From the bride’s Ines Di Santo floral gown to the tented reception with picturesque views of the sparkling marsh, today’s wedding at Kiawah River is the epitome of southern charm. The Petal Report left no detail unturned to bring the bride and groom’s vision to life – a romantic affair inspired by watercolor paintings, garden style flowers and an airy palette that perfectly complimented their surroundings. Our favorite part? The candle wedding favors from a local shop in Charleston complete with three scents representing their favorite places – the beach, the mountains, and their first home. How special is that?! To see every last detail, including Petaloso’s stunning blooms, head on over to the full gallery – all taken by Clay Austin!
From the Bride, Emily… Trevor proposed on Sullivan’s Island in Charleston, SC while taking our pup, Winnie for a sunset beach walk. We finished the evening with amazing local tacos and calling our family!
Charleston has such a special place in both of hearts as it is the place where we fell in love and both began our adult and professional lives. It was a no brainer to wed in the place we love most because it also happens to have some of the most beautiful locations to tie the knot. Although no location could hold a candle to our incredible venue, Kiawah River on Johns Island. It was exactly what we were hoping for; from the ancient oak trees to the seemingly endless coastal property, there certainly is a magical quality felt there. Our venue was the backbone of our inspiration, it supported all wedding design and decision making moving forward. My planner, the incomparable, Emma Job from The Petal Report worked tirelessly to bring our shared vision to life on November 7th, 2020.
Aside from our breathtaking venue, Emma and I drew inspiration from watercolor paintings, garden style florals, and a light and natural color palette that would still feel cozy and romantic for an early November wedding. My Ines DiSanto wedding gown had the texture and colors that complimented our venue and established the color palette beautifully, it was a match made in heaven.
We wanted our cocktail hour to be an immersive, multi-sensory experience for our guests. We dreamt up a vision of guests listening to the string duo, Coastal Chambers Musicians while sipping champagne or a delicious autumn inspired signature cocktail, “The Winnie” by Cru Catering. We wanted guests to stroll the property and enjoy watching our live painter, Chloe Strickland, paint the gorgeous landscape of Kiawah River as the sun would set over the marsh. Our guests of all ages enjoyed the nostalgia of swinging under big trees as only a teacher knew they would! We brought scent to our wedding day by designing a candle display with three signature scents from a local, favorite shop, Candlefish for guests to enjoy smelling and selecting from. Many of our friends and family have reached out sharing how they have loved lighting their candles at home and reminiscing about that evening! Each scent was inspired by a different, important place to us and was depicted by a mini painting by me. Scents included: the beach, the mountains, and our first home in North Carolina.
Our escort card tree installation is the perfect example of how my lofty, ethereal dreams met functional design. Seeing details such as this one come to life by Emma and the Petaloso floral team was magical and added an interactive element for our guests to make their way to seats. Another special wedding detail was our custom watercolor crest designed by Simply Jessica Marie. We worked with her and Kelsey Malie Calligraphy to ensure all of our printed materials were memorable and coincided with the painterly vibe we were going for. From our invitation suite to our menus with hand calligraphed names of our guests, all of our paper goods were works of art!
Our favorite moment of the day had to be our “secret” vow exchange prior to the ceremony and guests’ arrival. I highly recommend combining your “first look” with a personal vow exchange or letter reading. It was so special sharing our own words to each other on a secluded path surrounded by water and the beautiful Lowcountry. We were both shaking from all the excitement and nerves. We knew once guests began to arrive, we would both go into hosting mode, so exchanging vows beforehand gave us the time and space we needed to focus only on each other for a few, sweet moments. Followed closely by reuniting with our dog! The whole day was truly a dream come true!
Within a large U-shaped table arrangement, watching guests share a family-style, southern meal at long tables adorned with loose florals in handmade ceramic pottery finished with blush taper candles created an unforgettable ambiance.
My niece was my original flower girl but was unable to fly to my wedding due to COVID risks and her young age. The decision for her not to come was made late in hopes things would turn around, all the COVID couples understand this! At the last minute, I called some mamas of past students of mine and they were able to quickly order some dresses and make my flower girl dreams come true! They had the best night ever twirling on the dance floor, roasting s’mores, and of course, swinging!
A favorite moment from the night was taking the girls to sneak some icing off from our gorgeous, hexagon shaped cake, inspired by my wedding gown (made by ABCD cakes)!
To all the COVID couples, altering your expectations of what your original wedding may have looked like does not have to be a heartbreaking experience. Although it will certainly have some moments that will feel heartbreaking when you make a sacrifice you never wanted to or someone you never thought wouldn’t be at your wedding suddenly isn’t able to come. I had to actively adjust my thinking often and try to see planning during this time as an opportunity to carefully select what was most important to us as a couple. Get creative to bring those things to fruition. Do this and find a way to feel proud of what you have planned, and I promise you won’t be thinking of all the sacrifices when your day comes around.
Photography: Clay Austin | Cinematography: Hart to Heart Media | Event Planning: Cayleigh Hopkins | Floral Design: Petaloso | Wedding Dress: Ines Di Santo | Cake: ABCD Cakes | Invitations: Kelsey Malie Calligraphy | Ceremony Venue: Kiawah River | Reception Venue: Kiawah River | Catering: Cru Catering | Band: Station Seven Band | Transportation: Lowcountry Valet | Beauty: Wild Ivory Beauty | Linen: BBJ La Tavola | Live Painting: Paint by Chloe | Wedding Crest Designer: Simply Jessica Marie