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

April 29 2019
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...

April 26 2019
The latest Charleston Weddings magazine features the journey of Kaitlin and her hubby Allan, who defied the odds and overcame a traumatic brain injury to join his bride at the altar on their Big Day...

April 25 2019
When Morgan and her family attended Folly Gras 2015 (a Mardi Gras celebration held annually on Folly Beach), she had no inclination she’d meet her future husband. But when she caught up with her best...

April 24 2019
Few things get us through a hump day better than fantasizing about fantastic food and lip-smacking libations. So we thought it was a good time to reach out to Graham Ervin, director of sales at The...

April 23 2019
We profiled Hannah and Jonathan’s super lovely wedding in the spring issue of Charleston Weddings, but we weren’t able to include all they had to say, and we had a ton of bonus images to share with...

April 22 2019
Samantha Anderson Events teamed up with Lyndi and Jason Photography to turn a no-fun subject—your wedding budget—on its head. The trick? Samantha dressed three tables at three different price points...

April 19 2019
Blake, a wedding planner for Pure Luxe Bride, recently had the chance to plan her own Big Day. She and now-husband Charles met in an accounting class at College of Charleston, and a few years later...

April 18 2019
Here’s a rare wedding bird these days: A Charleston-raised couple prepping to say “I do” here in their own backyard. As Elizabeth and James keep on with the planning, here’s a little about the...