BOONE HALL PLANTATION WEDDING
Bailey & Matt
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
November 5, 2016
The Dress: I love fashion and most of my friends would describe me as a risk taker when it comes to my decisions in styling. So, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. The first shop my mother and I went to could perfectly create the gown I wanted from scratch and I was just about to sign the dotted line when she reminded me that we still had a few more places to look. I said OK, so we went on to the next. We walked into Fabulous Frocks and I quickly started to pull what I thought I wanted. Then, out of the corner of my eye, my mom lifted up a gown with wide eyes and said, ‘you MUST try this one on!’ I thought she had gone crazy. The cut was not what I was looking for, it was tulle, and it was pink. After about 5 no’s, I gave in just to appease her and threw it in the mix. It was the 4th one I tried on. When I walked out the sales associate gasped, my mother got teary eyed, and I knew, without even seeing it in the mirror, that this was the one. That whisper pink, Watters Soledad gown was made for me and I am still obsessed with it… not to mention my mother still gloats that she was the one who found my dream dress.
Men's Attire: Matt wore a dark gray tux with black accents from Charleston Tuxedo. His burgundy bowtie was from the Tie Bar. The groomsmen all wore traditional black tuxedos from Charleston Tuxedo
Bridesmaids Dresses: Jenny Yoo Annabelle gown in Gold. They each wore their straps differently.
Accessories: My Veil!! It was custom made and dyed with tea by my seamstress – Kira Elizabeth. My mother surprised me with a garter that was made from her wedding gown and I wore my Nana’s (Matt's grandma) stunning right-hand diamond ring.
Hair: Meg Workman of Wedding Hair by Charlotte did all of our hair. I wanted an organic, wispy look that framed my face and didn’t look too structured. Meg’s talents are just amazing – it was exactly what I wanted and I felt like Elsa! She also did by bridesmaids hair, and they all loved how effortlessly beautiful all of their hair looked.
Makeup: Dannon K Collard MUA did my makeup and all of the bridesmaids. I chose her because her work looked natural but still ‘popped’. When we met for my trial I told her I wanted a natural, ‘icey’ look and she did just that! My skin has never looked better and my eyes were perfect! She nailed the look on all my maids as well!
What is your favorite picture from your wedding day and why?
Well that’s impossible! JoPhoto was simply AMAZING! I also LOVE the moments they captured of my father and I… he means everything to me and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s last year. He has good days and bad ones. The fact that he was so clear that day was truly God smiling down on us, and I will be forever grateful for that. The look on his face when he first saw me… I still tear up! The photos they captured not only froze moments, but emotions and memories, and booking them was the best decision Matt and I made.
One of my best friends passed away in 2011 very suddenly. She would have been a bridesmaid in my wedding. We left a lavender rose and a sprig of rosemary on an empty chair in the first row at the ceremony… I really felt like she was with us that day. Her parents also came to our wedding, and that meant everything to me.
Did you decide on a first look? No – I was impartial, but Matt was adamant about it. He wanted to keep that moment traditional and I’m glad we did!
How did you select your venue? I grew up in Snee Farm, just a few miles from Boone Hall Plantation. I had always dreamed of getting married under the Avenue of Oaks since I was a little girl, so it was an easy decision to make when we started looking at venues. We looked at a few, but when I walked into Boone Hall and the sunlight streamed through the moss on the giant Live Oaks with horses strolling in the background… that was it! To this day, that place still gives me goosebumps!
Our ceremony took place under the Avenue of the Oaks. Our neighbor handmade the wooden cross at our altar and the wooden doors that opened to the aisle. Burgundy and pink ribbon with a spray of greenery draped each chair as aisle markers, a welcome cocktail of rose champagne was served in glasses with quotes from The Notebook on them, and The Plantation Singers, a gospel choir, sang in tandem with a violin as guests arrived.
The Planation Singers sang our wedding party down the aisle to “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles… It was a special moment that our guests actually joined in singing… I will never forget that! Our dog, Bowie, also walked down the aisle with our ring bearers. He stood right next to Matt as we said our vows.
Flowers: Charleston Blooms did most of my flowers (the boutonnieres and dog collars were from Out of the Garden). I wanted asymmetrical arrangements with mostly greenery, accented by pink, red and burgundy flowers. My bouquet was constructed with lush greenery, peonies, gold leaf, garden roses, berries,, thistle, and long trailing gold ribbons. The bridesmaid’s bouquets had full mixed greenery arrangements with trailing ribbons. We had lush garlands of eucalyptus, rosemary running down the guest tables, dotted with vintage gold candlesticks and bud vases (that my mom and I collected over the years) holding shades of pink and red flowers and pomegranates. My favorite detail was the floral chandelier that hung over the dance floor… creating a truly magical space that I’ll never forget!
We had two cakes from Connie Watters of Sugar Magnolia Cake Boutique. Connie and I swam together in our childhood and had dome another friend’s wedding cake. We reached out to her for a tasting and WOW am I glad we did! Our wedding cake was three tiers, comprised of a dark chocolate cake with mint frosting and hummingbird cake with cream cheese frosting. I wanted the design to be a pink watercolor wash with flecks of gold, accented by real flowers… she NAILED it. The grooms cake was a surprise for Matt… he cooks me pancakes every Saturday and it’s my favorite part of the week. We have a lazy morning with the dogs and it’s perfect. I thought what better way to surprise him than with our weekend tradition that has become a moment for just us to be together!? It was SO realistic and the flavor… pecan praline… was just unreal!
Top tier: dark chocolate mint, Middle tier: hummingbird with cream cheese frosting, Bottom tier: dark chocolate mint
How did you decide on your aesthetic + color palette: I built my wedding décor around my dress… lots of blush tones with pops of metallic gold. I decided to add burgundy as an accent to make it more seasonally appropriate, and I think it really amped up the romance! My vision was to mix the rustic, natural setting with lush fabrics, florals and rich details.
For dessert, we asked that 4 women from each side of the family bake 2 pies each. Matt and I both prefer pie to cake, so we thought this would be a nice personal touch. Our favorite is my mother’s chocolate chess pie. They were set up on a ‘pie table’ for guests to self serve… They were gone within an hour!
What was on the menu for the evening? Gourmet Bay helped us offer a menu with some of our favorite foods. For the cocktail hour, we had a raw bar with fresh oysters, snapper ceviche and our favorite – oyster shooters. There were also passed hors d’ouvres: butternut squash soup, candied bacon and chicken & waffles. Everyone had a preset seasonal salad with berries and candies pecans. The entrees were presented at three stations: a carving station with beef, roasted root vegetables and baguette; a slider station with sirloin sliders, crab cake sliders and chicken biscuits; and (our favorite) the BEST shrimp and grits I have ever had accompanied by mini jalapeno cheddar cornbread muffins! We had an open bar with liquor and wine and a separate beer bar that featured the Palemtto Brewing Co. beer truck.
Guest Count: 200
The Favors: We created a “Doggie Bar” that had a variety of dog biscuits and treat bags for our guests to take home to their furry babies. We decided to make a monetary donation to the rescue that gave us our two pups in place of favors.
Late night snacks: Pie Bar, Coffee Bar
The Send-off/Getaway Vehicle: One of our dear friends (also in the wedding) is from Russia and his father restores vintage Volga’s. They drove it in from Atlanta for us to use as our ‘getaway’ car, and we departed through a sparkler send off.
Best Piece of Advice for Brides-to-be: Stay calm and level-headed. NO ONE will notice the small things (probably not even you!), so don’t sweat the small stuff! Have fun at your wedding and actually enjoy it like a guest… no one will be angry at you for not talking to them for 10 minutes, so don’t feel like you have to say hi to everyone. Most importantly… take a moment with your new husband to step back, reflect and be with each other at your wedding… it’s a remarkable night and it FLIES by, so cherish it.
What were the most important elements about your wedding day to you and your husband? Having all our friends and family, everyone who means the most to us in this world, come together for this one, very special night. There was a moment before we departed where we just stopped, stood back, and watched… it was truly remarkable.
Also – Our DJ. WAS. AMAZING. It was VERY important for us to have a PARTY and for the dance floor to be filled the entire night. And it was!
What was your first dance song? God Only Knows – The Beach Boys
What are you plans and goals as a newly married couple? We have had quite THE year! We couldn’t go on a honeymoon right after our wedding because Matt was interviewing for medical residency. He had to be in Salt Lake City the day after our wedding at 5pm… needless to say I was still plucking out bobby pins on the flight! We spent a few extra days in SLC hiking and exploring and it was wonderful.
We found out in March that he received his residency at UPMC in Pittsburgh, PA… a top choice and the best program on his rank list! Since then, we have put our first home under contract and close in a couple weeks. We move in June, but not before we finally take our honeymoon – three much needed weeks together in Thailand! We are SO excited!
We are beyond thrilled to be starting our new life together in Pittsburgh in our very first home. To immerse ourselves in a new city as newlyweds is an amazing opportunity and we couldn’t be happier for what is yet to come!
Meet the Charleston wedding vendors from Bailey & Matt's Boone Hall Wedding...
Ceremony & Reception Venue: Boone Hall Plantation ll Photography: JoPhoto ll Event Planning: yoj events ll Floral Design: Charleston Blooms ll Boutonnieres & Collars: Out of the Garden ll Catering: Gourmet Bay Catering ll Wedding Dress: Watters from Fabulous Frocks ll ll Bridesmaids Dress Designer: Jenny Yoo ll Hair: Wedding Hair By Charlotte ll Makeup: Dannon K. Collard ll Men’s Attire: Charleston Tuxedo, The Tie Bar ll Cakes: Sugar Magnolia Cake Boutique ll Bar: Squeeze OnSite ll Beer: Palmetto Brewing Company ll Rentals: EventWorks, Snyder Event Rentals and 428 Main Vintage Rentals ll Linens: CV Linens ll Ceremony Music: The Plantation Singers, Andrew Mille from Entertain Charleston ll DJ: DJ Natty Heavy ll Officiant: Terry Wilson
