CLASSIC SURROUNDINGS: Boone Hall Plantation’s stately exterior served as the perfect backdrop for this vintage-inspired wedding.
HAIR TO TELL YOU: “It was the vision of my wedding,” says Mary Jo of her hair bauble. The wedding’s style came together around the accessory, which, like her Jenny Packham dress, was from White on Daniel Island. Alex added a suave touch to his ensemble with a Robert Talbott Seven Fold tie from Gwynn’s of Mount Pleasant.
GARDEN PARTY: The bridal party carried bouquets from Out of Hand.
STRONG TIES: Alex and his groomsmen wore suits from Men’s Warehouse.
BONDED: A family friend made the wooden cross that marked the ceremony altar.
ORDER OF EVENTS: Hello & Co. created an emerald green floral motif for the fan-shaped ceremony programs.
SWEET THING: The couple’s daughter watched intently as her parents wed on the banks of Horlbeck Creek.
MARCH ON: Charles Carmody—director of Charleston Music Hall and a friend of the couple’s—and Bennett MacNath led a parade from the ceremony site to the reception.
Virgil Bunao Photography
GARDEN PARTY: Swaths of hung fabric defined the open-air cocktail area.
HANGING AROUND: Friend-turned-planner Julie Righetti hung French market buckets stocked with clusters of like blooms—tulips, alstroemeria, and spray roses—along the Cotton Dock’s exterior walls.
FLORABUNDANCE: “I wanted a lot of flowers, but I wanted all the flowers to have meaning. I used the Victorian flower dictionary and my coral, creams, and lilac colors to carefully choose all the flowers in my bouquet and in the centerpieces,” says Mary Jo.
EASY DOES IT: Single blooms in simple glass jars offered easy décor inside the Cotton Dock.
SWEETHEARTS: Mary Jo, Alex, and their daughter, Georgi, shared a table dressed with crocheted lace, pale pink napkins, and gold-rimmed tableware from Event DRS.
NEW HEIGHTS: Julie adorned the Cotton Dock’s wooden rafters with flowers from A Victorian Flower Dictionary, which gives each bloom a unique meaning. Peach-hued peonies symbolize a happy marriage while yellow roses are for contentment. The ferns and Spanish moss served as a nod to the Lowcountry.
TAKING NAMES: Guests posed with props like novelty glasses and chalkboard conversation bubbles and had their pictures made.
INDOOR, OUTDOOR: Comfortable lounge furniture let guests enjoy the night sky on a warm Southern night.
TABLE TALK: Simple tables got a vintage makeover with lace that Mary Jo handpicked and specially ordered for the day. Topped off with single stems, the tablescape offered a pretty but not overpowering place for guests to dine and mingle.
SIMPLE TOUCHES: The location’s rustic beauty was aglow with myriad candles. The hearth was filled with a gentry of tall flowers, while white-framed mirrors hung above the mantel.
FAMILY PORTRAIT: “This wedding was as much for her as for us,” says Mary Jo of wedding Alex with their daughter, Georgi, as her maid-of-honor.
LIGHT UP THE NIGHT: Attendees wrote messages and well wishes on paper lanterns before lighting them and sending them into the night from the dock. “It was the most beautiful sight,” says Mary Jo, “all the lights scattered across the sky.”