Chance Encounter



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Chance Encounter | On her first night out in Charleston, Elizabeth bumped into the man of her dreams
Elizabeth Bazzetta & Nicholas “Nick” Grossman
September 12, 2015
Boone Hall Plantation
 
In 2011, Elizabeth Bazzetta accidentally body checked Nicholas (“Nick”) Grossman at a local dive as she bellied up to the bar. “He tapped me on the shoulder to let me know how rude it was,” she says. After more or less blowing him off, she went back to her girlfriends until Nick’s pal persuaded her to talk to his friend. A few hours later, Elizabeth says she knew Nick was the one.
 
Years after, the couple hopped aboard a helicopter to celebrate their third dating anniversary. When they swept past the Charleston skyline and hovered over Folly Beach, Elizabeth looked down to see Nick’s handiwork—“Will you marry me?”—scratched across the sand. Her tearful response: “Of course!”
 
Although both are transplants to the Holy City—Elizabeth hails from Oklahoma and Nick’s from Pennsylvania—both knew Charleston was where they should marry. “It’s where we met, where we fell in love, and where we’ve built our life together,” says Elizabeth. Their decision to wed at Boone Hall Plantation was just as simple, as it met both Elizabeth’s “extremely girly” leanings and Nick’s masculine style. The next move? Nick decided on a navy tux, which set a palette of dark blue (for him), blush peach (for her), and gold (for an accent). From there, things fell into place, says the bride, thanks to A Charleston Bride’s design and planning, Elizabeth’s dad’s bankrolling help, and her mother’s tireless support.
 
Come the morning of the wedding day, while planner Lindsey Shanks lined the drive in front of Boone Hall’s plantation home with florals in shades of ivory, light pink, and verdant green for an aisle that was flanked on each side by a garden, designer Katherine McDonald arrived to make sure Elizabeth’s custom gown fit like a glove (it did). Next? The bride’s brothers oversaw the toddler flower girls’ naps while Elizabeth and her maids were getting portraits snapped. (The ZZZs were slow to kick in, so one little gal opted out of her duties and spent the vows snoozing away on Lindsey’s shoulder.)
 
After a charming ceremony, Nick’s dad tooled the newlyweds around the site in his 1930 Model A Ford before the Cotton Dock reception. When Elizabeth and Nick joined everyone 
and dinner was underway, the toasts began, but none of them held a candle to the 20-minute opus from the father of the bride. “He bragged about every moment of my life,” Elizabeth laughs. “Everyone left knowing what I got on the LSAT, how well I handled the stress of the bar exam, and what grades I got in every year of school. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
 
And for the final pièce de résistance? That came weeks later when the newlyweds watched their wedding video from Citrus Ceremonies. In it, the film crew asked Nick when he knew he’d marry Elizabeth, a question she’d never posed to him. The first night I met her, he answered, bestowing yet another gem upon the story of their serendipitous romance.

Vendors
 

Wedding design, florals: A Charleston Bride, www.ACharlestonBride.com

Photography: Sean Money + Elizabeth Fay, www.SeanMoney-ElizabethFay.com

Ceremony location: Boone Hall Plantation, www.BooneHallPlantation.com

Reception location: The Cotton Dock at Boone Hall, www.BooneHallPlantation.com

Catering, bar service: Cru Catering, www.CruCatering.com

Wine: Adelaida Cellars, www.Adelaida.com

Rentals: Snyder Events, www.SnyderEvents.com (tables, chairs, miscellaneous); Ooh! Event Rentals, www.Ooh!Events.com (specialty, lounge rentals); Polished, www.PolishedTabletop.com (china); BBJ Linens, www.BBJLinens.com (linens); Nuage Designs, www.NuageDesigns.com (linens)

Lighting: Technical Event Company, www.TechnicalEventCompany.com (installation); Ooh! Events, www.OohEvents.com (specialty light rentals)

Cake: Ashley Bakery, www.AshleyBakery.com

Stationery, signage, calligraphy: Studio R Design, www.Studio-R-Design.com

Bride’s attire: Kate McDonald Bridal, www.KateMcDonald.com (gown); Bauble Bar, www.BaubleBar.com (necklace); Roslyn Harris Designs, Etsy.com (hair accessory); family heirlooms (sapphire ring, tennis bracelet); Christian Louboutin (heels), www.ChristianLouboutin.com

Day-of Dresser: Big Day Best Friends, BigDayBestFriends@gmail.com

Bridesmaids’ attire: Bridesmaids’ own dresses

Beauty: Gibson Hair & Makeup, www.CharlestonHairAndMakeup.com

Men’s attire: David’s Tuxedos, www.DavidsTuxedos.com (tuxedoes); Jean Lorent, http://JeanLorent.com (leather suspenders, groom’s leather bow tie)

Groomsmen’s favors: Tree Hut Design, www.TreeHut.co (watches, sunglasses)

Transportation: ACW Limo & Rolls Royce, www.ACWLimo.com

Getaway car: groom’s father’s car

Music: The Charleston Wedding Band, www.TheCharlestonWeddingBand.com

Air conditioning: Agreeko, www.Agreeko.com

Videography: Citrus Ceremonies, www.Citrus-Ceremonies.com

 

The Wedding Row

October 23 2018
If how they saved their wedding foretells how they’ll live their marriage, we have every confidence in Jess and Geno. (And yoo-hoo to you other hurricane season brides, listen up extra close.) The...

October 22 2018
The Wedding Row: Tell us about how you two met. Kathryn: Hunter and I met through mutual friends in the fall of 2011 at a bar called Town Hall in Washington D.C. It was the “Clemson bar”...

October 19 2018
With couples getting anointed “Mr. and Mrs.” every weekend in the myriad nooks and crannies of Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, the site’s seen more than its fair share of wedding day décor. And as...

October 18 2018
Becca and Tanner started dating when she was at Sweetbriar College and he was at Hampden Sidney College. Seven years after they started dating, they were happily ensconced in Charleston while he...

October 17 2018
TWR: Where did you meet? Madison: At work. A role in my job “allowed” me to go to Paul’s desk every day. Four months of professional interaction and happy hours led to us dating. TWR: When did you...

October 16 2018
If you’re a bride-to-be whose addicted to happily ever after stories; if you’re a romantic looking for some fuel to add to your hope tank; or if you have a friend who falls into that category (and...

October 15 2018
Katie and Mike met through work (she was the chief of staff for the Republican National Congress and he was her predecessor), so it made sense that his proposal was touched by politics as well,...

October 12 2018
Wimberly Fair not only has one of the coolest names (yep, it’s her real moniker) in the wedding world, she’s also one of Charleston’s biggest, most whimsical talents. Today she shares about the...