Throwback Style

Fall/Winter 2013

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Throwback Style | When a Charleston bride designs an antique-meets-modern wedding she finds her life’s (other) passion along the way

Charleston Wedding wedding Legare Waring House Big Day EventWorks florida ideas modern trousseau Stems

KEEP THE BALANCE: Anne Dabney of stems used Billy Balls and sturdy succulents to round out a delicate bouquet of garden roses, peonies, Queen Anne’s lace, ranunculus, and seeded eucalyptus.

DAPPER DUDES: Groomsmen sported bow ties that Sarah made out of vintage Stanley Woolen Company fabric she found on Etsy.

BEST FOOT FORWARD: Groomsmen slipped on funky, patterned socks in the wedding's color scheme of yellow, charcoal, and cream.

TIED UP: While the groomsmen wore bowties, the groom sported a J.Crew tie.

PRETTY LITTLE THINGS: While it looks decidedly vintage, Sarah's necklace was actually a recent find from BCBG.

COPY CAT: Embedded among roses and ranunculus, earthy scabiosa in bridesmaids’ bouquets echoed the groomsmen’s boutonnieres.

FANCY FROCKS: "I knew that I wanted all of the girls in different dresses," says Sarah, "and didn't think varying styles in the same fabric was going to satisfy my obsession with textures." So she hopped online and found an individual gown in singular fabrics for each bridesmaid.

OPPOSITES ATTRACT: Sarah braided strips of velvet, lace, and burlap for pew cordoning.

HALLOWED GROUND: Rows of pews transformed the oak allée at the Legare Waring House into a cathedral-like setting for the ceremony.

SWEET RIDE: Sarah and her father stepped out of Limos for Less' 1957 Bentley and then walked down the aisle.

SPRING BREAKERS: Chris and Sarah first met on the dance floor of a sandy beach bar in Key West, Florida. Seven years later, they served miniature Key lime pies at their wedding reception.

BIG DAY: Sarah had Moore Makeup make her camera-ready, but the glow? All-natural bridal radiance.

KIDDIE COUTURE: Flower girl Sophie looked idyllic in her Estella dress from Monsoon, while ring bearer Sammy wore a J.Crew cap and H&M suspenders. Sarah donned a Modern Trousseau gown, and Chris wore a suit from Berlin’s for Men.

HELLO, AGAIN: For a consistent aesthetic, Sarah copied the silhouettes she’d created for save-the-dates onto patterned throw pillows.

LUCKY BREAK: “The fuchsia peonies were a real surprise,” says Anne Dabney of stems, “they’re not easy to get in November, so Sarah was beyond thrilled to see them.” Arrangements spilled from Ball jars placed atop moss table runners.

COME ORIGINAL: Forget the folding table—Sarah arranged wedding cakes upon an old farmhouse door supported by twin cast-iron Singer sewing machine bases.

HISTORY LESSON: Sarah and Chris honored their familial roots with wedding snapshots of their parents and grandparents. Here, Sarah secured a 1947 photo of Chris’ grandparents Gordon and Donelda Murdoch with a vintage flower frog and displayed it under a glass cloche for safekeeping.

FACTOR FIVE: The couple commissioned five confections from Deb Reed of DeClare Cakes—this one featured yellow and gray fondant flowers.

DISH DUTY: Sarah scoured auctions and flea markets for vintage china plates to display the cakes and serve dinner.

SECOND CHANCES: The bride had most of the antique furniture reupholstered, dressing a pair of heartback armchairs in emerald green velour. “Brides should add their own style to the day instead of replicating exactly what they see on Pinterest and blogs,” says Sarah.

MAIL TIME: Alongside flowers and votives, Sarah sprinkled 1940s- and 1950s-era postcards from the couple’s favorite cities.

DEDICATED DESIGNER: Sarah spent months searching for the industrial “love” letters that sat atop the bar and even rewired them to use new, round bulbs.

NEON TREES: AV Connections and stems partnered up to create fixtures of branches, twigs, and Edison bulbs hung from cloth electrical wire.

STUNNER SHADES: Thinking practical (and inexpensive), Sarah ordered custom plastic sunglasses for wedding favors. Says Sarah, “I still get random picture texts from friends and family when they wear them.”

OLD FASHIONED: Guests took home jewelry that Sarah made from vintage maps of Charleston, the same she’d used to line the invitation envelopes.

OUT OF THE BOX: Because the location doesn’t allow sparklers, Sarah fashioned pom-poms of gold, silver, and fuchsia tinsel for tossing.

Chris Murdoch & Sarah Hollis
November 10, 2012
Legare Waring House

“I love a piece that’s already lived a pretty fabulous life,” says Sarah Hollis of her fascination with all things vintage. That includes everything from her 1920s engagement ring (which now-hubby Chris Murdoch hid in his tackle box for three months before proposing) to the antiques that furnished their rustic wedding at the Legare Waring House. As Sarah hunted down décor for the Lowcountry affair—a Charleston native, she couldn’t imagine hosting it anywhere else—she fell in love with scouring auctions and estate sales. “Little did I know that my wedding would put me on track to a new career!” says the proud founder of Charleston’s 428 Main Vintage Rentals.

But before the new gig and the Big Day came Chris, who she met in Key West, Florida, while both were on spring break. Afterward, the two kept in touch (he in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and she here in the Lowcountry), until Sarah tagged along on a family vacation in his neck of the woods. A romantic date kicked off 15 months of long-distance dating, until Chris relocated to Charleston and eventually proposed overlooking the harbor.

After a “Yes!” Sarah teamed with Southern Protocol’s Lizz Akerman to pull together the celebration. Sarah says Lizz made the whole experience a joy. “I would just throw ideas at her,” says Sarah, “and she’d edit down the ones that were too out there. Our collaboration produced the most perfect results I could have ever wished for.”

Come wedding day, there was a blend of Sarah’s craftiness, Lizz’s streamlining, and wonderful sentiment. “It really was the best six hours of my life,” says Sarah.

Vendor List

Baker: DeClare Cakes, www.declarecakes.com
Bar Service: Spike by Snyder, www.snyderevents.com/bar-service
Bridal Attire: Modern Trousseau, www.moderntrousseau.com
Caterer: Cru Café, www.crucafe.com
Florist: Stems, www.charlestonstems.com
Groom’s Attire: Berlin’s for Men, www.berlinsclothing.com
Lighting: AV Connections, www.avconnectionssc.com
Makeup Artist: Leslie Moore, www.mooremakeup.com
Musicians: Palmetto Strings (Ceremony), www.palmettostrings.com; Nic Skey (Cocktail Hour/Dinner), www.reverbnation.com/nicskey; Atlanta Party Band (Reception), www.eastcoastentertainment.com/artist/atlanta-party-band
Photographer: Paige Winn Photo, www.paigewinnphoto.com
Planner: Lizz Akerman, Southern Protocol, www.southernprotocol.com
Rentals: Snyder’s, www.snydereventrentals.com; EventWorks,
www.eventworksrentals.com; 428 Main Vintage Rentals (Furniture/Specialty Décor), www.428main.com
Stationery: Scotti Cline Designs, www.scotticlinedesigns.com
Transportation: Limos for Less, (843) 965-5466

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