A Garden wedding at Middleton Plantation, Charleston, SC
Some of the prettiest gardens for a wedding ceremony can be found at Middleton Plantation, and this past July, I had the pleasure of planning and designing a truly special wedding for Catherine and Jared.
Most people don’t think of July as an ideal time for weddings here in Charleston, but Catherine is a school teacher, and wanted to take advantage of her summer vacation, to celebrate her marriage with family and friends. So, we sought out shade under a magnificent oak tree for the ceremony, and offered guests parasols, refreshing beverages, sweetgrass fans, and chilled hand towels to keep everyone comfortable.
We kept the ceremony design simple and organic, since the grounds alone are breathtaking. Two large urns, overflowing with greenery and vintage garden roses flanked the bride and groom, and a dusting of flower petals were scattered by the flower girls.
Cocktails were served on the edge of the Crane pond, and a sting quartette played in the background and a few lazy alligators looked on.
Following cocktails, we moved to the pavilion, where we did a full transformation of the space, bringing the outdoors in, with custom hanging light fixtures of raw Edson bulbs, draped with textured greens, hanging amaranthus and vintage roses, which hung over wooden farm tables, embellished with grass placemats, sprigs of rosemary and custom leather coasters with the guests name, as place cards. The bride were framed by a gigantic fresh flower wall of over 2,000 roses.
Other Wedding Design Details
- A stunning cake by the amazing Jim Smeal kept with the theme of understated elegance with a touch of nature.
- Save the Dates, were custom sued luggage tags
- Guest book was made of wood and embossed with the Same Oak design used on the Save the Dates and Custom coasters.
- Carolina Gold Rice, the variety of rice that was once harvested at Middleton plantation was given to the guests in small muslin bags, to toss on the bride and groom after the ceremony, symbolizing wishes of fertility and abundance
- The custom designed wedding invitation suite was printed with rose gold foil and an illustration of the couples dock at their Folly beach house.
Photography by – Amelia & Dan
