Katie’s wedding vision was gathering all the people she and Mike love in one spot with the beach in the background. She achieved just that (and a whole lot of white roses!) at The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island. With the help of planner Ooh! Events, the couple enhanced the scenic backdrop of their celebration with striking floral structures and greenery by Out of the Garden and elegant details at the white tent reception. Photographer Perry Vaile was on hand to capture all the retrained beauty of the day in these lovely images.
What made the wedding special and unique?
From the bride: I had always wanted a beach wedding. I love the ocean. My vision was to have all of the people we love in one spot, with the beach/ocean in the background and have it feel like a special getaway weekend where we celebrated not only our love for each other, but all of our friends and family who had helped us get to that point in our lives. I also wanted it to feel simple yet elegant while not being too stuffy. I wanted mostly greens/creams with some blush.
What were some touches added to make the wedding personal?
Our light and airy color palette was very “us” and fit the venue and time of year beautifully. Because Charleston is so hot in the summer, we knew we could still go with a light palette even though it was technically fall. As I mentioned above, I always wanted a beach wedding. In searching for a venue I was shocked by how many hotels up and down the east coast didn’t have great venue space that incorporated the beach/ocean but weren’t actually “on” the beach. After visiting what felt like dozens of venues one of my very best friends (the gentleman that ended up walking me down the aisle) recommended I visit the Sanctuary. His cousin had been married there the year before. He sent me the link to the article/post done on her wedding and I immediately fell in love. It was exactly what I had envisioned in my mind for a venue. My mom and I traveled to The Sanctuary the following week for a day trip and decided on the spot it’s where we wanted to get married! The fact that The Sanctuary is outside Charleston was a huge bonus. Most of our guests would be coming from DC and there are tons of direct flights from CHS-DCA every day. Plus Mike and I LOVE low country food so the restaurant/food scene was perfect! The icing on the cake was The Sanctuary introducing us to Jerri at Ooh Events. I wouldn’t have wanted to plan my wedding with anyone else!
What was the most memorable part of the day?
Being surrounded by some of our favorite people in the world and having our first dance as husband and wife. Also, seeing Mike’s face as he saw me for the first time. It was a moment I will never forget!
Tell us how you met and became engaged.
We were friends and colleagues for about a year and realized we kept working on things together and were almost always aligned on how we’d want to approach something and/or what outcome we thought was best for the organization. I think working together before we started dating was really nice because we already knew so much about each other.
Katie & Mike from byDesign Films on Vimeo.
Planning, Design, Coordination and Rentals: Jerri Heater of Ooh! Events // Photographer: Perry Vaile // Florist: Out of the Garden // Venue + Catering: The Sanctuary Hotel // Hair + Makeup: Paper Dolls // Tabletop Rentals: Polished Tabletop // Band: ATL Groove Factory // Ceremony + Cocktail Entertainment: Charleston Virtuosi // After party entertainment: DJ Illumination // Videographer: ByDesign Films // Tent: Snyder Event Rentals // Officiant: Doug Farmer