Just a week after her engagement, Joyner Milam returned to her hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. Hesitantly, her mother presented her with a wedding gown—a crumpled lace affair that “didn’t look like much,” says Joyner. And no wonder—after being found in her grandmother’s closet, it had spent 10 years in her parents’ attic. “We aren’t sure who wore it originally, but it fit me perfectly. My mother immediately started weeping.” Joyner met her groom, Georgia native Bart Beasley, while in school at the University of Georgia, though their courtship didn’t begin until eight years later when they both moved to Charleston. “We knew we wanted to be married in the Lowcountry,” she says. “But the big plantations just weren’t what we were all about. We wanted the wedding to feel cozy, not fancy.” Luckily, they stumbled across Kensington, a private polo plantation that “isn’t overshadowed by a big Colonial house,” says Joyner. Keeping the focus on the stunning landscape, event planner Kate Badger helped the couple create a casual but elegant event, complete with a picnic-themed reception and Joyner’s favorite Southern rock n’ roll band, Tishamingo.
