Elegant, Naturally | Tara Guérard Soirée shows how magnolia leaves make the most elegant of rustic statements in this al fresco Fenwick Hall plantation wedding
Atlanta natives Mary and Reid dated seven years before swapping “I do’s,” but she’d had her eye on a Lowcountry plantation wedding even longer. “My sister got married on Pawleys Island, where we grew up going to the beach,” she explains. “I always knew I wanted a similar experience.” When her own time came, Mary borrowed elements from her sister’s Big Day—a luxuriously draped tent, elegantly rustic appointments, and Tara Guérard Soirée’s planning expertise—and entrusted Soirée to make the day uniquely hers and Reid’s. Laughs the bride, “Honestly, once we found the venue, I was just along for the ride!” The end result was a stunning day with gentle references to the season, a palette of brown, grey, and cream, and thousands of magnolia leaves lining the ceremony aisle and hanging above the dining tables. A lounge stocked with wraps upped the cozy factor, as did velvet and sueded linens and Moravian star lanterns. Says Mary, “I could never have described what I wanted in words, but Tara was dead-on.”
Tips
• Don’t get caught in the dark. Check sunset times before planning your open-air wedding timeline.
• Customize drinks with personalized swizzle sticks. Here, the “Raji” was a bourbon and muddled mint concoction Reid invented at a friend’s wedding.
• Remember envelope liners can add a burst of color. Watercolors evoking oaks and Spanish moss harkened the wedding site’s landscape.
• Pair rustic elements with delicate ones. The mix of wood slice place cards and sprigs of rosemary looked downright lovely atop intricately patterned china.
Check out these all-time best engagement rings from our vaults
Does your SO need a little hint-hint, nudge-nudge in the engagement ring department? Have no fear, because we’ve rounded up our top...
During the summer of her junior year at College of Charleston, Lauren studied abroad with a pair of fellow Cougars who kept telling her she had to meet their friend Dante when they all got back home...
One Monday night, at an East Carolina University bar in Greenville, North Carolina, Pirates Nina and Brett bonded over, as she sheepishly jokes, their love of a good deal on beer. But there was...
The Wedding Row: Start us at the beginning. How did you two meet?
Kate: Edward and I met through work in 2014. We were both living in Washington D.C. and Edward needed some software configured on his...
We love a groom who goes above and beyond for his bride-to-be, and JP did just that when he scooted down to Charleston from Charlotte, North Carolina, and back again in the same day to ask his...
For shutterbug Kate Timbers, the 200-year-old The Unitarian Church in Charleston is the perfect location for romantic portraits, timeless ceremonies, and more. With the church’s pastel-blue arched...
We love a pair who embrace big, bold statements and big, bold flavors with all the mannerly trappings in their Big Days. Enter Amanda and Preston, who not only hosted a posh wedding at The River...
Some of the best romances we know of are rom-coms, and Amanda and Will’s story is no exception. While Will tried to stage the world’s dreamiest proposal, complete with a romantic dinner,...
