Normally, I try to set the tone for a charming Charleston wedding, but I think it sounds better coming from today's beautiful Bride Jenn. So, I hope everyone has a lovely Lowcountry weekend and until we get there, let's kick off this Friday morning with a gorgeous Society Hall wedding from the fab photography team at Sean Money + Elizabeth Fay...
From the bride:Why Charleston? Well aside from the obvious answers – we love the city, my family is there, it is easy to get to – we thought, and have always thought, that Charleston embodies in one place the things we hold dear, the things we have in common, and the way we want our lives together to be. Elegant and deeply Southern, with just a hint of adorable quirkiness and cool vibes; passionate about history and heritage while always striving to move forward; wonderful food and shopping wrapped in a gracious welcome – this is Charleston for us. So it was the perfect place to have what we ultimately wanted – am intimate, traditional affair that highlighted our beloved South, family and friends.We are both very traditional romantics.
As such, we knew we wanted all of the elements of a traditional wedding (church ceremony, music and dress, reception), but we also wanted to imbibe it with our personality. Hence the bagpipes for the processional…I am very Irish on "one side!" We are both what people call "old souls" who long for the elegance and glamour of a different age, and we are both very proud of our Southern heritage. We love being Southern, and since most of our guest list was from parts outside the South, we wanted our guests to feel the warmth and hospitality at every turn. So we kept things formal, but chose a buffet style reception to keep the feel of being invited to a big party.
I think at one point I explained it to the caterer as "black tie meets Sunday supper," or something of the sort. Our old souls took the music from jazz during the cocktail hour to Motown for the dance party. White tablecloths, silver candle sticks (all collected on Etsy or "borrowed" from family collections), southern flowers (hydrangeas, roses, gardenia, magnolias) and a buffet highlighting barbecue, shrimp and grits, biscuits, she crab soup, and fried green tomatoes combined with the stately elegance of Society Hall to create the exact vibe we were hoping for.
From the open house cocktail party on Thursday to the gentlemen's skeet shoot and ladies luncheon (complete with sundresses and hats) to the seafood rehearsal dinner to the signature cocktail (with Firefly vodka), to the last song, to the farewell brunch, our guests were welcomed into our comfort zone with all the Southern elegance and hospitality we, and Charleston, could muster.
All good things come to those who wait, it seems. We've known each other for 22 years. We had one disastrous date in 1993, but decided the timing was bad. Through businesses, career changes, other relationships, tragedies, and everything else you could throw at someone in life, we stayed friends. Best friends. And then one day, when all the debris clears, you look around and realize that the person you want to be with forever is the person who has always been there for you...that the "forever" you'd always imagined is waiting there for you with someone you've known "forever" already...that true love isn't always found down the road you have been on, but it is exactly what you have. And you want to keep it in your heart and by your side.
Ceremony venue: Church of the Holy Communion / Reception venue: Society Hall / Photography: Sean Money + Elizabeth Fay / Accommodations: Charleston Place Hotel and The Mills House Hotel / Bands/DJs: Lee Edwards Entertainment / Catering + Bar Services: Hamby's Catering / Cakes and Dessert: The Cake Stand / Celebrants/Officiants: Father Dow Sanderson / Ceremony Musicians: Organ - Clara Godshall; Bagpipes - Jimmy Ryan / Florist: Tiger Lily Florists / Favors: Firefly Vodka / Hair and Make up: The View Salon and Spa / Planners/Designers: Krissi Harris / Transportation: Low Country Valet