[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]
For my wedding color palette, I was very inspired by the natural landscape of the venue. Along with white as a romantic and timeless wedding-day anchor, I wanted varying shades of green and sage, drawn from the natural landscape of the venue (think sage greens and blues of the Ashley River, Spanish moss, palm trees, and Charleston green). I also wanted soft pinks, blush, and peach for a pop of color inspired by the sunset view from Lowndes Grove, in addition to bringing in warm tones to play off the candlelit dinner once the sun went down.
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[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]
In addition to drawing my inspiration from the venue and landscape for my design aesthetic, it was important to me to create a feel of tradition and timelessness at the wedding. I wanted anyone to be able to look back on our special day in ten, 50, or 100 years and feel that it was classically beautiful and romantic in a way that would never go out of style. Adam and I both share “a love of old things,” as we say, so incorporating vintage elements, such as my collection of antique sterling silver napkin rings, was a way to honor the tradition of “Something Old.” We are also passionate travelers, so we included a gelato bar as a nod to Adam’s Italian heritage and used “The Monocle Book of Japan” coffee table book for our guests to sign in acknowledgment of our honeymoon destination. Lastly, an important part of my vision was for our celebration to feel deeply personal. As an artist, I enjoyed creating a custom design for our wedding invitation suite and all print material used on the day of the wedding, including our rose trellis bar! We used my hand-drawn duogram and wedding crest to embroider custom linen tea towels, dinner napkins, and cocktail napkins. Lastly, my bridesmaid gifts were handmade sweetgrass baskets, which were used to hold the bridesmaids’ floral bouquets!
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[field title=”Proposal Story”]
Adam had some elaborate plans to take me back to Aspen, where we first met, to propose to me. Naturally, as soon as he let me know he was planning this trip, I became confidently suspicious that he was planning this trip to propose. So, I was spending my free time searching for the perfect white sweater dress to buy for the trip, haha! Once the ring came in, he started feeling that he really could not wait and was getting too excited and nervous over it. He decided to make an alternate plan, which he felt would be a good idea, as he also suspected that I probably suspected what would happen in Aspen. So, the trip could be a decoy! He planned a dinner reservation for us at The River Cafe in Dumbo, Brooklyn, which is an iconic, old-school New York restaurant that sits on the water and overlooks the skyline of the city from the other side of the river. There’s a gorgeous garden out front, which is strung with twinkle lights and is all lit up at night, and very romantic. To get to the front door of the restaurant, you have to walk through the garden, so before taking me in for dinner, Adam stopped me in the middle of the garden and got down on one knee, pulling out the ring and telling me how much he loved me! I was so caught off guard, thinking with certainty that it wasn’t happening until the Aspen trip, that he truly and successfully surprised me. We walked in for dinner, toasted to champagne, and had an incredible night, feeling so happy. It made it even more fun when we went to Aspen a week and a half later, as we got to just celebrate and soak it in together!
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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]
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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]
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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]
Custom two-piece skirt and corset, Pnina Tornai dress and veil from Kleinfeld in New York, with white Schutz platform heels and Croghan’s diamond tennis necklace and floral stud earrings.
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[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]
Each bridesmaid chose her own dress within my sage greens and blues color palette in order to have a tasteful mix of colors, textures, necklines, and styles, and styled in her own way with a choice of shoes and jewelry.
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[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Custom Suit Supply tuxedo embroidered with our wedding date and worn with Hermès cuff links and black lizard Belgian Shoes loafers.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]
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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]
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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]
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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]
Passed Hors D’oeuvres: Chicken and Waffle – mini belgian waffle, fried chicken, hot honey glaze, tomato remoulade Pimento Cheese Crostini – white cheddar pimento cheese, pickled okra, cornbread crostini Crispy Pork Belly – blackberry BBQ sauce Traveling Raw Bar – oysters and shrimp cocktail Seated Dinner: Bread & Butter First Course: Wedge Salad – bacon, red onion, tomato, crumbled blue cheese, dijonnaise Main Course: NY Strip & Crab Cake Duo with Bearnaise sauce Sides: Potato Gratin & Citrus & Garlic Asparagus Dessert: Brick Street Cafe Sweet Potato Cake (from Brick Street Cafe in Greenville, SC) & a Gelato Bar – chocolate, salted caramel, & mango Late Night Pass: Country Ham Biscuit – cheddar chive biscuit, sweet mustard Passed: Aperol Spritz, Prosecco, Miller Lite in custom koozie, Westbrook IPA in custom koozie Signature Drinks: Hers – Aperol Spritz / His – Martini
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[field title=”Florals & Decor”]
Festoon handled this, and we went with a very organic feel to our arrangements, with a lot of romanticism. Whitney could maybe tell you more about the types of flowers that we used, but I know that there were a lot of roses and peonies, which I love most, in addition to hydrangeas and other beautiful trailing flowers to give our arrangements depth and a natural and not-too-perfectly-sculpted feel. The flowers were a range of whites and very soft pinks and peach, with a balance of greenery as well. We chose vases that were complementary to our “timeless elegance” vision, with a lot of silver and antique selections. Tablescape: In between floral arrangements in our tablescape, we used tall, tapered candles in vintage-style etched glass hurricanes. For our plated dinner, I selected white china with an antique floral design and a silver rim for subtle elegance. Our linens were a variety of green and cream tones, with both prints and solid textures, to honor the garden aesthetic that I wanted to highlight, being an outdoor wedding. Custom duogram-embroidered linen napkins and sterling silver antique napkin rings were used at the head table for an extra special element. One important aspect of the tablescape to me was that I wanted to ensure all guests could see each other across the table in order to promote conversation and the feeling of an intimate dinner, where our guests could enjoy getting to know each other. Each guest had a custom menu with their name printed on a belly band for a personal touch. Table Assignment Display: In order for guests to find their assigned table number, we had a display on silver trays of custom matchbooks that I drew and designed. Each matchbook was individually printed with the guests’ names and table numbers and also served as a fun party favor. This idea was inspired by my love of collecting matchbooks from restaurants, which is especially popular where we live in New York City. Grabbing a matchbook when entering a restaurant, before we sit down for dinner, is always the first thing that my friends and I love to do when we go out to eat! Bar: On our primary bar, we incorporated a custom wrap that featured a rose trellis design that I had drawn and also used in my invitation suite. Raffia Fans: We provided woven raffia fans for our guests to stay cool both during the ceremony and by the bars, which was another way to tie in natural elements, coupled with the bridesmaids’ sweetgrass basket bouquets, and to ensure that guests remained comfortable throughout the night. Lighting: In keeping with my goal to honor the natural landscape and outdoor setting of the wedding as much as possible, we opted for simple and charming string lights in a clear-top tent, so that the lights would reflect off the tent and feel just like being outside, enjoying the twinkling stars at night. It was also really fun when we brought out the dancefloor props and disco cowboy hats toward the end of the night, because you could see the sparkling reflections in the tent overhead.
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[field title=”Wedding Cake”]
Our wedding cake was Sweet Potato Cake from Brick Street Cafe, which has always been my favorite and one that I have requested every year for my birthday. It felt like the perfect celebratory choice, and one that we knew many of our guests already loved too!
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[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]
Ceremony: My uncle officiated our wedding, which felt very special and personal, because he had also previously married two of my cousins. We used a traditional Episcopalian wedding liturgy. Our scripture reading was 2 Corinthians 13, “The Way of Love.” Ceremony music: Our guests were welcomed to our venue and ceremony with a bagpiper playing gathering music as a fun way to honor my Scottish heritage. Adam and I both love all types of music, so we wanted to incorporate a variety of music styles throughout our wedding day. For the ceremony, we had a brass quintet play very traditional wedding songs, including Water Music by Handel for gathering, Canon in D Major by Pachelbel for bridal party entrance, Trumpet Voluntary by Clarke, which I walked down the aisle to, and Wedding March by Mendelssohn, which was our recessional song. In addition to loving the sound of brass instruments, we made the selection for the quintet so that our music could carry volume at an outdoor venue and bring excitement to the wedding ceremony!
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[field title=”Special Detail #1″]
It is a southern tradition to have a “Receiving Line” at formal events, so, to honor this tradition playfully, we guided guests from the ceremony to the cocktail hour with a line of waiters holding trays of assorted drinks, ready to receive them and offer them service to ensure they did not have to wait in a line at the bar to get the party started!
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[field title=”Special Detail #2″]
As long-time family friends and avid lovers of Croghan’s Jewel Box, I went there in search of their silver hot sauce holder, which Adam has always commented on, to gift that to him as a surprise on the wedding day. We had it engraved to say, “Keep it HOT!” for a cheeky and funny surprise. We placed it at his dinner setting, and he found it upon sitting down, which gave us all a good laugh!
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[field title=”Special Detail #3″]
Adam and I are major lovers of champagne, and we often order a bottle to enjoy together because he loves to say, “Let’s just celebrate life!” This choice to do a champagne tower was a no-brainer and a romantic way to honor his fun personality and love for celebrating all of the little moments together
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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]
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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]
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Photography: Kailee DiMeglio Photography | videography: Dock House Digital | Event Design: A Charleston Bride | Event Planning: A Charleston Bride | Floral Design: Festoon | Wedding Dress: Pnina Tornai | cake: Brick Street Cafe | Invitations: Arzberger Stationers | Ceremony Venue: Lowndes Grove | Reception Venue: Lowndes Grove | Catering: Patrick Properties Hospitality Group | band: Evolution Party Band | Beauty: Lashes And Lace Charleston | Rentals: LIT Charleston | Rentals: Curated Events Charleston | ceremony strings: holy city brass | get away car: whipdash | rentals: Snyder Event Rentals