Shawn and I met on a Spring Break beach trip in Gulf Shores, Alabama. When I pulled into the driveway of the house we were staying in, he was standing in the driveway in his bathing suit with a jetski and a cooler full of Corona. I knew right away that this was a guy I needed to get to know!! We discovered that we had all the same friends, and had been at all the same parties, but had never been introduced. He took me out on a date to Outrigger (a restaurant) that week, and we have been together ever since!!
Fast forward 4 years and 2 months later...Shawn and I planned a trip to Gulf Shores with some of our friends for the Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday morning, we woke up before everyone else and Shawn suggested a drive around town while we waited on them to wake up. I agreed and put on my bathing suit and shorts, ready for a day at the beach. As we drove down the beach, we were sad to realize that Hurricane Ivan had taken out both the house and the restaurant from Spring Break. Shawn pulled into the parking lot of the beach across the bay from where the restaurant had been and asked if I would like to take a walk on the beach before heading back. I was completely clueless until he stopped and told me he loved me and got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!!! It was the best beach trip yet!!
The Ring
This is my beautiful ring!! He picked it out all by himself! The wedding band has channel set diamonds to match, I'll post a picture of it later!
The Stationary
This is the Save the Date that we sent out to our guests. It is a destination wedding for 95% of our guests, so we sent it 9 months ahead of the wedding. We included our website (under Charleston, SC) so guests could begin making plans! I am also working on putting together my invitations to send out next week, so I'll post a picture as soon as I finish!
Bridesmaids
Kara - Maid of Honor
Kara and I have been best friends since we were 5 and moved in across the street from each other!
Meredith - Bridesmaid
Meredith (on the right) is my little sister who I love dearly!
Colene - Bridesmaid
Colene is Shawn's sister and I am so excited that we are going to be family!
Rachel - Bridesmaid
Rachel and I met at a store where we worked together and became one of my best friends! I am so sad that she lives in Washington D.C. and I can't see her all the time anymore!
Macie - Bridesmaid
Macie and I met in Auburn and were party animals! Now that we are both in Atlanta, we paint the town whenever we are together!
Bridesmaids Dresses
This is the bridesmaid dress from Ann Taylor's Celebration Collection. They also have sandals in the color of the dress. Kara will have a pink sash, as she is the Maid of Honor!
Groomsmen
Josh - Best Man
Josh (on the right) is Shawn's best friend from college. He is one of my best friends too!
Hadii - Groomsman
Hadii is Shawn's friend from Ohio (where he is from). This is him with my sister in Gulf Shores after we got engaged!
Justin - Groomsman
Justin is another of Shawn's friends from Ohio. We have a tradition of celebrating New Year's in New York City with Justin every year!
Bill - Groomsman
Bill is my uncle on my mom's side. He has a great sense of humor and we love to be around him!
Tuxes
This is the tux that all the guys will be wearing. The groomsmen and ring bearer will wear the sage vest and bowtie. Shawn will wear the same patterned vest and bowtie in ivory, and the fathers and grandfathers will wear black.
Flower Girl and Ring Bearer
Natalie - Flower Girl
Natalie is my cousin and my Goddaughter. She will be 5 and I can't wait to see her walk down the aisle in her pretty dress!
This is the dress that Natalie will be wearing, except that her sash will be the same color as the bridesmaid's dresses. It is from the Ann Taylor Celebrations Collection. She will also be carrying a kissing ball instead of a basket, but more on that in the flower section.
Travis - Ring Bearer
Travis is my cousin. He will be 5 at the wedding too and will look so cute with Natalie! He will be wearing a tux identical to the Groomsmen.
Flowers
Brides Bouquet - White, Pink and Green Pink-Throated cymbidium orchids, white peonies, pink garden roses, white and pink dendrobium orchids, ivory freesia and pale pink dahlias with ivory double-faced satin.
Bridesmaids Bouquets - Similar to bride's without peonies and white orchids, wrapped in pink double faced satin.
Flower Girl - Kissing ball made of pink hydrangea and pale pink ribbon handle. She will wear a halo of pink spray roses with pink satin streamers.
Groom & Fathers - White mini cymbidium orchid boutonniere wrapped in ivory satin.
Groomsmen & Ring Bearer - Green mini cymbidium orchid boutonnieres wrapped in pink satin.
Mothers - very small bouquets (posy) of white mini cymbidiums and ivory freesia wrapped in ivory satin.
The arrangements for the church alter and pews, and for the reception will be similar.
Hair & Accessories
I haven't decided yet exactly how I want to do my hair, but I know that I want it off my neck and kind of loose. These are 2 pictures that I like. I also have a hairpiece made up of crystal beads and pearls that I will post pictures of later.
Ceremony
We will get married in the Church of the Holy Communion in Charleston, South Carolina. It is a very special church to me, as I will be the 8th generation of my family to be married there.
It is an Anglo-Catholic (Anglican) church with beautiful stained glass windows and a long marble aisle. I cannot wait to see Shawn at the end of the aisle!!
Reception
The reception will be held at the Francis Marion Hotel in Downtown Charleston. It is an old (but redone) hotel, and the ballroom has windows along one whole wall that overlooks the beautiul Marion Square Park. It is also kind of special because I am related to Francis Marion, aka Swamp Fox from the Civil War.
We will have 3 stations: A roast beef carving station, a pasta bar (shown on left), and my personal favorite, a shrimp and grits bar! We will also have a buffet set up in the middle of the room with fruits, cheeses and other things to nibble on.
This is what our wedding cake will look like. It will be honeydew green to match the sashes of the bridesmaid's dresses, with white "pearls" and our florist is going to place pink and white flowers cascading down and around the side of it.
We will do a candy buffet for the favor. All of the candy will be pink and green. We got cellophane candy bags and candy scoops from Hobby Lobby and I will print a Thank You sticker that I designed for guests to close the bags.
Suckerpunch will provide our guests with live music and entertainment. We are looking forward to a lively night!!
Rehearsal Dinner
Our rehearsal dinner will be (weather permitting) on the rooftop terrace of the Harbour Club in Charleston's french quarter. We are going to have an oyster roast and lowcountry boil.
These are like the flowers that we are going to have on all of the tables. The florist is going to use an assorment of green apples and limes with pink flowers. Each centerpiece will vary slightly.
Vendors
Ceremony - The Church of the Holy Communion
Rehearsal Dinner - The Harbour Club
Reception - The Francis Marion Hotel
Invitations - Paper Affair - the brand of invitations I bought is Envelopements, but the girls at Paper Affair have been wonderful from helping me design the invitations, to printing them, and even answering all my etiquette questions!
Flowers - Tiger Lily - I didn't have a clue about flowers and they have helped tremendously!
Cakes - Publix - How many grocery store bakeries will sit around for 15 minutes trying to figure out how they are going to make you a football helmet shaped cake??
Photographer - Gissendanner Photography
Bridal Attire - Wedding Angels - They are truly angels in there!
Bridesmaid & Flower Girl Attire - Ann Taylor - So great about finding and ordering other sizes!
Groom, Groomsman & Ring Bearer Attire - MWTux