When you keep ending up in the same spot and locking eyes with someone, it starts to become obvious that it’s meant to be. A coffee shop is where it all began for Christina and Evan back in college...
Andrea Gomez & Daniel Cardenas
March 21, 2015
Magnolia Plantation & Gardens
Leave it to Miami natives Andrea Gomez and Daniel Cardenas to balk at Charleston’s cool season: “It was in the mid-60s—that’s chilly for us!” Andrea laughs. The readings had their fellow Floridians donning furs as the sun set on Magnolia Plantation & Garden’s spacious back lawn, an oft-overlooked spot that had stolen the bride’s heart. “It was a blank canvas and felt so secluded,” she explains. While décor-wise, she and Ooh! Events opted for understated pieces that complemented the natural beauty, the festivities were anything but mild. It may have been cool, but between her mom’s famous habanero-pineapple jam (jars of it served as escort cards) and his mom’s sizzling moves (she and Daniel performed to “Uptown Funk”), guests were fanning themselves all night long.
Top Tips
Take It from the Cardenases ...
• Spell check! Daniel “outsourced” his luxury hotel room rose petal proposal and ended up asking Andrea “Will Yuo Marry Me?”
• Call in family for wedding favor help. The bride’s aunt supplied dozens of her company’s “Chiqui’s Chocolates” sampler boxes.
• Create outdoor “rooms” using arbors, greens, and curtain sheers.
• Hosting an outdoor fête before spring strikes? Pick a venue with cold-weather blooms, like camellias.
• Advise the female guests to wear heel guards, wedges, platforms, or flats for lawn parties.
Vendor List:
Wedding design and coordination, furniture, rentals, linens: Ooh! Events, www.TheArtofCreating.com/OohEvents
Ceremony and reception venue: Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, www.MagnoliaPlantation.com
Photography: Clay Austin Photography, www.ClayAustinPhotography.com
Florals: Out of the Garden, www.TheArtofCreating.com/outofthegarden
Catering: Fresh Foods Market Catering, www.FreshFoodsMarketCatering.com
Cake: Ashley Brown Cake Design, www.ABCDCakemake.carbonmade.com
Bar Service: Squeeze On Site, www.Squeeze-Onsite.com
Silverware: Polished, www.PolishedTabletop.com
Stationery: Nunez Stationary Printing, www.NunezPrinting.CarlsonCraft.com
Bride’s gown: Inbal Dror, www.InbalDror.co.il
Beauty: (hair) Swish Charleston, www.Swish123.com; (makeup) Charlotte Laystrom, Ooh! Beautiful, www.TheArtofCreating.com/oohbeautiful
Groom’s Attire: Dolce & Gabbana, www.DolceGabbana.com
Groomsmen Attire: Hugo Boss, www.HugoBoss.com
Favors: Chiqui’s Chocolates, www.ChiquisChocolates.com
Cigars: Fletcher Cigar Company, www.FletcherCigars.com
Music: (ceremony & cocktail hour) Charleston Virtuosi, www.CharlestonVirtuosi.com; (reception) Epic Charleston, www.EpicCharleston.com
Transportation: Low Country Valet & Shuttle Co., www.LowCountryValet.com; Carolina’s Executive Limo Line, www.CELimoLine.com
After-party location: Halls Chophouse, www.HallsChophouse.com
