You know how sometimes a wedding catches your eye and just makes you smile? Well that's exactly what happened when this insanely awesome Charleston wedding designed by Ashley Rhodes made its way into my inbox! Mixed with a little chevron, this vibrant color palette of bright pinks and blue with pops of orange brought a whole lot of sass to the lovely Cotton Dock! Even though we wanted to, we couldn't include everything in the magazine, so to find out a little more about Kristen’s big day, check out her answers below and to see all the details you can purchase a digital edition of the Mag here!
What made you choose your venue? What elements drew you to it?
Boone Hall Plantation was one of the most well rounded venues we could find. The drive in with the Avenue of the Oaks was the perfect scene we wanted to set as our guests drove in. We wanted a mix of indoor and outdoor, with a beautiful backdrop to give our guests a true taste of Charleston. We started out with just renting the Cotton Dock for our reception site, but then after touring the entire property, we knew we wanted to get married on the front lawn in front of the beautiful plantation house. The back patio offered the perfect area for our cocktail hour also.
Tell us all about the details! Did any have special meaning? What was your favorite?
We wanted to make sure that the entire weekend was focused on the guest experience.
We rented a gigantic beach house on the Isle of Palms, and stayed there with all of our bridesmaids, groomsmen, and their dates. It was only 2 blocks from the beach, it had a swimming pool and hot tub, and basketball court, a putting green, you name it! To kickstart the weekend, we had all of our family over Friday night for a cook out and just a chance to let everyone meet each other and relax. Our rehearsal dinner was on Saturday, and we did a catered dinner downtown at Granville's Catering, and then took our guests on a sunset cruise through the Charleston Harbor on the Palmetto Breeze. That was Jake's favorite part of the entire weekend!
At the actual wedding, we had a lounge out front of the Cotton Dock with cigars, craft beers, and custom made cornhole boards that were a truly family effort. Jake's brother made the boards, Jake and I painted them to fit our look, and my mom made the bags. We also had a candy bar, and koozies as our wedding favors. My favorite detail of the entire evening was all of the custom made linens that my mom made - the napkins, the runners, and the backdrop for our photo booth. Jake's favorite detail was the bottom layer of our wedding cake -funfetti - which is our absolute favorite!
Tell us a little bit about your menu...
We used Granville's Catering for our wedding. Trae's style is true Southern cooking, but elevated. We served she crab soup, cajun style shrimp and grits, crab cakes, fried green tomatoes with a balsamic reduction and crumbled goat cheese, and my absolute favorite which is Trae's grandmother's specialty - angel hair mac and cheese.
Specialty Drinks?
We didn't do any specialty drinks, but we did have an open bar. Out front in the lounge area, we did serve specialty craft beers.
What’s your favorite picture from your wedding and why?
Our photographer was absolutely incredible - it would be very hard to pick just one photo. The one I love the most of just the two of us is in the rose garden near the front lawn. The sun was starting to set, he kissed me, and Carmen captured the moment beautifully.
Out of the entire day, what was the most memorable moment?
Leading up to the wedding, the one thing I was soo nervous about was the actual ceremony. I was so afraid I was going to be a teary, mumbling mess, and wouldn't be able to get any of the words out. In actuality, the entire ceremony was the most memorable and special part of the entire day. We were both just grinning ear to ear, looking into each other's eyes, and committing our lives to each other.
Color Palette
My color palette was a bright coral watermelon, tiffany blue, and tangerine. My entire color palette was created from a picture I saw of a bouquet on Pinterest - it was love at first sight!
How did he propose? How long were you engaged for?
From Jake's perspective:
I had decided for months that I wanted to propose to Kristen on the Pitt Street Bridge in Mount Pleasant where we had our first date. The trouble was, trying to figure out how to get her there without my plans being too obvious, as we had moved to, and were living in Savannah, GA. I planned the engagement for the weekend of her 29th birthday, and we had purchased tickets to visit a tiger preserve in Myrtle Beach. Perfect! It also just so happened that my Aunt Jessamine's birthday was the same weekend and (like the mastermind that I am) I had my cousin, Lynne, send us an invitation to a "surprise party" that was being thrown on.....the Pitt Street Bridge.
So I made the arrangements; I was freaking out because the ring was taking longer than they had originally told me, and I wasn't able to pick it up until that morning. Kristen was dropping the dogs off at the kennel, and we were going to meet there and drive up to Charleston together. So of course when when we go to leave the kennel, the battery to the car was dead. At this point I was about to rip every hair out of my head....
Finally, we got the car jumped and drove to Charleston. We got to the bridge and started walking down to the end where there is a dock (I told her that is where the surprise party was, and thats why we didn't see anyone yet). I was walking slowly, trying to let my cousin, DuBose, catch up with us as she was going to sneakily meet up with us to take photographs.
Once we got to a good spot, I stopped Kristen so that we could look over the Charleston bay together; it was sunset and a beautiful site. I let her know that there really was no party taking place. I got on one knee and let her know that the last four years together had been the best of my life, and I couldn't imagine my life without her there to share it with. I asked her to spend the rest of her life with me.
Tell us a little bit about how you met your husband…
We were both working at Enterprise Rent A Car, in the city that we both love: Charleston, SC. We knew of each other through work, but hadn't really ever hung out. Some of our mutual friends put together a surprise birthday party for one of my best friends (and now bridesmaids), Nicole Miles. We hit it off immediately, and literally stayed up the entire night talking and laughing, and getting to know each other. The next day Jake called and asked me out on an afternoon date. So he picked me up, along with my dog, Zoe, who has ALWAYS been my most loyal companion and took us to a place I had never been before... the Pitt Street Bridge. The Pitt Street Bridge is a beautiful waterfront view in the "old village" of Mount Pleasant. We spent the afternoon just walking, talking, and soaking up the sun. Feeling a little adventurous, Jake took Zoe down to the marsh to wade through the water, sniff around, and explore. While they were down there Zoe stepped in the pluff mud and cut her paw on an oyster shell! It wasn't a bad cut but she got a few little bloody paw prints in my new company car! I still give Jake a hard time about it to this day, and let him know he is lucky I stuck around, haha!I The Pitt street bridge is still one of our favorite places in Charleston, and holds a very special place in both of our hearts.The last 4 1/2 years have been spent pretty much the same - continuing to get to know each other, making each other laugh, and making wonderful memories along the way!
Photographer: Carmen Ash Photography / Event Planner & Stationery: Ashley Rhodes Events / Venue: Boone Hall Plantation / Rentals: Amazing Event Rentals, Ooh Events, Snyder Event Rentals / Lighting & Dj: Jlk Events / Catering: Granville's Catering / Floral: EWW Floral Design / Ceremony And Cocktail Music: Charleston Virtuosi / Cake: Ashley Bakery / Photobooth : Coast Photo Booth / Hair/Makeup: Salon Capelli / Officiant: Reverand Rich Robinson / Bridal Shop: Gown Boutique Of Charleston