I had such a hard time choosing a favorite part of the day. There are so many things that stand out! Their wedding ceremony was held in the same church where Stephen’s parents and grandparents got married, and they each had the same photo taken leaving the church. It was so cool to be able to recreate that photo for the third generation! Now their reception…I knew that they were going to have ice sculptures as centerpieces, but I had NO idea how cool they were going to be! It was like something straight out of Beauty and the Beast. But I can’t forget the liquor luge! What an adorably fun addition to the bar. Don’t worry, there are some photos of the fun!

How they met:

From the bride: Our story is kind of a long one. We have been the best of friends for over 10 years. How it all started…. Around 2009, I remember many nights, being young wild and free, going to the nightclubs in uptown Charlotte, NC. Dancing the night away with my best friend Magan.

So my best friend Magan met a guy named Sean. It just so happens that Sean also had a best friend that he would go to the nightclubs with, named Stephen.

After the months and maybe even a year goes by Magan and Sean became a couple. This would leave Stephen and I as the 3rd and 4th wheel to their outings (he was my fake date hahaha). As the time goes by, Stephen and I noticed that we had an amazing time together, we just got along so well. As the years goes by, Stephen and I had made some amazing memories together. He was truly my best friend. From the Brittany Spears concert to dancing all night long at Alley Cats.

Fast forward to 2015, I moved to Charlotte, NC, where Stephen lived. We started hanging out all the time again, just like old times. Then one crazy night in Uptown Charlotte we realize that we were something more than best friends. He asked me to be his girlfriend at a local restaurant called The Asbury on a cold night in March 2017. That is how our true love story started.

We may have not known it then but we know it now. It was always you. This was 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING. #itwasalwaysyou

How they got engaged:

From the bride:

We go to the beach every year with Stephen’s Family in July. We stay at their family’s’ beach house in North Litchfield, SC. We got to the beach house on Friday night. Well Saturday morning, July 13th 2019, I got up and thought it was another beach trip. Nothing was out of the norm for me. But I did noticed that Stephen was all over the place, like he couldn’t sit down. He had been up since 5 am. I had breakfast and call the vet to check on our Dog, Rex. This was the first time Rex was boarded anywhere and I was worried about him. I noticed that Stephen had put his swim suit on and I thought he wanted to me to do the same so I do. Again, I thought there was nothing out of the norm at this point. Also, the week this took place was around Stephen’s mom birthday. We had all gotten her a gift for her birthday. Stephen took me by the hand and said there was a surprise outside that he needed everyone to come see. Well I thought we were going out there to give his mom her birthday gift.
Stephen took me by the hand and was walking with me to the end of the pier to go out on the beach. We got almost to the end of the pier and Stephen pointed out on the beach and said do you know those people down there. He had organized all of our friends to be there. Our longtime best friends Magan & Sean, my best friends from Pennsylvania Chelsea & Harrison and my other best friend from back home Danielle & Frankie. His best friends Diego and Alex was there too. I looked back at Stephen and he was down on one knee. Other than “Will you marry me?” I don’t think I hear anything else he said.
It was perfect. He thought of everything. I truly can’t think of anything else that would have made that day any better.

VENDORS:
Photographer: Katherine Elena Photography
Hotel: The Dunhill
Church: Myers Park Presbyterian Church
Hair/MUA: Mirror Bomb Studio
Dress: Classic Bride & Formals
Flowers: The Blossom Shop
Reception: Big Chill
Cake: Cake Expressions by Lisa
DJ: DJ Daybreak