The Perfect Kickoff



PHOTOGRAPHER CREDIT: 

Maddy Rohde & Gerald Fawcett

May 27, 2017 • Palmetto Bluff • Moreland Landing

 

Proposals are tricky when they are aimed at partners who have a strong feeling one’s heading their way. So it was for Maddy Rohde and Gerald Fawcett, who met in at Southern Methodist University and dated five years before each was itching to say “I do.” When the couple made Fourth of July plans to visit Maddy’s parents’ house in Palmetto Bluff, her head started spinning. “Part of me thought, ‘OK, this will be perfect, he should do it there in my favorite place and with my family nearby,’ ” she laughs. But Gerald, who was living in Dallas at the time along with Maddy, wasn’t keen on a predictable ask, so he teamed with her co-workers to set up a fake, last-minute business meeting hours before their flight, a meeting that just so happened to be at SMU. As she scooted across campus to make it on time, she saw Gerald. “Apparently I said, ‘Hi, what are you doing here?’ ” says Maddy who was flustered he was “interrupting” before an important appointment. When he suddenly dropped to one knee, though, she burst into tears, said “Yes”… and then worriedly looked for her co-workers while wondering how to shift back to work mode. Eventually the ruse sank in and she even began to glow a little as the photographer Gerald had hired snapped shots of the pair.

 

When Maddy and Gerald got to Palmetto Bluff, they were (surprise!) joined by his family, too, and in no time, the planning talk began. Surely, the location was more or less a given. “Palmetto Bluff feels like an oasis from the hustle and bustle of our lives,” says Maddy. “The flickering street lights, the beautiful trees with Spanish moss, the calming wind that comes off of the May River—everything makes it feel like a retreat for my soul. And since a wedding can be stressful and hectic, it meant a lot to be in a calming place to keep my focus on what the weekend would be about: starting our lives together as husband and wife.”

 

While the wedding was a stunning sight to see (visit TheWeddingRow.com to see it), this welcome party-slash-oyster roast at Moreland Landing hit just the right note, too. “People were dancing the entire night,” says Maddy. “It was an epic way to kick off our Memorial Day weekend wedding and felt like a Lowcountry dream.” And isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

 

Vendors

 

Wedding Design: Ashley Rhodes Event Designs
Photographs: Perry Vaile 
Welcome party venue: Moreland Landing at Palmetto Bluff
Florals: Em Creative Floral 
Catering, bar service: Montage Palmetto Bluff
Draping: Party Tables
Linens: Nüage Designs; La Tavola Fine Linen; BBJ Linen
Lighting: Technical Event Company 
Rentals: Snyder Event Rentals (tables, lounge furniture, glassware); Ooh! Events (dining chairs, bars, swing, lanterns); Amazing Event Rentals (wooden canoe)
Boat rental: May River Excursions 
Videographer: Withers Films
Cake: Minette Rushing

Print & Decor: Emily McCarthy
Music: 20 Ride, EastCoast Entertainment
Bride’s attire: Morra Designs (earrings); Cate Lyons (dress)
Transportation Shuttles: Old Savannah Tours
Cart Rentals: Club Car (cart rental) 
Restroom Trailers: Royal Restrooms
 

Wedding design by Ashley Rhodes Events

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...