Megan and Brian knew that they wanted their wedding celebration to be about bringing together their two families, so their invite list included only their 22 immediate members, and they used the opportunity to combine a long weekend vacation on the Isle of Palms with their wedding day. Their dockside ceremony and candlelit reception featured details that were as beautiful as they were personal. We absolutely adore Megan and Brian’s “joining of families” and know you will too.
What made the wedding special and unique?
Everything about the wedding was special to us. We spent the long weekend of the wedding in a rental house on Isle of Palms with both of our families. That was such a special time for everyone to get to know each other better and for our two families to feel like one. The actual wedding day was filled with love and family. We only had our immediate family there so there were 22 guests. We were able to spend time with each and every person and truly enjoy the wedding. The most important part to me and Brian from the outset was the combining of our families. My son and Brian’s two daughters are our world and we really wanted to celebrate us all coming together. My son Ethan was Brian’s best man and Brian’s daughters Rylie and Erin were my maids of honor. It meant so much to us to have them up at the altar with us while we exchanged our vows.
Tell us about the gown and where/how you found it!
The gown that I chose was one of the first ones that I tried on. I went with Brian’s sister to Evelyn’s bridal in Lugoff shortly after we got engaged. I loved the dress immediately- it was beautiful but completely comfortable too- I could picture dancing and having a great time in it. I was skeptical that I could find “the” dress that quickly so I kept looking but shortly after returned to the original dress and loved it. It was perfect for our wedding.
What were some touches added to make it personal?
RiverOaks went to a tremendous effort to make our wedding unique to our family. We had almost as many children as adults at the wedding and RiverOaks went to a huge effort to make them comfortable and involved in the wedding- we had a kids area where all the children could color, play ball and play croquet during cocktail hour and the kids all rang bells to announce our arrival from pictures. The overall feel of the wedding was similar to a French/Italian family wedding. Brian and I took a trip to Paris and throughout southern France the year before we got married and wanted to incorporate the beautiful flowers and lavender and overall feel of that trip.
What was the most memorable part of the day?
The most memorable part of the day was when the five of us (Megan, Brian, Erin, Rylie and Ethan) went out on the dock to light the Thai lantern symbolizing the joining of our two families. Marianne from RiverOaks brought the lantern back from a trip to Thailand and gave it to us as a wedding present. We went down to the dock at dusk and Ethan and I lit the lantern while Brian and the girls held up the lantern. We knew that it was considered bad luck if the lantern landed in the water so we held our breath and finally let it go. The lantern dipped down and hovered over the water before taking off and sailing up into the sky. It was a beautiful thing to watch and such a special way to mark the creation of our new family.
Tell us how you met and became engaged!
Brian and I met through mutual friends and dated for a year and a half before getting engaged. We got engaged in St. John, USVI when on vacation there in December. We had traveled to St. John the year before and our favorite day there we spent on Honeymoon beach. We hiked down, spent the afternoon on the beach and stayed to watch the sunset. We were the only people on the beach when a boat pulled up on the beach and the family walked straight up to us and asked us to move. It turns out they had gotten married under the exact palm tree where we were sitting and had come to renew their vows at sunset. It was such a special memory that Brian chose that exact spot to propose the next year.
Vendors: Photography: Clay Austin Photography // Venue: RiverOaks Charleston // Hair: Jennifer Graffeo // Makeup: Dannon K. Collard // Decor/Planners/Florals: RiverOaks Charleston // Caterer: Lexie Webb // DJ:Dave Rushmore // Cake: Flying tricycle // Brides Gown: Evelyn’s Bridal // Grooms Apparel: Britton’s // Rings: Carolina fine jewelry