Sweet Shades!

Spring 2017

WRITER CREDIT:

PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT:

Sweet Shades! | Locally crafted garden umbrellas offer your guests respite from the spring sun (and bespoke style)

wedding Big Day weddings Garden garden umbrellas umbrellas inspiration Martha Stewart

Edisto Island’s Anne Girault—the powerhouse behind local company Boutique Tents—has long been a secret weapon of posh wedding planners locally and beyond. And it’s no wonder: her über-stylish custom cabanas and hand-painted aisle runners add pattern, color, and pizzazz to every fête they touch and have been featured in the pages of Inside Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, and House Beautiful. For warm-weather affairs, we’re especially smitten with her canvas garden umbrellas that are as stunning as they are sensible for shading an alfresco cocktail area, guest sign-in station, or outdoor ceremony seating (the latter is a smart trend we’ve spied of late).

“I’m a maximalist in every sense of the word,” says Anne, who draws inspiration from interior design, art, and architecture, as well as, in the case of Big Day commissions, colors and patterns found throughout an event’s design. “That may be a graphic motif from the invitation suite or a wallpaper pattern from the venue,” says Anne, who collaborates closely with couples (or planners) from sketch to finish to ensure the umbrella fits perfectly within the wedding’s aesthetic. The best part? When made with all-weather canvas fabric, the sturdy wooden umbrellas can bring style and sentimentality to your newlywed nest’s garden, patio, or deck for years to come.

Get Yours Going

Prices vary based on fabrics used and the intricacy of the valances. Expect orders (all are custom-made) to take roughly two weeks to produce. For more information, contact info@BoutiqueTents.net.

Images by (toile umbrella) Adrienne Page Photography & (white umbrella) Liz Banfield

The Wedding Row

March 27 2020

Laurie and Graeme | Charles Towne Landing Elopement

As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, the majority of us are anxious and overwhelmed. And when you’re engulfed in worry, you often dig further and further down that hole and forget to take in the beauty...

March 26 2020

Coronavirus and Your Wedding: Tips For Brides During a Pandemic

Maybe you’ve been planning your dream wedding for months. Maybe you just got engaged and cannot wait to start booking vendors. Either way, you weren’t expecting a pandemic like the COVID-19...

March 19 2020

Ashlyn & Tommy | The Island House

For anyone who doubts that chemistry trumps all, meet Ashlyn and Tommy. The two Charlestonians were struck super shy when they first bumped into one another at a party in 2013, but thanks to a little...

March 18 2020

Annie & Drew | The Gadsden House

Charlotte, North Carolina, residents Drew and Annie were introduced at a birthday party in a local brewery. He heard she was a physical therapist and asked her lots of questions about his “hurt”...

March 17 2020

Anna & Ian | Engagement Session

Five years ago, Anna just happened to sit right behind Ian while both were in Savannah, Georgia, at pharmacy school. Soon after, he asked her to a wedding as his plus-one, and they had a grand old...

March 12 2020

Christina & Daniel | Lowndes Grove

When bridal boutique owner Christina was struggling to lug a new desk into her East Greenwich, Rhode Island, condo, her neighbor Daniel (Dan), on a business call, saw her plight … and kept on walking...

March 11 2020

Mallory & Brian | The William Aiken House

Today we have two local lovebirds, Mallory and Brian, who were introduced through Bumble. Their first-date stops were Charleston favorites: Home Team Barbecue on Sullivan’s Island for ’cue and The...

March 10 2020

Annie & Garrett | Gibbes Museum of Art

This one brings a whole new luxe-wedding vibe to “painting the town red!” Charleston native Annie moved to Nashville on a whim, where her new home just happened to be down the road from Music City...