Stella Maris Roman Catholic Church & Family Residence on Sullian’s Island
Victoria Frank and Carmine Peluso’s tale is the stuff rom-coms are made of. In 2009, when the then-New York City residents and French Culinary Institute students paired up for a class on cooking onions, they mixed about as well as oil and water. “Carmine was super bossy,” laughs Victoria. “I thought to myself, ‘What a know-it-all.’” Little did she know, he had the exact same impression of her.
Still, a few months later, they ended up on a dinner date that culminated in a midnight walk across Manhattan. “I was dying for that good-night kiss,” recalls Victoria, who got her wish. “After, it started to snow, and I knew right then and there it would be my last first kiss.”
With such cinematic stops and starts, the bar was set high for Carmine’s eventual proposal. When the time came, both had been living in the Lowcountry, and he asked Victoria to meet up for a stroll along the beach at Sullivan’s Island, starting at her parent’s house. When Victoria arrived, she came across a path of rose petals and followed them to the porch where he’d laid out an immense feast complete with terrific wine, a seaside view, and a killer sunset. He dropped to one knee and, laughs Victoria, “I cried so hard I’m pretty sure the folks on the beach thought he was breaking up with me.”
Though their courtship may sound like a Katherine Heigl flick (or, better yet, read like a novel by the bride’s mom, Dorothea Benton Frank), Victoria brought everything back to the classics for her nuptials. A Shakespeare buff (and College of Charleston theater grad), she had long imagined a Midsummer Night’s Dream-styled wedding, and called upon Cory Winn Lambert of Sage Innovations to translate that idea into an autumn fête. The result was a lush baroque affair in which florals of peach, eggplant, and berry hues abounded; golden cutlery sparkled against golden linens; and foodie elements like herbs and whole fruits nodded to the season—and the newlyweds’ professions.
Indeed, cuisine reigned on the Big Day. “Our guests were eating the entire time,” Victoria boasts. That morning, the bridal party (who’d had a sleepover at the family beach house) loaded up on Mama Frank’s pancakes. And that evening, as an ode to Carmine’s Italian upbringing, Cru Catering served antipasti plates, charcuterie boards, carbonara, and handmade gnocchi with perfection.
As the night drew to a close, Victoria and Carmine took one last bite of their opulent, gilded cake and started dreaming of wine and cheese dates on their Parisian honeymoon. Cue the credits, and fade to black.
Indeed, cuisine reigned on the Big Day. “Our guests were eating the entire time,” Victoria boasts. That morning, the bridal party (who’d had a sleepover at the family beach house) loaded up on Mama Frank’s pancakes. And that evening, as an ode to Carmine’s Italian upbringing, Cru Catering served antipasti plates, charcuterie boards, carbonara, and handmade gnocchi with perfection.
As the night drew to a close, Victoria and Carmine took one last bite of their opulent, gilded cake and started dreaming of wine and cheese dates on their Parisian honeymoon. Cue the credits, and fade to black.
One of the things about being wedding-obsessed is that we’ve seen (more than) our share of Big Days thrown here in Charleston. So for us to pass on a post to you, it’s got to be an event that was...
Emily and Alex’s Big Day may look effortlessly picture-perfect (thanks to the expert styling skills of Blythe Hill at Hill & Co. Creative), but according to Emily, there was a moment before the...
Beer, pizza, and donuts each play a pivotal role in Brent and Lauren’s romance, which hit a majorly high note last fall when they wed at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens. But before we get to the big...
If, after looking at these photos, you find yourself scrolling down to the vendor credits to see which planner was at the helm of this traditional-meets-artsy fête at The Cedar Room, you won’t find...
There’s a lot you can tell about a wedding from photos—the color palette, what kind of dress the bride wore, how amazing the cake was—but we’ve learned that the best wedding info often comes straight...
Watch out, Lowcountry, there’s a new wedding venue down the road. Previously a private home, Coosaw Plantation sits just outside Beaufort, making it a short (and scenic) drive from Charleston. And as...
There are so many cool details about this couple and their sleek black-tie wedding by Bouquets and Bowties that we hardly know where to start. How about let’s back up for a sec and start with the...
We got a live one, y’all! You know when we get a great first-person(s?) story from a couple that we like to let them tell their tale. Well, meet Kingslea and Preston. Get ready to take notes because...
When a belle of an old-guard Charleston family opts for a pre-ceremony “first look” with her groom, it means times are changing. See why a sneak peek worked for Kathleen Hay and Andrew Hagood, and why you might follow suit
![Victoria chose their Halloween wedding date not for the holiday, but for its proximity to the month’s full moon. “The tide pulls back enough to give you a tiny private beach [at my parents' house], which makes for great photos,” she says. (Image by Juliet Elizabeth Photography)](https://charlestonweddingsmag.com/sites/default/files/styles/juicebox_medium/public/Juliet_Elizabeth_Photography-13cx_0.png?itok=XE2r0LRv)
