On the Road

Fall/Winter 2014

WRITER CREDIT:

Jacqui Calloway

PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT:

Amy Arrington

On the Road | Two Upcountry natives migrate to the coast for a celebration replete with personal traditions and touches

Charleston Wedding DIY bride wedding Baked bridal veil Big Day veil Shop Co Snyder Events diy Flowers gown JCrew veils

Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Earrings from J.Crew. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Bride’s shoes by Kate Spade. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Bride’s robe from Plum Pretty Sugar. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Groom’s suit from Express. Vest from J.Crew. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

To keep costs down, Bradley donned a khaki Express suit already hanging in his closet and accented it with a new J.Crew vest.

Bride’s robe from Plum Pretty Sugar. Hair and makeup by Ash and Co. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Jennifer slipped into an Allure Bridals gown (available in Charleston through Jean’s Bridal) and wore a veil from Etsy’s Bella Bridal Veils (it was $20!).

Bridal gown by Allure Bridals, available in Charleston through Bridals by Jodi. Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Bridal gown by Allure Bridals, available in Charleston through Bridals by Jodi. Shoes by Kate Spade. Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Bridal gown by Allure Bridals, available in Charleston through Bridals by Jodi. Shoes by Kate Spade. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Jennifer played with orientation and contrast in the printed materials she drafted on Wedding Paper Divas and printed with Vistaprint. Vintage stamps procured on eBay and envelopes addressed by a calligrapher finished the look.

Whitney Randall of Branch Design Studio made a feminine bouquet of astilbe, anemones, garden roses, ranunculus, and scabiosa pods mixed with dusty miller and jasmine vine.

Located about half an hour south of Charleston in Hollywood, South Carolina, Old Wide Awake Plantation sits nestled on the Stono River. Jennifer and Bradley met on its private dock for their pre-ceremony first look and portrait.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Bouquet by Branch Design Studio. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Bridal gown by Allure Bridals, available in Charleston through Bridals by Jodi. Groom’s suit from Express. Groom’s vest from J.Crew. Bouquet by Branch Design Studio. Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Jennifer bound her late grandfather’s Bible with a lace ribbon to hold the rings during the ceremony.

Caris and Campbell, Jennifer’s niece and nephew, sported finery monogrammed by the bride’s sister.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Jennifer’s father built the ceremony arbor, which the couple plan to install in their garden.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Food by Bay Gourmet Catering. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Jennifer and friends arranged blooms sourced from FiftyFlowers.com. She tented an open-air deck and then hung 1,200 yards of gold and silver ribbon across the canopy hardware to downplay the metal framework.

Jennifer used gold baker’s twine to tie butler cards to Mason jars that doubled as the guests’ drinking vessels.

Rentals and linens by Snyder Events. Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Arranged by the bride and her gals, arrangements of black-and-white anemones, scabiosa pods, and seeded eucalyptus sprang from simple glass vases.

“We kept the décor color-neutral and used textures to create interest,” explains Jennifer. Glass, linen, satin, rattan, and wood made for a dynamic aesthetic.

Rattan chargers dotting the tablescape hinted at indigenous sweetgrass.

Menus from Wedding Paper Divas. Florals from FiftyFlowers.com. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Cake by Kathy and Company. Florals from FiftyFlowers.com. Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Cake by Kathy and Company. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Florals from FiftyFlowers.com. Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Bridal gown by Allure Bridals, available in Charleston through Bridals by Jodi. Groom’s suit from Express. Bouquet by Branch Design Studio. Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

In lieu of a dining tent, the couple potted wooden poles, strung café lights in between, and set up tables for an open-air night under the autumn skies.

For “Mr. & Mrs.” chair backs, Jennifer cut letters out of sturdy glitter scrapbook paper and suspended them with ribbon.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography.

Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Bridal gown by Allure Bridals, available in Charleston through Bridals by Jodi. Groom’s suit from Express. Image by Amy Arrington Photography at Old Wide Awake Plantation.

Photographs by:

Amy Arrington

Jennifer Stuart & Bradley Cantrell
November 16, 2013
Old Wide Awake Plantation

Last November, Jennifer Stuart and Bradley Cantrell lead a caravan of five—yes, five—SUVs from Greer, South Carolina, to the couple’s Big Day celebration here in the Lowcountry. “They were packed to the brim with flowers, cake, clothing, and décor,” laughs DIY bride Jennifer.

As wild as that ride may seem, it was just another piece of the puzzle that adds up to the romance of Jennifer, a wedding photographer, and Bradley, an engineer. The two, who didn’t cross paths growing up in the same small neck of the woods in the Upstate, nor at their alma mater, Clemson University, first laid eyes on each other at a wedding Jennifer was hired to capture for a friend of Bradley’s.

Three years of dating later, the two were heading home after a road trip with Jennifer grouchy from the early start and sporting car-ride PJs because their only planned stop was Sheldon Church Ruins. After she’d snapped a few photos there, Bradley challenged her to a picnic table game of Scrabble under the oaks—odd for some but not unheard of for these two board-game fans. As Jennifer scrounged for a way to keep score, Bradley set the tiles to read “Will you marry me J?”

Six months afterward, the two plus 85 guests headed to Old Wide Awake Plantation, where Jennifer had once photographed a wedding. Their mothers had baked, their siblings had arranged flowers, Jennifer’s dad had built an arbor, and everyone pitched in to hang café lights, pale blue and gold ribbons, and planters.

“We didn’t make our clothes, my bouquet, or dinner,” Jennifer says, “but knowing that we and our loved ones worked on every other aspect of our day was very special to us.”

Vendor List

Bridal Gown: Allure Bridals, available in Charleston through Bridals by Jodi, www.BridalsbyJodi.com

Bridal Jewelry: J.Crew, www.JCrew.com

Bridal Robe: Plum Pretty Sugar, www.PlumPrettySugar.com

Bridal Veil: Bella Bridal Veils, www.etsy.com/shop/BellaBridalVeils

Cake: Kathy and Company, www.KathyandCompany.com

Caterer: Gourmet Bay Catering, www.GourmetBay.net

Ceremony & Reception Location: Old Wide Awake Plantation, www.OldWideAwakePlantation.com

Florals: (bouquet) Branch Design Studio, www.BranchDesignStudio.com; (tabletop and bridesmaids) FiftyFlowers, FiftyFlowers.com

Getaway Vehicle: Charleston Black Cab Company, www.CharlestonBlackCabCompany.com

Groom’s Attire: Express, www.Express.com

Groom’s Vest: J.Crew, www.JCrew.com

Hair and Makeup: Holly McGuire, Ash and Co., www.AshandCoBridalHair.com

Musicians: Eklipse Productions, www.EklipseProductions.com

Photographer: Amy Arrington Photography, www.AmyArrington.com

Stationery: Wedding Paper Divas.com

Rentals & Linens: Snyder Events, www.SnyderEvents.com

Wedding Design & Coordination: Jennifer Stuart (bride)

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