6.19.10 Kim Bachelder and Hunt Werner
Have you ever been to a wedding that felt like a fairy tale?
That must have been how guests at Kim Bachelder Werner’s casual-chic June wedding at Honey Horn felt.
The bride stood out in a traditional strapless gown with a long trane that glided down the aisle; the bridesmaids wore striking purple dresses and the groomsmen donned khaki linen suits. At the end of each aisle hung a green case of white rose petals with hand-written purple notes that read “When the newlyweds walk your way, throw the petals and yell, ‘Hooray!’ ”
The reception took place in a large white tent with green parasails that hung upside down from pleated ceilings; the scene was illuminated by twinkling lights. The night was full of small touches, such as a wrought-iron chandeliers, seating cards on oyster shells and black-and-white photographs of grandparents in ornate frames. Family and friends dined on green tablecloths and danced on a black-and-white floor to big-band brass. When the party was over, guests took red trolleys back home; the newlyweds, a red Cadillac.
It takes a certain kind of bride to create such a memorable wedding: the kind who plans them for a living. Kim is the catering sales manager for The Ritz-Carlton in Charlotte. “I plan a lot of upscale, black-tie events in a beautiful ballroom,” she said.
Still, she wanted something different for her own day, and found it in her Lowcountry heritage, one that compelled her to create a wedding that was casual, fun and inviting.
“Being from Hilton Head, I grew up crabbing and fishing,” she said. “It wasn’t about the beach. It was about the live oaks, Spanish moss and marsh. Honey Horn embodied all of that.”
Kim had only five months to plan her wedding. Her husband, Hunt, didn’t want the day to interfere with football season and she didn’t want a fall wedding. Luckily, all of the details fell seamlessly into place, but she used her experience as a professional event planner to make it happen.
“What I’ve learned is to have a detailed agenda,” she said. “I’d rather be over-prepared for something. It’s cohesiveness between vendors that makes an event so successful.”
