Channeling Beverly Hills



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Channeling Beverly Hills | Nuptials in Charleston with a decidedly West Coast flair? You got it!
Taylor Haley & Bennett Younts
June 30, 2018 • Lowndes Grove Plantation
 
North Carolina natives (and residents) Taylor and Bennett met when the two were sophomores at N.C. State University. Five years after they had become an item, they were in Manhattan where, says Bennett, “The ring was burning a hole in my pocket!” As the skies opened up, the pair took a cab to Tavern on the Green in Central Park, and Bennett sweated through every block they passed, trying to come up with a Plan B proposal to his Plan A (an open-air ask before dinner). “I thought I was going to have to propose in the back of a New York City yellow cab,” he says, “but as we neared the park there was a small break in the rain.” He hustled Taylor along to Shakespeare’s Garden, where Bennett says he thinks she caught on thanks to the photographer he had hired—the woman, decked out in a yellow poncho, was waving and waving at the couple when they appeared. (“I guess she didn’t understand the whole ‘Hide in the bushes’ thing,” says Bennett.) “I got down on one knee and asked Taylor if she liked the ring, and then if she would marry me. She said ‘Yes’ to both.”
 
After that most auspicious beginning, the two joined Taylor’s mom in planning a destination wedding (the excited mother-in-law-to-be had, in fact, booked Lowndes Grove Plantation and Gregory Blake Sams Events before Bennett had even popped the question). The bride first leaned toward a subtle palette, then toward a pink and green one, but was wary of looking overly Lilly Pulitzer. So she leaned to the West Coast, toward the Beverly Hills Hotel, to be precise, with its 1950s pink neon sign, vivid palm wallpapered spaces, and swanky style. The result? You’re looking at it.
 
As for the couple, they fit right into the Rat-Pack atmosphere. Proof: At the wrap of their swanky soirée, she was in a flouncy little white dress and his bow tie dangled undone. They paused a moment before heading down a gauntlet of send-off sparklers, then entered the melee, where, amidst the sparks, Bennett twirled, dipped, and smooched his Mrs. in the most Hollywood of moves.
 
Vendors
 
Wedding design: Gregory Blake Sams Events, www.gregoryblakesams.com
Florals: Gathering Events (arrangements), www.gatheringevents.com ; Nancy’s Exotic Plants (palms)
Draping, boxwood wall, hedge: Loluma, www.loluma.com
Photography: Virgil Bunao, www.virgilbunao.com
Ceremony venue: Grace Church Cathedral, www.gracechurchcharleston.org
Reception venue, catering, bar: Lowndes Grove Plantation, www.pphgcharleston.com
Rentals: Snyder Events, www.snyderevents.com
Linens: BBJ Linen, www.bbjlinen.com ; Wildflower Linen (banana leaf pattern), www.wildflowerlinens.com
Lighting: Technical Event Company, www.technicaleventcompany.com
Neon sign: NAME GLO, www.name-glo.com
Cake: Jessica Grossman, Patrick Properties Hospitality Group, www.pphgcharleston.com
Calligraphy, stationery, favors: Surcie Fine Gifts and Stationery, www.shopsurcie.com
Ceremony music: Voices of Deliverance Gospel Choir (choir); Charleston Virtuosi (trumpet, www.charlestonvirtuosi.com); Nigel Potts (organ, www.nigelpotts.com)
Reception music: Emerald Empire Band (www.emeraldempireband.com)
Bride’s attire: Naeem Kahn through Mark Ingram Atelier, www.markingramatelier.com
Bridesmaids’ attire: Dodo Bar Or, www.dodobaror.com
Beauty: Patrick Navarro (hair; hairbynavarronyc@gmail.com); Charlotte Yeager (makeup; charyeager1@gmail.com)
Groom’s attire: The Black Tux, www.theblacktux.com
Getaway vehicle: Lowcountry Valet & Shuttle Co., www.lowcountryvalet.com

 

 

 

The Wedding Row

December 11 2019
Pittsburgh residents Natalie and Matthew met the old-school way—sans dating apps. They instead met in person, a rarity these days. While playing darts at a local watering hole, Matt’s friend was...

December 10 2019
Although Elliott and Melissa met each other in an MBA fellowship program, their relationship wouldn’t take off until a few years later. Being in the same program, they had naturally amassed a lot of...

December 9 2019
Dating etiquette has told us that guys should make the first move, right? Well, in the case of Brittany and Kyle, she was the one that made the first official move and we couldn’t be any prouder. The...

December 6 2019
Friday at last, my friends. And with that, we thought we’d share a super sweet wedding with you featuring a bride (duh!), a groom (of course), and their wee little boy named Bear. You may have seen a...

December 5 2019
Charleston’s hotshot lawyers Meg and Richard chose Bowens Island Restaurant to exchange vows and party the night away this past April. “There is something so beautifully simple and genuine about...

December 4 2019
If you’re as excited for the holidays as us, then you’ll love this winter-wonderland inspired wedding where pine boughs, branches with red berries, and tree ornament butler cards brought seasonal...

December 3 2019
Sighhhh … was that loud enough for you? We are trying to convey to you in any and every which way possible how truly marvelous Elise and Mike’s rooftop Dewberry wedding was. As soon as...

December 2 2019
It’s always a special, special day when we get to feature one of our own, or in today’s bride Cayleigh’s case, one of our formers. Cayleigh, the lead planner and owner of Charleston...