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I can only imagine how much Haley and Dylan’s wedding from V6 inspired not only countless brides, thanks to the bright color palette and unique design elements, but also, many Southern grooms, thanks to the delectable-looking bacon bar! This fun Charleston wedding is a feast to the eyes, as well as a fabulous representation of Haley and Dylan’s self-proclaimed “over the top” personalities. They chose the bold colors and details to reflect their belief in living life to the fullest. Considering how much fun it sounds like everyone had, I’m sure the night was a wonderful reminder of this for their guests as well!

We’re so glad Tim of Timwill Photography was on hand to capture this special day and share it with us!

A Charleston Bride does such a great job with florals, I didn’t have to give much direction. Our flowers were bright red, pinks and corals, and most were displayed in a variety of gold containers. They were a mix of spray roses, cymbidium orchids, tulips, dahlia, hydrangea, peonies, ranunculus, celosia and lisianthus.

Being in the wedding industry, I always wanted to choose a time of year that was considered “off-season.” However, Dylan proposed in November and I didn’t want to wait until the winter of 2014, so summer it was! Lowndes Grove is my most favorite spot in Charleston, so there was no doubt with that choice!

We chose our ceremony music based on the music we both loved, and we were okay with not being super traditional. We chose a string duo to play some more modern songs. I walked down the aisle to “Imagine” by John Lennon and we recessed to “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles. Our officiant was also the president of our college–it was very important to us for him to be included in our big day. He is the most inspirational speaker and was very special to us.

Did you have a cocktail hour? If so, what was it like? Our cocktail hour was on the front lawn of Lowndes Grove. We served a specialty cocktail made of champagne, St Germain, and brandied cherries. The glass was rimmed with edible gold glitter! The weather was absolutely perfect and the sun was just starting to set on the Ashley River.

What was the design inspiration for your reception? To put it mildly, we are pretty over-the-top people. Dylan and I love making a statement and we wanted the room to be filled with color and truly embody us as a couple and how we live our lives to the fullest. With the help of our planner, Melissa, we chose a palette of red, pink, and metallic gold! We also wanted the lighting in the tent to be insane–Technical Event Company used a mix of amber uplighting and gold chandeliers to really amp up the natural beauty of the plantation.

Who was your favorite vendor and why? Melissa, our wedding planner. She really kept us sane the entire time. Her attention to detail is unrivaled and I had never met someone more organized than me until I met her! I rarely meet someone that can fully read my mind (especially when it is going in a million directions) but then rein me in at the same time. I remember at one point she said, “No Haley, we cannot have a fully gold confetti wall, edible gold glitter, gold cakes, gold chandeliers and a gold dance floor”–and sometimes I needed that!

What kind of food did you serve? Custom hors d’oeuvres were passed along with oysters on the half shell during cocktail hour. Chef Nico Romo of Fish Restaurant catered an entire custom menu based on our favorite meals and family recipes. Some of our favorites were “Dylan’s Bacon Bar” that included pork belly sandwiches, “piggy pops,” and even bacon-infused bourbon. We also served fried catfish and gravy with horseradish mashed potatoes, which is a staple in the Harper home! My parents wrote a cookbook together based on family recipes, so it was important to us that we shared some of our favorites with everyone. Having amazing food was probably most important thing to us. That is one of the reasons we chose Lowndes Grove–so we could use their caterer!!

We chose to have three different cakes! All were beautifully done with various gold designs. My favorite cake had gold polka dots and a fondant bow that mimicked the bow on my wedding dress. We had three flavors: chocolate with honey buttercream, lemon with passion fruit mousse, and raspberry jam and almond cake with cinnamon cream cheese.

Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration: “Hold hands, look both ways and stay together.” My dad said this in his toast. It is something he has told me since I was a little girl and I never realized until that night how important it really was.

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. Dylan and I met mainly because my college roommate and one of my best friends had a huge crush on him. While I was out of town one of the first weekends of our freshmen year of college, he and his friends decided to play a prank on her! I came home to a completely turned upside down room–drawers flipped upside down, sheets off the bed, and everything a complete mess!! The next time I saw him, I told him he was never allowed in our room again. Our love story is definitely a little slower–we started as inseparable friends and our foundation is based on that friendship. It wasn’t until a year later that we decided to take that risk of turning our friendship into something romantic. After that, we never turned back.
Tell us all about the proposal! Dylan told me that we had a work dinner to go to at one of my favorite restaurants in Charleston, Charleston Grill. We arrived about ten minutes late. They served us a glass of champagne and let us know that our party was late as well, which seemed odd to me. We were escorted to the courtyard area, and not a minute later, Dylan was down on one knee asking the most important question of my life! He had also booked a photographer to capture every moment of the proposal! I wanted to call my parents immediately, but Dylan told me that he had a surprise outside and to not get on the phone. I was then surprised by my very best friend and maid of honor, Ashley, and our best friend Clarke on rickshaws draped in string lights with a “JUST ENGAGED” sign! The rickshaws then drove us to Fish Restaurant, where we were greeted by family and friends. It truly was the most magical night and we’ve never felt so loved!
Tell us about your beautiful engagement ring and how/why your husband (or the two of you!) chose it: I always thought I knew what I wanted in an engagement ring, but found I was so wrong when I actually went and tried them on! Dylan ended up getting a ring made for me that included some family stones, which made it very special for us. It is a five-stone round diamond ring, and it is stunning! My wedding band is all rubies and family stones from my grandmother. Dylan’s wedding band is a gold band engraved with lyrics from our wedding song, “The Best is Yet to Come,” and our wedding date.
Three adjectives that describe the day are: Fabulous, romantic, unforgettable.
How many friends, family, and loved ones attended your wedding? 180
Tell us about finding your wedding dress. What was your favorite thing about it? My wedding dress was beautiful, and the second I tried it on, I knew it was the one. My mother, mother-in-law, and one of my friends came dress shopping with me over Thanksgiving, and our last stop was Maddison Row. Lindsey, the store manager, made me feel 100 percent comfortable throughout the entire process and we still see each other often. My favorite part of my dress was the horsehair bow with lace ends that was around the waist. We also incorporated this design on our cake.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We used a mix of traditional and contemporary vows. We thought it was important to focus on the words and what we were promising to one another, so we worked really hard to make sure each line was something we would and could live by for the rest of our lives. Our favorite line was “All that I am, I give to you and all that I have, I share with you.”
Were there any family traditions you included in the ceremony? My mom gave me her penny that she wore in her shoe for good luck the day of her wedding.
What was the most memorable or touching moment about your wedding day? The morning of my wedding, I started the day having breakfast alone with my parents. Being both only children, this was a big day for us! Afterwards, my dad dropped my mom and I off at Lowndes Grove to start getting ready, and not much later, I received a flower arrangement with a note that read “I love you, Ms. Harper!!! Love, Daddy.”
Did you toss the garter or bouquet? Yes! We had too. You don’t see it too much at weddings anymore, but I swear, it is the most fun part! Something funny always happens. At our wedding, Dylan totally missed everyone during the garter toss, so he had to do it again!
Tell us about your grand exit. We had a sparkler exit, which I think always looks the most magical in pictures! Then we left in a 1966 red Pontiac GTO!!.
What was Southern about your wedding? We are both from the South, so we definitely included some Southern traditions. Dylan gave his best guy friends monogrammed rocks glasses with our wedding date and bourbon and coke in a cigar box. Dylan’s fraternity brothers did their traditional “round up,” which is where they basically all sing in a circle and pour beer on one another. We nixed the beer throwing for our wedding though! During the ceremony, my dad walked me down the aisle, Dylan’s dad was his best man, and we both had a house party instead having a bridal party. My high school girlfriends and I have a hanky that we are passing down with our new initials on it to wrap around our bouquets. I was the second person to use it and it was really special. Before the ceremony, we opted not to see each other at all–I think that may be where all the nerves came from, but it was so worth it once the doors opened and I walked onto the front lawn at Lowndes Grove.
Did you take a honeymoon? If so, where? We decided to go to San Francisco and wine country. Dylan and I are total foodies and love a great glass of vino. We wanted to go somewhere that would get us out of the heat a bit and allow us to really enjoy our time together.
What advice would you give to someone currently planning his or her wedding? Two things: have a welcome party, even if it is something small or a get together at a local spot. It really helped us make our rounds and say hello to everyone so we didn’t feel pressure on our big day. Second, hire a planner. They make your life way easier throughout the whole process so that you feel 100 percent carefree during your wedding week and while you are away for your honeymoon.

Photographer: Tim Willoughby / Videographer: Film Anywhere Productions / Planner: Melissa Barton with A Charleston Bride / Designer and Florist: A Charleston Bride / Venue: Lowndes Grove / Catering: Patrick Properties Hospitality Group / Wedding Cake: Susie Ieronomo / Bride’s Gown: “Promise” by Monique Lhuillier / Bridal Salon: Maddison Row / Bride’s Shoes: Christian Louboutin / Bride’s Earrings: Croghan’s Jewel Box / Bride’s Veil: Vera Wang / Hair Stylist: Paper Dolls, Carrie McLeod / Makeup Artist: Elina Mille / Groom’s Fashion: Ben Silver / Paper Products: Lytle Cannon / Rentals: Snyder Event Rentals / Linens: Snyder Events Rentals and Nuage Designs / Transportation: Lowcountry Loop / Lighting: Technical Event Company / Band: Charleston Groove Factory / Ceremony Music: Other Brother Entertainment / Calligraphy: Paige Tanenbaum / Officiant: Dr. John Griffith

A Charleston Bride is a delightful member of our Blue Ribbon Vendor Directory!

lisa Written with love by Lisa
7 Comments
  1. avatar Amanda {Planning It All} reply

    I love all of the thought that went into crafting a menu that was meaningful to the couple and their families!

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

    […] at a venue that is both incredibly stunning and deeply meaningful to Catherine’s family. Haley and Dylan‘s fun personalities came through so perfectly at their bold red and gold wedding. Kelly and […]

  3. avatar Lindsay {Everistta} reply

    Love all the colors in this stunning wedding! The multiple cakes so pretty!

  4. avatar Charleston Wedding Film by Film Anywhere Productions – Southern Weddings Magazine reply

    […] will always remind us of how in love we are. You can find Haley and Dylan’s wedding on the blog here, and lots more wedding films […]

  5. avatar Andrea Follman reply

    Can you tell me where you ordered the koozies from?!

  6. avatar Brittany reply

    Please tell me where you ordered the koozies from

  7. avatar Dana reply

    Where did you order your drink koozies from?

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Yummy Southern food (like friend green tomatoes!), a gorgeous oak trees backing both the ceremony and reception, and fun colorful details! Stacey + Patrick’s big day was a sweet reflection of their love of the outdoors (be sure to read their engagement story, even snow and a hurricane couldn’t stop Patrick from getting his girl!), heritage, and Stacey’s affinity to bright colors. She said she “wanted to have a whimsical feel to the wedding”, and I’d say that the mix-n-match centerpieces and colorful chevron runners completely fit the bill!

We’re delighted to share this fun day from Dana Cubbage!

Tell us about finding your wedding dress. I’m not one of those women who has known from childhood exactly what my dress, or even my wedding would be like. I consider myself a bit of a tomboy and until the last few years, I didn’t even like wearing dresses unless I was forced to do so! Needless to say, dress shopping was very intimidating for me at the outset. I visited maybe two shops before stopping in to the place where my sister had bought her dress eight years before. There was a dress on display in the window when I walked in, and I said “That looks like a fun dress!” I tried on a few, didn’t love any of them and finally said, “I want to try that one in the window.” I put it on and instantly loved it! I found myself playing with the ruffles while in the dress shop–it was so fun to wear! I wanted to be comfortable in my dress and wanted to have a good time at the wedding. This dress fit the profile perfectly for me.

By the look of this glamorous bride we see here, I don’t believe you were ever a tomboy, Stacey! : )

Did you decide to do a “first look”? Why or why not? We did go with a first look. From the beginning of our wedding planning, we tried our best to make the wedding what we truly wanted, and not just what was expected, typical, or considered “traditional.” We realized that this would be a great opportunity to spend a few moments alone together and really focus on each other. We knew how crazy and busy the day could get (it went by so fast!) and we truly cherished those few moments we had alone together.
Did you write your own vows? If so, what was your favorite phrase, verse or line? We did write our own vows, and we shared them with each other during our first look. There can be a tendency to forget about private, special moments for the bride and groom on the wedding day. Having a first look allowed us to spend a few moments together, but also allowed us to share our vows without having the pressure of “being on stage” in front of all our family and friends. I don’t do well with speaking in front of a lot of people!

I love bright colors and wanted to have a whimsical feel to the wedding. My bouquet had coral peonies, bright pink peonies, dusty miller, burgundy scabiosa, blush astilbe, red ball dahlias, red gloriosa lilies, bupleurum, white phalenopsis orchids with fuchsia centers and red anemones, hand-tied with a ribbon. Branch Designs did a fabulous job taking my thoughts and ideas and making beautiful floral arrangements. I would’ve been lost without them!!

What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We didn’t have any readings, but we did have a great family friend, who was our pre-marital counselor, say a personal prayer for us during the ceremony, which was truly special. We had “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman playing in the background while he was praying.
Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding and why you chose them. We used instrumental versions of our favorites played by the Vitamin String Quartet (VSQ) for a few of the songs during our ceremony, and also at our cocktail hour. We played “1,2,3,4” by the Plain White T’s (VSQ version) for the wedding party procession, “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White T’s (VSQ version) for the Bridal Procession, “10,000 Reasons” by Matt Redman during the prayer given by our good friend and pre-marital counselor, “M79” by Vampire Weekend for wedding recessional, “Over the Rainbow” by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole for mother/son dance, “Sunrise Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof for father/daughter dance, and “All My Days” by Alexi Murdoch for our first dance

What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Considering that Patrick and I live in Maryland and are from that area, I’d say the entire wedding was Southern in that it was in Charleston, SC! We probably best represented the South in the food we served. We had passed hors d’oeuvres of fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits, a mac’n’cheese station, and pan-seared local wreck fish (a South Carolina specialty) with succotash.

Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The venue was probably our favorite. Jacqueline at Sweetgrass Social Event and Design did a fabulous job finding the perfect venue, Legare Waring House, for us. I have a huge love of trees and wanted both the ceremony and reception to be outside. This venue couldn’t have been more perfect for us!

How did y’all meet? Tell us your love story. We met in college playing soccer. I played for a friend of mine as a favor, since his team never had enough girl players. Patrick was playing on the team that day. He asked me for my number after the game so that I could be on the next team he put together. He never did put a team together, but different circumstances brought us together over the next year and a half and we became best friends. We started dating and dated for five years before getting married!
Tell us all about the proposal! The weekend before the proposal, we were supposed to go camping in Shenandoah Valley, but Hurricane Sally hit the East Coast and covered our campground in multiple feet of snow! We both love adventures and trying new things, se weren’t going to let some snow ruin our camping trip! We had never snow camped before, and although we enjoyed the experience, it was freezing cold. We slept as well as we could in our tent that night, and the next morning, we planned on going for a hike. Since there was quite a bit of cloud cover, it was even colder than the night before. I suggested we just pack up and go home, but he insisted we go on a hike…my suspicions were piqued! We began our hike, walking along in the snow, stopping here and there to look at waterfalls and streams. We stopped on a bridge to pray and get something to eat. Patrick knelt down and began rummaging around in his backpack. I could hear plastic wrappers and I excitedly said, “Oh! Snacks!” He replied, “I think you’ll like what I have for you more than snacks.” He opened the ring box and proposed, and I instantly said yes!! I was so happy to be marrying my best friend and the love of my life!
When did y’all get married? June 14, 2013
How many friends, family members, and loved ones attended your wedding? 90
Describe your wedding cake or dessert. Instead of serving wedding cake to our guests, we wanted to have other small desserts to offer. Cru Catering provided our food and desserts and it was all so delicious! We decided to go with strawberry shortcake with fresh whipped cream and bourbon spiced pecan pie. For people who stayed late to dance and mingle, we supplied a s’mores station. Patrick really wanted to have a cake to cut, so we also had a small chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting supplied by Wildflour. We liked the cake so much during our tasting session that we ordered a number of cupcakes in various flavors for our honeymoon. They didn’t last long!
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? The biggest challenge was making choices! Although I dearly love Pinterest, it made it very difficult for me to settle on making decisions. I kept thinking that if I kept looking, I’d find something even better than what I had settled on previously. There are just so many cute things and ideas out there that it can easily become overwhelming! I had friends and family around to remind me that the wedding would come together one way or another, and that God had brought us together and I was going to be marrying my best friend!
What is the one detail or vendor that you were so happy to have as a part of your wedding? Honestly, everything came together so well and we loved every vendor that played a part. Dana at Dana Cubbage Wedding Photography did a fabulous job of capturing our day. We feel like we not only have great memories of our day, but we have wonderful pictures to prove it. She and her team truly heard what was most important to us, and made those things possible without a hitch.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? There were a few minutes after the ceremony and before our arrival at cocktail hour where Patrick and I were sitting in the house that overlooked the wedding. We were able to look down and see our family and friends and the beautiful set up of our wedding and kind of get a bird’s eye view of our day. It was an unplanned moment alone, but it was so fun seeing all of our hard work and planning come together and everyone enjoying themselves.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? Before you start planning, sit down with your fiancé and discuss what top three things are important to each of you. I feel that if you have that figured out, you can spend your time and money on those things, and the rest will fall into place a lot easier. Also, I don’t know how I would’ve planned this wedding without Jacqueline at Sweetgrass Social Event and Design. She was invaluable throughout the process and she and her team allowed my husband and I to truly enjoy our wedding day without a single worry. I would highly recommend having a wedding planner!
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you most looking forward to about married life? We’re looking forward to getting to know each other as husband and wife, which has a whole new set of responsibilities and roles for each of us. We love spending every minute together and thank God every day for the gift he’s given us in each other. We can’t wait to see what God has in store for us. :)

marissa Written with love by Marissa
10 Comments
  1. avatar Rose { Rose and Ruby Paper Co. } reply

    Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! x

  2. avatar Caitlyn | The Aerialist Press reply

    Her dress is absolutely stunning! And I die over that venue :)

  3. avatar Charlene reply

    I just love the combination of the phalaenopsis orchids and the pink peonies! Super gorgeous!

  4. avatar Jacqueline – Sweetgrass Social reply

    We had so much fun designing and planning this wedding!! Thanks for featuring!!!

  5. avatar Timeless Wedding Style | Burnett’s Boards – Daily Wedding Inspiration reply

    […] credits: Venus Bridal wedding dress from Southern Weddings, photographed by Dana Cubbage Weddings // centerpiece from Snippet & Ink, photographed by […]

  6. avatar Featured // Southern Weddings // Stacey + Patrick’s Legare Waring House Wedding | Dana Cubbage Weddings reply

    […] out the entire feature here.  There is no doubt that Stacey + Patrick’s unique, colorful wedding deserves this honor and […]

  7. avatar One More Reason To Love the Lowcountry | Sweetgrass Social reply

    […] get enough of her insanely vivid wedding, jump to Southern Weddings to see and hear more of Stacey’s colorful […]

  8. avatar Des mason jars pour un mariage – The Wedding Feed reply

    […] – Waterfall chandelier, BootsNGus – Katie Rivers Photography via Knots Villa – Dana Cubbage via Southern Weddings – Bridal Guide – Matt Edge Wedding Photography via Wedding Chicks – Wedding guest […]

  9. avatar M reply

    OMG can you provide more info about the dress?!!! Designer, etc?

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As y’all know, I can get a little (or a ton) excited over engagements! There is just something so special about that moment a handsome beau asked the girl he’s in love with to be his wife! Gah, it always gives me chills! Well, today’s sweet groom, Coley, definitely did me proud on his proposal to Kinsey! Grab a tissue because this video might make you cry! Don’t forget to read their proposal story in the text below.

Now dry your eyes because you’ve got to take a good look at Kinsey + Coley’s lovely South Carolina wedding. Starting with the historic setting of the Lowndes Grove Planation, our friends (and Blue Ribbon Vendor members) Ooh! Events worked with Kinsey to create a meaningful day full of nautical details and Southern traditions. We’re so thankful that Jared Lister was along to capture their big day!

Oh heavens, Kinsey’s dress is some kind of ruffly perfection!

After reserving our venue and wedding coordinator at Ooh Events, finding my wedding gown was one of my first priorities. I was thrilled to make an appointment at White on Daniel Island. While I had a ball trying on over ten gowns, my mom and I quickly narrowed down our favorites. The one I loved became very apparent when I could not stop smiling. It was the second gown I had tried on. I knew this was the one Coley would love the most. We immediately decided on an outdoor ceremony on the front lawn of Lowndes Grove Plantation as soon as I chose the Amsale silk taffeta ball gown with a ruched bodice, ruffle neckline, and easy pockets. I knew we were meant to have a Southern, traditional outdoor ceremony when I chose this dress.

That little flowergirl praying? I die!

Tell us about some of the songs you used throughout your wedding. The ceremony music was very important to me, as I had grown up in the Presbyterian Church and its wonderful tradition. I knew we needed to make a statement on the large lawn and set a reverent tone for the outdoor ceremony. We found a bagpiper to play traditional music as guests arrived and then transition into a moving arrangement of “Highland Cathedral” followed by “Amazing Grace” for the seating of the mothers and grandmothers. We then found a local a cappella gospel singing group to be a surprise for both our wedding party and our guests. The Plantation Singers burst out of the main house to lead Coley and our wedding party across the lawn and down the aisle with a vibrant Gullah rendition of “This is the Day.” The choir transitioned to more subdued, worship version of “Holy Ground” for the bridal procession with my father. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Plantation Singers broke into a joyous adaption of “Amen” for the wedding party recession and then led the guests over to the cocktail hour. They continued to entertain the guests with Gullah spirituals and hymns until the reception began. The choir was one of our favorite ways to celebrate our South Carolina low country setting. The band at our reception was also from South Carolina and was based on the shows of one of our favorite bands, The Original Tams. The Mighty Kicks had non-stop choreography and energy. They kicked off the evening by singing our first dance song, “To Love Somebody,” performed by The Tams during our first date five years earlier in Charleston.

Describe your wedding flowers: Ooh Events created incredible arrangements of my favorite flowers. I knew from the beginning that all of our wedding flowers would be white. The bridal bouquet was a lovely, full bouquet of gorgeous white peonies, my favorite flower, wrapped with ivory lace from my mother’s veil. Each bridesmaid chose her own white flower for her individual bouquet, and our mothers and grandmothers carried a spray of white peonies with a touch of dusty miller in a tussy mussy engraved with our wedding date. Boutonnieres were fashioned from a white freesia or dedrobium flower and tied with a charcoal silk ribbon. Flowers placed in wooden planters at ceremony site were filled with white hydrangea, agapanthus, casablanca lilies, dusty miller, dendrobium orchids, white delphinium, freesia, and cascading seeded eucalyptus. Mercury glass vessels held white hydrangea, roses, tulips and ranunculus at the cocktail hour and reception.

Our wedding cake was a five-tier design highlighted with a cascade of magnolias, my favorite Southern flower. Each layer was a different flavor and filling. We also passed a traditional hummingbird layer under the reception tent outside. I created the base on which the cake sat from a ship wheel with a glass base on top. I had a gold plate engraved with our names and wedding date so that we could hang the wheel in our new home. It is surrounded with framed wedding photos behind our dining room table today.

What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? Coley and I both love to remember leaving on the boat from the long dock at the end of the evening. The moon was completely full and the water was like glass. We could not have planned a more perfect way to end our reception as we cruised around the harbor, enjoying wine and reliving our wedding day together.

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. (From the groom) We were introduced in the fall of 2006 in Columbia, SC when I came to visit a best friend who was in grad school with Kinsey at the University of South Carolina. I continued to drive three-hours from Blowing Rock, NC each weekend hoping to see her until we had our first date in Charleston for New Years. We danced to the same Tams song we used as our first dance at our wedding five years later.
Describe the proposal. (From the groom) Kinsey works for the University of South Carolina Alumni Association. One of her responsibilities was to plan the Ring Ceremony on the historic Horseshoe each semester during which students are awarded their Carolina class rings from the President of the University. I knew it was her favorite Carolina tradition. I managed to get in touch with her boss to help me with the process. Kinsey’s boss contacted the President of the University and got his assistance and permission to allow me to be a part of this prestigious ceremony. At the conclusion of the ceremony, after the final student had been called to the podium to receive their ring, President Pastides called my name and invited me to the stage. Kinsey’s family and my family were all on the back row, out of sight from where Kinsey was standing throughout the ceremony. I walked to the stage, stepped up to the podium and announced that one more person was here today to receive a ring. Thankfully, being in front of 400 people and on bended knee, Kinsey said yes.
In what month did you get married? June 2, 2012
How many guests attended your wedding? 250+
Did you decide to do a “first look”? While we did not plan to do a first look, our photographer staged and documented a private first look with my father. This was one of my favorite memories of our wedding morning. Seeing my father for the first time on my wedding day was a priceless moment.
What readings, if any, did you have at your ceremony? We shared Colossians 3:12-17 with our pastor to use during the ceremony. I had marked and saved these verses in my Bible during a women’s Bible study years ago. We both loved its message of forgiveness and love above all else.
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: Our favorite detail of the wedding was the life ring we had our guests sign as an alternative to a guest book. It is hanging by our front door today to welcome friends and family to our new home!
What Southern details or traditions did you include in your celebration? What was Southern about your wedding? Coley and I are both from the Carolinas, though very few of our wedding guests were from Charleston. We wanted to celebrate the low country setting of our wedding while highlighting the picturesque location on the Ashley River. Lowndes Grove is billed as Charleston’s last great waterfront estate circa 1786. The combination of Southern heritage and the water was a perfect venue for us. We included lots of nautical details while fully embracing Southern touches such as tussy mussies for our mothers and grandmothers and magnolias on our cake. We created a low country menu to allow our guests to fully appreciated the Southern setting, including passed shrimp and soft gouda grits, a crab cake station, “Palmetto Pale Ale”, and late night snacks – sweet potato fries and hot pralines! Our band pleased our guests with shag music and Motown favorites all night long.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Our biggest challenge was planning the wedding in Charleston while I lived in Columbia, my mother in Greenville, and my sister in Kansas City. We did not have many personal connections with local vendors, though Ooh Events was incredibly helpful in recommending and coordinating meetings with our wedding vendors when we were in Charleston. We were able to set up back-to-back meetings each time we visited, and it worked out perfectly.
What is the one thing you are most happy you splurged on? We were immensely pleased with our band, the Mighty Kicks. The dance floor was completely full the entire night, and they truly set the fun, celebratory tone for the entire reception. We did not stop dancing! The band can set the mood for both the wedding couple and your guests.
What advice do you have for folks currently planning a wedding? I love to tell brides to enjoy every minute of the planning process. While it can seem overwhelming, it is such a wonderful way to celebrate who you are as individuals and now as a new couple. Finding creative ways to incorporate a nod to your shared tastes and unique interests makes it so much fun for your friends and family! Make sure to include your fiancé in the planning process as much as possible.
What’s next for you as a couple? What are you looking forward to in the future?
We are enjoying building our new home together in Charlotte, North Carolina. We are excited to celebrate the holidays together and to be living in the same city during the week. We are already looking forward to returning to Charleston to celebrate our first anniversary next summer!

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marissa Written with love by Marissa
17 Comments
  1. avatar Kelly reply

    Oh my stars!!! That ship wheel cake plateau and the boating goodbye — this is such a dream wedding!!!!!!!!!!!! Swoon of all swoons.

  2. avatar Anna (Lover.ly) reply

    This wedding is giving me a toothache! Loving the southern touches and the bridesmaids dresses.

  3. avatar Valerie (Pieceful Wedding) reply

    Oh wow, the ruffle details are amazing on the bride’s gown and bridesmaid dresses…absolutely beautiful!

  4. avatar Arlissa Vaughn / Special Event Painter reply

    Wow, I LOVE the gospel singers introducing the bride – what a lovely and jubilant addition!

  5. avatar Emily Alice reply

    I’m dying over that cake!!

  6. avatar Elegant Wedding Invitations reply

    Wow! Ruffles, pastel blues, tuxedos, beach front wedding and gardenias! How perfect!

  7. avatar Caitlin reply

    i don’t think a wedding could get anymore southern than that! i love it!!!!

  8. avatar Kelli Taylor/Daniel Taylor Photography reply

    This is so sweet! This wedding has true Southern charm while also bringing in some glamour.

  9. avatar Shelby reply

    I can’t decide which I like best, the joyous ceremony music or that BEAUTIFUL magnolia cake! I swoon!

  10. avatar Rose {Rose and Ruby Paper Co.} reply

    So gorgeous – love how the maids dresses match the bride so beautifully!
    Stunning!
    x

  11. avatar Kris reply

    Everything is so beautiful! Love the sparkler exit!

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