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It was history in the making, in more ways then one!!!
Well- let me begin in the beginning…many, many years ago, a little seedling took to ground…and low and behold, over 900 years later, there stands the Middleton Oak- one of the oldest on record! This amazing live oak has been the back drop for countless weddings.
Just over a year ago, Laura and Chris came to me. They were planning their wedding in Charleston and wanted an elegant, romantic, historical, and perfectly orchestrated event. Chris and Laura are extremely detailed oriented and knew exactly how they wanted it all to flow and present itself. They picked a historic location for the ceremony, the Middleton Oak at Middleton Plantation. The majesty of this tree, the tradition of it, its peace and grandeur was perfect for this event.
We began working on the details in advance and getting everything set in plenty of time for them to relax just before the wedding. The couple decided on an extremely intimate affair with 32 guests in attendance – however, tragedy struck in a sad historical event two weeks before the wedding – the Middleton Oak suffered a massive loss to its area- about a 1/4 of the tree came crashing down!!! We got the call about it shortly after it happened and were told that the couple would of course have to move their ceremony to a different location in the gardens. We all were so upset by this but knew that it would all work out, Middleton is gorgeous – we would meet the evening of rehearsal, take a look at the options and they would decide!
The couple decided to go with the azalea hillside for the ceremony – it was just perfect. We were worried about the weather taking a turn but when the bride stepped out of the Rolls Royce, there was not a cloud in the sky…
Both the bride and groom were escorted down the aisle by their parents- a fabulous Citadel bag piper played for Chris and Laura’s processional. When Chris took his place and turned to see Laura coming down the hill, he could not control the emotion, he was so taken with her- is was beautifully moving.
I have NON professional photos below, but the wedding was photographed by one of Charleston’s finest, Kim Graham and videoed by her husband, Kevin Graham. The gorgeous flowers were created by Tiger Lily Florist and the delicious chocolate cake was designed by Lady Fingers Confections!!!
The ‘broken’ Middleton Oak 
The ceremony set up with the piper in the background…there was a small table set that had a sweet pink tub filled with water and a basket with programs.
The bride and her parents arrived in the beautiful vintage Rolls…
The brides processional-
Darren was able to get on the bridge across from them and capture this amazing shot!!!!
Darren was also lucky to capture this as they came back down the aisle- what a touching moment- a beautiful couple…
After the ceremony, the guests rode the trolley back to the Harbour Club for a lovely evening of cocktails, dinner and tons of dancing- they partied like they were rock stars!!!! The dining room was so elegant, with the silver chavari chairs and matching cerise chair pad covers. B.I.O. provide tons of candles for the center of the table and Tiger Lily filled in with gorgeous magnolia leaves, Spanish moss and hot pink hydrangea blooms. As a back drop for the couple, they designed an amazing wreath with soft spot lights- when the sun went down, it was breath taking!!!
Each place setting had a silver charger and cerise napkin with a menu card designed by the couple that also served as the ’seating card’ having each quests name at the top.
After dinner, they all went up to the terrace for dancing and cake- sadly I don’t have photos of that but it was a fabulous time!!
And of course, the lovely, yummy cake!!!!
We always strive to make every event what the couple wants and expects- after you spend that much time working together, you want every aspect to be absolutly perfect. As an event planner, you always wonder if it is what they dreamed of, this weekend, I had a very touching moment -during dinner, we were in another room letting everyone enjoy, I recieved a text message on my phone as follows:
“Everything looks wonderful- Mr. and Mrs. Catto”
It almost brought me to tears, I was beyond thrilled that they loved it all- but that they also were moved to thank me right at that moment. This couple has really touched me- they are amazing! I was honored to work with them.
This little post is here to give just a tiny piece of advice for those that are into DETAILS!!!
Many couples come to me with beautiful photos and ideas of what they are imagining for their wedding/event – but then they say, but cater it more to US! My suggestion that I put to them then is – make this event YOU!! You want your guests to walk in and say, ‘Oh my goodness, this is so THEM’… The marriage is about the two of you so make the wedding about the two of you!!!
One way we suggest you can accomplish this is in those little details – now we have many other ways to do this but for this post, we are touching one very neat option for couples today…
Weddings are becoming so much more involved as the years go by, and every little aspect is touched on, right down to the cute accessories basket in the restrooms 
Today we are going to chat about BEAUTIFUL printed items that are specifically designed with you and your event in mind.
You can always go to a formal invitation shop and have many items printed (which is always a lovely and great option), but if you are wanting something just a little more personalized and unique to you, why not have a graphic designer ‘CREATE’ your look and feel for this most memorable occasion.
Today I am introducing a designer here in Columbia- Melissa Spivey, owner and designer at Graphically Inclined Design. Melissa got in touch to discuss all that she can do and left me with samples of her work…’WOW’ is all I can say. The quality and craftsmanship is unbelievable. She has the ability to take the words you speak and turn them into a beautiful creation.
You can get items from invitations to candy wrappers created with her and everything in between. You can get one item or a whole set created to have an underlying theme or color scheme…you can be as simple or ornate as you wish – as classic or cutting edge, let your imagination run wild, but not your budget. Personally created printed material does NOT break the bank like some couples feel – it is well worth the consultation to see what can be done- she works within ALL budgets!!!
I can go on and on but I will just show you a quick example of what she sent me- remember this is a NON-professional photo I took.
Good day – I am running a little behind on getting this out here today but just catching up from a wonderful weekend.
We were honored to be able to work with such a sweet and fun couple- Julia and Kyle were GREAT. This couple came to us as a referral from another bride and we began working together a year ago. When Julia and I met, she knew what she was looking for but wanted all her family and guests to come and enjoy so she brought us in help develop her ideas and run the event from start to finish…
The wedding ceremony took place at Beulah United Methodist-the church was absolutely full, and just before the doors opened, with Julia on her father’s arm and him holding on so tight, she closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, opened her eyes and looked over at her father and smiled the biggest smile I have ever seen from her – she was ready to marry her love…Kyle!!!
We were blessed beyond belief with weather for the reception- which took place at Riverbanks Botanical Gardens. It had rained most of the day while were setting up the Magnolia Room at Riverbanks but when we returned to the zoo to make sure all the last minute details were ready, the clouds broke. When the couple arrived, the were able to walk from the gate, up through the gardens to take some lovely shots with photographer, Liz Roberts. Julia really wanted garden photos and her prayers were answered for having a beautiful wedding day.
The reception was so much fun- the food was fabulous (Angel and her team were fabulous as always), the music was jamming (Partytime DJ), and the couple were the social butterflies of the year!!! I am so glad we were there to make it a come to life just as they wanted-
I have once again included CANDID, NON-professional photos – enjoy!
The photo below is here to show her lovely hair style and hair jewelry- so elegant
Julia with her beautiful bridal party!
Beulah United Methodist Church
The centerpieces and cake flowers by Debby West, Think Floral. Cake is by Carol Sturkie, Parties to Go.
The entry at the Botanical Gardens
The couple gave out yummy little bags of M&Ms.
They decided to use a South Carolina ‘coffee table book’ as their guest book, as guests arrived, they gave words of wisdom on each of the different pages throughout the book!
And of course, the brides portrait- she was just lovely!
I think this is just the ’sweetest’ name I have heard- yep you guessed it, this little brief post is about a lovely new vendor I have come across!!! I would like to introduce Tamra Smith owner and baker for ‘Slice of the South’!!!
As most of you know, part of our job as planner is to help bring the best, most reputable vendors to you for your event! Just when you think you may have worked with them all, you come across a new one so I just wanted to introduce a vendor that we will be adding to our preferred vendor list here at ‘By Invitation Only..’
When it comes to cakes, everyone wants something different, so that is why I like having all sorts of options for our clients. Tamra and I met and she shared some samples of her amazing cake – oh my was it GREAT!!!!! She creates in home and her sweets are all ’secret recipes’ which makes them just beyond tasty.
One last little note, Tamra does more than just wedding cakes, she can help with any sort of event and creates many items to give you ’sweet dreams’…
I have added a few photos below but you can check out more items on her website: Slice of the South
We had the best time working with Amber and Edward during the planning process- they knew exactly what they wanted and how they wanted it!!! They picked beautiful, rich colors that accented their ideas perfectly. They had many things organized when they looked to us to help with their wedding – we helped them the rest of the way. This wedding was extremely spiritually moving and exciting!!
The family and friends of Amber and Edward treated my team as if WE were family, it was amazing –
I’ve had numerous brides tell me their day is so much more relaxed knowing that my team is there to handle any “blips” that occur. They like to know someone is worrying about everything so they don’t have to.
Usually any “problems” we have to deal with are minor, but this weekend brought our biggest challenge yet. And I am so proud of how my team stepped up; I just have to brag on them. I am so happy that we were able to make this event wonderful for the bride and groom despite everything. You guys are beyond wonderful!!!!
These are candid photos, please keep that in mind! We will share more at a later date…
This is a brief post however I wanted to showcase another slide show we received from an amazing company: Visio Photography
Their work was amazing- but they were also photographing a wedding with gorgeous colors, traditions and loving families that traveled from all over the world!!
The wedding was held at the bride’s Aunt’s home in Lexington on Lake Murray. The reception was the the Magnolia House in Lexington, which the house originally belong to her grandmother, so it had special meaning to all!
I will share more on this event when I receive more photos- thank you for looking!
