Hilton Head Monthly Voice Voice of the Lowcountry 
// WINTER WEDDING // Breaks tradition, full of surprises
What do football season and a winter wedding have in common? Just ask Hilton Head newlyweds, Camille and Charlie Schramm.
Both are graduates of the University of South Carolina and avid football fans, which explains Charlie’s choice for proposing in September of 2018 at — what else? — a tailgate.
Plan an unforgettable //DESTINATION WEDDING//
With post-pandemic trending terms like “minimony” and “sequel wedding,” it’s hard to know how to begin planning your destination wedding, but fortunately Lowcountry experts have offered their insightful expertise. “When you have a vendor who translates for a Lowcountry feel,” Beth Baldwin of Beth Baldwin Weddings said, “it ‘marries’ the elements of the evening in perfect harmony.” The top advice for maintaining harmony: Hire a wedding planner.
SAYING ‘I DO’ TO ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS
Something just clicked when wedding photographers Amanda Olivia and Mekina Saylor met two years ago at a mastermind. “We are complete opposites,” began Mekina, “But we developed a friendship and we both like to give our clients the best possible experience.” That friendship has continued, and recently Amanda Olivia shot Mekina and her fiancé Nick Pennetti’s engagement photos on Hilton Head. “I call it an engagement ex perience because my sessions are an experience. I don’t want it to be 10 minutes and done,” said Amanda Olivia.
MAKE THE BIG DAY MORE MEMORABLE
Are groom’s cakes a thing of the past?
Local cake maker Courtney Glover doesn’t think so.
Glover, of Brown Sugar Custom Cakes, which serves Beaufort and Bluffton, still finds them regularly requested. She says groom’s cakes are very appealing to couples, especially if the wedding budget is substantial enough to include special little extras that make an entire wedding weekend more memorable.
MOSS CREEK COUPLE REVELS IN UNEXPECTED ROMANCE
“It’s true what they say,” marvels Lea Allen. “When you least expect it, it happens.”
Her husband, Tommy Smith, nods in agreement.
“It’s a good time of our lives,” he adds, “The kids are grown, we’ve been through marriage before, and we’re more spontaneous.”
COUPLE ENJOYS INTIMATE WEDDING ON THE MARSH
Laura and Jayson Johnson know quite a lot about working through a challenging situation. Laura is an RN at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. Jayson is a drill instructor at Parris Island who will soon transfer to San Diego’s Camp Pendleton to serve as a combat engineer.
The two met and fell in love in March 2020 — right when the rest of the world was thrown into an unprecedented state of isolation and anxiety due to the global pandemic.
PLANNING A PERFECT REHEARSAL DINNER
In 2020 many engaged couples said “I do” to postponing their nuptials until 2021. Now that couples are revisiting their wedding plans, celebratory events like the rehearsal dinner are getting a COVID-friendly makeover.
“Now, venues that are doing events have had to start thinking outside of the box as to how they can safely host while protecting the guests and their staff,” said Beth Anderson, Director of Events for Sea Pines Country Club. “One such option is to have the event outside.”
REVAMPING YOUR PLANS DURING A PANDEMIC
What do you do when you’ve paid $60,000 for a wedding that’s supposed to take place in five days and a pandemic threatens to bring everything to a halt?
Aimee Fennessey, local wedding planner and owner of Amanda Rose Weddings, says, “Modify!”
Bento Boxes. Tiny toasts. Custom sneakers.
As the saying goes: Necessity is the mother of invention.
Bridal trends for 2021 are no exception. Everything from crowd size to fashion choices reflects the aftermath of COVID-19’s appearance. Nevertheless, hope and flexibility have prevailed.
DREAM WEDDING AT HONEY HORN PLANTATION
Both competitive golfers, Colleen Cully and Justin Imel met on a golf course in Jupiter, Fla., in May 2019.
Originally from Indiana, Justin had moved to Florida to play professional golf. Colleen was working for a golf club at the time. The two hit it off immediately.
BLUFFTON COUPLE CELEBRATES A HAIG POINT WEDDING
The coronavirus pandemic brought changes to Kristen Kopanda and Morgan Crutchley’s wedding plans.
What started as an event for more than 100 guests was quickly altered as venues and providers shut down in response to COVID-19. There was a silver lining to the upheaval, however. The couple was able to marry on Daufuskie Island in an intimate ceremony, ending the night with live music by the ocean.
In the 1989 movie Steel Magnolias, the bride Shelby chose two shades of pink (Blush and Bashful) for her wedding. Today’s couples aren’t afraid to venture out on the color wheel. Exploring the top wedding colors of the year is a great way to start your wedding planning. There are some new trends and consistent favorites to help make your special day the best day ever.
DANCE INSTRUCTION HELPS COUPLES FIND THEIR RHYTHM
It’s becoming more popular to have your wedding dance professionally choregraphed. Some brides and grooms are even building their wedding themes around the dance. People are also willing to spend more time preparing for this special moment, which gives them more “together” time to get know each other in a different way.
And it’s not just the bride and groom who want to make sure they don’t hit the dance floor with two left feet: The rest of the family wants to put their best foot forward, too. A family dance is becoming a growing trend at weddings — it seems almost like a formal presentation of the family.
WEDDING INDUSTRY SPECIALISTS ENJOY THEIR DAY OF BLISS
After all those years of just missing each other — of being just a few minutes too early or too late — they finally met.
Michel Berda, an accomplished wedding photographer who has captured the joy of more than 500 weddings, and Linzie Davis, a wedding hair and makeup artist, had fleetingly crossed paths through the years at numerous events in Charleston and throughout the Lowcountry, but they’d never connected. Never had a chat.
