See How This Couple Showed Off Their Charleston Neighborhood and Everything They Love About It!

Samantha Melei
September 24, 2019
Categories: Real Weddings, The Blog

I love a good Charleston, South Carolina wedding – the venues, the vendors and, the details are always perfectly thought out and heartfelt. For this Bride and Groom, Charleston happens to be ‘their neighborhood’ and they couldn’t wait to show it off to their family and friends! Boutique Planning had The Gibbes Museum of Art as their canvas to design and delight and did they ever! From blue floral linens from La Tavola mixed with stunning floral arrangements by Flora and a neon, calligraphy sign (a gift to the bride, from her groom) to the cutest cocktail hour set up, all photographed by Julie Livingston Photography. Go ahead and scroll and take a peek into this couples Charleston neighborhood!

From the Bride…

How We Met:

Hampton and I met in college in 2009 at the College of Charleston. We wouldn’t officially begin dating for a couple of years but I am forever grateful for the night that my friend, Emily, dragged me from my dorm to introduce me to some of “her best guy friends”. I was extremely reluctant as I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship and to be honest I was not in the mood to be social. After about an hour of making boring small talk with other new freshman girls telling their stories about how they ended up at College of Charleston, I noticed a guy wearing a Kentucky Football shirt laughing with his friends.

Still to this day, I will never know what came over me—but I immediately started walking straight towards him and his friends. To ensure my introduction was more than memorable, I accidentally knocked over 5 glasses that were sitting on the kitchen counter. As they shattered on the floor and knowing I couldn’t ruin my stride, I reacted as anyone else would and simply stepped right over the broken pieces—finally making my way to the guy in the Kentucky shirt and his friends. And because introductions are overrated, I just jumped right into criticizing this stranger’s football team (never even mentioning my name). As a true Georgia football fan, they would learn my opinions on Kentucky football (whether they wanted to or not). All three boys were silent until the boy in the Kentucky shirt (a little confused) said, “Well then, thanks for sharing your thoughts! My name is Hampton by the way…I don’t think I ever caught what your name was?” With my face bright red, I slowly reached my hand out and introduced myself then quickly walked away to return to my freshmen friends. Years later when Hampton and I were dating, Kelly (one of the first-hand witnesses to our first meeting) told me that he commented to Hampton; “no one has ever talked to you like that, I think you are going to marry that girl”.

Planning Our Dream Wedding:

Hampton and I wanted to ensure that every detail authentically represented our relationship and what we will value most in our marriage. We knew that we wanted to put a big emphasis on our friends and family getting to experience Charleston and what makes it so special to Hampton and I. Before we even started planning our wedding, we agreed that more than anything, we wanted to be carefree and relish every moment during this special time in our lives—from proposal all the way up to the big day!

My future sister-in-law and one of my best friends actually had used Boutique Planning for their weddings—so it was a no brainer on who to choose to plan our special day. In one of our first initial meetings, we designated what our biggest priorities would be to help guide our decision-making and ensure we stayed dedicated to our shared vision. For us, it was all about the band, the photographer, and the atmosphere.

From the first conversation we had with Julie, we knew that she would be the perfect person to capture our wedding day. I truly believe one of the most important decisions you’ll make when planning your wedding is the person behind the camera! Julie and her team made sure that they captured every single exceptional moment from our wedding day. She was such a joy to work with and not only did she make Hampton and I always feel comfortable and relaxed; she made it a priority to give the same attention to our families and wedding party—something that meant so much to us!

If there was one “special” request that Hampton wanted to be responsible for during wedding planning it was choosing the band—which I didn’t mind at all since he and I share a love for dancing! The Atlanta Showstoppers did not disappoint and gave me one of the best surprises when they played one of my favorite songs Bad Blood by Taylor Swift. I had added it to their list of song choices, thinking they wouldn’t notice (they even had someone rap Kendrick Lamar’s part in the song—I was elated!)

When deciding on which venues to use for our ceremony and reception we only had to look a couple of blocks away from where we live! For the ceremony, we fell in love with St. Michael’s Church (the oldest church in Charleston) and cherished the fact that my parents were also married at a St. Michael’s Church (in Richmond, Virginia) almost 30 years before we said, “I do!”

Down the street and just a short walking distance from St. Michael’s is The Gibbes Museum of Art (it was even so close that after the ceremony the majority of our guests walked down Meeting Street to the venue!) The Gibbes Museum is an idyllic location that would showcase, to our friends and family, our deep love for “our neighborhood” in downtown Charleston. This setting is rich with history and includes a magnificent glass dome Rotunda on the second floor and a stunning outdoor garden on the first floor. Our guests were welcomed with lively music by The Plantation Singers singing Oh, Happy Day, which was the perfect introduction to what was to be an incredible night. Cocktail Hour began on the second floor in the Rotunda where the music followed and our wedding team put the final touches downstairs in the garden. Our wedding planner made sure to let Hampton and I see the tent before everyone else came downstairs (and I am SO happy she did!)

Some of my favorite highlights of our wedding décor was the custom made blue neon sign of our names mirroring the calligraphy on our save the date’s, (Hampton surprised me and gave it to me as a wedding present so we could have it forever!), to the magnolia leave centerpieces, the blue and white Latavola linens and the Lucien chandeliers—the list goes on and on! The best night of our lives ended perfectly with Hampton and I walking outside the Gibbes Museum where our wedding guests were lined up to send us off with sparklers in each hand. We then were chauffeured away in one of Hampton’s trucks from his landscaping business, Frazier Land Group LLC, ready to begin an incredible, life long journey together.

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