Good Times



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Good Times | This open-air wedding is ultrachic, yes, but read on for backstories you won’t believe
Lucy Dietch & Trip Cowin
April 28, 2018 • Runnymede Plantation
 
There’s the version of Lucy Dietch and Trip Cowin’s wedding that you see here: posh alfresco nuptials by the Ahsley River; her utterly chic Carolina Herrera gown; his custom-made slacks and jacket. And then there’s the backstory that the bride will tell you about what also went down: the invitation named the Big Day celebration “Vows to be Cows”; by night’s end, her Herrera had tomato sauce all down the front thanks to after-party pizza at a local dive (The Faculty Lounge); and the groom split said slacks during their first dance, and then spent the better part of the reception wearing his new mother-in-law’s wrap as a skirt while a WED planner frantically played emergency seamstress. Can we hear it for a couple cool enough to share both the picture-perfect and the perfectly imperfect with everyone? So it is with this pair of New York-based healthcare execs who hit it off at work and then some. A few years into what has to have been a colorful romance, Trip asked Lucy for her hand in marriage while the two stood on their Brooklyn patio; she said yes indeed, and the two got to planning one super-fabulous shindig.
 
But the Big Day wasn’t the only party of the weekend. Aiming for fun, fun, fun, they fashioned a slew of happenings that showed off Charleston’s bests. (They picked the Holy City as Lucy’s parents live in Mount Pleasant’s Old Village.) Wednesday meant dinners with the bride and her family at Halls Chophouse and the groom and his at The Ordinary. Thursday night found everyone reunited as they took over Pancito and Lefty’s courtyard before heading to The Royal American for late-night drinks. Friday, the MOB, bridal party, and Lucy cruised Sullivan’s Island by bike before lunch at The Obstinate Daughter, while Trip and his crew golfed and then had what the bride calls “a big and rowdy lunch at Tavern & Table.”
 
The “official” festivities followed that evening with a rehearsal dinner at Lucy’s parents’ house. There, Trip’s parents hosted a small oyster roast and barbecue dinner, then opened the action up to all guests for a welcome party with a reggae band, coconut cake, and Southern hospitality in spades. Saturday morning, those staying in the Old Village popped over to the Dietches again, this time for a swim, drinks, and biscuits. Lucy slipped into a robe with “Goose” (her nickname) on the back and got ready while Trip and his pals prepped at The Restoration. “We looked for every opportunity to make it fun,” says Lucy.
 
And the good times weren’t limited to the fêtes alone. “The ceremony exceeded all of our expectations,” says the bride, explaining that Trip’s aunt and uncle, Laura and Robert Cowin, officiated. “We laughed (at one point they asked anyone who had made out with Trip or me to stand up … ), we cried, we exchanged our own vows, and then repeated the traditional vows that so many have said before us. At the end, Laura and Robert left us with this lifelong motto: ‘Come back to this place, come back to this time.’ It was, without a doubt, the most special part of our entire weekend.”
 
Vendors
 
Wedding design: WED, www.designedbywed.com
Images: Jennings King Photography, www.jenningskingphotography.com
Venue: Runnymede, www.eventsatrunnymede.com
Florals: Branch Design Studio, www.branchdesignstudio.com
Rentals: EventWorks, www.eventworksrentals.com; Snyder Events, www.snyderevents.com ; Nüage Linens www.nuagedesigns.com
Catering, bar: Cru Catering, www.crucatering.com
Cake: WildFlour Pastry, www.wildflourpastrycharleston.com
Paper suite: Anticipate Invitations, www.anticipateinvitations.com
Calligraphy: Myrtle & Lloyd, www.myrtleandlloyd.com
Lighting, sound: Christopher Durand with Aurora Creative, www.auroracreativegroup.info
Music: East Coast Entertainment, Jump Street (reception), www.bookece.com ; The Lowhills, www.thelowhills.com (ceremony)
Bride’s attire: Carolina Herrera (gown), www.carolinaherrera.com ; borrowed (veil); Jimmy Choo (flats) www.jimmychoo.com
Beauty: Stuart Laurence (hair), www.stuartlaurencesalon.com ; Margaret Gierhart Makeup, www.margaretgierhart.com
Groom’s attire: Knot Standard, www.knotstandard.com
Menswear: groomsmen’s own (suits); Jordan Lash Charleston (ties), www.jordanlash.com
Flower girl attire: Oscar de la Renta, www.oscardelarenta.com
Ring bearer attire: Vineyard Vines, www.vineyardvines.com
Tambourines: Sierra Scott (Etsy)
Maracas: Dear Jane Designs, www.dearjdesigns.com
Photo booth: Charleston Photo Booth Company, www.charlestonphotoboothcompany.com
Transportation: Lowcountry Valet & Shuttle Co., www.lowcountryvalet.com