Pandemic Elopement Package Rescues Rescheduled Weddings



We can’t say it enough during these worry-filled days: a planner sure takes the worry off your wedding planning plate. Not only do they thrive in the middle of fast-paced crises, their fix-it selves are all. about. solutions. And today, we’re spotlighting a dream solution to those amid pandemic-postponed Big Days. So engaged couples, meet your new bestie: the elopement.

For the past five years Francesca DiSalvo-Follmer of Pure Luxe Bride in Charleston, South Carolina, has offered a popular “Styled Elopement” package. Not your mama’s courthouse elopement, these are scaled down, intimate micro-weddings. But in response to COVID-19, she now shares the even more refined “Curated Elopement.”

What To Expect From Your Curated Elopement In Charleston

Created for up to eight guests, the all-inclusive deal includes:

  • Wedding planning and coordination
  • A private plantation venue with on-site space for couples to get ready
  • Flowers (including a bridal bouquet, groom’s boutonniere, and ceremony décor)
  • Ceremony seating for up to eight guests
  • An officiant
  • Two hours of photography coverage (and digital images)
  • Hair and makeup artist for the bride
  • A small cutting cake and a champagne toast

 

Book the package and you let the Pure Luxe team take the reins, choose vendors, and craft the day. Why the new offering?  “We wanted to put together something special for brides that have been impacted by cancellations, postponements, or financial difficulties due to COVID-19,” says Francesca. “Essentially, we connected with our go-to vendors to create an all-inclusive package for these couples at a reduced, flat rate, about half what our normal Styled Elopement TM costs. Normally a couple pays each vendor but instead, here they pay us, and we contract and pay the vendors.

“We creatives are so anxious to get back to work doing what we love,” says Francesca, “and this allows us to do that. If you can trust our team (there are no substitutions, it’s designer’s choice), it will be gorgeous! With our spring weddings being wiped out, and with there being so many devastated brides, we thought this would be a win-win for all.”

So, Styled Elopements are on the Pure Luxe menu now through August 2020. And as soon as social restrictions lift, “We’ll be ready to rock!” says Francesca. Those based in the Charleston area who already have a marriage license will be fast-tracked. “And if they want to have the ceremony and the photos before they get their license,” adds Francesca, who is a notary, “they can get the paperwork to us later.”

Word is already spreading. “We’ve seen a huge surge in elopement bookings,” says Francesca, “some for brides who weren’t even Charleston brides to begin with. We have one from Maryland who was planning on a Pennsylvania wedding. It looks like couples are still going to have a big wedding or party later, but they want to have the ceremony sooner.”

charleston elopementelopement in charlestonwedding cake ideaselopement ideas

Design and Planning: Pure Luxe Bride | Venue: Legare Waring House | Photography: Aaron & Jillian Photography | Florals: Petaloso | Rentals: Snyder Events | Cake: Sablée | Officiant: Justin Follmer | Beauty: Paper Dolls Wedding Hair & Makeup | Bride’s gown: Theia, available in Charleston through Lovely Bride | Bridal accessories: Ring (Diamonds Direct); hair clip (The Wild Rose) | Groom’s attire: Indochino (suit) 

The post Pandemic Elopement Package Rescues Rescheduled Weddings appeared first on The Wedding Row.

The Wedding Row

September 19 2018
The sparks flew for Cole and Nick one fateful night at a mutual friend’s New Year’s Eve party. Truth be told, both admit to not wanting to attend the festivities, but the two tell us that when they...

September 18 2018
Two weeks before Mike graduated from Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, he met fellow student Taylor, who was wrapping up her freshman year. After six years of dating, the two had a thriving...

September 17 2018
So we’re back to the offices after having evacuated Charleston due to Hurricane Florence. While we’re thankful that the Lowcountry was spared devastation, it’s obviously bittersweet relief given so...

September 12 2018
From a flying groom (you’ll see) to a floral installation of 875 tulips (yep, we’re totally serious), our Instagram page was certainly filled with excitement during the month of August. As a little...

September 11 2018
Hot times calls for haute trends. From custom newlywed crests to one cutie of a bar-on-wheels, here are our top five takeaways from the current issue of Charleston Weddings magazine. Click here to...

September 10 2018
The Wedding Row: Tell us about the beginning of you as an item. Emily: In 2014 I was home from grad school and I went to the gym. That’s where I met Justin–a new guy who had just moved from...

September 7 2018
A last-minute opening at Carlos Hernandez’s autumn photography workshop at Lowndes Grove Plantation led to today’s minimalist and moody post shot by Rachel Craig. Her big takeaway from the styling,...

September 6 2018
Lindsay and Andrew, who both grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, first met at the Charleston Animal Society’s Firefighter Calendar Debut party and auction. Yep, you read that right. A PG-version of a “Magic...