Robert Edgar Wilder, III & Margaret Alison Courtney
June 18, 2016 • Lowndes Grove Plantation
We all love a good fairy tale, and Lowcountry natives Alison “Ali” Courtney and Robert Wilder are the real deal. When they met in passing at a University of South Carolina football game, she says he was the best looking man she had ever laid eyes on. And Robert? He drifted to sleep that night still thinking of “that girl in the red dress” (Ali, of course). “We both thought we would never cross paths again,” Ali says. But their story didn’t end there, thanks to good old-fashioned dental hygiene. What? Yep, it turns out they shared a dentist (luckily one who has a penchant for matchmaking), and he had planned to set them up all along. It worked, and the couple dated for a few years before the next chapter of their romance was written.
Ali, a model, was headed for what she thought was a gig with Gwynn’s of Mount Pleasant at Lowndes Grove Plantation. She got into character and started posing. “A few minutes in, I was startled by a familiar voice,” Ali says. “It was my Prince Charming! As Robert went down on one knee, I couldn’t control the flood rushing down my cheeks.” Apparently he staged the entire shoot to catch her unawares, to make sure everything was caught on camera, and to guarantee she had a grand story to tell.
After Ali’s “Yes,” the couple decided to get hitched at that very same plantation. As the owner of Ali Wilder Interiors, the bride was eager to dress up her magical venue. “I just kept revisiting the site and envisioning new ideas,” she says. With the help of close friend and planner Lauren Fox of Fox Events, they outlined the basics: lighting (crystal chandeliers and gold candelabras), florals (greenery and all-white blooms), and linens (a mix of emerald and black). With the nuts and bolts out of the way, Ali let her imagination run wild with creative ideas that were both pretty and practical.
For instance, the tent’s 15-foot birch tree centerpiece doubled as seating when they encircled it with a wraparound bench. An abstract gold-and-silver painting served as both décor and guestbook (and now hangs in the couple’s Mount Pleasant home). Perhaps the most miraculous element of the evening, though? The five-tier hanging cake, which was suspended from an oak tree and accessed via a small stage edged in boxwood. Thanks to the elevation, the cake cutting and sunset champagne toast were easily seen by all 325 guests.
As Ali and Robert start their latest chapter, this one as newlyweds, she only has minimal advice for fellow brides. “Hug your parents, let your planner do her job, and definitely break in your wedding shoes.” Words to wed by.
Vendors
Wedding design, florals, lounge rentals, signage: Fox Events, www.afoxevent.com
It’s hump day, and to help you get through the rest of the week—you. can. do. it.—we’re bringing you all the pretty (and then some) from Brynne and Alex’s Big Day at The Gibbes Museum of Art. Though...
We had a brief hurricane hiatus (ugh, Dorian), but we’re back in full action and bringing you the backyard summer soirée of your dreams. So, grab your drink and kick up your heels for this A-plus...
Cue the “awwws” because we’ve got an endearing engagement shoot filled with love, nose boops, and … potatoes. Yep, that’s what Keely was seasoning one random Friday evening when Poole got down on one...
We’re kicking off this four-day week with an ever-so glamorous wedding filled with southern hospitality, sequins, and more florals than a girl could ever dream of. Seriously. Erin and Andrew met one...
Alrighty everyone, we’re kicking off this Friday on a fabulous note. There is so much goodness wrapped up in this waterside wedding and you will be amazed at every last detail. We certainly were....
The day that Lee, Andrew, and their adorable son, Camon, all became one was for sure a day to remember. Check out the elegantly rustic greenery hanging above the space at The Cedar Room that the very...
My, oh my. This Charleston engagement shoot has our wedding-loving hearts bursting at the seams. Historic downtown buildings, two elegantly blue-hued wardrobes, the breezy Folly Beach air, AND two...
