Stephanie Frehse & Daniel Lempesis
February 7, 2015
Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity & Lowndes Grove Plantation
After years of attending services at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, Stephanie Frehse knew the Lempesis family, but somehow had never met pappa Pete’s son Dan. The patriarch remedied that by setting the two youngsters up on a blind date and a year later, Dan was gearing up to propose.
But fate stepped in (again) and changed up the would-be bridegroom’s plans when Stephanie opened a credit card statement that showed a major—a one-in-a-lifetime kind of major—purchase from a jeweler. Dan was standing right there as it happened and broke into the hallmark of their relationship: laughter. “We both started cracking up,” says Stephanie, “because all his hard work to surprise me fell through.” Nonetheless, Dan told her to relax, that nothing would happen for a while. But later that very night, during a visit to his family’s Folly Beach home, they took a walk and Dan popped the question as dusk settled over them.
Soon after, Stephanie went about planning their wedding with the aid of A Charleston Bride and inspired by her hometown’s moodier side. “I love the way Charleston looks after a storm at sunset,” says Stephanie, “so that’s where we started—dark and stormy.” That translated into posh gray French furniture, violet florals, and black tapered candles. And for Dan? He got a “man cave” lounge area with a wall of beer taps and a cigar roller.
When the day rolled around, everyone headed back to the church where their story started, and both Stephanie’s grandfather and her father walked her down the aisle. After the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife, the congregation headed to Lowndes Grove Plantation where Stephanie danced first with her husband, then with her dad and pappous. “The reception could have been over after those dances and I would have been a happy camper,” she says. And to that, we say opa!
After connecting on Tinder (both are adamant that they were each on it for a short, short while) Charleston residents Arlene and Andrew met at a local café where she says she knew she was in trouble—...
Did you know we typically save our most blockbuster weddings to post on Fridays? It’s true. So knowing that, and that this couple got engaged in Italy (on a gondola in Venice, no less), and that they...
Seems like you don’t even need to be Irish to have some of their fabled luck. Take Trygve and Brooks for instance: The pair met in Columbus, Ohio, via Match.com and went on their first date on St....
Any first date can be intimidating, and especially so when it’s a blind date. In fact, butterflies got to Kierstin so bad when she was set up by a friend to meet Mike, she canceled. Luckily, Kierstin...
After dating for three-and-a-half years, Olivia and Sam were visiting her family in Columbia, South Carolina, for the Fourth of July when the whole crew decided a day trip to Charleston was in order...
When they met up for a reunion with a group of their fellow missionaries a year after all had spent a week in Savannah, Georgia, Ashley and Brian hit it off—bigtime. That encounter launched the pair...
Yes, Paula and Tyler’s Boone Hall Plantation wedding is a dream to look at. But we have to say the backstory to their day is just as inspiring. There’s just something about a couple who knows...
Is wedding planning getting to you? Say hello to Charleston’s newest feel-better motivator, Ginny Leavitt, the health coach behind Healthy Bride Experience, a program that helps brides-to-be look and...
