Marion's in the French Quarter {Mingle} Paige Winn Photo

Last, but certainly not least, I'm excited to share the beautiful styled shoot Megan of Mingle created this past summer at Marion's in the French Quarter which was included in our premier issue of A Lowcountry Wedding Mag!  Megan was kind enough to invite us a long to enjoy the styling of the great Mingle minds, photography from Paige Winn Photo and dreamy gowns from Maddison Row!   Thanks to Paperdolls Hair & Makeup transforming model Katie into the picture-perfect Charleston Bride.  First Bloom of Charleston whipped vibrant bouquets and centerpieces while Limos for Less let us ride in style!   Even though we wanted to (and we sure did try!), we couldn’t include everything in the magazine, so to see all the details you can head on over and check out the complete Mag here!

Charleston Wedding Vendors

Vendors: Event Designer:  Mingle /  Floral Designer:  First Bloom of Charleston  /  Venue: Marion's in the French Quarter  /  Photography: Paige Winn Photo  /  Flowers: Charleston WholeSale Flowers  /  Dresses: Maddison Row  /  Stationery: Dodeline Design  /  Rentals: Snyder Event Rentals  / Linens: Nuage Designs  /  Model: Katie Cockman  /  Transportation: Limos For Less Charleston  / Hair & Makeup: Paperdolls Hair and Makeup  /  Headpieces: Julia Pagan Designs  / Catering: The Swing by Chef  /  Cake: Michaelangelo's Kitchen

Founders Hall Wedding {Jessica + Joe}

If you're in the midst of planning A Lowcountry wedding and have yet to locate your perfect venue, then my suggestion is you head right on over to Charlestowne Landing to check out the beautiful (and eco-friendly), Founders Hall.  The gorgeous venue offers a relaxed, private setting with state-of-the-art features to offer a modern, Southern affair!  Bride Jessica dazzled in her strapless gown, feminine birdcage veil and stunning statement necklace while her maids rocked navy lace dresses.  Thanks to Paige Winn Photo for a capturing all the special moments!

 Charleston Wedding Vendors

Photographer:  Paige Winn Photo  /  Caterer:  Cru Catering  /  Reception Venue:  Charlestowne Landing  /  Entertainment: FingerSnappin' Entertainment

Charleston Bride {Brittani}

She's baaack!  The soon-to-be Mrs. Brittani Croft is back to share more of her Charleston wedding planning journey and this time it's all about beauty, bridals and bachelorette par-tays!  

Hey ALW! I feel like it’s been forever, and that’s probably because time is flying and we are getting SO close to our big day! It’s all about the little details now and we are really busting our butts to stay organized, enjoy this time, but make sure we are accomplishing lots of the important last minute critical things.

First though, let’s start with some of the latest fun stuff! A few weeks ago, I had my hair and makeup trial and it was really awesome to get an idea of what I’ll look like on our wedding day. Bellezza Salon and Spa in West Ashley will be doing hair and makeup for my bridesmaids and I, so it was really important to make sure that I knew what I wanted so that the morning of the wedding I wouldn’t be stressing about how exactly my hair and makeup would end up looking.

I’m not a huge makeup kind of girl, so we are keeping it relatively simple there since I really want to still look like myself. For my hair, I was torn between having a half up/half down look, but with the chance of it being stormy and/or outrageously hot in September, my stylist and I decided a low updo would be better and a lot less risky. Here are a few images I used for inspiration…

My hair and makeup came out fabulously and I really felt like a bride. If you’re wondering if a trial is worth it, I definitely vote yes!

So not to let my hair and makeup go to waste, I decided to also have bridals done that evening. As a photographer myself, I shoot often with the amazing Charleston wedding photographer Paige Winn, of Paige Winn Photo. You’ve probably seen some of her awesome work here on ALW! Paige met my mom and I at Boone Hall and we worked quick so as to dodge the looming showers and get some great bridal portraits. I even had my portrait bouquet with me that Beth and WildFlowers Inc. put together so it was really such an awesome little test run. I looooove my dress, but I think I need to practice moving around in it a little more!

Another really fun pre-wedding festivity is the bachelor/bachelorette party or weekend. Since Dustin is from South Carolina but I’m from Maryland, many of my closest friends are still up north. We decided to make it a co-bachelor/bachelorette weekend and meet halfway in Wilmington/Wrightsville Beach, NC. This ended up being SO much fun and honestly the best part was seeing all of our friends and their significant others meet (most for the first time) and absolutely hit it off so well! The weather didn’t cooperate for the beach, but we were able to have such an awesome time going to dinner, seeing The Campaign (we love some Will Ferrell), mini golf, and check out some of the really fun bars in downtown Wilmington. It was a total success and since many of us shared rooms at a hotel right between downtown and the beach, we were able to keep the costs manageable.

So what’s next? It’s all about planning our ceremony, DIY projects, creative favors, buying/making gifts for our wedding party, and those other fun details. I’m so thankful our friends and family have been so helpful