Feminine Style and Spring Pastels Made for the Sweetest South Carolina Wedding

From the designer, Ashley with Hamilton Events: "The foundation for Erin and Zachary's wedding design came from their love for the Carolinas and the East Coast. They wanted their wedding to reflect the Summer in the Southeast by the water with a vibrant, feminine color palette. Their love for the Carolinas inspired the custom seating chart produced by Swirls and Script Calligraphy featuring water color artwork from Watertown Colors of their favorite places to visit in North Carolina. Their love for the water and the East Coast drove the venue selection. Overlooking the river, their stunning ceremony the Catawba Falls Events led to an organic cocktail hour and reception filled with florals designed by Becca Zorn Designs. From start to finish, Erin and Zachary's wedding day reflected their love of the water, outdoors, and the Carolinas."

The couple met at East Carolina University and immediately bonded over their love for the Carolinas. They spent years traveling the east coast beaches, lakes, and mountains until Zachary finally proposed by the water in Bath, NC - where they had their first unofficial date. After Zachary proposed, they moved right next door to Little Washington, NC while they planned their dream wedding day.

Erin searched for her perfect wedding gown back on the east coast of North Carolina in New Bern. She decided on something classic and elegant from Thornbury Brides to ground her wedding day in timelessness.

Erin decided on a variety of lavender bridesmaids dresses in different styles. She prioritized her bridesmaids feeling comfortable in their own skin and looking beautiful in the dress that they wanted to wear.

Erin and Zachary wanted a true variety of Southern delicacies on their wedding menu for their guests. They also wanted to incorporate delicate details from their wedding design including butler passed hors d'oeuvres with matching floral napkins draped over the servers arms. They also included two specialty cocktails to honor their furry friends displayed by custom paper by the amazing Sarah Jo Design on a miniature floral meadow crafted by Becca Zorn Designs. We included a custom square menu card for each guest place setting with a beautiful wisteria bow on a blush pink plate to bring their color palette to the guests' dining experience.

Erin and Zachary's top priority on their wedding day was the florals. They wanted to create an intimate dining experience in the Reception Hall at Catawba Falls that brought their love of the outdoors in. Becca Zorn Designs created a custom skinny floral runner that carried through every table and framed each guests place setting. The sweetheart table was accented by a stunning floral installation that ran asymmetrically from the base of the ground across the mantle of the fireplace. Florals poured out of the grand piano to continue the garden feel from outside to inside. Stunning mini meadows of florals were the base for the bar signs, and also served as a matching element for the table numbers flowing from the table meadows.

The couple's wedding cake was inspired by Erin's wedding dress - classic and elegant. Delish Cakery created a stunning 4-tier cake with lemon raspberry and salted caramel layers on the inside, and beautiful sugar florals on the outside in blush pink and purple of course. Lastly, we stenciled the delicate monogram from Erin and Zachary's wedding stationery on the middle tier and stationed the cake on their stunning statement linen from Luxe Linen to bring their wedding design full circle.

One incredibly special aspect of Erin and Zachary's wedding day was their ceremony music. They wanted classical music to be played by a string duet while their guests overlooked the water in the ceremony amphitheater. But even more special was their recessional music. Erin's father has two close friends who are members of the New York Police Department Bagpipe Band. His friends jumped at the opportunity to play the bagpipes for Erin's wedding, as they were the same two bagpipers who played at Erin's parent's wedding ceremony. This generational tradition carried into cocktail hour while the bagpipers led guests from the ceremony to the cocktail hour, and finally ended the evening by sending off Erin and Zachary to their limo guiding them with traditional Scottish tunes.

One of Erin and Zachary's top priorities was their wedding stationery. They wanted the first element of their guest experience to reflect the wedding day to come, but also to incorporate custom aspects to their families. Zachary's family seal is a bear holding a cornucopia, and this concept was incorporated into the purple wax seals, so if you look close, you will find a cornucopia sealing their wedding invitations. They opted for handmade paper with pink and purple elements to give their guests a taste of the understated elegance, French country themes, and Southern family values that were to come on their wedding day.

From the designer, Ashley with Hamilton Events: "We wanted the soft seating to accent the custom seating chart as a way to invite guests to the reception and create a gentle transition from cocktail hour to reception. We also brought in striped, fringe pillows and matching floral linen pillows from Luxe Linen onto the French country furniture from PR Design to add sophistication to their playful pinks and purples."

From the designer, Ashley with Hamilton Events: "We wanted to incorporated a subtle bow motif throughout the wedding design. It started with the small bow at the base of Erin and Zachary's wedding crest, continued to the bows on the menu cards at each place setting, and finished with purple bows tying at the base of the tent draping. Each bow was either a deep, wisteria purple or a light lavender purple to continue the playful, feminine design of their wedding day."