South Carolina always gets it right. The pretty little state seems to have the wedding trifecta perfected – endless emotion mixed with serious southern style and topped off with one-of-a-kind surroundings. It all equals weddings that make us absolutely smitten. And you can bet your bottom dollar we are filing this beauty captured by Kellan Studios in the smitten category. With countless pretty little details (including an origami garland you must read about in the description below) and with so much love swirling around this soiree, it’s safe to say – South Carolina, you’ve done it again. See it all here!
Click here for the FULL wedding!
And to top it all off, a Super 8mm highlight reel from Josh Gooden Cinematography!
From the Bride… For our décor, we wanted to play with textural focal points while staying true to the charm of The Cotton Dock. Since we were enveloped by a rustic barn in an outdoor setting, I wanted to bring out a more feminine side of décor. While I was planning, my Aunt Donna, who works as a mitigation specialist with death row inmates and enables their efforts to do good through art, suggested I have one of her clients make origami peace cranes. A few months later, my mom facilitated the meticulous process of stringing 1,500 cranes into amazing garlands to be hung as a backdrop for our ceremony and surrounding the dance floor. A wonderful friend, Robbie, made my dreams of personal detail a reality. She coordinated all the painted Ikea framed chalkboards, decked out the photo booth, installed the family wall, sewed pillows for the furniture and toppers for the tables (she even sewed the guys pocket squares), made the silver platter chalkboard signs, the napkin rings for all the napkins, put together our unity candle table with photos of both sets of parents, added ribbons to the sparklers and bought hundreds of vintage hankies for our “Th-hankies-to-go” favors. All this and more would not have been possible without her generous and ambitious attitude to make this day shine the way it did. In an effort to keep a personal feel to the space, Donnie and I wanted to make sure grandparents who couldn’t be with us on our special day were included. We printed out old photos from their weddings or special events and Donnie glued them into frames that Robbie hung up over a wooden wall. Family was also honored by way of the mouth-watering sweets station. Donnie’s mom, aunts and grandmothers are incredible bakers. Together, they made 100-dozen specialty cookies, baked to perfection and remarkably executed.
After the ceremony, before Donnie and I entered the cocktail hour, he leaned over and said “You always see weddings in magazines and think there is no way ours will ever look like that. Ours looks like it could be in a magazine!” Saying that to me made all the stress of planning for 2.5 years worth it. It was incredibly rewarding to see it all come together. After some heartfelt toasts and dinner, we got busy on the dance floor. Our first dance was to “All This Time” by One Republic followed by my dad and I sharing the floor with Donnie and his mom as we danced to “My Girl” by The Temptations.
After the typical bouquet and garter toss, I was sitting down in a chair, facing the cleared out dance floor. The Black Eyed Peas cover of “The Time of My Life” came on and Donnie made his way to the center and started dancing in front of and around me. I literally had no idea what was going on when my sisters joined him and before I knew it, I realized I was the victim of a full-fledged flash mob. For a moment I wanted to get up and dance with everyone, but I stayed in my seat and allowed myself to cry while almost every single guest blew me out of the water with the dance that one of my best friends, Elise, had choreographed and sent around. I couldn’t believe how committed everyone was to making the surprise happen. After some more dancing, we all went out to the dock and sent wishing lanterns that my mom overnight shipped that week for us to light and let go over the river. They cast such a warm glow on the space and it was a fun activity for the guests to do. Donnie and I released a couple together and it was very romantic to send the lights off into the sky with wishes attached to them.
Wedding Photography: Kellan Studios / Wedding Venue: The Cotton Dock at Boone Hall Plantation in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina / Floral Design, Lighting + Lounge Rentals: Gathering Floral + Event Design / Wedding Cinematography: Josh Gooden Cinematography / Ceremony Music: Palmetto Strings / Catering + Table & Chair Rentals: Cru Catering / Wedding Cake: Dolce Bakery / Cookies: The Groom’s Mother, Aunts + Grandmas / Buckeye Favors: Made by the Bride’s Family + Family Friends, Using Her Grandmother’s Recipe / Favor Hankies: Found by Robbie Dickherber, A Family Friend, at Flea Markets / Painted Chalkboards, Photo Booth Decor, Family Wall, Pillows, Table Toppers, Pocket Squares, Signs, Napkin Rings, Unity Candle Table, Sparkler Ribbons: Robbie Dickherber / Favor Tags: The Ruffly Owl / Wedding Invitations, Programs, Flower Petal Tags + Paper Signage: Letter Box Ink / Doily Petal Holders: DIY by the Bride, Her Aunt + Cousins / Wishing Lanterns: Wedding Wish Lanterns / Cranes: Coordinated by the Bride’s Mother, Aunt Donna + Jeffrey Williams / Wedding Dress: Claire La Faye via Lovely Bridal Shop / Bride’s Headpiece: Lo Boheme / Bridesmaids’ Dresses: Watters / Bridesmaids’ Dress Trim: Hai’s / Bridesmaids’ Headpieces: DIY by the Bride / Men’s Suits: Wilke-Rodriguez via Men’s Wearhouse / Men’s Cufflinks: Eve’s Addiction