Lauren & Blake | The Dewberry



Lauren and Blake crossed paths in Summerville, South Carolina when she was nannying for a coworker of his. They started dating and fell in love, they say, while boating on Wappoo Cut when a thunderstorm hit and they had to jump onto a dock for safety. Blake held Lauren in his arms to keep her cozy and dry, and, well, that was that. Five years later he proposed at that very same spot. Since she’s a Summerville native and he’s been a Charleston local since graduating from The Citadel, they wed here in town at Summerall Chapel on his alma mater’s campus and then headed to The Dewberry for a swanky reception. And while the day was made special thanks to all who surrounded the couple, it was made even more so considering the homage they paid to those missing. “My Dad passed away a month to the day after Blake and I were engaged,” explains Lauren. “We were so fortunate to get to share the excitement with him during that time and we wanted to make him a part of the wedding day as much as we could. There were a few things my Daddy loved—the Lord, golf, aviation, America, and a good stogie …” So, in honor of him, Lauren had her parents’ wedding date stitched into her gown; she carried her father’s aviator wings with her bouquet, and the couple included a Cigar Row rolling bar in their reception. The bride said she felt her dad’s presence throughout the day, but remarks that it was especially palpable when everyone was enjoying cocktails on The Dewberry’s rooftop, when “Dad sent a beautiful rainbow for all our guests to take pictures with,” Lauren says. To see all Cana Dunap’s images from this lovely couple’s lovely day, scroll on.

Design + Planning: The Petal Report | Images: Cana Dunlap Photography | Reception Venue, Catering & Bar: The Dewberry | Ceremony Venue: Citadel Summerall Chapel | Videographer: Branch Wedding Co | Rentals: Snyder Events | Florist: OK Florist | Stage: Stage Presence | Draping: YOJ Events | Lighting: Lowcountry Entertainment | Day of Signage: Hatchcove Designs | Hair & Makeup: Madison Lecroy | Cigar Bar: Cigar Row | Wedding Cake: ABCD Cake Design | Reception Entertainment: PlaneJane | Getaway Car: Lowcountry Valet | Transportation: ACW Limo

The Wedding Row

April 17 2019
Kyleigh met Nick when she was in Cardiff, Wales, getting her master’s degree. (Her friend had convinced her to give Tinder a shot, and her “first, last, and only Tinder date,” she says, was the born-...

April 16 2019
We don’t know about you, but these past few days of shorts weather have had us daydreaming about summer. Brandy McGhie, owner of local luxury event planning company Classic Planning & Design Co...

April 15 2019
Tricia and Brandon were in the same fourth grade class at Springfield Elementary here in Charleston, but their love story didn’t begin until a college football game 14 years later. The South Carolina...

April 12 2019
Designer Lela Rose has a saying we can all toast to: “Nothing says chic like matching your drink to your dress.” Fashion stylist Lindsey Nowak took that as a challenge, linked arms with Reagan Barnes...

April 11 2019
Taylor and Sam may be from Virginia and live in Waco, Texas, but the Palmetto State holds a special place in their hearts. They met at the University of South Carolina when Sam, a freshman fraternity...

April 10 2019
Thank goodness for Joe Quick—the mutual friend who lived up to his name and set up Avery and Henry when all three were in high school in Atlanta. After his pleas for them to meet went unheeded, he...

April 9 2019
Gillian and Phil met while studying abroad in Ireland. But because they attended different schools stateside (he was at the University of South Carolina, she was at The State University of New York...

April 8 2019
Here’s how Emmy and Josh explain how they became an item: “Josh had been courting Emmy for quite some, and on one evening in June at Dillon’s pub in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, he decided...