LOVE BOAT
If it weren’t for a very fortuitous case of mistaken identity, Anne Hooper and Thom Bowen might never have met. Luckily, Thom played along the night that Anne mistook him for an old friend from South Carolina, and she forgave him when she finally realized her mistake.
GARDEN AND GLITZ
Kelly and Trey have never let a little thing like geography get in the way of their relationship. Trey was on a business trip to Chicago when he met his future wife at the Burberry store where she worked. A few weeks later, he flew back to town for their first date—and then their second, and third.
HIS AND HERS
Connecticut couple Kelly Totino and Chris Antonacci had never even been to Charleston before their wedding day, but they knew it would be the ideal place to tie the knot. “We were instantly drawn to the Lowcountry charm of the Legare Waring House,” Chris says. “The Spanish moss hanging in the avenue of oaks and the sun setting on the crystal lagoons were a perfect backdrop for our ceremony and cocktail hour.”
FAMILY TIES
Weddings are always about family—both old and new—but Hailey and Taylor Hoffer took that concept to the extreme at their Magnolia Plantation nuptials. Hailey’s mother stood beside her at the altar as her matron of honor and her uncle married them, while Taylor’s dad did best man duties and his brothers served as groomsmen. And the flower girl? It was none other than Hailey’s beloved childhood shih tzu, Rosie.
DIY DARLINGS
It all started with a hat. Recently engaged Charleston couple Susi Grob and George Nathan Stoner (who goes by Stoner) were shopping on King Street when the groom-to-be spotted a bowler hat that he had to have. The vintage-style topper would go on to inspire the eclectic, fun-loving vibe of their wedding day.
LOWCOUNTRY LUXE
What happens when a wedding planner finally gets the chance to plan her own big day? For Lauren Messina, owner of Lauren M. Creative Weddings, the result was a meticulously elegant affair that beautifully blended her own New Orleans roots with her husband’s New York style.
SOMETHING BLUE
Kenny Stevens and Nicole Knowles met at a high school beach party and dated throughout college. By the time Kenny proposed with his grandmother’s diamond—right in the middle of the jewelry store!—the couple had been together for 13 years. When they finally tied the knot at Charleston’s historic Governor Thomas Bennett House, the pair and all of their family and friends were eager to see them make it official.
INTO THE SUNSET
Katherine Kaser and Matthew Donahue were just another couple touring the Lowcountry when they stumbled upon Boone Hall Plantation’s Cotton Dock. Little did they know that a few years later, they’d be celebrating their own nuptials in the rustic, romantic venue.
NATURAL BEAUTY
Considering that they fell in love over a round of mini-golf and a baseball game in sunny Los Angeles, it’s no surprise that Matt and Brooke’s proposal story is full of fun. After five years of dating, Matt employed a rather unconventional method for asking Brooke to marry him: jack-o’-lanterns.
GONE COUNTRY
A strict company dating policy couldn’t keep Mallory Gilbert and Edward Wilfong apart; not long after becoming cubemates, the two became a couple. Edward proposed in a giant tree house during a New Year’s trip to Palmetto Bluff, and they exchanged vows in Awendaw the following fall.
