Love & Charleston



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Love & Charleston | A historic Broad Street home was transformed into a floral-filled oasis for this couple’s springtime soirée
Anne Flanigan & George Matelich
May 6, 2023 • South Carolina Society Hall & private residence
 
Anne Flanigan and George Matelich met while living in San Francisco, and both felt an instant and undeniable spark on their first date. For Anne, a Missouri native, and George, who grew up in New York, finding each other in the City by the Bay via a dating app might have seemed like sheer luck. But they’d soon find out that they weren’t the first in their families to cross paths: their fathers had worked together long before the two were born!
 
Over the next two years, the couple’s love bloomed, and George set about planning the perfect proposal. He popped the question along the oceanfront at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, where their families had gathered to meet “for the first time” and celebrate Anne’s birthday. She said yes—and the joy-filled group toasted to their love with a bottle of bubbles.
 
Anne and George decided their dream wedding could only be set in one city: Charleston. Anne’s parents had recently bought a house on Broad Street, and the couple was eager to introduce their out-of-state guests to the Lowcountry’s charms. They swiftly enlisted the expertise of Christina Baxter to deliver their vision of an elegant ceremony followed by a reception at the historic home. 
 
On May 6, 2023, the two exchanged handwritten vows surrounded by loved ones and the storied, portrait-clad walls of South Carolina Society Hall. A jazz band beckoned guests back outside, where they boarded buses bound for the house. After entering through the wrought-iron gate and double-oak doors festooned in white flowers and greenery, all enjoyed a cocktail hour that spilled across the yard, along the piazza, and into the circa-1873 home. 
 
And that was just the beginning of a reception to remember. Dinner was hosted in a dramatic fabric-draped tent bedecked in abundant blooms, creating the illusion of a luscious garden growing throughout the space. Along the tables, each place setting included a custom illustrated menu booklet by Hatch Cove Designs previewing a Lowcountry-inspired meal by Cru Catering of warm biscuits, pan-seared fresh catch, and other delights. After dinner, Anne and George’s guests brought the party as they danced the night away.  
 
Vendors
Planning & Design: Christina Baxter Weddings & Events
Photography: Nirav Patel Photography
Venues: South Carolina Society Hall (ceremony), private home (reception)
Florals: August Floral Design
Caterer & Bar: Cru Catering
Cake: Peninsula Grill
Rentals: Snyder Events
Linens: Stradley Davidson
Drapery: Veil
Entertainment: Charleston Virtuosi (ceremony), New South Jazzmen (reception)
Stationery: Studio R and Hatch Cove Designs
Bridal Attire: Oscar de La Renta (dress), Manolo Blahnik (shoes)
Bridesmaid Attire: Maria Lucia Hohan
Beauty: Bellelina Charleston (makeup), Patrick Navarro (hair)

The Wedding Row

October 23 2018
If how they saved their wedding foretells how they’ll live their marriage, we have every confidence in Jess and Geno. (And yoo-hoo to you other hurricane season brides, listen up extra close.) The...

October 22 2018
The Wedding Row: Tell us about how you two met. Kathryn: Hunter and I met through mutual friends in the fall of 2011 at a bar called Town Hall in Washington D.C. It was the “Clemson bar”...

October 19 2018
With couples getting anointed “Mr. and Mrs.” every weekend in the myriad nooks and crannies of Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, the site’s seen more than its fair share of wedding day décor. And as...

October 18 2018
Becca and Tanner started dating when she was at Sweetbriar College and he was at Hampden Sidney College. Seven years after they started dating, they were happily ensconced in Charleston while he...

October 17 2018
TWR: Where did you meet? Madison: At work. A role in my job “allowed” me to go to Paul’s desk every day. Four months of professional interaction and happy hours led to us dating. TWR: When did you...

October 16 2018
If you’re a bride-to-be whose addicted to happily ever after stories; if you’re a romantic looking for some fuel to add to your hope tank; or if you have a friend who falls into that category (and...

October 15 2018
Katie and Mike met through work (she was the chief of staff for the Republican National Congress and he was her predecessor), so it made sense that his proposal was touched by politics as well,...

October 12 2018
Wimberly Fair not only has one of the coolest names (yep, it’s her real moniker) in the wedding world, she’s also one of Charleston’s biggest, most whimsical talents. Today she shares about the...