What a Trip



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
What a Trip | These lovebirds wanted a location that on its own would be worth the trip for guests. See where they booked!

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.
 

 

Vendor List:

Wedding design, rentals, signage:  Ooh! Events, www.TheArtofCreating.com/OohEvents

Venue: Boone Hall Plantation

Photography: Brandon Lata Photography, www.BrandonLata.com

Florals: Out of the Garden, www.TheArtofCreating.com/OuoftheGarden

Catering: Cru Catering, www.CruCatering.com

Cake: WildFlour Pastry, www.WildFlourPastryCharleston.com

Bar service: Squeezed On Site, www.Squeeze-OnSite.com

Linens: Connie Duglin Linen, www.ConnieDuglinLinen.com

Stationery: Minted, www.Minted.com

Table numbers, dessert bar sign, card sign, and table number holders: BHLDN, www.BHLDN.com

Bride’s gown: Jenny Packham, available in Charleston through White on Daniel Island, www.WhiteOnDI.com

Dress steaming: Cacky’s Bridal Aid, www.CackyBridalAid.com

Beauty: Wedding Hair by Charlotte, www.WeddingHairByCharlotte.com

Menswear: Bonobos, www.Bonobos.com

Bow ties: High Cotton, www.HighCottonTies.com

Ringbearer’s attire: Janie and Jack, www.JanieAndJack.com

Music: Two Three Ways, www.Two3Ways.com

Videography: Matchstick Wedding, www.MatchstickWedding.com

Transportation:  (vintage bus) LowCountry Valet & Shuttle Co., www.LowCountryValet.com; (other) ACW, www.ACWLimo.com

The Wedding Row

February 5 2020
The stars may have aligned when Sarah and Colin met at a popcorn stand in a Charlotte, North Carolina, bar. But it was actually the sun, moon, and earth aligning that saw them to the next step....

February 4 2020
“What is more Charleston than a spring wedding in a gorgeous historic church and a garden reception?” asks bride Ashley. Not much, we answer! And today’s post showcases all the charm you could...

January 31 2020
A couple who adventures together, stays together. Grace (from Washington D.C.) and Nick (from Greenville) met while attending Clemson University. These East Coast lovebirds went through two rounds of...

January 30 2020
Sometimes you look at a complete stranger’s wedding photos and feel sadness at the fact that you weren’t guests at their incredible event. Welcome to such a fête! Before we trigger FOMO …...

January 29 2020
We love it when we find couples and weddings with particulars you just don’t see every day. Enter Natalie and Steven. Our precious couple met each other … wait for it … in jail … as Correctional...

January 28 2020
If weddings not only celebrate love, but also heighten it with fairy tale-feeling outfits and flowers and food and dance, why wouldn’t they be the supreme spot to meet your forever love as well?...

January 27 2020
Once upon a time a South Carolina boy introduced a Maryland girl to Charleston. Little did they know the Lowcountry would become the backdrop of their love story—romantic trips, a big popped question...

January 24 2020
As a local wedding professional who travels and plans weddings all around the world with Tara Guérard Soirée, our bride Erica still feels there’s no better place to get married than right here in the...