Summer Lovin'



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Summer Lovin' | A roll-up-your-sleeves pair puts on a beach wedding celebrating their union—and the season

Sara Detweiler & Josh Funk
April 27, 2012
Folly Beach

When Josh Funk was in physical therapy school at St. Louis’ Washington University, he wrote a song about fellow student (and friend) Sara Detweiler and sang it to her. That nudged their
friendship into romance-land, and after graduating a few years later, the Missouri natives moved to Charleston’s Folly Beach together. Not long after relocating, on a routine evening walk by the water with their dogs, Josh popped the question to Sara.

Sara’s answer led to a DIY beach wedding near the very spot where Josh had proposed. Their homegrown theme was borne of necessity, Sara says. “I have a hard time paying for something I could do myself with just a little research and effort,” she explains. “Plus, doing all the planning and lots of the décor ourselves made it ‘our’ wedding and not ‘a’ wedding. That guided us the whole time.”
 
Sara wanted “a lot of color,”  she says, so a base palette of ivory, gray, and marigold was sprinkled with purple, green, and blue. From the rainbow-hued bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen ties to the ribbons on the backs of the ceremony chairs and the hanging lanterns, splashes of cheery color added a fun, playful spirit.

Toward the end the night, Josh surprised Sara by serenading her with another original song, kicking off their married life the same way their relationship began. “I think it was the only time I cried all day,”  says Sara. On par with that memory? “Seeing our guests truly enjoy themselves and knowing they were there because they love us was the best,”  she says.

Vendor List

Baker: The Cake Stand; www.TheCakeStandCharleston.com
Caterer: Mosaic Café and Catering; www.MosaicEdibles.com
Flowers: Fifty Flowers; www.FiftyFlowers.com
Hair: Casey Hoffman of Clare’s of Clayton in Clayton, Missouri; www.ClaresofClayton.com
Linens and rentals: Snyder Event Rentals; www.SnyderEventRentals.com
Make Up: Stella Nova Salon; www.Stella-Nova.com
Musicians: The Green Levels; www.Facebook.com/GreenLevels.com
Photographer: Benjamin Jackson; www.BenjaminJackson.com
Planners: Sarah and Josh Funk (the bride and groom)
Stationery: Josh Funk (the groom)
Venue: Folly Beach County Park (Note: due to erosion, the Folly Beach County Park picnic shelter closed in 2012; for alternatives, rent a beach cottage on Folly or check out Tides Folly Beach Hotel; www.TidesFollyBeach.com)

The Wedding Row

March 26 2019
Houston-born Jaclyn and North Carolina-native Dustin were both living in Charlotte, North Carolina, when they were set up on a blind date. Jaclyn had very recently moved to the Queen City, and says...

March 25 2019
TWR: How and when did you meet? Jessie: This is a tough one. We both took a job with a technology company right out of college, which relocated us to Utah. Jared says he remembers meeting me the day...

March 22 2019
It’s hard to keep tabs on these two. See if you can follow: New Jersey native Lisa met Maine-born Caleb in Vail, Colorado. Moves (throughout the United States and, in her case, even to London) led to...

March 21 2019
One of the most preliminary steps in wedding planning involves the “B” word—budget. (Which, if we’re being honest, can be the other “B” word.) But we’ve got a way for flower lovers, those who need to...

March 20 2019
Y’all. Deajsha is a TRIP. We honestly don’t think we’ve ever gotten such over-the-moon descriptions of a romance, proposal, or wedding as we did with hers. Trust us, you have got to read her...

March 19 2019
We feature plenty of weddings and engagement shoots here on The Wedding Row, but it’s not very often that we get to share the story of a couple who’s been married for years. Today, though, we’re...

March 18 2019
When your first date lasts for six hours, you know there’s something good going. Such was the case for Chicagoans Stephanie and Brandon, who met on Bumble and headed out for happy hour drinks-turned-...

March 15 2019
Although weddings are about the bride and groom trading vows and transforming into Mr. and Mrs., they’re also a great time for everyone to come together. That’s why Vande and Nate, who met when she...