Pittsburgh residents Natalie and Matthew met the old-school way—sans dating apps. They instead met in person, a rarity these days. While playing darts at a local watering hole, Matt’s friend was...
“It was truly a community event,” gushes Maren Anderson of her summer 2009 nuptials to Michael McClintock. The pair, who owned King Street’s Global Awakening shop and now operate Eco-Cleaning, enlisted lots of helpers, says Maren, to pull off an intimate ceremony on the boat-access-only beach at Morris Island near Folly, followed by a rollicking and romantic reception at a private home on Bowen’s Island. “We focused on keeping everything eco-friendly and simple,” says Maren. “And since everyone understood our passion, they enjoyed coming up with creative ideas. Doing it yourself isn’t for everyone,” she adds, “but we really wanted to meet our budget, keep it simple, and thus make it more about our union than decorative details.” Lucky for them, they scored on all fronts.
At the time of the wedding, the couple and most of their family and friends lived in Charleston, so a local event meant low travel costs and a smaller carbon footprint for all attendees.
The Plants: The matron of honor grew and gifted plants to dress the reception site and form the dining table centerpieces.
The Lighting: Maren and Michael nailed holes in old tin cans to make decorative votives.
The Décor: The bride’s girlfriends brought leftover gift tissue paper from home to make “puffs” that hung throughout the reception.
The Getaway: Maren’s father‘s old Saab became the couple’s getaway car.
The Compost: They marked a refuse can “biodegradable trash,” the contents of which they later turned into compost for their garden.
The Serving Pieces: Instead of handing out disposable plastic water bottles, the bride’s aunts served fruit tea from large pitchers.
Lucky Penny: “It turned out going green meant saving green,” says Maren.
Caterer: Folly Beach Crab Shack
Rentals: Snyder Party Rentals
Photographer: Kaitlyn Iserman, (843) 469-5765
* Non-listed aspects of this wedding were done by the couple, their families, and their wedding party
