Elegant, Naturally | Tara Guérard Soirée shows how magnolia leaves make the most elegant of rustic statements in this al fresco Fenwick Hall plantation wedding
Atlanta natives Mary and Reid dated seven years before swapping “I do’s,” but she’d had her eye on a Lowcountry plantation wedding even longer. “My sister got married on Pawleys Island, where we grew up going to the beach,” she explains. “I always knew I wanted a similar experience.” When her own time came, Mary borrowed elements from her sister’s Big Day—a luxuriously draped tent, elegantly rustic appointments, and Tara Guérard Soirée’s planning expertise—and entrusted Soirée to make the day uniquely hers and Reid’s. Laughs the bride, “Honestly, once we found the venue, I was just along for the ride!” The end result was a stunning day with gentle references to the season, a palette of brown, grey, and cream, and thousands of magnolia leaves lining the ceremony aisle and hanging above the dining tables. A lounge stocked with wraps upped the cozy factor, as did velvet and sueded linens and Moravian star lanterns. Says Mary, “I could never have described what I wanted in words, but Tara was dead-on.”
Tips
• Don’t get caught in the dark. Check sunset times before planning your open-air wedding timeline.
• Customize drinks with personalized swizzle sticks. Here, the “Raji” was a bourbon and muddled mint concoction Reid invented at a friend’s wedding.
• Remember envelope liners can add a burst of color. Watercolors evoking oaks and Spanish moss harkened the wedding site’s landscape.
• Pair rustic elements with delicate ones. The mix of wood slice place cards and sprigs of rosemary looked downright lovely atop intricately patterned china.
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