From the bride, Carter…

Our rehearsal dinner and the “Spooks & Spirits” costume party afterwards was so much fun and really added something different and unexpected from the typical wedding weekend. We knew that we wanted to get married at the French Huguenot Church in downtown Charleston and when Kate from Soiree, one of our wedding planners called she told us that the only Saturday available around the time we wanted to get married was November 1st. At first I thought, oh we can’t do that, Halloween is the night before, which is a huge night in Charleston and then I thought, wait how fun would that be to have a rehearsal dinner on Halloween? So we decided as long as everyone was on board we knew we wanted to work with the holiday and come up with something really special and unique.

The Confederate Home used to be a home for confederate wives and orphans and sort of screams spooky but is still so beautiful. The Lettered Olive came up with the greatest invitations that totally set the mood and got people excited about the party, the attire for the dinner was “gothic cocktail”, and we asked people to wear only black. We wanted the dinner to still be really beautiful and traditional but also go along with the Halloween theme so we decided to use white and silver pumpkins and lots of candles as well as the black, white and silver accents on the menu cards, place cards, etc. which when put together looked really elegant but still had a total Halloween vibe. It could not have been more fun and I’m so glad we decided to have the wedding then because that party was one of my favorite parts of the whole weekend.

Credits: Location, The Confederate Home & College, Photography by Liz Banfield, Wedding coordination by Soiree, Invitations and paper goods by The Lettered Olive, brides dress by Lela Rose.

I love the painted pumpkins… imagine the possibilities?!?! Holiday or not, all these details are seriously amazing… very stylish and still perfect for the setting. This rehearsal dinner is the perfect example of a classy, but still playful, themed event. Thank you to the wonderfully talented, Liz Banfield for sending this our way. Happy Anniversary Carter & Fred!

Coming up later today, a vintage Halloween affair… yep, vintage Halloween. You are going to love it.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Charleston, Halloween, Liz Banfield, Rehearsal Dinner, Soiree Charleston, Themed Weddings
Post categories: Real Parties, The Blog

The gorgeous cake was designed by one of our favorite Little Black Book members, Jim Smeal and was inspired by the bride’s ridiculously lovely Vera Wang gown. I love that. Here are a few more details that Liz sent us…

After a few pictures at the church with family, the couple was whisked off to the Carolina Yacht Club, only two blocks away, for a Southern Style reception, with loads of food stations including a full sushi bar.  In honor of their new home together in New Orleans, the bride and groom were announced into the party with the sounds of River City Dixieland Jazz Band.

And at the end of the night the guests released hundreds of white balloons in the bride’s sister’s memory as they ushered the bride and groom to the old fashioned London cab that took the couple to their hotel.

Absolutely, positively gorgeous. And, if you haven’t had enough yet…head on over to the Style Circle where I am blogging about the adorable guest book idea and the couple’s oh-so-cute favor packaging!

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Post tags: Charleston, Liz Banfield, Southern, Tara Guerard
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

From Liz Banfield…

On the day of the wedding all the wedding guests were invited to a luncheon at the Meeting Street Inn.  For the evening black-tie ceremony the bride began getting ready mid-afternoon.  She arrived in her Vera Wang gown at the church, the historic First Scots in downtown Charleston, for pictures with her bridesmaids at 5:15 p.m.  After the bride was sequestered, the groom did the same with his groomsmen.  The ceremony was a traditional Presbyterian service which was concluded with the bride and groom recessing to “Tocacata” from Symphony V by Charles-Marie Windor.

So much more to come!

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Post tags: Charleston, Liz Banfield, Southern, Tara Guerard, Vera Wang
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

So with that said, let’s get started! Before I share the actual wedding, I wanted to feature the adorable welcome bags that the couple left for their guests…

How cute are these!!! I love how simple and sophisticated everything is…from the adorable Mr. and Mrs. monogrammed cookies to the custom water bottles and a little pack of postcards where guests can send well wishes to the bride and groom. LOVE this!!

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Post tags: Charleston, Liz Banfield, Southern, Tara Guerard
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

A huge thank you to Blue Moon Events for sharing this gorgeous day with us. And to A Bryan Photo for sending along such stunning photographs. And of course, to the beautiful couple who gave us a little window into ther moment.

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Post tags: A Bryan Photo, Blue Moon Events, Charleston
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

I actually had the pure pleasure of meeting Calder when I was in Charleston for a wedding and when I tell you that she is talented, I am hardly doing her justice. At the time, they were preparing a dessert bar for an upcoming wedding and it just might have been the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen. Plus, she gave us a cookie for the ride home, which was icing on the cake.

Anyway, back to the wedding at hand! Here are a few more details…

We designed heavy “garden garlands” to drape over the old brick columns of the carriage house lot and filled them with smilax, phalaenopsis orchids, and magnolia leaves to accent the existing evergreen landscaping at the period property.

Hung from old carriage house doors was a 50 inch wreath of the same, and creamy rose petals covered the slate aisle. We designed a few standout trees adorned with viburnum, hydrangea, smilax, and garden roses planted in wheat grass and edged with ivory satin ribbon and accented with delicate glass hanging votives. We used seagrass furniture in the dance tent and sheered the ceiling and poles with soft taupe chiffon.

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Post tags: A Bryan Photo, Blue Moon Events, Charleston
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

Tina and Jim came to us with definite ideas on the style and feel that they wanted for their wedding. Tina was inspired by our local baker, Jim Smeal; she had seen a beautiful live oak tree cake that he had designed in the past and new immediately that we wanted him to design her cake, but to tweak it to be her own.

We chose a palette of punchy jasmine green and mocha, and used that throughout the wedding.  Her dress was Kenneth Poole for Amsale purchased from Nitsa’s in Winston Salem. Her bouquet, designed by Blossoms Events, was a beautiful gathering of white peonies, cattleya orchids, and lilac and covered in a simple ivory silk satin ribbon with pearl pins.

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Post tags: A Bryan Photo, Amsale, Blossoms Events, Blue Moon Events, Charleston, Kenneth Poole, Nitsa's
Post categories: Traditional Elegance

I can’t tell you how much we love these sweet moments that Richard captured …

And … I can’t tell you how much we love this place!

Christy and  Rodney were married at the historic William Aiken house.

(We featured Alice & Jeff’s wedding here a few weeks ago and each time we see it, we fall in love with the venue all over again!)

When asked why they chose to marry at this particular spot, Christy said,“Charleston is only 3 hours from Charlotte and offers great restaurants, shopping and the beach—our perfect getaway spot. We wanted to share this city with our friends and family and make a weekend of our special day! We evaluated many places but agreed that the William Aiken House was exactly what we wanted.”

more from Christy …

Modern Vintage/Glam sort of evolved—I never had a planned vision leading up to the process—I was actually very unprepared for once in my life! I’ve always loved mixing modern and vintage—I fell in love with damask early in the process and wanted to incorporate my favorite color yellow (which, to me, is very modern). When talking about it with the wedding planner, she suggested an invitation that really set the stage. It was perfect—yellow damask border with a pewter modern font and letterpressed! I also really wanted to incorporate vintage/glam elements such as mercury glass and brooches. The vintage brooches were an important theme of the wedding —on the bouquet wrap, chair ties, bridesmaid’s necklaces, and **mother’s corsages.

**note from the editor (Abby’s mom) … I’ve seen 3 daughters walk down the aisle and I have to say that I personally don’t love corsages. BUT ~ this corsage ~ I DO LOVE!

Aren’t the pewter gowns and pearl necklaces gorgeous?

Jewelry for the ladies?  Gray pearl necklaces with vintage brooches—necklaces designed with each girl in mind by Designs by Krissy (brooches selected by Christy). LOVE ‘em!

The fantastic team of wedding designers and coordinators at A Charleston Bride outdid themselves for Christy & Rodney’s wedding! You can read more about Melissa, Carrie, Leigh and Jonie on their website. A Charleston Bride does all floral design in-house (sooooo beautiful, Jonie!).

Christy told us, “My bouquet was all white  blooms—white tulips, calla lilies and sweet peas. The tulips and callas tied into the wedding décor—sweet peas were added since that was my dad’s pet name for me when I was growing up!”

Not to leave Rodney out of the story, here is a bit from him about the proposal …

I was nervous because I wanted it to be perfect. I knew she was the one for me, so I was also excited to move into the next phase of our lives. I told Christy that we really needed a getaway weekend, but it was not the weekend I would propose, and she took me at 100% face value. We went to a great resort in Georgia with a great spa. After her spa treatment, she was so relaxed that she suggested not even going to dinner and just having room service and champagne out on our balcony. I had arranged for a private dinner out by the lake – some of the tables were less intimate but I arranged for the most private—we were literally surrounded by woods on the lake. In the end, the evening turned out perfectly.

Something old: vintage brooch from grandmother
Something new: attire
Something borrowed: diamond necklace
Something blue: Christian Louboutin heels in sapphire
Sixpence in shoe: doublesided tape concealed the six-pence in the bow of the shoe!
Attire: Hayden Olivia Bridal, Priscilla of Boston
Accessories: Custom clutch by Up Style (*on etsy), Russian tulle cage veil by Kristina Eaton

SO LOVELY! Congratulations Christy and Rodney!

Thanks to Richard Israel for sharing your awesome images and to A Charleston Bride for another great wedding!!

Christy’s dress is from one of our newest Little Black Book members, Hayden Olivia Bridal in Charlotte NC. They have all sorts of great “gown guidance” and wedding trend tips on their blog (girl talk) … and a schedule of their fall trunk shows lined up for Modern Trousseau, Kenneth Pool, and Christos to name just a few.

You can also browse through these wedding dress designers’ newest collections on Style Me Pretty’s Look Book (links above).

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 28 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Charleston Bride, Birdcage Veil, Brooches, Charleston, Christian Louboutin, Designs by Krissy, Hayden Olivia Bridal, Look Book, Priscilla of Boston, Richard Israel, Upstyle, William Aiken House
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Little Black Book Blog, Real Weddings, Vintage Chic, Wedding Photography, Wedding Planners & Designers

Cake by Baked Charleston, Photography courtesy of Karyn Iserman

From the bride…

Plain and simple, it was hands down one of the best celebrations I’ve ever experienced. No one remembers the rain, just the great time and delicious food they had. I constantly hear how sincere and special our ceremony was and how amazing the party was afterwards. Family members on both sides of our families are in awe of Carrie at A Charleston Bride … both she and Leigh are the sweetest, kindest, and style savvy coordinators. I am forever grateful for the help in creating a flawless wedding weekend!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Charleston Bride, Amy Kuschel, Baked Charleston, Charleston, Karyn Iserman, Lela Rose
Post categories: Traditional Elegance, Wedding Planners & Designers

photography courtesy of Karyn Iserman

From Carrie…the beautiful bride!

I loved the surprises Carrie and Leigh at A Charleston Bride created. They both could not have done a better job listening to my ideas and making them reality. Carrie introduced me to a fabulous print by Snow and Graham and we ran with it. My best friend and graphic designer, Lauren Richie, did the most incredible job branding our wedding. She created timeless and unique styles to incorporate the printed pattern that we built our theme around.

photography courtesy of Karyn Iserman

The blackberry print appeared in the lining of our invitations which were hand lined by my sister, Angie and I  – and which was carried throughout my printed materials up to my thank you notes and menus. Carrie and Leigh carried out the print by wrapping votives, pillars, and boxes with the printed paper.

I loved the split peas in the jars too…such a fun colorful touch that I noticed when I got my pictures back from the wedding. I loved how inside the Wickliffe House the ACB gals had a very vintage theme, which was carried out in every detail. Outside the 1800’s home was a chic modern lounge – a perfect juxtaposition to our vintage interior. Finally, I LOVED the white umbrellas especially in my photographs.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 15 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Charleston Bride, Charleston, Karyn Iserman, Snow and Graham, South Carolina, Wickliffe House
Post categories: Traditional Elegance, Wedding Planners & Designers

With that said, it was one of the easiest weddings in the world to feature because it is so, SO lovely.

photography courtesy of Karyn Iserman

The event was held in Charleston, SC and was designed by one of our favorite event groups, A Charleston Bride. We got some notes from Carrie about her big day through a questionnaire that her AMAZING wedding coordinators/designers, Carrie & Leigh (who we adore here on SMP) had her fill out…

Even though we shared the same hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee our relationship began in Charleston. While we would have had a ball with all of our friends and family in Tennessee, we wanted to keep the focus on us as a couple first and foremost. Also, Charleston is so incredibly beautiful and an ideal spot for a wedding. We knew our friends and family would have no problem taking a trip to Charleston to do some celebrating.

I was the queen of inspiration-in a bad way! Although exhausting, I had so much fun exploring all the different styles I could go with in regards to my wedding. There were some standout weddings based in California featured on SMP that ultimately inspired my direction for my own wedding. The overall theme was modern-vintage. I wanted a mix of old and new, with a twist.

We have a TON of gorgeousness on the way from Carrie’s Big Day. In the meantime, I just want to give her a HUGE e-hug and let her know that all of us at SMP love that she is on our team and that we all wish her a very happy day.

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: A Charleston Bride, Amy Kuschel, Birdcage Veil, Carrie, Charleston, Delman, J. Crew Crewcuts, Karyn Iserman, South Carolina, Wedding Bouquet, Wickliffe House
Post categories: Traditional Elegance, Wedding Planners & Designers

The AMAZING cakes were by Jim Smeal and the flowers were all done by the fabulous Tiger Lily in Charleston. Event Design was done by Duvall Catering and Event Design. And, the FABULOUS Kelli Nixon shot all of the photography.

LOVE! Stay tuned for a few fabulous DIY projects that Laura has crafted just for SMP!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Brad and Laura, Charleston, Duvall Catering, Jim Smeal, Kelli Nixon, Tiger Lily, Watters
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

As you walked into the cotton dock at Boone Hall, you saw a really rustic old space totally and completely transformed with huge swaths of flowy, white fabric (and since it was windy, each was blowing perfectly in the breeze), pops of yellow Japanese lanterns, perfect adirondack chairs with pillows that Laura made placed on each one.It was straight out of a magazine so obviously, I was in wedding heaven.

photographs by the hugely talented Kelli Nixon

Laura swapped out her veil for a PERFECT Lo Boheme hairpiece and they had their first dance overlooking the water on the beautiful dock. It was the epitome of perfection and honestly made me want to sell my house and jump on the first moving truck I could find heading to Charleston.

Brad and Laura are one of those couples that you just envy. Aside from being MADLY in love, they are also fun, adventurous and incredibly loving. They are my daughter’s godparents and two of our closest friends. We are so lucky to also call them family.

More details on the way including some pretty awesome DIY projects!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 12 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Boon Hall, Charleston, Cotton Docks, Do-It-Yourself Inspired, Kelli Nixon, Laura and Brad, twigs and honey, Watters
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

I am obsessed! If there was ever a bridesmaid dress that your girls could wear again, this would be it. They are by Watters and Watters and are total gorgeousness. Laura had her two maids of honor tie a simple piece of lace around their waist which added a little something special. She had all of the girls wear pretty, simple gold sandals which looked perfect.

all images by the lovely and oh-so-talented Kelli Nixon

LOVE! There was something just so sweet and charming about this wedding. You could just sense the love that Laura and Brad poured into every detail, from custom programs, menus and place cards to personalized beer bottle labels, every detail was tended to with TLC. We have so much more on the way!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 25 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Charleston, Kelli Nixon, Laura and Brad, Navy and Yellow, Watters
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired

The color palette was shockingly gorgeous…a deep navy paired with a bright yellow. Set against the perfect Charleston backdrop, it was total perfection. Laura made each of the girls a hand-knotted pearl necklace and absolutely beautiful navy clutches. She also made sure that her cute, cute, cute littlest maids looked perfect with a floral headpiece and a pretty navy sash.

Kelli and Bill Nixon were the husband and wife photographer/cinematographer behind the day. They were so stinking cute and gave me a few sneak peeks of the photos that they were snapping throughout the day. Absolutely lovely!!

So much more on the way!

© Style Me Pretty : The Ultimate Wedding Blog, 2009. | Permalink | 22 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bill Nixon, Boon Hall Plantation, Charleston, Kelli Nixon, Laura and Brad, Watters
Post categories: Casual Elegance, Do-It-Yourself Inspired