Pretty as a Picture



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 

March 22, 2025 | Gibbes Museum of Art

Sculptural blooms, original works, and an artful affair curated by a couple of creatives put this Gibbes Museum wedding over the top

An architect and interior designer walk into a bar…. It could be the set up for a great punch line, but for Hannah Chait and Nick Bilgri, it was the start of a lifelong romance. The couple matched on a dating app while he was in Charleston visiting family and hit it off immediately. Though he had to return to Pittsburgh for 10 months to finish his master’s degree at Carnegie Mellon University, the long-distance relationship worked. “We would travel nearly every month to see each other, going on dates to museums and galleries, concerts, and architecture tours,” says Hannah. Following Nick’s graduation, they moved in together in Charleston, adopted a pup (named “Frankie” for their favorite architect of Fallingwater fame), and got engaged on Christmas Eve. 

With both of their families living in the Lowcountry and a mutual love for the arts, the couple found the Gibbes Museum to be the perfect venue for their 150-person wedding. Hannah leaned into her interior design skills to create a mood board with plenty of textures, fabrics, materials, imagery, and color—focusing on soft blues and greens with bright springtime pops—before relinquishing the reins to Anna Kate Sherrill of Parte Events & Design to bring her vision to life. 

Both creatives, Hannah and Nick knew they wanted art and florals front and center, so they enlisted Floral Studies to create their myriad arrangements (each a one-of-a-kind sculptural work) and commissioned several designers to create original art pieces. Paige Spearin’s whimsical illustration of the couple with Frankie appeared on their save the dates. Elisabeth Stuckey designed the stationery, which included a custom watercolor chinoiserie mural inspired by de Gournay wallpaper. The mural appeared on the envelopes and was printed on wallpaper to adorn the escort wall and reception bar. For napkins and other signage, Meghan Trotter of J. Lily Design painted watercolors of pup Frankie and Lloyd, the beloved reptile resident of the pond at Hannah’s parents’ Kiawah Island house. “Lloyd was a total hit,” says Hannah. Painted up in a dinner jacket and holding a silver tray with a “please find your seat” sign, the alligator also appeared as a five-foot cutout for the escort wall. 

Each element of the wedding truly represented a unique expression of Hannah and Nick. From the way sunlight bathed the ceremony to the sailcloth reception tent aglow with candlelight, everything about the day turned out to be an original work of art.

Vendors:

Planning & Design: Parte Events & Design

Venue: Gibbes Museum of Art

Photography: Haley Foster

Florals: Floral Studies

Catering & Bar Service: Cru Catering

Cake: Charleston Sugar Studio

Stationery: Paige Spearin, Elisabeth Stuckey Design, J. Lily Design

Linens: BBJ La Tavola

Rentals: Snyder, EventWorks, Adorn

Lighting: Bunn DJ Company

Entertainment: Charleston Entertainment (ceremony), Emerald Empire Band (reception)

Bride’s Attire: Anne Barge (designer), White on Daniel Island (boutique)

Beauty: Charleston Bridal Collab 

Day-of Coordinator: Cacky’s Bride Aid

Groom’s Attire: Mens Wearhouse (tux), Brackish (bow tie)

Food Carts: The Frothy Fox Coffee, Oh So Gelato

Live Painter: Popadich Art 

Transportation: Charleston Rickshaw

Videography: Michael O Films

The Wedding Row

October 11 2018
Check out these all-time best engagement rings from our vaults Does your SO need a little hint-hint, nudge-nudge in the engagement ring department? Have no fear, because we’ve rounded up our top...

October 10 2018
During the summer of her junior year at College of Charleston, Lauren studied abroad with a pair of fellow Cougars who kept telling her she had to meet their friend Dante when they all got back home...

October 9 2018
One Monday night, at an East Carolina University bar in Greenville, North Carolina, Pirates Nina and Brett bonded over, as she sheepishly jokes, their love of a good deal on beer. But there was...

October 8 2018
The Wedding Row: Start us at the beginning. How did you two meet? Kate: Edward and I met through work in 2014. We were both living in Washington D.C. and Edward needed some software configured on his...

October 5 2018
We love a groom who goes above and beyond for his bride-to-be, and JP did just that when he scooted down to Charleston from Charlotte, North Carolina, and back again in the same day to ask his...

October 4 2018
For shutterbug Kate Timbers, the 200-year-old The Unitarian Church in Charleston is the perfect location for romantic portraits, timeless ceremonies, and more. With the church’s pastel-blue arched...

October 3 2018
We love a pair who embrace big, bold statements and big, bold flavors with all the mannerly trappings in their Big Days. Enter Amanda and Preston, who not only hosted a posh wedding at The River...

October 2 2018
Some of the best romances we know of are rom-coms, and Amanda and Will’s story is no exception. While Will tried to stage the world’s dreamiest proposal, complete with a romantic dinner,...