A Heartfelt and Beautiful Wedding in Charleston, SC | CJ & Katie
When I arrived at Katie and CJ’s wedding venue, the hustle and bustle of the wedding day had already begun. Katie and her bridesmaids were upstairs getting hair and make up done, the ceremony was being set up, and just by the front door of Lowndes Grove was all their luggage, ready and waiting for them to snag them up and whisk them away to their honeymoon.
CJ and her wedding party were in downtown Charleston getting ready and hanging out before they had to head to the wedding venue.
“Right before the ceremony began I was at the top of the spiral staircase with just my dad and Cassie and CJ was downstairs with both of our bridal parties getting lined up to walk out and without looking up to see me, she yelled up to me and told me she loved me and she would see me soon. The moment felt so perfect and we have stopped talking about that moment since it happened. It’s something we will never forget.”
-Katie
“CJ's walked down the aisle song "Feels like Home". It was the same song that her mom walked down the aisle to when she married CJ's late stepfather.”
“She was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Seeing Katie walk down the aisle was an out of body experience. A feeling I will probably never feel again. I don't remember anything else but me and her, staring at each other, overwhelmed with emotion, and so anxiously waiting for her to get to the end of the aisle. I was certain that there would be no other moment throughout my life that I could be any more grateful that she was the one I had chosen forever.”
-CJ
“When I first saw CJ it was a sigh of relief! I had been nervous all morning and filled with so many emotions and just needed to see her and hear her voice for all the nerves to go away. I thought her suit was beautiful and exactly what I had imagined her in. As soon as I saw her smile when I started down the aisle I was overwhelmed with joy and couldn't believe the day was finally here. This was it, the day we were waiting for!”
-Katie
“One thing that CJ and I promised to each other that we would do was to make sure that we were present in every moment and would make time for each other as much as possible. It is so easy to get caught up talking to guests and dancing with friends that people forget to spend the most time with their significant other. This is the only time in your life when the whole world feels like it is revolving around you, so be present, enjoy every little moment and make sure to spend the most time with each other.”
“There were a few things that we wanted to make sure we had at our wedding venue. The number one thing we wanted to see was water. Growing up going close to the ocean it was important to us to have water in the background at the venue. Second, we wanted to have big oak trees at the venue for pictures. I grew up in Savannah, GA where there are oak trees everywhere so we wanted to make sure we had them on site. After visiting five different venues in Charleston we finished at Lowndes Grove and knew right away it was the perfect location. Gorgeous giant house with big gates, the Ashley river was visible, there were many oak trees and best of all there was a long boat dock that made for beautiful pictures!”
“CJ and I danced our first song to "Heaven" by Jason Aldean and it was special to us because we have played that song in the car for the last seven and a half years planning to dance to it at our wedding. As it was playing we couldn't help but sing the lyrics because we had practiced dancing to it in the kitchen for so many years. “
“Katie's first dance with her dad was a Carolina shag song called "Something old, Something New" by The Fantastics. Ty, Katie's dad, taught Katie and her sister Caroline how to shag throughout their childhood so shaggin' at the wedding was a must!”
“During the reception, we had Brian Fuller our musician sing "Colder Weather" by Zac Brown Band to honor CJ's late stepfather Chad Cromwell. CJ danced with her mother and siblings to the song and it was a moment that we will ever forget. “
“We keep replaying every second in our heads. From the start of us arriving in Charleston, to preparing for the wedding, the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner...I just felt like every single moment meant the absolute world to us. I just kept thinking how can this get ANY better than what it is or what this feels like at this very exact moment.
From start to beginning every event and detail was so thought out by our families and friends. We have never felt so loved in our entire life than we did the week and day of our wedding. There was so many heart felt moments, speeches and love everywhere from everyone. Our hope is that everyone feels as strongly about their wedding day as Katie and I do. The only words that we could ever use to describe our wedding weekend is perfection. There’s absolutely nothing that could have made it any more special. We pray that we can keep reliving all of these moments for years to come as we have been doing every second since it’s been over.”
WEDDING VENDORS:
Venue: Lowndes Grove Plantation
Planner: Mallory Adams
Photographer: The Warmth Around You
Florist: Trey Niver
Officiant: Sam Marder
Cake & Desserts: Jessica Grossman
DJ: Chris Ware - One Night ATL
Hair and Make Up: Lashes & Lace Charleston
Catering: Patrick Properties
Katie’s Dress: Justin Alexander Signature from Jadore Bridal
CJ’s Suit: Calvin Klein Blue
Bridesmaids Dresses: Show me your MuMu - Heather Halter Dress
Shoes: Katie - Steve Madden / CJ - Cole Haan
Jewelry: CJ's Ring and Katie's band - Wedding Day Diamonds
CJ Necklace - David Yurman
CJ Watch - Daniel Wellington
Videography: Tucker Photo and Film
