A Charleston Wedding That Dares To Be Timeless In These Trendy Times
In a world of fast fashion and Instagram influencers populating our feeds with the latest and greatest, there is a lot of pressure to be trendy, especially when it comes to your wedding. While we do love to look at a wedding that pushes boundaries and twists traditions when it comes to planning your own wedding, timeless wins over trendy every day. Use the trendy inspiration shoots to inspire you by taking the elements you like and making them your own, but don't let the trends take over your vision. Your wedding shouldn't reflect the current times, it should reflect who you are as a couple. If you focus on that, you're sure to get a timeless wedding that you will love to look back on for years to come!
Nick and Madison had the right idea and asked Pure Luxe Bride to create a timeless wedding centered around a few of their favorite things, one of those things being The River House, a venue featured in one of their favorite TV shows. It's a stunning estate that won't go out of style and is a subtle nod to their love story. Petaloso took the timeless note and ran with it, creating some gorgeous arrangements that will look just as pretty years from now as they do today. Aaron and Jillian Photography was there to capture every special moment on their big day and Dock House Digital got it all on film. Check out the full gallery to see even more from this beautiful Charleston wedding. Keep scrolling to hear more from Planner, Francesca DiSalvo Follmer, and the bride, Madison about their tips and tricks for creating your own timeless wedding design.
A BRIDE THAT KNOWS WHAT SHE WANTS
Nick and Madison are incredibly adventurous and love to travel! They met in Chicago while in school and have been head-over-heels in love ever since! Fun fact—when they went on their first date, it was going so well Madison told Nick to kiss her. She didn’t ask, she just told him, lol! They celebrated 5 years of being together a week before their wedding date. They live in Venice, FL with their sweet pup, Franklin and love spending time together as a family!
AN INTIMATE CELEBRATION
Their wedding day was so special because of how intimate it was! COVID gave them the excuse to go small and focus on their families and close friends to celebrate the day. It gave the couple a chance to really spend quality time with their 17 guests and be present in the moment. Going small was the best decision they could have made as a couple. It was a beautiful day celebrating with their immediate families and lifelong friends. The couple chose Charleston as their destination because it was the first place they traveled to together as a couple. They fell in love with the city’s culture and rich history. They settled on their venue, The River House at Lowndes Grove, because they are huge fans of the Netflix show 'Outer Banks', and this is where they film. The River House is nestled between centuries-old live oak trees and the Ashley River waterfront in downtown Charleston. It offers an intimate space and a scenic backdrop, one of the last waterfront estates of its kind on the peninsula.
A TIMELESS DESIGN
The bride wanted a classic, timeless design, something that will never go out of style. The bride's dress was from Pnina Tornai’s Love Collection. It was the first dress the bride tried on at Kleinfeld's in NYC. The bride made a few adjustments to the bow, shoulders, and sleeve length during the alterations process. The bride held a bouquet full of lush peonies wrapped in a satin ribbon. She chose a color palette of white, pale pink, and touches of greenery to create a garden feel. The table was set with a lace beige linen, white scalloped chargers, blush napkins, and custom menus tied with a ribbon. The ceremony had an arbor full of lush blooms, this was the most important floral aspect to the bride. They decided to write their own vows, which were very heartfelt and special. They also took a moment of silence during the ceremony to honor loved ones who couldn’t be there that day, which was really emotional and meaningful. The wedding cake was a smooth white cake with clusters of peonies throughout. Peonies are one of the bride's favorite flowers, so we wanted to make sure they were represented here. The cake flavor was strawberry with vanilla frosting. Their first dance was an instrumental version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley. The bride wanted to make sure it wasn’t trendy and keep everything timeless so she can look back on it 50 years from now and still be in love with every decision.
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE BRIDE
If you are leaning towards an intimate wedding—GO FOR IT! It was the best decision we could have made! We had our small, immediate families and lifelong friends by our side to celebrate one of the most precious moments of our lives. We weren’t nervous, there was no pressure, we got to focus on ourselves and truly take in every single moment.
- Cakes & Catering: Patrick Properties
- Couple: Madison Gardner
- Couple: Nicholas Hearn
- Event Planning & Design: Pure Luxe Bride
- Flowers: Petaloso
- Hair, Makeup & Beauty: Carrie M HMU
- Photographers: Aaron and Jillian Photography
- Rentals: La Tavola Fine Linen
- Rentals: Event Works
- Stationery: Dodeline Design
- Venues: The River House
- Wedding Dresses: Pnina Tornai
- Wedding Films: Dock House Digital