After the ceremony rehearsal, the couple joined their wedding party for dockside cocktails, then boated to the welcome party site. As everyone disembarked, they were announced to the rest of the guests.
“For anyone who hasn’t been, you need to put it on your bucket list,” says mother of the groom, Michelle Fawcett, of Moreland Landing on the May River at Palmetto Bluff. “It’s beyond special.”
Guests arrived by trolley and disembarked to walk this trail.
A chic bar cart was filled with sparkling water on the way in.
Custom-made “L-O-V-E” letters stood eight feet tall. When dark fell, they were moved from the entry to light up the dance area.
Along the walk to the landing, oversized photos of the couple hung on the trunks of pines.
This sign, a staple at Moreland Landing, testifies to the Palmetto Bluff’s popularity as a popular spot for destination weddings.
Specialty drinks included “Tipsy Tea” and “Lowcountry Lemonade.”
A mix of self-serve drink stations and manned bars made sure the Memorial Day Weekend heat didn’t get the best of anyone.
Café lights, to-the-ground linens, and cushioned X-back chairs elevated the rustic setting. “Mixing big city touches with South Carolina’s natural charm” was the aim of Michelle, who lives in Chicago.
“Do fun things to make the rehearsal unique,” says MOG Michelle. Prosecco popsicle cocktails got the thumbs up from all.
“They were so beautiful,” says Michelle, mother of the groom, of the centerpieces, “that I kept one and gave the remaining ones to Maddy, her mother, Audrey, and a few of the Rohde’s neighbors who had graciously opened their homes to some of our guests.”
Shimmering elements—pillows, tables, linens—played off the gray and white tabby of the site and its tin-roof shelter.
Perfect for a Lowcountry seafood roast, pendant basket shades like this evoke the rustic world of oystering.
“Special touches like this swing gave the entire venue a magical ambiance,” says Maddy. “When it came to life, my mother-in-law’s vision was more amazing than I could have ever imagined."
Zac Brown Band cover group 20 Ride was the hit of the welcome party, says bride Maddy. “They invited Gerald and I on stage and sang ‘Sweet Annie’,” she says, “but they changed the lyrics to ‘Sweet Maddy’. It was so incredibly fun to look out into the crowd and sing along with our friends and family.”
Because they had to skip sparklers at the reception, the groom’s mother surprised the couple with sparks aplenty as they headed out from the welcome party. “We—Maddy, her mother, Audrey Rohde, and planner Ashley—worked together to create each wedding weekend event unique in its own right and so each one would flow into the other,” says Michelle. The crescendo? A charming chapel ceremony and lavish al fresco reception. Visit TheWeddingRow.com for all the Big Day images.
