Rustic Charleston Wedding
At first glance, this is a wedding that is all about the pretty. But dive into the story behind the day, and you realize it is so much more than that. Because these two sweeties managed to dot every second of their day with unique touches and heartwarming details, including an amazing tribute to someone they love. See it all designed by Ooh! Events and captured by Timwill Photography right here.
From Ooh! Events... Jamie and Pat met through mutual friends in 2002 as college freshman at Indiana University. As she says, "we spent the next four years taking classes and growing up together." After graduation, they each lived in different places for a while, spending some time committed to a cross-country relationship until Pat joined Jamie in Chicago. 10 years later, he decided to pop the question. He secretly invited her mother, father and stepfather along with his parents to Chicago in May 2013. He put them up at The Ritz Carlton to make them feel like this weekend was not only about him and Jamie, but about family, which is so important to both of them. He had her picked up by a driver and taken to Lincoln Park. On a cold night in May, not a soul was around and it felt like their own little place. They then went to a private dinner with their families and proceeded to celebrate for the entire weekend.
A little over a year later, the families reunited in Charleston, South Carolina at Boone Hall Plantation to see the long-awaited nuptials. Though her two sisters and his two brothers stood beside their siblings when they said their vows looking down the classic avenue of oaks, there was one important family member missing. Pat's mother, Charlotte, passed away Christmas 2013 from her long battle with cancer. And though she wasn't there in body, she was there in spirit. Jamie and Pat had her rings melted down to be their wedding rings, and when the couple asked their guests to join them on the dance for a dance in her memory, there wasn't one dry eye. They celebrated everything, marriage, family, life and death, and it was truly a remarkable gathering.
From the processional of a trumpeter leading guests from the plantation home to the Cotton Dock playing "When the Saints Go Marching In," to dancing the night away out on the dock overlooking the Charleston marshes, it was clear no detail was left unturned (even flying down that quintessentially "Chicago" Garret's popcorn for an homage to their home), and this couple was married for a lifetime.
When asked about her design inspiration she says, "Classic, but rustic. I didn't want a lot of colors so I wanted to stick with grays, ivories, and burlap. I was determined to make it rustic, without it feeling vintage."
A little over a year later, the families reunited in Charleston, South Carolina at Boone Hall Plantation to see the long-awaited nuptials. Though her two sisters and his two brothers stood beside their siblings when they said their vows looking down the classic avenue of oaks, there was one important family member missing. Pat's mother, Charlotte, passed away Christmas 2013 from her long battle with cancer. And though she wasn't there in body, she was there in spirit. Jamie and Pat had her rings melted down to be their wedding rings, and when the couple asked their guests to join them on the dance for a dance in her memory, there wasn't one dry eye. They celebrated everything, marriage, family, life and death, and it was truly a remarkable gathering.
From the processional of a trumpeter leading guests from the plantation home to the Cotton Dock playing "When the Saints Go Marching In," to dancing the night away out on the dock overlooking the Charleston marshes, it was clear no detail was left unturned (even flying down that quintessentially "Chicago" Garret's popcorn for an homage to their home), and this couple was married for a lifetime.
When asked about her design inspiration she says, "Classic, but rustic. I didn't want a lot of colors so I wanted to stick with grays, ivories, and burlap. I was determined to make it rustic, without it feeling vintage."