Off the Grid | A private ceremony on Wadmalaw Island proves that a wedding just a hop, skip, and sail away from where you grew up can be as remote as it is romantic
November 4, 2017 • Rockville & Sea Island Yacht Club
Who knew that a miniscule, 12-pound Maltipoo named Floyd would be the impetus behind such a weighted question as “Will you marry me?” Certainly not Anna West, who, after being jarred awake one leisurely Saturday morning by Britt Alexander, bolted outside to help him dislodge a bone that he said was locked in Floyd’s jaws. “The scenario wasn’t far-fetched so I hurried up and out to see what was going on,” says Anna. Barefoot and pajama-clad, the Holy City native was stunned to find her boyfriend, not a panicked pup, outside and kneeling in the backyard. As if that weren’t enough to wake Anna up on the right side of the bed, Britt next-leveled the day with a congratulatory brunch with their families at her parents’ home in the Old Village in Mount Pleasant and a subsequent surprise party in downtown Charleston with local and out-of-town friends.
And while the couple says their memory of that giddy day was nothing short of special, it was also a bit hazy, what with the hullabaloo unfolding around them. There was one aspect, though, that Anna had extreme clarity on from the get-go. “My mom is an incredible cook and has a knack for hosting with ease,” says the Clemson grad. “I knew I would want to channel her and her aesthetic wherever I could.”
With that at the forefront, Anna headed some 40 minutes outside of town to the sleepy fishing village of Rockville, where her family has long had a weekend home, and locked down the unassuming Sea Island Yacht Club for the reception. Then, since her sister is her other biggest style icon, Anna hired a planner who had worked alongside Sarah West at Spoleto—Blake Sams of Gregory Blake Sams Events, known for making the festival’s A-list celebrations effortlessly elegant.
From there, Anna and Britt’s autumn nuptials fell into place seamlessly, at least save for where to host the ceremony. With a guest count of several hundred that precluded the use of the couple’s first pick—the nearby Rockville Community Chapel, built in 1851 with room for 100 people—Blake worked the local angle to secure a private island adjacent to the reception site and accessible via one skinny, sandy path. Anna and Britt thought it was perfect, perfectly Lowcountry, and perfectly Rockvillian with its stately “boneyard” tree and surrounding marshes. Plus, as the day faded, golden beams of the setting sun acted as a spotlight on the patch of ground where they would exchange vows.
“We celebrated with a lot of my favorite people who I’ve met along the way here in Charleston,” says Anna, satisfied. “And,” she adds, “in one of The Lowcountry’s most naturally beautiful spots.” So it happened, another twosome putting down their own roots in the Lowcountry with Mother Nature as the most gracious of witnesses.
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