SC Aquarium Wedding by Taylor Rae Photography

We're gearing up for a festive Thanksgiving week with family & friends but before we head out for the week, we've got a few more treats for our favorite Lowcountry brides.  For starters, mark your calendars, pre-orders for A Lowcountry Wedding Magazine start in December (yay!) and we also have a handful of ad spots left, so feel free to contact us at hello{at}alowcountrywed.com for additional information.  We will FINALLY be launching our new vendor section of the website which has taken FOREVER, but it will be a huge help in connecting you with some of our favorite talented vendors.  In the meantime, we've thought we'd share Maria & Kyle's sweet SC Aquarium wedding planned by the ladies of Breeze and captured by the wonderful Taylor Rae Photography.  We're loving the soft color palette of pinks and greens, gorgeous florals from Branch Design Studio and Bride Maria's stunning strapless gown!

Charleston Wedding Vendors

Planning and Design: Breeze

Photography: Taylor Rae Photography

Ceremony Venue: St. Luke's Chapel

Reception Venue: SC Aquarium

Floral: Branch Design Studio

Catering: Duvall

Rental: EventHAUS

Entertainment: Other Brother Entertainment

Cake: Caking Charleston

Charleston Wedding {Chloe + Kyle} Cabell House

I actually saw Chloe's wedding when her photographer, Taylor Rae Photography, had posted a teaser shot on her facebook page.  From there I was hooked.   Chloe's the epitome of my ideal Southern bride.  Her hair and makeup are effortlessly perfect and her gown just stops me in my tracks.  Full skirt with 3/4 length lace sleeves?  Yes, please.  So, naturally, I had to include her Charleston wedding at the Cabell House in our premier issue of A Lowcountry Wedding, and, from the looks of it, you've all been loving it!  Dying to see more?! Check out all the details in our complete digital edition of A Lowcountry Wedding Mag which you can purchase here!

Chloe made the wedding her own, but the beautiful contributions her family made simply cannot be ignored. The bride chose a color palate of greys and white with a hint of black that created an effortless and graceful feel. These colors were incorporated in the handmade pillow her mother crafted for her nephew, the ring bearer, to carry down the aisle. Also incorporated in the color palate were the white peonies and roses that were seen in all of the day’s floral arrangements. The bridal bouquet was completed by a small antique bell that Chloe’s grandmother has worn all of her life.

After the courtyard ceremony, the guests sat down to a family style meal at an extended farm table where they were treated to a traditional Southern fare of the fried chicken, mac and cheese, country ham, and fried okra. Spanish moss served as a table runner, which was lined with subdued floral arrangements in mercury glass votives. The intimate mood of the evening was truly set by the flower filled chandelier hanging over the table, which the father of the bride crafted for the occasion.

Charleston Wedding Vendors

Ceremony Venue: Battery Park  /  Reception Venue: Cabell House  /  Photographer:  Taylor Rae Photography  /  Gown:  Fountaine Bridals  /  Rentals: Event DRS  /  Catering: Granville's Catering  /  Entertainment:  David Dixon  /  Tuxedo: Men's Warehouse  /  Cake: Callie Baxter  /  Hair/Makeup: Kacie Fauling  /  Planning, Design, Floral: Morpho Designs

Charleston Engagement {Kayla + Dan}

After an awesome weekend at Clemson, attempting to cheer on the Citadel Bulldogs, I'm gearing up for the week and thought what could be better on this cold Sunday evening than a gorgeous Charleston wedding engagement from Taylor Rae Photography! Thanks to Taylor for filling us in on all the details... "This engagement session was taken in downtown Charleston on a very warm January day! As you can see, Dan wasn't so prepared for it to be 80 degrees :) Dan and Kayla brought along their pooch Harper to join them in a few of the photos. When we were meeting to talk about their wedding photos, they let me know that for their engagement shoot, they didn't want anything too posed and unnatural. Because of that, we just strolled around downtown and I let them interact with each other to really bring out their love for each other. You can tell how in love they are by the way they smile at each other!"

 Charleston Wedding Vendors

Photographer:  Taylor Rae Photography  //  Other: Downtown Charleston  //

Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Joe Riley Stadium Engagement {Billie & Nick}

Oh, ladies!  We're kicking this week off in style with a sweet Charleston engagement session from Taylor Rae Photography.  For any of you who call Charleston home, then spending an afternoon/evening at a Riverdogs game is something we all enjoy (Thirsty Thursday, anyone?), so it probably wasn't a big surprise that I was super excited to see that Billie + Nick chose Joe Riley Stadium as the backdrop for the engagement session.  It's just perfect!

The story of how they met via Taylor Rae Photography: "Nick worked at a bar that Billie used to go to frequently, as she worked next door. The first time she came in, she ordered this Sam Adam’s Cherry Wheat, not knowing what else to get. Now, Nick thought Billie was super cute (duh, who wouldn’t?) and thought, “hmm, I should remember this drink for when she comes in again! Brilliant!” So he did. And for the next 3 months, every time he saw Billie walk through the door, he grabbed a Cherry Wheat and had it opened when she sat down. It took poor Billie 3 whole months to admit to Nick that she really didn’t like the beer! He tried it, and said, “Yeah, you’re right…that’s probably the worst beer I’ve ever tasted…” But at that point it didn’t matter because he stole Billie’s heart :)"

Charleston Wedding Vendors

Photographer: Taylor Rae Photography

Lily + Jonathan: Louisiana Wedding

Hope you caught this mornings Caribbean Comfort Shoot from Bliss by Sam.  It made me want to grab a Red Stripe and put my toes in the sand!  Next up, we're sharing a Louisiana beauty from local Charleston photographer, Taylor Rae.  Bride Lily has shared a little extra detail about her Deep South nuptials.

Tell us a little bit about how you met your husband...Jonathan and I met at Wheaton College in our first class our Freshman year. We became friends our first semester and started dating a the beginning of the Spring semester. We’ve known each other for five years and have been married for one of those.

How did he propose?  How long were you engaged for? 

The summer after our junior year of college I did a study abroad program in England so we were apart for the whole summer. When I got back I was at my parents’ home in Louisiana for two weeks before going back up to Illinois for school. Jonathan was with his family in Ohio. One afternoon he called me and said he was just missing me so much that day and that he just couldn’t wait to see me and to start this next year together. I said I really missed him too and couldn’t wait to see him either. Then he said, “Really? Well why don’t you come outside.” He had flown down from Ohio that morning and was in my backyard with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a gorgeous ring he had picked out all by himself. He got down on one knee and asked me to spend forever with him.  We were engaged for 10 months and were married in June 2010 just after we both graduated from college.

How did you choose your venue? What elements drew you to it?

I knew that I wanted to have an outdoor wedding, but being in Louisiana in June, preferred to have a reception somewhere air-conditioned. I also knew that I wanted it to have a vintage feel. This venue was perfect because it has a great courtyard for the outdoor ceremony and the restaurant is in a beautiful old house with lots of old wood and brick and the back wall is made entirely of this huge collage of windows in all shapes and sizes. It fit the feel of the wedding and came with everything I needed so I didn’t have to worry about coordinating a lot of separate vendors.

Your wedding was filled with gorgeous details.  Did any have special meaning? What was your favorite?

Although we aren’t Jewish, I really wanted to be married under a chuppah because it symbolizes the new home that the couple will build together. This one was particularly special to me because my brother and sister-in-law built it for me.  My favorite element was the foot-washing we did as part of the ceremony. In the New Testament Jesus washes the feet of his disciples as a symbol of his willingness to serve them. We chose to do this in our ceremony as a way of showing that through our marriage we were committing to serve one another.

Almost every detail was made by hand by me and by other friends and family members and because of that I truly felt that my friends and family were a part of our wedding day and of our marriage.

Out of the entire day, what was the most memorable moment?

Without question, the look on my husband’s face when he saw me in my dress for the first time, walking down the aisle to become his wife. I have never felt so beautiful and treasured and so confident that I was making the right decision.

   

   

What’s your favorite picture from your wedding? By far this pic of us kissing in front of the restaurant with my dress held out behind me.

Tell us a little bit about your menu.

Because our venue was actually an incredible restaurant we were able to do a sit-down dinner with a choice of soup or salad and chicken, steak, or fish entrée options. There were a lot of Cajun influences in the food since we were deep in South Louisiana. Everyone thought it was delicious.

Looking back on your engagement and wedding, is there any advice you would give to brides in the planning process?

Don’t let yourself get stressed out about the details of the wedding. The important thing is your marriage to this man that you adore. It doesn’t have to meet anyone else’s standards, it needs to be meaningful to you. The things you will remember are not how good your cake looked or whether your bridesmaids’ shoes were all exactly the same color, it’s how it felt to walk down that aisle toward the man you love and the fun of celebrating with your friends and your family.

Vendors

photographer: taylor rae photography