Clubbin' Downtown



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Clubbin' Downtown | A classic Charleston wedding on Church Street with a parade and party at the yacht club shares a bevy of clean, crisp ideas
Libby Proctor & Byrd Miller
July 15, 2017 / Private Downtown Club
 
“Funny how you think you can control God’s plans,” says Libby. When she and her now-husband, Byrd, attended a July wedding, they swore to never get married in that sweltering month. A year later, they were given two date options at their venue, and “hot July, here we came!” she laughs. Luckily, their reception locale being on the water mitigated the heat and served as the perfect backdrop for the traditional celebration she envisioned. “When we look back at pictures for years to come, I wanted it to feel timeless,” she says. That translated to watercolor programs featuring St. Philip’s Church (where they swapped “I do’s”) and décor elements from Gathering Events like verdant topiaries and crisp-lined white furnishings. Fast-forward to the night’s end, and the newlyweds headed out via a sparkler exit to board Byrd’s fishing boat.
 
As they turned out of sight, it started to drizzle. “Byrd kept saying, ‘We’re married, and we’re on the Two Dogs, and it’s raining! How cool is this, Lib?’” the bride laughs. For a July night with their plans on the soggy side, it was pretty cool, indeed.
 
Top Tips
 
Make a reception space your own. The private club’s patterned carpet clashed with Libby’s palette, so Gathering Events laid down a neutral carpet that better suited the day’s gorgeous color scheme.
 
Color block your setting. Here dark greens popped off whites.
 
Have fun. Byrd ordered half the couple’s koozies printed with “Drunk in Love” and the other half with “Just Drunk.”
 
Pamper your flower girls. Kennedy and Caroline (Libby's cousins) attended the bridal luncheon and each were gifted a Croghan's Jewel Box necklace engraved with the wedding date. 
 
Vendors
 

Wedding design, florals, specialty furniture, koozies: Gathering Events
Photography: Virgil Bunao
Venue, catering, bar service: Private club
Cake: DeClare Cakes
Rentals, linens, stage: Snyder Events
Stationery, signage, artwork: Studio R Design
Lighting: Technical Event Company
Bride’s attire: Modern Trousseau (gown); Bits of Lace (garter); Croghan’s Jewel Box (necklace); BHLDN (earrings); Badgley Mischka (shoes)
Bride’s dresser: Cacky’s Bride + Aid
Beauty: Lashes and Lace 
Bridesmaids’ attire: Monique Lhuillier (available through Bella Bridesmaids); Monkee’s of the West End (jewelry); Smithworks Fine Jewelry (wedding band)
Groom’s attire: Jos. A. Bank (tux); Cole Haan (shoes); Brackish Bow Ties (tie); Croghan’s Jewel Box (wedding band)
Flower girls' attire: Southern Belles (dresses); Stitch Witch (sashes); B. Picky (monogramming)
Calligraphy: Elizabeth Porcher Jones (wedding invitations, programs, cocktail napkins), Mary Ruth Miller of Gathering Events (save-the-dates, koozies)
Music: St. Philip’s Church (choir, organist, trumpeter, Citadel bagpiper), Party on the Moon from East Coast Entertainment (Reception)
Men’s attire: Jos A. Banks (white dinner jackets)
Ring Bearer ensemble: Southern Belles
Getaway boat: Two Dogs (the groom’s Bertram fishing boat)
Welcome Box: Gathering Events (design), ABCD Cakes (Bundt cake), Studio R (printed material)
Bridal Party Transportation: Charleston Style Limo
Officiants: Reverend Thomas Brown of St. Paul’s Church, Reverend Andrew O’Dell of St. Philip’s Church