In contrast to a dramatic, traditional wedding ceremony at the Cathedral on Broad Street and elegant garden style reception at the William Aiken House, we had the pleasure of working with the James Family, Ennis and Dru, on their son’s rehearsal dinner at the Historic Rice Mill.  Again, the fantastic Evan Laettner was able to capture great shots of the affair.  This was certainly another event in itself.  With the James’ home being in Western North Carolina, we created a natural Mountain chic style consisting of barrels used as cocktail tables, and twig lounge furniture that coordinated with baskets filled with wild flowers on the guest dining tables.  Burlap runners, twine tied napkins and drift wood mounted table numbers, completed the setting for the intimate dual plated dinner of Quail and Good Food Catering’s famous Carolina Crab Cakes.  I must say, mother of the groom, Dru James, has a way with photos, as the dinner ended with a fabulously creative slide show we were able to share with the rest of the guests at the wedding the next day.

Following dinner, guests moved to the dessert and party portion of the night.  Close to 100 more guests arrive to partake in the festivities to include a chef manned crepe station, a delicious variety of parfaits, a clothes line full of more photos of the guests of honor, and the incredible sounds of Charleston local Jamisun.  What a wonderful start to the weekend’s events.

We have had the privilege recently of working with the crew at “Army Wives,” the fabulous Lifetime television drama filmed locally across the Charleston area.  Here are some photos of stage set we created for a scene in Episode 3 of Season 4 that was filmed at the Embassy Suites Convention Center Ballroom.  In this scene the Army wives attend an Army Spouse of the Year Awards Banquet.  We felt right at home creating this set.  See more

We all adored Francie and her family as soon as we met them.  What a gracious, fun and easy going group!  Francie made a stunning bride in one of the most unique styled gowns I have seen.  Created by the British designer, David Fielden, Francie wore a silk crepe back satin gown with low lace back and lace trimmed hem. The veil was finished with a matching lace trim.  It fit her like a glove!

Following a traditional Catholic wedding at the infamous Cathedral on Broad Street, the guests moved to the natural setting of the William Aiken House where they were greeted with a refreshing Cucumber Collins as they arrived.  What an incredible spring/ summer drink made with Lotus Vodka, St. Germain, crushed cucumber, ginger, simple syrup, and Ginger Ale.

The William Aiken is always a treasure trove of colors and textures no matter what the time of year.  There were some variegated ferns we’ve always admired on the brick walkway near the carriage house, and this was the inspiration for a lot of the foliage elements used in Francie and Ennis’ reception tent.  An array of hanging variegated fig balls, and three ball fig topiaries provided a textural pop against the backdrop of a custom sage green shimmering organza tent liner, set off with cream organza shaded bronze chandeliers.

Creating one of my favorite bridal bouquets to date, our amazing Leesa Phipps portrayed a European style utilizing a mixture of lotus pods, green bouvardia, chartreuse viburnum, Virginia roses, and green cymbidium orchids.  The bouquet was finished with double French silk ribbon, seed pearls and touches of low country grasses to add movement.  The unique centerpieces were created with birch bark used to encase allium, viburnum, dianthus, roses and succulents with berries.

Francie loved the idea of incorporating succulents somehow.  It seemed to perfectly complement her clean simple cake created by Elaine Mincey.  We created a cascading effect down one side of the square tiers.

One of the highlights around the beautiful pergola and reflecting pool, was custom antique mirrored bars created by our specialty rental department.  French metal sculptural laurel wreaths accented the bars using digitalis, allium, roses, and soft antique green hydrangea.

Check out some of amazing photos of our work taken by Evan Laettner Photography.  We discovered Evan from one of our past brides who booked him for her wedding and we have been a fan ever since.  I turned Francie onto Evan and she never looked back.  Evan is such a blast to work with and we look forward to more wedding work together!

Thank you to the always fabulous Marni Rothschild for her vibrant photos of Jenn and Micah’s wedding on the croquet lawn at Wild Dunes this past May.  The colors were amazing and perfect for a spring celebration.

Thanks to Della MacNicholas, Distinctive Events is now a featured floral and event designer at Wedding Row.com.  This site is all the rage in the Charleston Wedding Market and we are in great company amongst all of the top local vendors.

The wedding they chose belonged to Kristen & Dave Abbatte.  Beginning their affair with a traditional ceremony at Mount Pleasant Presbyterian, the bride’s adorable family church, and wrapping up the celebration at the Carolina Yacht Club downtown.  By the looks of the photos below taken by the fabulous Tracy Turpen, dancing was the focus of this wild event!  Everyone had a blast.

Reposted from Weddings Unveiled’s Blog: http://www.charlestonmag.com/weddings/feature/true_blues

Alexis Smith chose a “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” theme for her wedding to Atlanta Seahawks cornerback Tye Hill. After all, when he proposed to Alexis on her birthday with a faux ring keychain (before presenting her with the real thing), “It was like our own romantic comedy,” she says. Once engaged, Alexis—who’s known Tye since their Lowcountry high school days but didn’t begin dating him till they were at Clemson University—thought of Tiffany blue boxes wrapped in off-white satin ribbon. Thus she brought on Distinctive Events to fashion a wedding around her inspiration. Besides channelling her inner Holly Golightly, Alexis also wanted to showcase their roots, so she chose North Charleston’s The Life Center Cathedral and the Francis Marion Hotel downtown for celebrating. “Aside from the smile on my handsome groom’s face,” says Alexis, “I remember the doors opening and the beautiful shades of blue everywhere. It was perfect.”

Vendors
Cake: Elaine’s Events
Ceremony location: The Life Center Cathedral, North Charleston; (843) 552-4111)
Event design, flowers, rentals, & lighting: Distinctive Events
Linens: Connie Duglin Specialty Linen & Chair Cover Rental
Photography: Amy Tumbleston Brown and Cory Brown
Music: Devone Gary (saxophone); Michael Brown (piano); Leroy Robinson aka “Mr. Footz” (DJ)
Reception location & catering: Francis Marion Hotel
Transportation: Baker Motor Company

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Erin and Matt live in New York, but chose beautiful Charleston, SC near Erin’s childhood home for their November nuptials. With the help of Distinctive Events, they fused their New York lifestyle with lowcountry details for chic, Southern affair photographed by our friends at VISIO Photography. Their traditional Jewish ceremony featured a chuppah draped in soft white fabric and green garland as its centerpiece. They moved to McCrady’s for the reception, where the gallery was transformed into a modern lounge built on a decor palette of soft white, crisp green and accents of navy blue. Linens in a neutral champagne hue were topped with patterned china and low arrangements mingled with soft candlelight. We especially love their images on the cobblestone streets of downtown Charleston. Visit the VISIO Photography blog to see more of Erin and Matt’s event and their entire wedding day slideshow.

Credits:
Photography: VISIO Photography. Venue: McCrady’s. Wedding Coordinator: Distinctive Events. Band: Terry Lee and the GT’s.