Open-Air Elegance



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Open-Air Elegance | Head to Spring Island for a stunning open-air fete where style meets sweet Southern details

Caroline McMahon &  Edward Taylor

May 11, 2013, Spring Island Tabby Ruins

 

Caroline McMahon was born in Winnetka, Illinois, but she seems meant to be a Southern belle. Case in point: the first time the Southern Methodist University grad met Clemson student Edward Taylor, she told him she was from Beaufort. “No, you’re not,” said the native of the sleepy fishing village, “I know every girl in town.” Caroline’s wishful thinking wasn’t pure fiction; she’d grown up visiting nearby Spring Island, and her parents have lived there for years. Add in SMU, and she says she was just trying on her Southern persona. It was a great fit with Edward, and the two were pretty much inseparable after their first encounter. Two weeks later, he picked her up by boat to meet his family, and a year after that, he proposed on his parent’s dock. Spring Island had been Caroline’s dream wedding spot since girlhood, and “that Edward was born and raised in the area sealed the deal,” she says. Aiming for an outdoor wedding in view of the 1850s plantation house tabby ruins there, the couple recruited Katie Huebel of WED to build a tented dining hall and dance club in the otherwise bare fields. “Though it involved a lot of logistics and the anxiety of an entirely outdoor ceremony and reception,” says Caroline, “Katie and WED did a phenomenal job of relieving us and our families of any ounce of stress.” The final verdict on the day vows were exchanged? “It was beautiful,” says Caroline.


Island: Spring Island
Distance from Charleston: 90 miles south
Personality: Barrier island golf resort
Best Bet to Wed There: Resort membership or sponsorship by a member
Info: SpringIsland.com; (843) 987-2200
Like Spring Island? You’ll Also Dig: Kiawah Island Golf Resort (800/654-2924; www.KiawahResort.com); Runnymede Plantation (843/737-6117; www.EventsatRunnymede.com)


Vendor List:

Bride’s Gown: Romona Keveza from Maddison Row, www.maddisonrow.com

Bride’s Shoes: Tory Burch, www.toryburch.com

Bridesmaid’s Attire: Amsale from Bella Bridesmaids, www.bellabridesmaids.com

Cake: Wedding Cakes by Jim Smeal, www.weddingcakesbyjimsmeal.com

Catering and Pie Baker: Spring Island, www.springisland.com

Ceremony Music: Ian Grimshaw

Ceremony and Reception Location: Spring Island Tabby Ruins, www.springisland.com

Flower Girl’s Attire: Janie and Jack, www.janieandjack.com

Florist: HB Stems

Groom’s Attire: Berlin’s for Men, www.berlinsclothing.com

Hair: Aqua Medspa and Salon, www.aquamedspaandsalon.com

Linens and Specialty décor: WED, www.charlestonevent.com

Photography: Elisabeth Millay Photography, www.elisabethmillayphotography.com

Reception Entertainment: Quiana Parler & Friends, www.quianaparlerandfriends.com

Rentals: Ooh! Events (www.theartofcreating.com), Snyder Events (www.snyderevents.com), TEC (www.technicaleventcompany.com)

Stationery: Studio R, www.studio-r-design.com

Wedding Design and Coordination: WED, www.charlestonevent.com

 

The Wedding Row

October 4 2019
Y’all. I almost don’t want to write a thing here because the shots from Folly Beach’s Wiki Wiki Sandbar are so freakin’ amazing they need no explanation, embellishment, or extrapolation. I mean,...

October 3 2019
Psst! Want a sneak peek into how a photographer helps a couple warm up before the lens long before the Big Day? Here’s how it’s done, Charleston-style, by Priscilla Thomas of Priscilla Thomas...

October 2 2019
Inali and Leon met on a college trip to Washington D.C. back in 2012. Inali’s first impression? Leon was the strangest man she had ever met. Six years later, after some solid QT together, she...

October 1 2019
We love how bride Savannah operates. That dress she’s sporting? It was purchased at what was formerly The Gown Collective (and now is Magnolia Bride, an upscale gown consignment shop downtown on...

September 30 2019
The stars aligned for Emily and Meryl not once, not twice, but three times to make sure they ended up a couple. The first time, Emily sidled up to a bar where Meryl was slinging drinks when sparks...

September 27 2019
If you’re craving a love story and the tale of how this wedding at The Gadsden House came together, click here for the original story that ran in summer 2019 Charleston Weddings. If you’re wanting to...

September 26 2019
You know all those paradise weddings you’ve seen? Those where the bride and groom are standing on a windswept beach with palms blowing in the wind and the bride’s veil flutters almost as much as her...

September 20 2019
Sparks flew a few years back on the Fourth of July in Charleston when Michelle was introduced to Patrick. After what we are assuming was one memorable holiday, and after dating for two-ish years,...