This Southern Garden Wedding In The Heart Of Charleston Brings The Fun

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October 11, 2023

The Planning

Design / Vibe / Vision

The couple’s main focus was creating an elegant, elevated environment for their guests to have fun! They wanted their guests to feel like they were in a colorful, southern garden but also in the heart of downtown Charleston. Tucked between many historical buildings and behind wrought-iron gates, their guests were able to enjoy a fun-filled night at the William Aiken House.

Proposal Story

Alex and Catherine met at a friend’s birthday party in January of 2019 and started dating shortly after. A few years later, they decided to move to Chicago together to experience a new city. On one fall day in October 2021, Alex pulled off a monumental surprise. He was able to have both families fly into Chicago without Catherine knowing, and bring them to the rooftop where Catherine and Alex planned to meet that evening. Upon opening the door of the rooftop, Catherine saw both families, together, standing about 20 yards away. At this point she knew what was about to happen. She was then escorted to a private section on the roof where Alex proposed. It was truly the most incredible surprise.

Getting Ready

Bridal Portraits

Flat Lays

First Look

The Fashion

Wedding Gown

The bride wore a one-of-a-kind, floral Justin Alexander gown that she purchased from Ava Laurenne Bride in Fredricksburg, Virginia while visiting her mother. Instead of going for a neutral colored heel, she opted for a hot pink flat from Anthropolgie as a nod to her bridesmaids dresses. She accessorized her dress with sheer tulle fingerless gloves, worn only for the ceremony. After their plated dinner and first dances, Catherine changed into a fringe Herve Leger dress to dance the night away, paired with Dolce Vita pearl-accented heels.

Bridesmaid Dresses

Bridesmaids were able to choose their own gowns in varying shades of pink in order to show off their personal style and personalities.

Groomsman Attire

The groom purchased his tuxedo from Indochino and engraved the wedding date on the inside of the jacket. The groomsmen tuxedos were from the Black Tux. The groom purchased and surprised his groomsmen with shirts that he felt best fit their personalities for them to wear as they arrived on the wedding morning.

Wedding Party

Ceremony

Cocktail Hour

The Details

Food & Drink

The bride and groom wanted their guests to experience true Charleston cuisine. Some of the highlights included mini chicken and waffles, scallops, mini lobster rolls, salmon, braised short rib, and sweet corn risotto. For drinks, they decided on two of their favorites: transfusions and spicy margaritas. Late night, their guests enjoyed espresso martinis and Chicago-style hot dogs, a nod to where the couple currently lives.

Florals & Decor

Florals and decor were both very important to the bride and groom. Keeping within the elevated garden party theme, they used a bunch of really fun patterned linens; some were floral, some geometric, but all equally beautiful. The tables were lined with colorful flowers, with focal centerpieces of large calla lilies. A live painter captured the ambience of the evening and the guests’ attention, painting a scene of Alex and Catherine’s first dance throughout the night.

Wedding Cake

Why only have one cake when you could have six?! The couple had six different cakes that were the most fun, unique, and delicious flavors. The flavor combinations consisted of lavender blueberry, raspberry lemon, chocolate almond coconut, strawberry lemon curd, and carrot cake.

Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs

The bride and groom really wanted to keep every detail personal and upbeat, down to the ceremony music. The processional music was played on piano by the groom’s close friend, with the groom and his groomsmen walking into the instrumental of his favorite 80’s song “Hungry Like the Wolf” while the bride chose for the bridesmaids to walk in to one of her favorite Taylor Swift songs “Invisible String”. The bride kept things classic and walked down the aisle alongside her father to “Canon in D”. The recessional was “Paper Rings” by Taylor Swift, which started the upbeat tone of the evening. The couple also chose to do a choreographed first dance to “Best of My Love” by the Emotions, performed by their band Power2Party.

Special Detail #1

Instead of doing a mother/son dance, the groom and his mother surprised the guests with an epic performance with the band. With the groom on guitar and his mother singing, they performed Sweet Child O' Mine while his new wife danced with her mother. It made for a special moment combining the two families and got all of the guests on the dance floor.

Special Detail #2

The bride and groom had custom escort and bar-back walls made, each fitted with chinoiserie inspired wallpaper to play off of the couples’ main linen and theme. The walls had custom trim, inspired by their venue William Aiken House. Noah from The Bearded Florist created a floral letter “J” for the bar-back wall centered between two sconces, giving the bar area a home-y feel.

Special Detail #3

One of the couple’s favorite songs to belt-out in the car when they first started dating was “Mirrors” by Justin Timberlake. At the end of the night as their guests lined up to send them off, Alex and Catherine popped a bottle of champagne before sharing a private last dance to “Mirrors” and soaked in the final moments of their wedding day.

Couple Portraits

Reception

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