Tag Archives: lowndes grove

Sep 25, 2018

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 >>

Aug 01, 2018

Wedding Wednesday with a Vintage Touch

We were so thrilled to see this wedding feature on 100 Layer Cake this week. . Elizabeth Messina was here to shoot with us, and as you can imagine the imagery is pretty spectacular, her style was the perfect fit for this ethereal bride.

The couple was wed at the French Huguenot Church in downtown Charleston, one of my all time favorite churches (the Guerards were one of the first Huguenot families in Charleston).

We try to encourage our clients to do a “first look” when appropriate. It still allows for the moment that a groom sees his bride on their wedding day, but on a more intimate level, which some of our brides find really relieves a lot of the pressure of walking down the aisle in front of all of those guests. And, it allows for some one on one time with the photographer to really capture some great shots together and with the wedding party without missing out on your party after the ceremony!

Vintages touches throughout the stationary by Lettered Olive really set the stage for the wedding day feel. Custom antique postcards were crafted and a logo with a vintage lace border was used throughout the wedding design. We even made a custom cornhole game for guests to play during cocktail hour!

Lettered Olive also crafted a custom “Charleston” map which was printed on the guest welcome bags. All of the wedding weekend locations were noted.

Antique keys and tags engraved with guests’ names, and attached to paper cards with table numbers, adorned a moss covered board for guests to find their seats at dinner.

Large wooden bed swings hung from live oak branches overlooking the river during cocktail hour.

As a special treat for the groom and his friends, a true Southern bourbon bar was on hand.

Lush greens, pale pinks, and creams dotted all of the florals we designed.

Draping covered in green garlands helped to give a landscaped garden feel to the dining room.

Moss and ivy topiaries on longer tables were perfect accents to the floral centerpieces on the square table. I love giving a dining room a layered look by working with different sizes, shapes, heights, and textures.

Jim Smeal did his version of a naked cake decorated with champagne grapes…

What else other than a vintage Model T could be more perfect for this couples’ departure.

8.01.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Bridal Style, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Event Planning, Flowers, Photographers, Press, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, The Lettered Olive, Uncategorized, Weddings | Comments >>

Jun 20, 2018

Flowerfull Wedding Wednesday

This wedding… Oh, this wedding. Full of so much prettiness and personal vibes. Flowers were the main focus and we used them for so many little details. Sara and Dominic decided that a destination wedding in Charleston would be the perfect option for their NYC guests (and its where the mother of the bride lives), and Lowndes Grove Plantation was the spot they landed on, and we certainly know why. Liz Banfield captured all of the gorgeous shots.

After the teal and gray color palette was set, Lettered Olive created a sweet scroll design used throughout all of the wedding printed materials.

Charleston Maptotes were stuffed with custom water bottles, a local Rewind candle and printed matches, and many snacks and sweets.

For the gray, white, and teal color scheme, tulips, roses, ranunculus, orchids, and luxe lamb’s ear made pretty bouquets and boutonierres.

The bride’s lush bouquet was hand tied with a monogramed vintage ribbon.

One of the sweetest moments of the day, was watching the Mother of the Bride walk her daughter down the aisle and “give her away”.

For the ceremony, the Ashley River provided a gorgeous backdrop to the orchid draped chuppa. Outdoor lounges were set up for guests to watch the sunset over the river later in the evening.

One of our favorite special decor tricks is using food safe flowers like dendrobium orchid blooms added to champagne- it just elevates the already elegant cocktail.

Wanting the pop of color, but not wanting to obstruct the view through the clear topped dinner tent- teal fabric boxes were created to then hang the chandelier. 3 extra long tables set up in rows made the tent feel much more like guests were having dinner in an elegant dining room then a sea of tables in a tent.

Orchid strands provided a special standout for the bride and groom chairs. Gray taper candles from Creative Candles, mixed with gray porcelain votive holders gave a more thoughtful look than just white. And dinner menus were housed in silver boxes with hand written name cards serving as place cards.

Instead of one large traditional cake, Jim Smeal made individual tiers in different flavors guests could chose from- the flowers on top dictated the difference. We built a special tiered display with the cakes already plated and easily self served.

A large printed bar flanked the exterior of the lounge tent allowing guests sweeping views of the river and a place to grab a drink with fellow guests

After a quick change into a sparkling shorty stunner, the bride and groom departed in a vintage convertible to sparklers… I know we’ve seen sparklers over and over, but they really do make gorgeous photos, don’t they?

6.20.18 | TARA GUÉRARD
Bridal, Cakes, Charleston, Event Design, Flowers, Reception, Stationery, Invitations and Pretty Papers, Weddings | Comments >>