Magnolia Plantation & Gardens Oak Tree Elopement

M & B are high school sweethearts who had been waiting a long long time to get married! They both have always wanted a private elopement, and while they did end up inviting their parents & siblings, it was still the magical, intimate day they had always wanted!

Getting Ready

M & B got ready at Magnolia and read their letters to each other right before the first look!

How did you feel the morning of your wedding?
We’ve been waiting for this day for years! We woke up SO excited and ready for the day – and also felt like it was a normal, fun day with my best friend. We woke up on our wedding day together, which is usually not tradition. But with me and B, we saw no other way. We rarely like to be away from each other and really wanted to enjoy the morning together before we went our separate ways to get ready. We got coffee, breakfast and took a walk on the Ashley River and it was so calm and perfect. All we could think about was how we were going to become husband and wife today. We even woke up with rain, and not even that brought us down! I just wanted to soak in all of the moments. After all, I was about to marry my favorite person in this world!

What was the most special moment of the day for you?
Oh boy, how does one choose? I would say that the most special moment of the day was our first look after reading our letters and seeing each other for the first time all dressed up without anyone really around. I always knew that was how I wanted it to be, just us. Pure, intimate, raw emotion. Since our elopement had some family there, this was our moment to have without any other eyes. Once we finished all of our photos and everyone left, B and I walked over to one of our favorite spots at Magnolia’s to spend just together as husband and wife for a few minutes. We really wanted to take it all in, and it was perfect. It was quiet, the sun was setting and it was just me and him. Those two moments felt so good that day. Those two moments reminded me how beautiful our love story really is.

What was your favorite detail of the day?
The flowers were SO beautiful!!!! Especially mixed with all of the moss at our venue. I am an indecisive person so when I tried to order flowers, I was all over the place with a vision that I hoped someone would bring to life, even if I didn’t know what that was. Creech’s florist took my indecisive vision and turned it into an absolute DREAM. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it turned out, and I wanted to keep every flower that was given to us. We couldn’t stop looking at them and were so happy with the outcome. Also, I was able to have part of my baby blanket (that I still sleep with at 29 years old) sown into my wedding dress – so that was a really special detail for me to include.

First Look & Portraits

B’s reaction to seeing M in her dress was so sweet (-:

What was something quirky or crazy that happened on the wedding day?
Nothing really crazy or quirky happened that day – but a moment that gave us a little laugh was during the ceremony, both of us struggled to get our new rings on each other because it was so hot and humid out, it made our fingers swell LOL! But don’t worry, no one was harmed and now they fit perfectly in our air conditioned home.

If you did a First Look, talk about it here! What made it special, how were you both feeling before & after it, would you recommend it to a friend, etc
I would absolutely recommend a First Look! We were SO excited to see each other. I always knew I wanted one and I am so glad that we did. B and I have always wanted an intimate, private elopement, but with such large families, we did invite a few family members that day. Since we were having a few people, we decided that a First Look would be our most private, intimate moment – and it was just that! We wrote and read our letters prior to the first look, B actually read his as I was walking up behind him and that was so special. I got to see his real reaction and emotion right before seeing each other. It was the best part of the day! I wish I could relive it everyday.

What did you splurge on & what did you save on?
We definitely saved by not having a traditional wedding and reception. We chose Charleston, which is pricey in general to get married, but I was able to splurge on a photographer to capture our day perfectly, beautiful flowers, and getting pampered with hair & makeup. Originally, we were suppose to fly off to our honeymoon right after (which was going to be the biggest splurge), but we decided to do our honeymoon next year and still splurge when it is safe ;)

Dreamy Oak Tree Ceremony

The oak tree their ceremony took place under is my FAVORITE spot on the property. Adding florals to that hanging limb is just icing on the cake every time!

What made your wedding day special, unique or personalized to you as a couple?
What made our wedding day special, was having a private, intimate elopement. That is something we always figured we would do. Even though we had more people there than planned, we still got the elopement feel and experience. After we got married, we were just so excited to go spend time together just him and I, no party or anything We didn’t even tell anyone that we were getting married besides immediate family. Actually, right after, we went to a cabin for a few days (our “mini moon”) to really soak it in and have it be just ours for a little bit before anyone found out. We are such a private couple, that it just made sense to do it this way. It also made it kind of fun to have a little beautiful secret to share.

Whats the best advice you have for future couples planning their big day?
Make it about you two and soak it all in! It goes by so fast, try to enjoy every moment, both the process and wedding day. Trust that you know what will make you two the happiest for that moment. I stressed the most trying to make sure we weren’t offending or hurting anyone with our non-traditional elopement style wedding, adjusting how I wanted certain things to accommodate others. At the end of the day, it’s about you two and no one else.

Charleston Elopement Photos

After the ceremony (and some sparkling grape juice & cake) we took more photos of the newly weds under the oak trees and down by the Ashley River!

Is there anything you would change or do differently?
I would have definitely stressed less about pleasing everyone else and just do what we wanted during the planning process.  I wanted so bad for people to be happy and satisfied with how we did our wedding but it didn’t matter what anyone else wants.

What did you love most about working with us?
It was SO fun! B and I had a blast working with Katie and Jay. We are so awkward and camera shy, so we were definitely nervous that we would make our photos look so bad! But having Katie and Jay there and being so clear with direction, open to anything, and having fun with us made it an incredible experience. They were so patient and always tried to get as many beautiful photos as they could think of. We shared so many laughs, and truly didn’t want it to end. We felt like we were hanging out with some friends all day. We are so excited to see all of our photos!!! Thank you for bringing our love story to life.

Venue: Magnolia Plantation & Gardens /  Florals: Creeches  

Katie + Jay of Catherine Ann Photography are Charleston SC Based Wedding & Elopement Photographers specializing in candid & fun wedding photos that feel like you!