VICTORIA & DREW

William Aiken House Wedding

Charleston, South Carolina

Tell us how you met: We were both working for the same company in finance in New York City back in 2011. We would socialize at work gatherings or on the floor in the pantry. One night some of the younger folks from the floor went out and we were able to exchange numbers. We’d text here and there, but anytime we’d try to make plans to meet up, they’d never materialize… until St Patrick’s Day in 2012. He asked about going to brunch, and I said yes. We started the day at Sunburnt Cow, a fun brunch spot in Alphabet City and brunch went so well we decided to spend the day together. He happened to have tickets that night to Book of Mormon, so we planned to spend more of the day together, grab dinner, see a show and stop by a co-workers birthday party (as separate guests of course). We went to a wine bar in the East Village and played Connect Four and then went to dinner at, what has become our favorite restaurant in the West Village, Jeffrey’s Grocery. He asked me if I liked oysters, and I nodded yes (even though I’d never tried one before). Risky move, but it turned out ok - Jeffrey’s was known for their raw bar and it came with a ton of horseradish and hot sauce to dress them with. Dinner was fantastic and Book of Mormon made for a great laugh. We casually showed up to our co-workers birthday party as just the friends that we were to everyone else, but knew we had just had what felt like the best first date (DAY) together. We kept texting from there, keeping it a secret from anyone we worked with for months, and we were off to the races. One of the things I love about Drew is his spontaneity. 3 months later we planned an impromptu trip to Paris and London. What a great first international trip together. It was then that we decided that as soon as we got back we’d disclose our relationship to the company.

Proposal Details: May 15, 2018 - We were in Tuscany for a friend’s wedding and planned to stay in Italy for the following 10 days after the wedding to explore Florence and Tuscany on our own. It was a picturesque wedding weekend in Tuscany and then we went to Florence for a few days. We walked around the magical streets of Florence and one of the days we walked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo. It has panoramic views of the entire city of Florence. We sat there talking about life for about an hour and then started the walk down towards the city through the gardens. He stopped when no one was around and you could see the Duomo through the trees and pulled the ring out of his pocket and asked me to be his wife. NO BOX! Had been walking around the city all morning with it in his pocket and had clearly had it with him for the trip thus far.

How did you select your venue? We wanted to get married in a city that our friends would be excited to visit. We initially thought about getting married in Florence where we got engaged, but ultimately decided on something a little closer. Drew’s parents had re-located to Charleston a few years prior and it was in between NYC where we lived and FL where my parents were. Charleston happened to be in between NYC where we lived and where my parents were in FL. When we went to visit the William Aiken House downtown it had the perfect vibe. We actually got Italy vibes and loved the idea that we could do much of the dinner and dancing outside (whether permitting). You have the old historic house in the middle of downtown surrounded by shrubbery to give it that courtyard feel, a gothic church like carriage house on the property which had two suites that you could use for a groom’s suite or for staying overnight and a large magnolia tree, which we hung lanterns from.

Bridesmaids Attire: My bridesmaids’ style was a bit nontraditional. We had so many weddings at this point and I was tired of the chiffon dresses that you wear once, don’t really even love, and never wear again. Instead I wanted them to be comfortable and feel good in what they were wearing. So instead of picking a dress, I gave them a color palette and let them pick their own dresses. I trusted them. I had my sister and my two future sisters wear the same dress from Lulu’s in a light grey. They would be standing next to me at the alter, so I wanted something neutral, but also something that would look classic and blend with the other colors. The other colors of the palette included 3 girls in a peachy hue, 3 girls in a eucalyptus green color, and 3 girls in a blue/green color. It fit in with the Tuscan theme and outdoor ambiance. Patterns were fine in my book as well.

Did you decide on a first look? Yes - we did a first look. We wanted to enjoy the cocktail hour, socialize with family and experience the party we had planned to the fullest. I.e. as much time on the dance floor as possible!

Ceremony: We did the ceremony on the lawn of the William Aiken house in front of the white trellis. We had a long-time family friend, David, marry us. He’s someone my husband has known for years, and I’ve known since early on in our relationship when we started dating. We had always admired his kindness, positivity, outlook on life, and focus on family and relationships. He spent time with us a few months before the wedding, with his own version of pre-marital counseling. We worked through the Gary Chapman book, The Things I Wish I Knew Before We Got Married. We had some great discussions and it was great to share it with him.

David really helped craft the ceremony and allowed us to make it our own. He asked us a few questions that we answered privately and he weaved it in as a way to share with the guests how Drew and I felt about one another, how our relationship took shape over the year, and what our love story meant to each of us. In addition to that, we wrote our own vows and made the ceremony our own. Towards the end of the ceremony we incorporated a blessing with holy oil from a church in Italy where my great great grandmother took my great grandmother when she was a very sick baby. After visiting the church and being blessed with the holy oil, she was cured. It was something that meant a great deal to my family.

How did you decide on your aesthetic + color palette? Just went with colors that put a smile on my face, but that also felt soothing. Wanted something classic and elegant, but with a Tuscan flavor.

Tell us all about the reception décor: For the reception we focused on bistro lighting and tons of draped greenery from the bistro lights. Long family style wooden tables, with grey napkins and Tuscan style flatware and plates. Hanging lanterns from the big magnolia tree. We had a gelato station that we opened later in the evening.

What was on the menu for the evening?

We did a family-style multi-course Italian dinner.

Antipasto: kale Caesar, bread for the table, burrata & tomato

Primi: bucatini with tomato sauce & orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe

Secondi: steak florentine, branzino with lemon & butter & a side of broccoli rabe

Describe your flowers and the blooms that were included: For my florals - my bouquet was a loose garden, oval shape with lush white blooms and a mix of textures and accents of silvery greenery, with a slight peach influence.

Flowers included double tulip, lisianthus, bay laurel, ranunculus, eucalyptus, and garden roses wrapped in grey silk ribbon. Bridesmaids each carried smaller versions of this. Grooms had white ranunculus with an olive leaf accent wrapped in ivory silk ribbon.

On the pergola, we had lush draped greenery with some white accent florals and a dusting of white rose petals for the aisle/ceremony.

For the table settings during the reception, we had loose eucalyptus and olive branches draped down the table for a loose greenery runner and gold mercury motives down the center of the table.

Draped bistro lights, decorated with greenery, over the reception space.

We had welcome bags, handmade by my grandfather with a beautiful bayan leaf pattern (one of my favs). We brought some olive oil back from Italia and it came in this dark green and white checkerboard pattern. It was the inspiration behind the prototype. We had my grandfather use that bag and make it slightly bigger in size so we could fit everything we wanted in the welcome bag, including Hi-Chew candy (Drew is a big candy fan)…went with Charleston Chews (to support the wedding destination & where Drew’s parents live now), cape cod chips (to honor Drew’s Massachusetts roots), M&Ms because they’re one of my favorites, healthy homemade granola from my hometown in FL, advil and water.

Best Piece of Advice for Brides-to-be: Don’t stress about the small things. Just plan the day as you want it, focus on being with your husband and soaking every minute in. Take a moment in the middle of the dance floor or go somewhere where you can see everyone that is there for you and watch them having a great time at the party you all worked to plan. Towards the end, don’t beat yourself up if you surpass the budget, just remember it’s a once in a lifetime.

The Send-off/Getaway Vehicle: 1948 OLDSMOBILE

We drove all the way to Krispy Kreme and on the way we realized we didn’t have a wallet. Thank god our photographer followed us and gave us cash to use. It was a little chilly that night, but we sucked it up, bundled up with the blanket in the car and drove 20 mins to the Krispy Kreme in West Ashley. Our goal was to bring back 10 boxes of donuts to some of our guests waiting for us at the bar across from our venue. When we got to Krispy Kreme the staff saw us in our wedding attire, me in my white dress and Drew in his suit, they insisted on giving us all of the boxes for free. They wouldn’t let us pay, so we just left them a big tip.

Having a wedding in Charleston, SC? Check out the Charleston wedding vendors behind this dreamy day…

Ceremony & Reception Venue: William Aiken House // Photographer: Brandon Lata Photography // Planning, Design, Florals & Rentals: Ooh! Events // Gown: Carolina Herrera // Hair & Makeup: Ash & Co // Accessories: Olive + Piper Earrings; family heirloom ring…grandmother’s dynasty ring with a sapphire and diamonds // Men’s Attire: Indochino; Groom Suit Supply // Shoes: Stuart Weitzman // Catering & Cake: Patrick Properties Hospitality Group // Calligraphy: Swirls & Sunshine Calligraphy // Ceremony Music: Charleston Virtuosi // Band: Emerald Empire Band // Videographer: Siegel Films // Officiant: David McNair - family friend

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