Written By Melissa Reardon
Photographs By Lucy Cuneo
A transplant from Virginia, Weston “Wes” McAfee vividly remembers the first time he saw his future bride-to-be. Charleston native Dana Elaine...
May 17, 2025 / Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens
Despite both growing up and attending the same schools in Richmond, Virginia, Anna Catherine Frazier and Ross Meade didn’t truly get to know each other until their paths crossed the summer after college. The two spent a lot of time together in the months to follow, but with Ross bound for a postgrad job in Atlanta, they didn’t pursue more than a friendship—at first. By the next summer, Anna had moved to Charleston, and when Ross came to visit her one weekend, they decided to take the plunge. Several years later, Ross pulled off Anna’s dream proposal on the beach at Sullivan’s Island with their English cream golden retriever, Winnie, right at their side.
As a wedding planner with Tara Guérard Soirée, Anna was well-positioned to begin plotting their May nuptials, set against the ethereal, lived-in elegance of Boone Hall. Though the bride had worked many events at the venue, she knew that Erica Missel of Soeur Events (sister company to Soirée) would ensure the big day felt uniquely theirs.
Indeed, following a charming ceremony on the front lawn, every detail of the couple’s Cotton Dock reception was personal and downright dreamy. Beachy-chic decor—including rattan furnishings, punchy printed fabrics, hanging wicker lights, and cane accents—transformed the venue. But it still felt easy breezy, just as Anna had hoped. “I didn’t want it to be this over-the-top, stuffy event,” she says. “I learned from Tara that the secret to a great party comes down to these essentials: good food and drinks (and never a line), a great band playing (three hours, nonstop!), ambient lighting, and a great flow.”
