Tag Archives: charleston weddings

photos by Corbin Gurkin 

What we like to call engagement season is approaching and many of you may be thinking of a wedding in Charleston soon. We hope that our guide to some of our favorite venues in Charleston can help give you some ideas of what we have to offer, and why we think we are so lucky to do beautiful weddings here. Our first, Fenwick Plantation,  is relatively under the radar and a little outside of town. A private historic home and grounds, born of Federalist architecture, the property still boasts a gorgeous avenue of Oaks. Here, we built an aisle over the reflecting pond and used the house for photo backdrops with a large tent on property for the rest of the reception.

 Photos by Liz Banfield and Corbin Gurkin

Lowndes Grove is one of the most popular venues in town, and rightfully so. Located in downtown Charleston, the historic plantation home has been restored to pristine condition. The grounds offer room for a tent (atop bluestone, offering a flooring option), and amazing untouched views of the Ashley River. We have done ceremonies on the front lawn, overlooking the river, under a large oak in the rear of the property, and sometimes just the reception- where the possibilities are endless. It’s pretty gorgeous for photos too.

Hibernian 2 Collage

Photos by Corbin Gurkin

The Hibernian Society in the heart of the Charleston Historic District has long been the scene of many Charleston parties… I like that it’s large enough to hold a sizeable party but it’s broken up as such that if you have a smaller group it won’t feel too huge. It’s got a great porch for creating seating areas that overlook Meeting Street, and the historic architecture lends it some unique value.

Ocean Course Collage

photos by Liz Banfield

The Ocean Course at Kiawah is a stunning site. I like the way a party can progress through different stages at this venue. From a ceremony on the golf lawn overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, to cocktails on the upper lawn and porches, to dinner in a ballroom, and then dancing under a tent overlooking the property, you are able to offer your guests so much variety!

Runnymede Collage

photos by Corbin Gurkin

A longtime favorite of many of our brides and us, is Runnymede Plantation. The home no longer stands, other than a few crumbling ruins, but the land and location along the Ashley River allow us to have fun and do whatever we want with decor, and we love that!

Boone Hall Plantation

photo by Liz Banfield

Finally, we’ve done quite a few weddings at Boone Hall Plantation in our many years, but this image from one we did  for over 1200 people really stands out! You can tent on the grounds, or use the ever popular Cotton Dock (where a certain celebrity couple was married) and where we held our Soiree Anniversary Party.. It’s extremely popular and books up fast, but you can see why.  It was also Allie’s house in The Notebook movie.

9.25.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Events, Parties, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>
Jun 04, 2018

Tara Guerard Soiree ceremony by Liz Banfield

photo by Liz Banfield

Now that summer is officially here, the outdoor wedding ceremonies are in full swing. Today is our roundup of some of our favorite outdoor ceremony set ups. We have everything from the beach to the mountains as a backdrop.  Of course, the biggest tip I can offer is ALWAYS have a good rain backup (if you do, then you’ll never need it!). We’ll have baskets of white umbrellas in case of rain or shine, and once we even had guests wait on the buses until a brief shower passed and we could wipe down all of the seating!

Bennett ceremony 2

photo by Corbin Gurkin

We’ll feature more from this Aspen, Colorado wedding tomorrow on the blog, but here is a little sneak peek.

Bratton outdoor ceremony

photo by Liz Banfield

This wedding took place at a secluded resort and community atop a mountain Alabama. We positioned the ceremony in the amphitheater which overlooked a river gorge and allowed for a really lovely and long bridal processional.

Kassen ceremony

photo by Corbin Gurkin

To dress up a more natural beach ceremony, we cut a plush white carpet aisle runner.

Tara Guerard Soiree ceremony by Liz Banfield

photo by Liz Banfield 

Linen ottoman poufs provided the seating for this affair on the banks of the Ashley River outside of Charleston.  The peaceful ceremony was highlighted by the natural sounds of birds and frogs.

Tara Guerard Soiree by Adrienne Page

photo by Adrienne Page

We love being able to take advantage of what the site may have to offer without having to over create. These two palm trees were perfectly positioned for framing a lovely ceremony with a view of the ocean.

Mansfield ceremony

photo by Liz Banfield 

For this ceremony at the bride’s home, one of my favorite features was the colorful rose petal aisle. Tara’s Tip: we had boxwood garland lining both sides of the aisle, so guests entered from the outside in to protect the petals for the bride’s processional.

Sobiloff ceremony

photo by Liz Banfield

Vintage church pews provided an elevated rustic feel to this fall ceremony.

ceremony view final

photo by Liz Banfield

The breeze coming in off of the ocean was nice to keep the guests cool and the bugs away, but could be detrimental to your flower arrangements. These cement urns were instrumental in anchoring the arrangements.

Woodburn ceremony

photo by Adrienne Page

For a summer wedding in a meadow on Martha’s Vineyard, market umbrellas helped guests feel relief from the sun’s rays. Wrought iron urns full of baby’s breath made for a stunning aisle for the bride.

Vickers ceremony

photo by Adrienne Page

Ford Plantation is a picturesque venue for weddings… for this Sunday brunch wedding we tucked the chuppa under some live oaks on the riverbanks for this couple’s intimate ceremony.

6.04.18   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Photographers, Reception, Weddings | Comments >>
Aug 02, 2017

6989_23a_BandG Liz Banfield

I’m so thrilled to have this wedding to share from the archives… it’s been 10 years since this sweet sweet couple came to Charleston to get married, so a little post on them is long overdue. Thank you to Liz Banfield for sharing the images, and enjoy this truly Southern wedding.

Traditional Collage

The wedding palette was traditional black and white with pops of spring green.  Lady slipper orchids other than being stunningly special, were also the PERFECT color and accent for us to use throughout. This bouquet was and still is one of the best we’ve ever done. I mean, lily of the valley sprigs with lush peonies and lady slippers, it was to die for!

6962_22_welcome Liz Banfield

The bride did want a bit of modern brought into the tradition, so a mid century modern font and mr & mrs theme took shape. Black jute totes (we tied green ribbon handles on) were filled with custom printed water bottles and koozies, and matching cookies, and weekend information booklet by Lettered Olive.

6991_8a_bridesmaids Liz Banfield

Church Collage

The wedding ceremony took place at First Scots Presbyterian Church in downtown Charleston. The wrought iron gates were transformed into a lush floral arch.

Flower Collage

Afterwards at the reception at a local Yacht Club, guests were greated by a Dixieland Jazz Band playing in the lobby (a nod to NOLA, where the couple was living at the time)… we created a “curtain” of orchids hung by ribbons from the 2nd floor balcony to hide an unsightly entrance to the private bar portion of the venue.. it ended up being one of my favorite design elements!

7191_50_lounge Liz Banfield

A lounge was set up on the second floor porch overlooking the Charleston Harbor.

Cake Collage

Jim Smeal created the beautiful cake inspired by the bead work on the bride’s gown. I agree with Liz Banfield, who says this is still one of her favorite cakes and shots of all time. So timeless and simple but stunning!

7191_43_lounge Liz Banfield

Food Collage

Bar Collage

Guests enjoyed large food stations like a custom ice display for seafood featuring carved bowls for shrimp, and glass holders for oyster shooters. Sushi was preplated with chopsticks making it so easy for guests to navigate with a cocktail in hand.

6994_9_firstdance Liz Banfield

One of the major design features we built for this wedding, was the floral chandelier hanging over the dancefloor… we did cover the old school drop tile ceiling in fabric which made them seem lower than I would like, so create an illusion of height and distraction, 10′ square covered in fragrant and dramatic blooms was the centerpiece of the room.

Balloons Collage

After dancing all night to a 70’s and 80’s throwback band, the couple departed to a balloon release…

6964_21a_sendoff_car Liz Banfield

Loved this couple so much and sharing their big day with you… Let us know if you like seeing these weddings from our archives…02

8.02.17   |   TARA GUÉRARD
Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Food and Drink, Reception, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>