Taken by Surprise



WRITER CREDIT: 
PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 
Taken by Surprise | Christine Nott & Eric Jablon; April 14, 2007, Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim & The William Aiken House

“It was love at first sight,” says Christine Nott of her first encounter with Eric Jablon, whom she met through mutual friends in 2006. A month later, Christine planned a surprise birthday party for Eric and ended up equally surprised when he proposed to her that very night. After an enthusiastic “Yes!” from Christine, the couple took their dream wedding wishes for a modern, yet elegant and fun event to Soirée by Tara Guérard. Tara expanded upon their ideas and drew inspiration from the bride’s stunning red hair to create the color palette of copper and soft blue, the latter based on a shade the duo adored. Following a traditional Jewish wedding ceremony—new to Christine, who was raised Catholic—everyone retired to the the William Aiken House for cocktails and dinner. “That, too, was an important part of the night for us,” says Christine, “because we wanted to make sure everyone had fun together and could see how beautifully decorated the home was.” When the sumptuous sit-down dinner concluded, dancing took center stage. And because Christine’s stepfather had hip replacement surgery before the wedding (just so he could walk her down the aisle and dance with her), the slow numbers were decidedly emotional. More raucous festivities, such as the horah (the Jewish tradition of hefting a seated bride and groom and dancing them about) followed. Christine says she and Eric could have danced forever, but instead the newlyweds slipped away to a luxurious pre-honeymoon night at the Wentworth Mansion.

The Wedding Row

March 4 2019
Even though Anna, a Wilmington native, and Bobby, who is from Mount Pleasant, dated for over four years after swiping right on each other, they never really talked about getting married … they just...

March 1 2019
Kitty and Kyle met during their freshman year at Clemson, but they didn’t begin dating until they got to know each other as study partners a few years later. After two years, a move to Charleston,...

February 28 2019
Bissell and Jack may live in Atlanta, but Charleston has played a large part in their relationship, from their dating days through their engagement and now with their wedding. Bissell’s mother is...

February 27 2019
Today’s styled shoot takes place on the patio of 5Church, a downtown church-turned-restaurant that doubles as a wedding venue. Nicki Paige, owner of wedding planning company Nicki Paige Collection,...

February 26 2019
Christa met Andrew when she first moved into the same Charlotte, North Carolina, townhome complex as him in 2013. For a while, they were just passing acquaintances, until he asked her out for drinks...

February 25 2019
We’ve got the world of modern dating to thank for this gorgeous celebration at Boone Hall Plantation. Christiana and Bud met on Tinder, and after chatting on the app for a while, they met up for a...

February 22 2019
Nadja and Ryan both grew up in Sarasota, Florida, but they didn’t meet until they were in college (and on her 21st birthday, no less). A decade of dating later, he surprised her with a 10th...

February 21 2019
We so want to be friends with these two Charleston high-school sweethearts. Ask when they met and Jackie will tell you it was went they were 15 years old, she was in braces, and neither could drive...