Earthy Elegance

Spring 2013

WRITER CREDIT:

PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT:

Earthy Elegance | Margaret Winnicki & Jeffrey Stark, April 21, 2012, Legare Waring House

Charleston Wedding Legare Waring House Folly Beach Weddings Daniel Island White Yoj Events fabulous frocks WildFlour Pastry

Earthy Elegance

SIP AND SEE: Upon guests’ arrival to the ceremony site, servers presented glasses of Champagne enlivened with St. Germaine elderflower liqueur and blueberries.

BIG IMPACT: To mimic the florals in a masculine way, the boutonnieres featured either blue muscari or scabiosa pods, along with Dusty Miller to soften the bundle’s flow onto the jacket, all wrapped in brown satin ribbon and gray and white Divine Twine.

HANGING AROUND: In the spirit of allowing the setting to stand at the forefront, Margaret and florist Whitney Randall limited the ceremony flowers to a handful of tastefully filled vases tied to aisle-side chairs.

NOTEWORTHY: The Classical Charleston string trio rearranged modern selections such as Coldplay’s “Yellow” and Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” for the ceremony and cocktail hour. Margaret walked down the aisle to “Forever” by Ben Harper, and the recessional heralded The Beatles’ “In My Life.”

AGENT ORANGE: Branch Design Studio mingled chocolate cymbidium orchids with driftwood and moss for a woodsy effect.

STICK TO IT: Preceding the family-style dinner, Café Catering passed around hors d’oeuvres, including these rum-glazed shrimp on sugar cane skewers.

KNOW YOUR PLACE: Each pinned to a single sprig of blue muscari, place cards bearing the wedding’s signature watermark design dangled from a Spanish moss-covered board.

NATURAL BEAUTY: The dramatic allée at Legare Waring wooed Margaret and Jeffrey, who chose to seat guests deep into the oak-lined avenue for their ceremony in order to create a feeling of intimacy and seclusion.

NUMBERS GAME: In order to bring a bit of themselves into the event, Margaret and Jeffrey chose to number their tables with intriguing personal stats, such as 23 (the day they met), 6 (their shared December birthday), and 79 (the number of guests that travelled over 500 miles to be at the wedding). They even infused a bit of humor into the sums, seating their wildest friends at table 14 (the number of months they “lived in sin”).

SHADE LOVING: Yoj Events' Candice Hilse took care not to be overly matchy, especially with the blue table linens. "Color feels richer in a varying tonal palette," she says.

SERVED WITH CARE: Childhood friend of the bride and graphic designer Stefanie Wardrep created thank-you letters from the bride and groom to greet guests at their tables.

POWER OF THE FLOWER: While the bride carried primarily white blooms, the bridesmaids’ bouquets burst forth with peonies, hydrangeas, sweet peas, and blue muscari.

GENERATION NEXT: Custom throw pillows carried the color scheme into the lounge where photographs of long-married family members hung as screens.

FLORAL NOTES: Crisp white flowers tucked into silver vessels dressed up the setting.

ARRESTING DEVELOPMENT: Chocolate cymbidium orchids and scabiosa pods added subtle warmth to arrangements of peonies, blue muscari, sweet peas, Dusty Miller, silver brunia, ranunculus.

FEELING BLUE: For cocktail hour, Yoj Events designer Candice Hilse topped highboy tables with smoky blue linens and dressed them with carefully edited blooms in bud vases and mercury glass cylinders. “Pillar candles provided the perfect romantic light for sunset,” she says.

BRANCHING OUT: Guests signed pieces of an oak tree puzzle.

BALANCING ACT: “He wanted logistics; she wanted beauty,” explains planner Candice Hilse. “Margaret and Jeffrey are their own little right brain/left brain.” But the couple did agree on one thing. “We really wanted to show off the city we’ve come to call home,” he says.

SIDLE UP: As the sun dipped low, candlelight glowed throughout the venue, from the bar to the nearby fountain.

ALL AGLOW: A newly constructed patio in front of Legare Waring House installed one month prior to the wedding necessitated a change in the event’s initial layout. In the end, the party flowed from the oak avenue to cocktail hour on the new patio, which the planner outfitted with highboy tables and white café umbrellas.

LIGHT BRIGHT: Bare Edison bulbs and swathes of fabric gently draped down from the center of the tent, which boasted a lush canopy layered with moss, branches, and orchids.

TREAT TOWER: The hosts opted for a cascading tray of individual desserts—Mexican chocolate mousse, Margaret’s favorite homemade Oreo cookies, strawberry cream cups, and blueberry crumb cake—created by WildFlour Pastry chef Lauren Mitterer. “We wanted our friends and family to be dancing, drinking, and visiting, not standing around to watch us cut a cake,” says the bride.

DANCE WITH ME: So guests could feel involved with the party, the design team situated the dance floor in the middle of the tent, “where everyone could watch or participate,” says Margaret, who found the idea for the crowning floral installation on Pinterest.

February 2013

Real-Life Weddings

Receptions

Photographs by:

Juliet Elizabeth

When Margaret Winnicki and Jeffrey Stark met at Folly Beach’s Surf Bar, the Lowcountry transplants made a date for the following weekend. Eighteen months later (after Jeffrey had dropped to one knee), the couple reached out to Candice Hilse of Yoj Events to deliver an elegant alfresco fête showcasing Charleston’s natural charms. With the bride’s input, Candice selected a steel blue, gray, and copper palette that played into the organic feel of the Legare Waring House’s oak-lined grounds, as did florals of Spanish moss, branches, and orchids. “The understated décor allowed the house and grounds to stand out,” says Margaret, “and let our guests understand why we fell in love with Charleston.”

Vendor List

Baker: WildFlour Pastry; www.wildflourcharleston.com
Bridal attire: Allure, White on Daniel Island; www.whiteondi.com
Bridesmaid’s attire: Thread, Fabulous Frocks; www.fabulousfrocks.com
Caterer: Café Catering; www.charlestonscafe.com
Ceremony and reception location: Legare Waring House; www.legarewaringhouse.com
Designer: Candice Hilse, Yoj Events; www.yojevents.com
Florist: Branch Design Studio; www.branchdesignstudio.com
Groom’s attire: Canali, Berlin’s for Men; www.berlinsclothing.com
Groomsmen’s attire: Joseph Abboud, Men’s Wearhouse; www.menswearhouse.com
Music: DJ Bryan Mahanes, Other Brother Entertainment; string trio, Classical Charleston; www.otherbrotherentertainment.com, www.classicalcharleston.com
Photographer: Juliet Jones Photography; www.julietelizabeth.com
Stationery: Stefanie Wardrep, stefanie.lister@gmail.com
Transportation: Absolutely Charleston; www.absolutelycharleston.com

The Wedding Row

July 23 2021

Rethink the Traditional Bridal Portrait

Been wondering why go the extra mile for a bridal portrait shoot? While the tradition began in Southern Europe, at a time when affluent families would hire an artist to paint the picture, we’ve come...

July 8 2021

Alice DuRant & Quinn Foster | Runnymede Plantation

Like any solid relationship, Ali DuRant and Quinn Foster’s foundation began in friendship. They met at a July Fourth party on Sullivan’s Island in 2013. But it was a fated bus ride to a USC vs. UGA...

June 24 2021

Lauren & Bo | The Parsonage

You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Or can you? The old adage implying you can’t have it both ways didn’t ring true with Lauren Margaret Snyder and Robert “Bo” William Bledsoe’s May 1st...

June 14 2021

Wedding Color Palette | Add Panache with Metallic Rose Gold

Need ideas for your wedding color palette? If you missed this bold and beautiful mock wedding (inspired by a to-die-for metallic rose gold Shelby Cobra convertible) in the latest installment of...

April 29 2020

Brittany and Philip | Magnolia Plantation & Gardens | Carriage House

Love’s Timeline New Yorkers Philip (Phil) and Brittany (Britt) Mcphail’s first brief meeting was at a concert. Five years later, at Britt’s cousin’s house, the two happened to...

April 28 2020

Laura-Brooke & Ryan | Charleston Rehearsal Dinner

A Charleston Rehearsal Dinner | Introductions Laura-Brooke and Ryan both grew up in Florence, South Carolina, but they didn’t meet until a college spring break trip to Myrtle Beach in 2015. The S.C....

April 23 2020

Krista & Tony | Magnolia Plantation & Gardens | Wedding Rain Plan 101

But What If It Rains? Anybody who has ever planned a wedding has asked themselves this question. When you’re spending big money and planning for months, nobody wants the forecast to quite...

April 22 2020

Stacy & Andrew | Historic Rice Mill

“Falling” In Love Picture this. You’re in college, on your way to class. Your crush steps out of the building door two feet in front of you … and you immediately trip over your shoes. You...

Feature

Citrus Dream

Summer picnic in the park for your Big Day? We say, oh, yes …

Feature

Haute Headlines

Hot new venues, bespoke bands and engagement rings, and Lowcountry-chic big day accessories

Feature

Home-Grown Beauty

Get silky soft for your Big Day with these locally made products

Feature

Name Your Pleasure

A host of trends hit the Charleston Weddings Spring Bridal Show catwalk

Feature

Sunset Soirée

A pair of Charlestonians roll out their version of a big, fat Greek wedding

Feature

Good Tidings

Let the holidays fill your winter wedding with a cozy, festive look

Feature

What a Trip

These lovebirds wanted a location that on its own would be worth the trip for guests. See where they booked!

Feature

Glide Through Life

Pre-wedding dance lessons teach you way more than just how to dip and twirl

Feature

Back to Her Roots

Kiosha Hammond & Joseph Dickey, November 19, 2011, The Island House

Feature

High School Crush

More than a decade after they first met, a pair of New York residents exchange vows during a chic Southern garden party-style ceremony

Feature

Words To Wed By

Turn to Palmetto State poets and wordsmiths for ceremony readings

Feature

Summer Lovin'

A roll-up-your-sleeves pair puts on a beach wedding celebrating their union—and the season

Feature

A Real-Life Modern Elopement

Want to save money but not skimp on style? Take a cue from Style Me Pretty, who introduces us to this North Carolina couple who oh-so fashionably eloped to Charleston's Legare Waring House

Feature

Birds of a Feather

Holly Young & Tony Martin August 28, 2010, Legare Waring House

Feature

Paperwhite

Crisp, clean, & contemporary design marry in this eco-smart reception shoot from Soirée by Tara Guérard

Feature

Double Take

A decade after they first tied the knot, a Tennessee couple renews their vows with family in tow

Feature

Strike Gold

Love a bold hue like gold? Work it into your wedding in unexpected ways and temper it with anchor colors

Feature

Rich in Love

Two foodies—he’s worked at Oceana, The Obstinate Daughter, and Wild Olive and she’s penning her first cookbook—tie the knot on All Hallows’ Eve at the bride’s family home on Sullivan’s Island