Summer Lovin'

Summer 2013

WRITER CREDIT:

Victoria Friedman

PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT:

Benjamin Jackson

Summer Lovin' | A roll-up-your-sleeves pair puts on a beach wedding celebrating their union—and the season

Charleston Wedding wedding Snyder Event Rentals Folly Beach Weddings dresses diy Flowers RENT

PENCIL ME IN: Salvaged windows displayed the schedule of the day in yellow and white glass paint.PENCIL ME IN: Salvaged windows displayed the schedule of the day in yellow and white glass paint.

SUMMER LOVIN'

Freedom of THE Press: Josh flexed his design skills by making the ceremony programs.

SUMMER LOVIN'

Puppy Love: The couple’s dogs donned matching bow ties for the ceremony.

EASY, BREEZY: Folly Beach was the obvious location for Sara and Josh to tie the knot since the couple live there, and Josh proposed during an evening walk by the water.

FIESTA BOWL: Sara ordered her flowers from www.FiftyFlowers.com, and selected flowers like funky Billy Balls for vivid bursts of color at the reception.

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS: Roughly 90 percent of the wedding was crafted by Sara, Josh, and their friends and family, including signs like this one.

GROUP EFFORT: Sara bought ranunculus, baby’s breath, chamomile, Billy Balls, and roses from FiftyFlowers.com, and she and her girlfriends made the arrangements and bouquets. Vintage glass bottles collected from Missouri and Charleston served as vases.

SENTIMENTAL VALUE: Right before the ceremony, Sara’s mother gave her a framed photo charm of her maternal grandparents, which she tied to her bouquet.

PINTEREST: Sara and Josh clothes-pinned family photos on netting they hung on the walls of the picnic shelter where they hosted a reception.

Colorful WOmen: Bridesmaids were assigned a color and picked their own dresses and accessories

RAINBOW BRITE: “I wanted lots of color,” said Sara of the wedding. Thus she added accents of purple, green, blue, and orange to the palette of yellow, white, and gray. The rainbow hues showed up in the bridesmaids dresses, on the groomsmen’s ties, on ribbons on chairs, and more.

SISTERLY SUPPORT: Sara’s ’maids—including her twin sister (in yellow) were a huge help with wedding preparation. Together, they created their own bouquets and did the rest of the wedding florals as well.

BLOWING IN THE WIND: Sara and Josh said “I do” with the idyllic Folly Beach for a backdrop. Sara’s grandfather, who was a minster, delivered a very special blessing to the couple during the ceremony.

DAPPER DAN: Sara and Josh’s dogs attended the ceremony in bow ties.

STEP BY STEP: The couple walk Folly Beach every night with their dogs; it’s such a fixture, Josh proposed there.

Summer Togs: The bride wore a Maggie Sottero gown from Bridals by Jodi, while Josh sported Vito slacks and a vest from ASOS.com.

SUNSET BOULEVARD: As the sun set on the reception, couples broke off from the group to join the after-party down the street.

POST-IT NOTE: The couple found a vintage postcard (“Greetings from Folly Beach, SC”) and had it made into a poster on www.AllPosters.com for guests to sign.

FAMILY STYLE: The day after the wedding, the owner of Mosaic Edibles catering group called Sara to say what a great time he had at the reception while serving the guests. Sara added that he also said that their families and friends were some of the nicest, most respectful, and positive people he had ever worked with. “It was really touching to receive that call,” she says. And how Charleston can you get?

Piece of Cake: The Cake Stand made the classic carrot and vanilla cake, which the bride dressed up with fresh flowers and a burlap-wrapped stand.

FÊte Set: Reception tables from Snyder Event Rentals were kept simple with a burlap runner and a rustic arrangement of flowers. For table numbers, the couple printed numerals on photos of their dogs and tucked them into the flower arrangements.

This Way, Please: “I painted things like the signs, the ring bearer’s lantern, picture frames, and planters,” says Sara. “We bought generic items and painted them to fit our ideas, which saved money."

SING IT LOUD: Josh surprised Sara during their reception with another one of his self-penned songs about her; the first one he wrote and sang to her kicked off their relationship.

HOLD ME CLOSE: The bluegrass band Green Levels kept the couple (and the crowd) on their feet.

READY TO ROLL: Sara and Josh rode beach cruisers equipped with drink holders as their getaway vehicles. Guests were given koozies printed with the phrase “Live well, laugh often, love much.”

TAKE A SPIN: As Josh and Sara pedaled away to their after-party in downtown Folly Beach, Sara’s dress got caught in the gears and he had to cut her free with a knife. Josh saved the scrap of gown, which now makes for a sweet keepsake.

Photographs by:

Benjamin Jackson

Sara Detweiler & Josh Funk
April 27, 2012
Folly Beach

When Josh Funk was in physical therapy school at St. Louis’ Washington University, he wrote a song about fellow student (and friend) Sara Detweiler and sang it to her. That nudged their
friendship into romance-land, and after graduating a few years later, the Missouri natives moved to Charleston’s Folly Beach together. Not long after relocating, on a routine evening walk by the water with their dogs, Josh popped the question to Sara.

Sara’s answer led to a DIY beach wedding near the very spot where Josh had proposed. Their homegrown theme was borne of necessity, Sara says. “I have a hard time paying for something I could do myself with just a little research and effort,” she explains. “Plus, doing all the planning and lots of the décor ourselves made it ‘our’ wedding and not ‘a’ wedding. That guided us the whole time.”

Sara wanted “a lot of color,” she says, so a base palette of ivory, gray, and marigold was sprinkled with purple, green, and blue. From the rainbow-hued bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen ties to the ribbons on the backs of the ceremony chairs and the hanging lanterns, splashes of cheery color added a fun, playful spirit.

Toward the end the night, Josh surprised Sara by serenading her with another original song, kicking off their married life the same way their relationship began. “I think it was the only time I cried all day,” says Sara. On par with that memory? “Seeing our guests truly enjoy themselves and knowing they were there because they love us was the best,” she says.

Vendor List

Baker: The Cake Stand; www.TheCakeStandCharleston.com
Caterer: Mosaic Café and Catering; www.MosaicEdibles.com
Flowers: Fifty Flowers; www.FiftyFlowers.com
Hair: Casey Hoffman of Clare’s of Clayton in Clayton, Missouri; www.ClaresofClayton.com
Linens and rentals: Snyder Event Rentals; www.SnyderEventRentals.com
Make Up: Stella Nova Salon; www.Stella-Nova.com
Musicians: The Green Levels; www.Facebook.com/GreenLevels.com
Photographer: Benjamin Jackson; www.BenjaminJackson.com
Planners: Sarah and Josh Funk (the bride and groom)
Stationery: Josh Funk (the groom)
Venue: Folly Beach County Park (Note: due to erosion, the Folly Beach County Park picnic shelter closed in 2012; for alternatives, rent a beach cottage on Folly or check out Tides Folly Beach Hotel; www.TidesFollyBeach.com)

The Wedding Row

November 2 2018

Jessie & Travis | Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

It might not have been “love at first sight” for Travis and Jessie, who met at their apartment community in High Point, North Carolina, but it surely ended up turning into something special. At the...

November 1 2018

October’s Top 5 Most Liked Images on Instagram

Halloween is over, so no tricks here, just treats! From showstopping wedding gowns to an inspirational storybook love story, we’ve rounded up our top five Instagram posts from October. Follow @...

October 31 2018

Sara & Mike | Engagement Session

Sara and Mike, who met through mutual friends after moving in the same Washington D.C. circles for years, plan to say “I do” with the help of Charleston’s Gregory Blake Sams Events in the coming...

October 30 2018

Jess & Garrett | Private Home & College (ceremony) & Historic Rice Mill (reception)

One of the boons to hosting a destination wedding here in Charleston? Giving your guests a true taste of the city. So it went for Washington D.C. residents Jessica Friedes and Garrett Nichols, high...

October 29 2018

Lauren & Blake | The Dewberry

Lauren and Blake crossed paths in Summerville, South Carolina when she was nannying for a coworker of his. They started dating and fell in love, they say, while boating on Wappoo Cut when a...

October 26 2018

Matt & Jess | Proposal Session

Dreary Fridays like today call for a little dose of sunshine, don’t you agree? Well, you’re in luck because this proposal session of a lifetime—no exaggeration here—is bringing not only the sun, but...

October 25 2018

Borden & Evan | The Dewberry

If you ask Evan how he met Borden, he would say that they crossed paths while studying at Wake Forest University. However, if you ask her how their story got started, she would say they met two years...

October 24 2018

Paige & Michael | Legare Waring House

Tucked away on the grounds of Charleston’s first settlement, Charles Towne Landing, The Legare Waring House is surrounded by rich history and romantic views of lagoons, rolling lawns, and oak allees...