Charleston Weddings Spring 2017 – Meggie & Bill

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Charleston Weddings— Spring 2017

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Photography by LUCY CUNEO

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017 features Meggie + Bill

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017 is out on stands, and we are thrilled to see they’ve featured our very own Meggie + Bill, as well as a lovely bridesmaids’ luncheon we designed.

Charleston Weddings Magazine Spring 2017 cover

What a cover- Princess Bride is the understatement! I love seeing other fair-skinned girls in the limelight (wink).

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017 features Meggie + Bill's beautiful Lowndes Grove wedding, as shot by Lucy Cuneo.

Community Tables Add A Wow Factor

We peppered Meggie and Bill’s reception with community tables, which is a just a clever term for bar-height seating. I used gorgeous custom lucite-and-brass bar stools to lighten the look, and tapped my Blossoms boys to create long, lush garlands of greenery with tucked-in votive light. Intermixing community tables and café seating at station-style Southern dinners is one of our expert tips for perfect party flow.

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017 shot by Lucy Cuneo featuring Meggie + Bill.

Beaded Beauty

Let’s talk about Meggie’s stunning Jenny Packham “Noa” gown with its hand-beading, sweetheart neckline, and cap sleeve. Bill’s look stood up well against his blushing bride; he opted for a custom white dinner jacket, aka warm weather black tie.

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017; Lucy Cuneo; A gorgeous clematis and ranunculus bride's bouquet and pastel bridesmaids' gowns.

Perfect in Pastels

You’d never know it sprinkled lightly on this beautiful Saturday of Easter weekend. Our amazing bride Meggie drove the ultimate happy mood by not giving a flip! Lucy Cuneo captured Meggie’s bridesmaids (in custom Joanna August) perfectly on the piazza of Lowndes Grove in all their pastel ombré glory. Meggie’s bouquet of lisianthus, garden roses, clematis, ranunculus, and scabiosa is still one of our favorites to this day. We still love layering ombré shades of a certain color throughout a party’s palette.

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017 features this crisp sailcloth tented ceremony on the lawn at Lowndes Grove, this Cheree Berry stationery suite, and ranunculus flower girl halos; Lucy Cuneo

Ceremony Details

Cheree Berry expertly designed a lovely + soft stationery suite, replete with blush envelopes and dove gray ink. Flower girls donned sweet ranunculus halo crowns and Sperry Tents Southeast placed the sweetest sailcloth tent over our ceremony on the front lawn.

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017; Lucy Cuneo; Calder Clark designed lush furniture vignettes and floral chandeliers at this tented wedding.

Soft Sheering at a Tented Affair

This is one of those shots that just takes your breath away, thanks to Lucy. This is a bold testament to why you have to have a designer in the mix. Perfect symmetry does not come easily, my friends. The lush stackbacks of the precisely ombré draperies cuffed in bounteous blooms positively make the party. Just sayin’.

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017; custom lattice clematis bar; custom draped band backdrop;

The Devil’s in the Details

Charleston Weddings Spring 2017 chose to feature a few more sweet moments from the evening. The top left is my custom bar design- literally straight out of one of my treillage dreams with custom cappuccino-painted lattice work, bun feet, and climbing clematis. We opted for tiny flaxen bags filled with fresh lavender and screenprinted them with “Toss Me” for a parting toss for the happy couple. The bottom picture reflects the stage setup with custom surround and custom backdrop (don’t you love our hedge valance?) for the Atlanta Showstoppers. Thanks to all for making the night supremely magical, and most of all to Meggie, Bill, and their families for letting us wear the hard hats!

The Dream Team

planner + designer, furnishings + lighting fixtures: Calder Clark

florals + production: Blossoms 

venue + catering: Patrick Properties 

photography: Lucy Cuneo

cake: Minette Rushing 

tenting + rentals: Snyder Event Rentals

lighting + sound: Technical Event Company

stationery: Cheree Berry Paper + Elizabeth Porcher Jones

entertainment: Atlanta Showstoppers

linens: Nuage

personal dresser: Cacky’s Bride + Aid

ceremony herald trumpeter: Susan Messersmith

ceremony musicians: Archer Music String Trio

guest transportation: Absolutely Charleston

couple departure transportation: Classic Boat Charleston

hair: Salon Vari

Collection Obsession : The Silhouette

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Hot Off the Press country living 1

It’s no secret I’ve a weensy obsession with the cut silhouette- she in all her folkish form. Both Garden & Gun and Country Living recently featured my collection, which I’ve shared snaps of below. I’ve culled through many a dust-laden antique mall on the hunt for a tiny crusty original frame housing a vintage cut black-and-white of just about anyone interesting. From the mountain towns of Tennessee (my fave being those near Blackberry Farm) to the highway shanties of Virginia, there are many a treasure to be found if you keep just a few tips in mind:

1. Original frames are always best. If the silhouette itself is unframed and isn’t over-the-top exquisite, skip it.

2. Beware of George and Martha. Silhouettes as a simple form of family portraiture didn’t truly take off until the late 19th/early 20th century, although many in the 18th century had them made. For some reason, people LOVE to cut the profiles of our first president and his dear wife. Unless you have a penchant for collecting Colonial memorabilia- skip again.

3. A true silhouette is cut out of black paper and lightly affixed to white paper, revealing a delicately cut edge and shadowing of the layers. There are plenty of pen-and-ink silhouettes meant to look like cut ones- these are of little value and kinda defeat the whole purpose.

4. Some of the most fabulous ones have been overpainted with watercolors or oils. I hanker in particular for these, and don’t think they should be discounted in any way for their extra lily-gilding.

5. Expect to spend every bit of $25-75 per piece, with the more prominent ones (often signed) fetching $175-250 easily. A framed, signed silhouette of European provenance and distinct age (perhaps from 1900-1950) is well worth the higher price tag if you just love the subject matter.

6. As you’d guess, my favorite sources besides the old reliable antique mall are Etsy and eBay.

7. As with all curiosities, if you love it- just buy it. Unless you’re curating a collection for the Smithsonian, who cares?

Garden & Gun Belle Decor features Calder Clark Garden & Gun Belle Decor features Calder's silhouettes

Style Me Pretty – our Eseeola Wedding

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I love being a Charlestonian- really, I do. It can’t be beat- but the truth of the matter is, I’m a mountain girl. I’m the fairest of the fair (okay, catfish belly pale) and was raised not to “do the sun”. There is nothing like a blissful summer in North Carolina, skipping out on 100º days for toe-dipping in cool creeks and listening to live bluegrass.

Getting to know these two families was an absolute treat; good Raleigh people with exquisite taste + a gorgeous home in Banner Elk = yes, please! Lauren and Clay are so fresh-faced and kind, and their love is Velveteen Rabbit real.

As always, it takes a village . . . and our dream team for this affair was certainly that: Flowers from Blossoms, photos by Clark Brewer, stationery from Cheree Berry Paper, videography from Life Stage Films, music from Rupert’s via Sam Hill, and personal dressing from Cacky’s Bride Aid.

Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding Style Me Pretty Eseeola wedding

Party Bar Styling Tips for Garden & Gun

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It’s always a blast collaborating with Garden & Gun, especially when the topic is party bars, bourbon, Fall tailgating, + general tastemaker tips . . . who wouldn’t wanna chat about that?!

It’s easy to gab about entertaining with my friend Haskell Harris, who is the inimitable Style Editor over at Garden & Gun. There’s a Southern girl lexicon that comes in handy when talk turns to cheese straws, pewter juleps, and sipping whiskeys.

Read below for my thoughts on styling a party bar!

G+G cover Fall 2015 Southern Homes issue Garden & Gun Southern Homes issue 2015 Garden & Gun Southern Homes Fall 2015