Courtney Lawson & Jared Rush
October 11, 2014
Boone Hall Plantation and Cotton Dock
“We wanted guests to feel like the venue alone was worth the trip,” says Chicago resident Courtney Lawson of her destination wedding to Jared Rush. Since every last attendee would be traveling for their Big Day, that was a tall order. But when the couple saw Boone Hall Plantation’s avenue of oaks and sun-bleached Cotton Dock, they knew they had hit gold. Working with Megan Chandler of Ooh! Events, Courtney put in a request for X-back chairs, mirrors, and strands of market bulbs, then let the planners take over. The crew draped fabric over the rafters, hung lanterns, and set the space abloom. “We were blown away when we walked into the reception,” says the bride. By night’s end, as the revelers were launching fire lanterns, Courtney remarked to Megan, “It really is over in a minute, isn’t it?”
Top Tips Take It from the Rushes ...
• Make a rough guest list before you look at venues so you know what capacity you require.
• Give a roundup of must-have shots to your photographer and appoint someone to help them discern who’s who.
• If planning agitates you, step away till you calm down. Friends and family are there to help, not to bear your angst.
• Choose your wedding party based on who will be in your life for decades.
• Share the love! Surprise your parents with hand-written thank-you notes on the Big Day.
Although Heather and Peter grew up in the same town in New Jersey, they didn’t officially meet until he noticed her wearing a Ridge High School lacrosse sweatshirt at a Lafayette College fraternity...
High school romances can be so very, very awkward. Take Chapin, South Carolina, natives Lindsay and Tyler, for example. “He claims he charmed me when I fell up the stairs to our Spanish class and he...
Charleston residents Ross and Chase met online back in 2014, got engaged in 2016, and invited one and all—Ross is one of 30 grandchildren—to their seriously wonderful wedding in 2018. Family...
While the event maestro Kim Newton orchestrates plenty of weddings in her own neck of the woods (that’s Alexandria, Virginia), she also has clients who say “I do” here in Charleston. While on one...
Happy Friday, brides! Do you remember these two? To trigger your memory, here’s a link to when we posted Sara and Colin ’cycle-centric engagement photos by shutterbugs Aaron and Jillian. Well, now it...
You know we’d only share a gorgeous wedding with you. So we’ll pause on the descriptors of this couple’s Big Day for a moment and tell you a little about the pair themselves, because when...
You know about “designated travel companions,” right? It’s when someone who works for an airline gets to pick a “buddy” who can travel at the same nominal fees (we’re talking taxes and regulatory...
Today’s couple hit it off one night at a Baltimore bar. Credit for the first move goes to Olivia, who made her intentions mighty clear on her way out by hip-checking another girl out of the way so...
Want to save money but not skimp on style? Take a cue from Style Me Pretty, who introduces us to this North Carolina couple who oh-so fashionably eloped to Charleston's Legare Waring House