Lauren & Austin | Lowndes Grove Plantation



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 of him for this snub, of course, but she also couldn’t help but notice how devilishly handsome this stranger was. Later, when he caught her eye across the bar, Austin sidled up to Lauren and profusely apologized, explaining that he sometimes worked at the bar and had connections. He extended a peace offering in the form of some of bubbly, and the two got to chatting. Only a few days passed before Lauren and Austin were toasting the night away on their first date and two years down the road from that, and Austin was down on bended knee—not even a nor’easter couldn’t stop him. He popped the question on the porch outside Lauren’s parents’ home while their family and friends watched from a hidden door camera upstairs. (Everything was recorded on film so Lauren could watch it back time and time again.) And as the newly engaged had, just a week earlier, taken an impromptu road trip to South Carolina and fallen hard and fast in love with our Holy City (can you blame them?), the runaway winner for wedding locale was Lowndes Grove Plantation, overlooking the scenic Ashley River. Their nuptials were infused with all kinds of romance, from whimsical spools of fabric draping the dance floor, to luxe velvet emerald-green lounge areas, to gold laser-cut place cards. Embracing their southern surroundings, the couple handed out weddings favors of grits so that everyone could bring a little bit of Charleston back up North. Oh, and did we mention they had candy bar station at the end of the night? What’s sweeter than sweet? This darling couple and their beautiful Big Day.

Venue: Lowndes Grove | Florist: Ooh! Events | Images: Taylor Rae Photography | Hair + Makeup: Meg Workman & Paper Dolls | Ceremony Music: Charleston Virtuosi | Band: Steel Toe Stiletto | Caterer: Lowndes Grove | Dress: Pronovias & Castle Couture | Groom’s Attire: Suit Supply & The Black Tux

The Wedding Row

December 10 2018
After connecting on Tinder (both are adamant that they were each on it for a short, short while) Charleston residents Arlene and Andrew met at a local café where she says she knew she was in trouble—...

December 7 2018
Did you know we typically save our most blockbuster weddings to post on Fridays? It’s true. So knowing that, and that this couple got engaged in Italy (on a gondola in Venice, no less), and that they...

December 6 2018
Seems like you don’t even need to be Irish to have some of their fabled luck. Take Trygve and Brooks for instance: The pair met in Columbus, Ohio, via Match.com and went on their first date on St....

December 5 2018
Any first date can be intimidating, and especially so when it’s a blind date. In fact, butterflies got to Kierstin so bad when she was set up by a friend to meet Mike, she canceled. Luckily, Kierstin...

December 4 2018
After dating for three-and-a-half years, Olivia and Sam were visiting her family in Columbia, South Carolina, for the Fourth of July when the whole crew decided a day trip to Charleston was in order...

December 3 2018
When they met up for a reunion with a group of their fellow missionaries a year after all had spent a week in Savannah, Georgia, Ashley and Brian hit it off—bigtime. That encounter launched the pair...

November 30 2018
Yes, Paula and Tyler’s Boone Hall Plantation wedding is a dream to look at. But we have to say the backstory to their day is just as inspiring. There’s just something about a couple who knows...

November 29 2018
Is wedding planning getting to you? Say hello to Charleston’s newest feel-better motivator, Ginny Leavitt, the health coach behind Healthy Bride Experience, a program that helps brides-to-be look and...