Courtney & Scott’s Vintage Travel Inspired Wedding at the William Aiken House
Courtney & Scott merged their personalities together to come up with their vintage travel inspired wedding at the William Aiken House: her love for all things glam + vintage & his love for adventure! They chose the William Aiken House to them, it feels like you are stepping back in time to a very grand era.
Getting Ready:
Courtney & her bridesmaids got ready in the Red Room (any other Haunting of Hill House fans out there?!) where I left Jay to photograph the girls hanging out while I took all of Courtneys gorgeous details to shoot! I loved their Art Deco invitations and all of her Art Deco details – from her shoes to her grandmother’s antique bracelet.
Ceremony:
Scott’s love for nature & the outdoors led to the couples decision to get married under the tree at the William Aiken House over the pergola where most people do it. Courtney surprised Scott by getting the coordinates of the tree engraved inside his wedding band!! The couple had a lit candle up by the alter in honor of Scott’s mom who passed away years ago. Scott blew everyone away with his amazing vows that he wrote for Courtney. Thats one of the reasons I love when the couple writes their own vows – they add their personlities to it and I feel everyone, family included, gets an even more intimate look into the couples lives and who they are.
Portraits:
The couple did a first look inside the blue room downstairs where the cake usually goes. It was nice to do some portraits inside the house since most couples opt out of it! We also recreated a ‘royal portrait’ with the ring bearer and flower girls (Courtney is obsessed with the royal wedding).
The Details & Party:
I was obsessed with every single detail of the day! I loved the vintage travel posters that they used for the table names and the gorgeous vintage-inspired china. The wedding cake was also inspired by travel – the layers were made to look like MOUNTAINS and they had bears hugging as their cake topper.
Guests dined inside the house as well as on the upper piazza before heading back outside to dance the night away.
Courtney: excited! A little nervous tying up last minute details
Scott: good, looking forward to it, nervous
Courtney: Scott blew me away with his vows
Scott: the ceremony
Courtney: the tables and place settings coming together in the venue was more than I imagined
Scott: Courtney’s dress, I thought it was beautiful
Courtney: we splurged on a lot!! We saved on things like placecards (I designed them and learned calligraphy to write them) and table numbers (as Scott said, penny wise pound foolish🤣). I tried to pick vendors who were more moderately priced (videographer was cheaper than most) So I didn’t have to cut corners on getting everything I wanted.
Scott: splurge on hotel rooms, saved on my wedding ring
Courtney: everything came together perfectly. The cake was an ode to our outdoorsy adventure side and vintage details were an homage to our love of history and bygone eras. People loved the programs which we created with my sister in law who does graphic design
Scott: loved the tie clip Courtney gave me, with the coordinates under the tree where we were having the ceremony.
Whats the best advice you have for future couples planning their big day?
Courtney: try to streamline the decision making process. There are so many decisions and so many options for each, so it’s so easy to go down a rabbit hole, and it can be crippling. Try to narrow to three options and timebox a small window to make a decision
Scott: don’t stress over small things, make sure the big things are right, and everything will be great
Courtney: I forgot to make a sign for the guest globe and not that many people signed it. And we had so many programs left over I’m not sure people got them when they sat down
Scott: I would get Courtney not to “fight” with me over things while planning (🤣😂🤣)
Planner: Ashley Nicole Events / Venue: William Aiken House / DJ: Lowcountry Entertainment / Cake: Jessica Grossman / Florals: Forever Flowers Charleston / Hair & makeup: Lashes & Lace / Videographer: Luminous Event Film
Katie + Jay of Catherine Ann Photography are Top Charleston SC Wedding Photographers specializing in colorful, fun & candid weddings at outdoor and historic venues near and far!
