Katie and Tony’s favorite color is orange- so it made perfect sense to include orange in their wedding color palette. They started with their orange and blue invitations and followed through with the palette- all the way to the orange Camaro they drove away in. (These are vibrant colors, so you don’t have to get carried away with an orange wedding gown or all orange tablecloths.) Katie and Tony wove their color palette every so delicately through their ceremony and reception…from hanging paper lanterns from the trees, that Tony (being 6’9″) hung himself with fishing wire and fishing weights to keep them from blowing too much in the wind (what a smart idea!), to her mother’s orange pashmina. Katie and Tony included this strong color palette in the details instead of big swooping strokes which I think made it look sophisticated and effortless.

Katie and Tony selected Charleston, South Carolina as their ‘destination’ wedding location- which I love- I think most people think of destination weddings only in far away exotic islands, but it’s good to remember that we have so many beautiful places right here in the United States. They reside in Ohio but liked South Carolina so much (they have family there) when it came time to plan their wedding it seemed the obvious place. Tony proposed to Katie on a trip to New York City and romantically popped the question on a carriage ride through Central Park. They began planning their wedding right away and made it a real family affair by involving more members than just their parents and siblings- they asked an aunt and uncle to officiate, a second cousin, a notary, to sign the marriage certificate, another aunt to do Katie’s make-up and hand-make her headband and even her uncle, who’s a wedding photographer, to take their photos. They did a lot of their searching for ideas and vendors online at the knot, style me pretty, pinterest and a Charleston wedding resource site called the wedding row. They stayed very organized planning the wedding themselves with google docs.

They decided on a late afternoon/early evening ceremony outdoors under the trees along the Charleston Harbor, a cocktail hour and sit-down dinner under a tent for about 100 guests in early October at the Pavillion at Patriots Point. A big outdoor fire pit roared on the grounds along the water after dark for guests to linger and talk. Centerpieces were a mixture of clementines, blue ribbons and flowers and they opted for cupcakes and a small cake instead of a traditional cake. Bridesmaids wore blue dresses. Katie says: “We came up with blue because I didnt want my bridesmaids wearing orange and I knew I would need another color…so after looking at different color combos with orange we decided blue was the best match and we both really like that color as well.”.

Katie’s favorite memory of her wedding day? A couple sweet moments actually- when she walked down the aisle and saw her groom, she had tunnel vision. Tony was unexpectedly getting caught up in the emotion of the moment when he saw his bride start to walk down the aisle, so when she arrived next to him her uncle made a funny little stance to lighten the mood and make them laugh. After the ceremony when they walked back up the aisle was another special memory when they were able to spend a few minutes alone and hugged and hugged. (I recommend that every bride and groom plan for a few minutes alone right after the ceremony to soak it all in and have some private words together- otherwise it’s possible, because things move along so quickly, you won’t have another chance before the reception is over. It’s a good idea to have the caterer put aside some hors d’oeuvres for you both to eat at this time too. You might not have time to eat very much at your reception because your guests will be happily vying for all your attention.) After Katie and Tony reminisced for awhile they said another favorite memory was when they left the reception and guests formed a tunnel for them to run through and waved long sparklers as they made their departure in the orange Camaro.  Katie and Tony had the DJ play “Send Me On My Way” by Rusted Root as they exited.

Katie’s “something blue” in a wedding that has lots of blue? Her blue Seychelles shoes under her dress. Here’s a list of more of Katie and Tony’s wedding vendors and sources: Dress: Casablanca, Groom’s suit: Calvin Klein, Groom’s tie: Tommy Hilfiger, Hair: Grace Salon, Bridesmaids’ dresses: David’s Bridal (in horizon blue and capri blues) Matron of Honor’s dress: a blue floral dress from Dillard’s, Orange Pashmina: Charming Charlies, Catering: Relish Catering, Florist: Jade Water Designs, Cake and Cupcakes: Custom Cakes by Rebecca McGarrigle at Insomnia Cookies, Orange Paper Lanterns: Hobby Lobby, Wedding Photographer: John Dolan.