Open-Air Elegance



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Open-Air Elegance | Head to Spring Island for a stunning open-air fete where style meets sweet Southern details

Caroline McMahon &  Edward Taylor

May 11, 2013, Spring Island Tabby Ruins

 

Caroline McMahon was born in Winnetka, Illinois, but she seems meant to be a Southern belle. Case in point: the first time the Southern Methodist University grad met Clemson student Edward Taylor, she told him she was from Beaufort. “No, you’re not,” said the native of the sleepy fishing village, “I know every girl in town.” Caroline’s wishful thinking wasn’t pure fiction; she’d grown up visiting nearby Spring Island, and her parents have lived there for years. Add in SMU, and she says she was just trying on her Southern persona. It was a great fit with Edward, and the two were pretty much inseparable after their first encounter. Two weeks later, he picked her up by boat to meet his family, and a year after that, he proposed on his parent’s dock. Spring Island had been Caroline’s dream wedding spot since girlhood, and “that Edward was born and raised in the area sealed the deal,” she says. Aiming for an outdoor wedding in view of the 1850s plantation house tabby ruins there, the couple recruited Katie Huebel of WED to build a tented dining hall and dance club in the otherwise bare fields. “Though it involved a lot of logistics and the anxiety of an entirely outdoor ceremony and reception,” says Caroline, “Katie and WED did a phenomenal job of relieving us and our families of any ounce of stress.” The final verdict on the day vows were exchanged? “It was beautiful,” says Caroline.


Island: Spring Island
Distance from Charleston: 90 miles south
Personality: Barrier island golf resort
Best Bet to Wed There: Resort membership or sponsorship by a member
Info: SpringIsland.com; (843) 987-2200
Like Spring Island? You’ll Also Dig: Kiawah Island Golf Resort (800/654-2924; www.KiawahResort.com); Runnymede Plantation (843/737-6117; www.EventsatRunnymede.com)


Vendor List:

Bride’s Gown: Romona Keveza from Maddison Row, www.maddisonrow.com

Bride’s Shoes: Tory Burch, www.toryburch.com

Bridesmaid’s Attire: Amsale from Bella Bridesmaids, www.bellabridesmaids.com

Cake: Wedding Cakes by Jim Smeal, www.weddingcakesbyjimsmeal.com

Catering and Pie Baker: Spring Island, www.springisland.com

Ceremony Music: Ian Grimshaw

Ceremony and Reception Location: Spring Island Tabby Ruins, www.springisland.com

Flower Girl’s Attire: Janie and Jack, www.janieandjack.com

Florist: HB Stems

Groom’s Attire: Berlin’s for Men, www.berlinsclothing.com

Hair: Aqua Medspa and Salon, www.aquamedspaandsalon.com

Linens and Specialty décor: WED, www.charlestonevent.com

Photography: Elisabeth Millay Photography, www.elisabethmillayphotography.com

Reception Entertainment: Quiana Parler & Friends, www.quianaparlerandfriends.com

Rentals: Ooh! Events (www.theartofcreating.com), Snyder Events (www.snyderevents.com), TEC (www.technicaleventcompany.com)

Stationery: Studio R, www.studio-r-design.com

Wedding Design and Coordination: WED, www.charlestonevent.com

 

The Wedding Row

March 4 2019
Even though Anna, a Wilmington native, and Bobby, who is from Mount Pleasant, dated for over four years after swiping right on each other, they never really talked about getting married … they just...

March 1 2019
Kitty and Kyle met during their freshman year at Clemson, but they didn’t begin dating until they got to know each other as study partners a few years later. After two years, a move to Charleston,...

February 28 2019
Bissell and Jack may live in Atlanta, but Charleston has played a large part in their relationship, from their dating days through their engagement and now with their wedding. Bissell’s mother is...

February 27 2019
Today’s styled shoot takes place on the patio of 5Church, a downtown church-turned-restaurant that doubles as a wedding venue. Nicki Paige, owner of wedding planning company Nicki Paige Collection,...

February 26 2019
Christa met Andrew when she first moved into the same Charlotte, North Carolina, townhome complex as him in 2013. For a while, they were just passing acquaintances, until he asked her out for drinks...

February 25 2019
We’ve got the world of modern dating to thank for this gorgeous celebration at Boone Hall Plantation. Christiana and Bud met on Tinder, and after chatting on the app for a while, they met up for a...

February 22 2019
Nadja and Ryan both grew up in Sarasota, Florida, but they didn’t meet until they were in college (and on her 21st birthday, no less). A decade of dating later, he surprised her with a 10th...

February 21 2019
We so want to be friends with these two Charleston high-school sweethearts. Ask when they met and Jackie will tell you it was went they were 15 years old, she was in braces, and neither could drive...