her mother’s garden, and fun pineapple decor sprinkled into their classic design, I can see why Kristin’s joyful smile went from ear-to-ear!
Big SW hugs to Jennings King for capturing Kristin and Rick’s wedding day!
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I knew I wanted a full skirt and I sure did not compromise! I expected to choose a very simple, classic style, but instead, I fell in love with the rich lace bodice on my dress as soon as I tried it on. It was a very special moment that I was lucky enough to share with my mom, sisters, mother-in-law, and cousins.
I wanted a wild-looking, white, summery bouquet full of variety and greenery. Fox Events made me a gorgeous bouquet of peonies, astilbe, tulips, and a variety of garden roses, plus peach Juliet garden roses for a small pop of color. The greens included seeded eucalyptus, Italian ruscus, and smilax, and we added a Japanese Aralia leaf from my mom’s garden!
Did you decide to do a first look? Why or why not? I felt very strongly about Rick seeing me for the first time as I made my way down the aisle, and he felt the same way, so we opted to keep it traditional. Because we had plenty of evening sunlight to work with in June, we did not have to worry about having our photos done before the ceremony. I absolutely loved seeing him tear up!
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? I strove to contract all local businesses and tried to find vendors who used local products. For example, Salthouse Catering’s menu was farm-to-table and seasonal, and ICEBOX offered local beer and liquor companies such as Palmetto Brewery and Striped Pig. The groom and groomsmen’s bowties were handmade in Mount Pleasant, and the maids gifts came from Spartina 449 of Daufuskie Island. Also Southern was our married monogram featured in different places, such as above the porch door, on the cocktail napkins, and on our champagne flutes (I also wore my maiden monogram as I got ready for the day). We had a classic coconut cake which is “very Charleston” and so delicious. The night before the wedding, we cut Japanese Aralia leaves from my mom’s garden. We used one in my bouquet and put one on each place setting. It was a really simple way to make my bouquet and the tablescapes more dramatic and personally significant (I carried a bit of my mom down the aisle with me!). And of course, the symbol of hospitality–the pineapple–was placed throughout the venue decor.
What was one way you saved money or cut costs at your wedding? We married on a Friday evening and saved an enormous amount! I also had my envelopes hand-lettered by Whitlock Design (on Etsy) instead of calligraphed, and I ordered my veil through Etsy. I also replaced some florals with lanterns (and pineapples, of course!). Lastly, instead of renting a dance floor, we arranged the tables so that there was enough space to dance on the venue’s existing patio.
By far, our favorite detail of the wedding was the beautiful cafe lighting over our reception. The weather worked in our favor and we were lucky enough to forgo a tent, which allowed for the historic home at our venue to serve as a gorgeous backdrop. The openness of the patio space complete with the cafe lighting gave the reception a very romantic, summery feel. My favorite personal detail of the wedding was incorporating my beloved grandmothers, who have both passed away, into the ceremony. I wore pink wedding shoes in honor of my mom’s mom, and my paternal grandmother’s chaplain married us. I also tied both late grandmothers’ wedding rings to my bouquet, and my sisters wore them the rest of the night following the ceremony.
How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We first met at Stratton Mountain in Vermont as teenagers. Rick was competing in a snowboarding event and I was there with a close friend of mine. Rick and I realized that we hit the slopes at the same home mountain, and over the next few years, we unexpectedly ran into each other time after time. In the spring of my senior year of high school, we reconnected when Rick suggested we meet for coffee. We began dating shortly after I began my freshman year of college, and despite several intervals of living a great distance from each other, we’ve been together ever since!
Tell us all about the proposal! Rick had my ring hidden under our bed for almost six months prior to proposing. There were many nights when it almost came out early, but he had made arrangements to fly us home to celebrate with friends and family just a few days after the proposal, so he held off. Rick had made a reservation at a historic brunch spot nestled in a canyon of the Santa Monica Mountains (we currently live in California). After a beautiful drive up oceanside cliffs, we entered the tranquility of the inner canyon, golden with the season of fall. Under a giant California oak, Rick went down on one knee. We reveled in our brunch, knowing the exciting secret we were keeping from those around us. A few days later, we flew to Charleston to celebrate with family and friends.
When did y’all get married? June 10, 2016
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 95
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? My cousin recited Romans 12:9-16. It will always remind us to grow our love sincerely by putting each other first, and ourselves second.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. Rick and I had a classical guitarist play traditional music for the ceremony; I walked down the aisle with my dad to “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring.” Our first dance was to “Forever and Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis. We are big classic country fans and just love this song! Rick and I traveled to Austin last year and learned to two-step, which was super fun. I love to slow dance, so I chose “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton for our last dance. It was so romantic and one of my very favorite memories of the night.
How did you plan for your marriage while planning your wedding? We discussed in detail how and when to merge our finances and invest in our future together. We spent a lot of time setting financial and personal goals as a couple.
If you are comfortable responding, what range did your wedding budget fall into? $25,000-$50,000
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? You may feel rushed in the beginning of planning to secure your vendors, but I think it is really important to consider your desired guest count first. Holding a more intimate wedding allowed us to have more time with each guest, which was priceless. It also allowed our budget to go further and include extra personal details and a few splurges.
What’s next for you as a couple? What memories are you looking forward to making together? Rick and I are finally enjoying post-wedding and post-graduate school tranquility! We are working hard to save for a home and relocate back to the South. We look forward to spending time with each other and our families, and perhaps starting a family of our own down the road.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your wedding? It was important to us that guests treated our ceremony as a worship, despite it being outside of a church. We also wanted to see guests’ faces instead of cameras and phones as we walked up the aisle for the first time as newlyweds. We were inspired by Southern Weddings’ “Unplugged Wedding” post and wrote our own notecards, which we affixed to the back of every seat. It was a huge success!
Photographer: Jennings King Photography | Planner and Florist: Fox Events | Venue: Legare Waring House | Cake Baker: Mirabelle Bakery | Caterer: Salthouse Catering | Rentals: Eventhaus Rentals, Ooh! Events, and Polished! | Linens: Connie Duglin | Lighting: Innovative Event Services | DJ: Rob Duren Productions | Wooden Monogram: Jasmine Wood Crafts | Paper Products: Paperwhites | Bride’s Gown: Augusta Jones | Bridal Salon: Gown Boutique of Charleston | Bride’s Hair Comb: Bridal House of Charleston | Bride’s Veil: Blanca Veils | Bride’s Earrings: Julie Vos | Hair and Makeup: Paper Dolls | Bride’s Shoes: “Thora” by Badgley Mischka | Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Donna Morgan | Menswear: The Black Tux | Bow Ties and Pocket Squares: Barry Beaux | Bartenders: Icebox | Transportation: Lowcountry Valet & Shuttle Co. | Envelope Lettering: WhitlockDesign | Guitarist: Nikolai Svishev | Officiant: Charleston Wedding Officiant
After doing research (here at SW.com!) and talking with our preacher, we chose several readings. One was 1st John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.” Our preacher did a wonderful job incorporating this into the ceremony. We also had an excerpt of a letter from Mark Twain to his, at the time, fiance. My brother read this, and so many people afterwards mentioned how sweet the reading was. (Side note, Mark Twain was my husband’s grandfather’s favorite American author, so it had that personal touch as well.) We had a good family friend read Ruth 1:16-17. The song version of this verse was sung at my parents’ wedding in 1980, and Jason and I loved the meaning behind it. We had it read, and “Wither Thou Goest” sung too (just like my parents :)
I love the “I’ll Be There For You” poem! I’d never heard it before now. My first instinct was I wanted to send it to my husband right away- but instead I think I’ll save this one for a special occasion or maybe even after a bad day to put a smile on his face :)
While scripture is the traditional source for wedding ceremony readings, I love being able to offer different options for couples who don’t want to go traditional. I have one bride who wrote poetry, and their ceremony readings were poems that she wrote.