Charleston Weekend

We're at that stage where many fellow twenty-somethings are making the blissful leap into marriage. One of the coolest things to me has been watching how each bride and groom plan their dream day in such different fashions, tastes and varieties. I was thinking as we attended a wedding this past weekend in Charleston how incredible the whole event was, and as I was thinking back to our wedding, my sisters' weddings, and my friends - they've all had different themes and feels but they have all been so perfect in their own way. I love that. Here are some pics from the weekend - it was such a fun time!

When we arrived we had a "Wedding Welcome" package from the bride & groom. I know this is typical for destination weddings and out of town guests, but I thought they did such a cute job of putting this together. The groom is from Atlanta, the bride from Kentucky and they met at Vanderbilt. It was a box full of items based on these locations (Coke, Kentucky chocolate bourbon balls, Vanderbilt mints, a Kentucky brewed beer, personalized water bottles, pralines from Charleston, Georgia Peanuts, and more!) Just thought it was a neat personalized touch :)

On Friday night we went to the rehearsal dinner at Lowndes Grove Plantation and it was BEAUTIFUL. Literally one of those settings that pictures absolutely do not do justice. And believe me, I tried. I was the creep walking around taking pictures while other people were doing the normal thing and socializing. (Sometimes I struggle with trying to document and savor the moments then I miss out on actually living them....I'm working on that.)

Above - With Tim & Laura (Laura's brother, Brian, was the groom)

Below - The view from the house/tent towards the water. The lighting was so pretty and the lanterns gave it such a cozy feel.

One of the fun things about destination weddings is the actual wedding is the grand finale from a weekend of events. It still was individually separate and special, but it was fun that we had been hanging out with the same people for two nights so it was less catching up and more relaxing and enjoyable. The wedding ceremony was held in the French Hugenot Church in historic Charleston - it was a really cool church with so much detail and charm. Here are the front doors. :)

I was playing in Photoshop and discovered the "Colored Pencil" technique - it's sort of out there, but I liked it. With the below setting of the church, fence and background buildings, it gave it an interesting tone. Do you like it?

The reception was at the William Aiken House. I took pictures of it before the actual wedding when I made JNS drive me to a cupcake store (a store uniquely named Cupcake). Quick tangent - this cupcake store is dynamite. We have been to Charleston 3 times since we've been married and JNS has been for work - we'll just say we come here everytime we're here and he has brought me back a cupcake from work trips. Yes, it's that good (the cupcakes have tons of icing!) - End tangent. So the reception was beautiful - if you want to picture it, think Great Gatsby. I'm aware that was a book and we could all picture it differently, but how I imagined the parties to look was how this reception was...big trees, tents, pretty lighting, food & drinks circulating, big historic house and lots of dancing (the oldies kind).

Aside from the wedding festivities, JNS and I had a great time just walking around, enjoying the city, and eating great food. If we lived there we would be ginormous...between the crab cakes, shrimp & grits, fried green tomatoes and pralines....mmmm, I would be huge. One of our favorite meals was at the below restauant: 82 Queen (their address). We sat on the patio/courtyard and it would definitely be a place to return!

I was in paradise with all the picture-taking opportunities. I've already included a silly amount of pictures in this post so I'll limit myself to one more.... I loved walking down the side streets so much - looking at the houses, cobblestone roads, old doors, detailed buildings, strolling around the Battery, and just taking in the history and charm of Charleston. With all the time outside and the sunny weather, it made me so excited for spring to get here!

Enjoy your weekend! :)