https://www.dropbox.com/sh/zubwarwa3cplfee/AABEuB44Pcrpkde2zUL1q2JQa?dl=0
Lowndes Grove Plantation - Charleston, SC
Sean & I live in Baltimore but knew we wanted to get married in the place we fell in love. I ran track at the CofC and frequently ran near Lowndes Grove, falling completely in love with it every time. It was the perfect spot for us to host both our ceremony and reception. We were able to have so many unique spaces for our guests to flow - under the oaks for the ceremony, the grand lawn for cocktail hour, the tent, dock and plantation home for the reception! Your wedding day is often said to be all about the bride and groom, but it was incredibly important to us to center much of the day around a fun party for our guests. Nearly everyone had to travel to Charleston, which we know was a big sacrifice. We were so thankful & humbled to share our favorite city with so many of our closest friends and family. We had a wedding party of 24 people! My oldest cousin sang as Ho Hey by the Lumineers (the song Sean made our proposal video to) as my bridesmaids processed down the aisle and Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles as I walked with my dad. My dad and I had a 'special' moment before we walked down the aisle together - taking a fireball shot. Fireball has a little hidden meaning to us because Sean always describes all things wonderful using the word "fire." Just before we were announced as husband and wife, all of our guests were passed champagne and our officiant said a heartwarming toast - a great way to get the party started. During cocktail hour, we had corn hole boards, croquet and other lawn games set up to entertain our guests. 5 farm tables were in the middle of the reception tent lined with vintage china and hundreds of candles for our wedding party (no other assigned seating). We had two lounge areas - one with a cigar bar. Our guests did not stop dancing the entire night. Two of our groomsmen tied their ties together at one moment creating a 'limbo bar.' Even our grandmothers did the limbo! We were also surprised by the most talented violinist, Peter Kiral, who decided to come back after the cocktail hour to surprise us bc he said "from the cocktail hour, this is a party he did not want to miss!" We didn't do a garter, bouquet toss or cake cutting. We didn't want to break the flow of the evening! Food was one of the most important things to us and wanted to incorporate signature Lowcountry dishes. We chose stations to give our guests the opportunity to try some of everything. Passed apps - duck confit steamed bun, pimento cheese fried green tomato, shrimp and gouda grits on an edible spoon, pear and almond brie App stations - Seafood Display and Mashed Potato Bar Dinner Stations - Cuban Pork Tenderloin; Blackened Swordfish with Fresh Grilled Pineapple and Onion; Braised Short Ribs served with Potato Gratin; Fried Chicken with Spicy Collard Greens, Bacon Mac & Cheese, Peas & Caramelized Onions, Sweet Potato Biscuits; Lump Crab Cakes with Black Eyed Pea Relish, Southern Coleslaw Late Night Passed - vanilla milkshakes and cheeseburger sliders Cake - a 4-tier partially naked cake - almond cake & almond buttercream, red velvet cake & cream cheese and chocolate cake & salted caramel buttercream Signature Cocktail - Mac's Tea (named after our dog) comprised of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka & lemonade We left with a sparkler exit (one of our guests captured our sparkler exit on Snapchat and sent it to the Wedding Day Snapchat story - we had over 5 million views!) Everyone boarded vintage VW buses to head downtown to continue the party at one of our favorite bars. We had photos of our grandparents and parents wedding days spread throughout the plantation house to make it feel more homey. One of my bridesmaids wrote out all of our bar signs and menu signs on old window panes and mirrors.We had the signature LOVE printed LOVE printed on our cocktail napkins to pay homage to my hometown of Philly. We added Miller Lite to our menu given that we were becoming The Millers :-)