Bachelorette Session | Isle of Palms



If you’ve ever walked down King Street on a Saturday evening, you know Charleston’s the “It City” for bachelorette parties. So when North Carolina native and bride-to-be Cristen decided to hold her own bachelorette party here, she wanted to make sure it was a standout event, and one that was well-documented. To do both, she enlisted photographer Charlie Martin to capture the weekend, an idea he loves. “Too often,” Charlie says, “brides are super focused on the wedding day and not all the days leading up to it. Every single day, event, and moment leading up to the biggest day of your life is worth being professionally captured for you to look back on and smile.” Cristen’s bachelorettes created the hashtag #VaughnVoyage for the festivities (Cristen’s last name is Vaughn, and the weekend was a chance to say “bon voyage” to her maiden name), and they decorated their Isle of Palms rental with palm leaves, pineapples, and rose gold accents to fit the theme. Read on for their weekend itinerary and score ideas for your own bridal bash.

Friday

Guests arrived at the beach house to find canvas welcome bags filled with personalized notes, bracelets, tattoos, candies, and, of course, some Advil. They mingled, munched on tacos, and sipped Mexican beer as travelers trickled in.

Saturday

The morning began with breakfast and a mimosa bar, followed by a quick change into matching monogrammed shirts before a DIY flower crown workshop. (This is when Charlie showed up to capture the midday fun.) The ladies (and gentleman) then changed for a night on the town, starting with a trip to the Historic Downtown Market, cocktails at The Cocktail Club’s rooftop bar, and then dinner at Stars.

Sunday

While many bachelorette weekends kick off with a lingerie shower, these gals (and guy) held Cristen’s on Sunday morning and dubbed it “Bagels & Bras.” Consider a similar idea for a low-key ending to your celebratory weekend.

Images by Charlie Martin Photography

The Wedding Row

June 17 2019
Here’s a sweet-as-pie love story for your Monday. These newlyweds first met in college at Furman University after Ashley asked for Emily’s help in their shared computer class. Little did Emily know,...

June 14 2019
Happy Friday, lovelies. To start the weekend off on a high (and crazy pretty) note, we present to you the wedding of Alexandria and Chandler. University of South Carolina alum Alex met her future...

June 13 2019
When Hurricane Florence hit, Jacqueline and Matthew, only a week out from their wedding, feared the worst. With their hometown of Southport, North Carolina, completely flooded, it seemed like...

June 12 2019
Funnily enough, romantic gestures aren’t the only way to find love. New York natives Lauren and Austin met when he boldly cut in front of her in line outside of a bar in the Hamptons. She took notice...

June 11 2019
Believe it or not, produce (yup, apples and oranges!) is what brought Emily and Anthony together. The pair met online and had their first date at the SoWa Market, the Boston equivalent of our 2nd...

June 10 2019
Dockside just happens to be our best side and it seems to be Franzi and Martin’s, too. The duo, who both hail from Germany, flew all the way to our beloved Charleston just to document their...

June 7 2019
After meeting at Wake Forest University in 2009 and being drawn together by what she describes as fate (more about that later … ), Stephanie and Greg officially tied the knot here in the Holy City....

June 6 2019
Although high school sweethearts Maddie and Jackson may not be evenly matched on the athletic field (the pair’s first encounter involved Maddie whipping Jackson’s tail in a game of volleyball) they...