There is so much that goes into planning a wedding. From picking out your dream dress to deciding what to serve for dessert, brides want every little detail to be perfect (as it should be). It can be super overwhelming try to figure out which vendors you want to use for your special day. I have nothing but positive things to say about every single one of my wedding vendors and I wanted to share them with you in case you are planning your very own Charleston wedding.
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CHARLESTON WEDDING VENDORS
One of the easiest thing, or maybe the hardest for some brides, will be to pick out your Charleston wedding venue. There are so many beautiful venues to choose from in Charleston, from plantations to historic houses. We had our wedding at Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens, and held our reception at The Cotton Dock. It was an absolute fairytale!
I have compiled a list below of all the vendors that we used for our special day. You really can't go wrong with any reputable vendor in Charleston, but here are the vendors I have experience with and would recommend to anyone for their wedding day!
Wedding Planner: Nicki Paige Collection
If I could give you one piece of advice when planning your wedding, it would be to hire a wedding planner. It took so much stress away while planning, and the day of seemed to go off without a hitch! When it comes to hiring a wedding planner, you can hire someone to do as little (maybe just a day-of planner to make sure the wedding day is organized and stays on schedule) or as much as you want (literally does everything, you just show up) for your big day! Nicki of Nicki Paige Collection was basically my wedding best friend! I told her what I liked and showed her my vision, and she truly made it come to life! I had zero stress leading up to our wedding day because I knew Nicki had it handled! The day of our wedding was literally perfect and if something did go wrong, I didn't notice because Nicki took care of it! She is such a cool and down-to-earth gal, and we will remain friends for years to come!
Wedding Dress: Gown Boutique of Charleston
Whether you know the style dress you want or you have no idea where to start, it can be stressful trying to decide where to begin in terms of wedding dress shops. Hands down I recommend checking out Gown Boutique of Charleston. There's so many positive things I can say about this shop (I go into it a little more in this post), but the most important things for me were: the friendly staff, the great lighting, and the dress selection! The experience alone at Gown Boutique is worth it!
Dress Alterations: Emily Kotarski Bridal
Dress alterations is another thing that could be difficult to even know where to start. The ladies at Gown Boutique actually recommended Emily Kotarski for dress alterations, and I couldn't have been happier! She was so friendly and professional, and did such an amazing job! I had two wedding dresses, one of which I had cut to tea-length, and they both fit me like a glove and were super comfortable to wear all day!
Photographer: Virgil Bunao Photography
Ohhh Virgil! I have nothing but super positive things to say about this sweet sweet man! First of all, the first time you meet him you will feel like you've known him your whole life! He is so friendly, hilarious, and will make you feel so comfortable in front of the camera! And can we just talk about his photos!!! I could not have been happier with how perfectly he captured our wedding day, and all the love we felt! Even if you aren't getting married in Charleston, I recommend Virgil- He travels!!!
Videographer: Serio Visuals
Another piece of advice I want to give every bride is to hire a videographer! It may seem unnecessary, but trust me, you will not regret it! Ryan Serio captured our special day perfectly and it makes me so happy to be able to replay it over and over again! Ryan is such a fun guy, and was able to video every important part of the day without feeling intrusive. I honestly didn't realize he was there most of the time. I am so obsessed with our video I can't imagine not having it to remember our wedding day! Watch our wedding video here.
Hair & Makeup: Bride's Best Friend (Has since moved to NC)
Brett from Bride's Best Friend absolutely killed it on my hair and makeup! She specializes in natural makeup, and dang she's good! You can choose airbrush or normal makeup. I felt so beautiful, and wish I could wear my hair like this every day! She brought a few girls with her the morning of our wedding, and everyone was so nice and talented! I also felt like my hair and makeup pretty much stayed put all day long which was a huge deal after all the sweaty dancing!
Teeth Whitening: Charleston Laser Teeth Whitening
If you're wanting to get your teeth whitened before the big day, I highly recommend Charleston Laser Teeth Whitening! It's quick, painless, and actually really works! I got it done before we got our engagement photos taken, and then again before the wedding. It made me feel so much more confident when smiling for the thousands of photos!
Bridal Prep Location: The White Room
Depending on where you decide to get married, you may need a separate place for all of the wedding day bridal preparations. The White Room was THE perfect spot for my bridesmaids and I to get ready beforehand. It's this big room with vanitys along one wall for hair and make up, couches, changing rooms, everything you would need to get ready! The room was also big enough for us to have a table set up in the middle for breakfast and mimosas for the girls!
Food & Alcohol - Hamby Catering and Events
Hamby did such a great job with not only the food, but providing the staff for our reception! Everyone was so friendly and helpful, and were quick as to not have much of any lines (this was huge for us)! They have a variety of foods to choose from, as well as different style of serving (sit down, stations, etc). We chose to have standing and passed appetizers for cocktail hours, four food stations for dinner, a donut bar for dessert, and then late night snacks were passed out towards the end of the night! Everything was so delicious! If you're curious about the food tasting, we made our selections ahead of time and then went in for our tasting and tried pretty much every item that we selected. We were able to make changes as needed.
Cake: Ashley Bakery
Our wedding cake from Ashley Bakery was seriously the best cake I've ever had, and I'm not just saying that. We went with a funfetti almond cake with a semi-naked style buttercream icing. I loved how it turned out, and again it tasted soooo good! At the tasting we were able to try and bunch of different cakes and icings, everything was crazy delicious! We just ate our cake topper not too long ago for our one year anniversary, and I'm not joking when I say the cake tasted just as good as it did a year ago!
Rentals: Ooh! Events & Event Haus
Wedding rentals was something I was stressing out about and one of the main reasons I'm so glad I hired Nicki as my wedding planner. I told her the vibe I was going for and things that I liked, and she put together a vision board for me to pick and choose from! Between the two rental companies I was able to find exactly what I was looking for from the bar set ups, the tables and chairs, and even the dance floor!
Flowers: Fresh Weddings and Events
Elaine from Fresh Weddings did such an amazing job with my florals and greenery! I'm not a huge flowers girl, so I basically just told her I wanted mostly greenery with pops of white flowers and boy did she deliver! Everything turned out so beautifully and the greenery all over the Cotton Dock for the reception was just beautiful! She also provided me with a bouquet similar to my bridal bouquet for my bridal portraits.
Transportation: Lowcountry Valet
If you are planning on providing transportation to your wedding venue for your bridal party (or even guests) I highly recommend Lowcountry Valet. They have the cutest selection of vintage busses that are so fun to ride, and also to take photos in front of! They also have a ton of old vintage cars for the bride and groom send off as well! We used Dorothy for our bridal party and Magnolia (a 1961 Rolls Royce) as our getaway car! We also used Dorothy as a place for me and my bridesmaids to wait until it was our time to walk down the aisle at the ceremony!
Reception Music: DJ Redirection
Jacob was such a fun addition to our reception. Before your wedding he sends you a document where he asks you all these questions about bridal party entrances, first dances, reception songs, etc to make sure he has all his bases covered! It made it easy to be ale to include must-have songs, as well as songs that we did not want played.
Ceremony Music: Holy City Strings
I loved the idea of having live music during the ceremony. Holy City Strings is a violin and cello duo, and can play anything from classical wedding music, to a song of your choice (within reason I'm sure). I knew that I really wanted A Thousand Years playing when I walked down the aisle, and they made it happen. I absolutely loved the special touch these ladies provided for our ceremony!
Photo Booth: Little White Box
No wedding is complete without a photo booth and Little White Box is just too adorable to pass up! They have a few different vintage photo booth options. We chose Molly the camper and couldn't have been happier. The also send you home with a little guest book filled with the photos and notes from all of your guests! Such a nice little surprise and great way to remember the night!
Our wedding day was one of the best days of my life, and I have all of my amazing vendors to thank for making it happen. Like I mentioned above, you cannot go wrong with any of the reputable vendors here in Charleston, but I know from experience that the ones I listed above will make your wedding the most unforgettable night!
Thanks so much for reading! xo
Photos: Virgil Bunao