Virginia and Stephen worked for nearly two years with planner Lindsey Boyce of A Charleston Bride on their wedding, so you can only imagine its splendor. To start with, the bride headed down the aisle to a bagpiper playing the “Outlander” theme, a tune from Isle of Skye, Scotland, where the pair got engaged. “[Even] Stephen had no idea that was coming!” Virginia laughs. Other treats? A post-ceremony walking tour-slash-cocktail hour that wound through the boxwood maze and alongside the Ashley River and included drinks based on the cities where the couple met (New Orleans), got married (Charleston), and now live (Dallas); a reception with oyster shuckers moving among the guests; and a magical send-off via a second line parade complete with bobbing parasols and waving handkerchiefs embroidered with the couple’s new crest, no less.
Tips
• Spray pineapples (a symbol of Charleston hospitality) gold for an inexpensive décor element.
• Change your look. Virginia selected a versatile gown with different skirts and toppers to create multiple styles for her photos, ceremony, and reception.
• Offset busily patterned dining tablecloths by covering cocktail tables in solid neutrals.
• Post signs for the ceremony, reception, parking, powder rooms, and more are if you are hosting your event on a large site. (This especially goes for cool months when the sun goes down early.)
Check out these all-time best engagement rings from our vaults
Does your SO need a little hint-hint, nudge-nudge in the engagement ring department? Have no fear, because we’ve rounded up our top...
During the summer of her junior year at College of Charleston, Lauren studied abroad with a pair of fellow Cougars who kept telling her she had to meet their friend Dante when they all got back home...
One Monday night, at an East Carolina University bar in Greenville, North Carolina, Pirates Nina and Brett bonded over, as she sheepishly jokes, their love of a good deal on beer. But there was...
The Wedding Row: Start us at the beginning. How did you two meet?
Kate: Edward and I met through work in 2014. We were both living in Washington D.C. and Edward needed some software configured on his...
We love a groom who goes above and beyond for his bride-to-be, and JP did just that when he scooted down to Charleston from Charlotte, North Carolina, and back again in the same day to ask his...
For shutterbug Kate Timbers, the 200-year-old The Unitarian Church in Charleston is the perfect location for romantic portraits, timeless ceremonies, and more. With the church’s pastel-blue arched...
We love a pair who embrace big, bold statements and big, bold flavors with all the mannerly trappings in their Big Days. Enter Amanda and Preston, who not only hosted a posh wedding at The River...
Some of the best romances we know of are rom-coms, and Amanda and Will’s story is no exception. While Will tried to stage the world’s dreamiest proposal, complete with a romantic dinner,...