Elevated Garden Party With Lush Greens and Heartfelt Details in the Heart of Lowcountry

[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]Our color palette was centered around green, symbolizing growth, hope, and good health. We complemented it with soft tones of cream, light pink/blush, light blue, and touches of yellow to bring warmth and brightness. [/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]Our wedding vision was to create an elevated garden party that felt both classic and vibrant. We wanted a timeless elegance but with playful, textural details that added warmth and personality to the celebration. The goal was to strike a balance between sophistication and fun, with every element feeling meaningful and inviting to our guests who traveled across the world to be with us (from Ireland, Indonesia, California, New York, Florida, and more!)[/field]
[field title=”Proposal Story”]We got engaged on May 12, 2023 in a quiet corner of Central Park with (somehow) only one bystander nearby and a surprise photographer, executed perfectly by Nick. We had already planned a trip to New York so that I could show Nick how beautiful New York is in the Spring, and it turns out Nick had plans of his own and decided it was the perfect setting to pop the question. Just when I thought the surprises were over after his proposal in the park, it turned out that Nick had coordinated with my sister, Katie and brother-in-law, Frank, who live in Ireland, to fly in and celebrate with us that evening. As soon as we made it back to our hotel following the proposal and brunch, Katie and Frank were on the rooftop overlooking the Empire State Building waiting for us with cocktails in hand. We later asked Frank to officiate the wedding, making the moment even more special. [/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]

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[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]

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[board_carousel title=”First Look”]

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[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]Wedding Gown: After visiting multiple bridal boutiques in both Charlotte and Northern VA (where I am originally from) I finally found my dress at Anjolique Bridal in Cornelius, NC, located right outside of Charlotte. I was lucky that Anjolique was having a Berta trunk show at the time I went in for my appointment, and I immediately fell in love with the intricate and romantic lace on the Muse by Berta gown I tried on and ultimately chose.
Reception Dress : For our reception I decided to change into a hand beaded Clio Peppiatt dress so that I could comfortably boogie on the dance floor with our guests all night long![/field]
[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]The bridesmaids wore champagne-colored Amsale dresses, with each choosing a style that complemented her individual personality and made them feel confident. This added a personal touch while maintaining a cohesive, elegant look. I gifted each of the girls earrings to wear on the wedding day from SJ Bailey Co, a small business based out of Atlanta, which they loved! My bridesman, Samir, wore a Midnight Pin Dot Tuxedo from The Black Tux and a champagne bow tie to compliment the bridesmaid dresses. Our flower girls (my nieces) wore dresses handmade by Maria Platero, sourced from Etsy. Both dresses featured a blue satin sash as a nod to my late Grandma Faye’s favorite movie, The Sound of Music. The sashes were inspired by the iconic line from ‘My Favorite Things’ – ‘girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes’ adding a sentimental and personal touch to their outfits, and of course acting as my Something Blue! [/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”]Nick wore a sleek midnight blue tuxedo from The Black Tux, paired with a feathered bow tie, cufflinks, and studs from Brackish, a company based in Charleston, adding a meaningful local touch. He was excited to rock a pair of Gucci loafers, which he had chosen during a special trip we took to Monaco this past June. I surprised Nick with a bottle of Creed cologne while he was getting ready in his suite so that he too could have a wedding day scent 🙂 Nick’s groomsmen wore the same tuxedo as he did with black bow ties. [/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]

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[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]

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[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]

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[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]We wanted our guests to be greeted with champagne as soon as they got off the shuttles at Lowndes Grove to start the night off right! We added an edible flower to each champagne coupe to be cohesive with our garden party theme. At cocktail hour we had passed hors d’oeuvres that evoked a sense of warmth and hospitality – crab cakes with smoked paprika aioli, fried green tomatoes with bacon and pimento cheese, spicy tuna tartar, half in a cucumber cup, half in a wonton cup, lamb loin with dijon mustard, and had an artisan cheese and biscuit bar display in the house for guests to enjoy while they cooled off. Nick and I love to try different foods, so for our reception dinner we opted for dinner stations so that guests could try more than one entree. Our four dinner stations were: Ricotta Ravioli with poached asparagus, goat cheese, and lemon beurre blanc. Petite Chicken Breast with savory mushroom bread pudding, creamed spinach, and pan jus. Halibut with orzo, feta, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, citrus vinaigrette, and a carving station serving Seared Beef Tenderloin with black peppercorn demi, horseradish cream, served with artisanal rolls + garlic herb butter.
Later in the night we had late night bites passed – smash Burgers with secret sauce, pickles, onions, on a sesame bun, and fried chicken sliders with cheddar, remoulade, dill pickles on a hawaiian slider. We wanted to include our alma maters somehow (Go Cats, Go Hokies!) and Kate Eliza Creative made us the cutest collegiate flags which we put in the late night bites for a fun, personal touch!
To keep the party going we had espresso martinis passed late night with the letter ‘M’ (for our last name, Moraco) stenciled on top with sprinkled cinnamon – such a fun and special touch that guests loved. It helped that the espresso martinis were absolutely delicious! [/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]Florals played a central role in our design, inspired by the gardens both of our moms tended while we were growing up. With the help of our incredible wedding planner from A Charleston Bride, Abby Frye, and florist, Whitney, from Festoon – our vision was brought to life and we were so amazed by how it all turned out! Notably the stars of the show were the tall pedestal floral arrangements we had between our dinner tables which made such a statement and turned out so beautiful. Our planner and creative genius, Abby Frye, also gave us the idea to include the custom honeysuckle lampshades which added such a cute touch to our bars.[/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]For our wedding cake we decided to go simple with a two tier cake – funfetti and chocolate, with our dog Reese as our cake topper! We opted to have desserts passed for our guests so that everyone could try a few different things. We had oreo cheesecake bites, cannolis as a nod to Nick’s Italian heritage, and peach cobbler – a southern staple and a dessert my Mom always made for me growing up. [/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]My Irish brother in law, Frank, officiated our wedding and did an amazing job, self proclaiming himself as ‘Father Frank’ and even incorporated speaking Gaelic into the script, which was such a special and meaningful touch to us. Frank started the ceremony by saying ‘As we say back home in Ireland, Cead Mile Failte teaghlach agus chairde (100,000 welcomes family and friends)’ and later in the ceremony said “An rud atá i ndán duit ní rachaidh sé tharat. What’s for you won’t pass you.”
We had a string quartet from Palmetto Strings for our ceremony and cocktail hour and they were outstanding. During the processional our family walked out to Moon River, the bridal and grooms party to Invisible String, and I walked out to At Last. For our Recessional song we chose Dancing in the Moonlight, which to me, always makes me think of warm summer nights (and the movie A Walk to Remember), which felt fitting for our September 7 soiree!
During the ceremony we had my friend and college sorority sister, Alex, read ‘Falling in Love is Like Owning a Dog’ by Taylor Mali as a nod to our sweet fur baby Reese. We wanted to include a reading that was both personal to us but also light hearted and funny.
To close out the ceremony we had Nick’s Grandpa Frank, his adorable Poppop, lead us in prayer by reading the Prayer of Saint Francis. We were thrilled to include Nick’s Poppop as he and Nick have such a special bond.
Our first dance was to ‘Sweet Symphony’ by Joy Oladokun ft. Chris Stapleton
My Dad, Glen, and I danced to “Edelweiss” (the version with Christopher Plummer’s original vocals), as another nod to my Dad’s Mom, my late Grandma Faye, as the Sound of Music was her favorite film.
Nick and his Mom, Cathy, danced to ‘Days like this’ by Van Morrison, who is one of Cathy’s favorite artists!
Our band, Power 2 Party, blew it out of the water and our guests are still telling us how they were the best band they’d ever seen at a wedding. We can’t say enough wonderful things about Monte and the entire Power 2 Party group! They kept the dance floor packed, with overflow, all night long, which is exactly what Nick and I wanted! [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #1″]We wanted to include our late grandparents in a way that would be memorable, so we chose to honor them by naming our signature drinks after them, served at cocktail hour and throughout the night. Nick’s grandpa Sal was from Sicily, Italy, so we renamed the traditional bourbon smash to be called the Sicilian Smash and named it “The Sal” and Ali’s Grandma Ruth recently passed away in July at 102 years old (!!), so we named the Paloma the ‘Baby Ruth’ after her beloved nickname. We also included our fur baby in our bar menu so she could be with us in spirit[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #2″] Nick and I love to travel, so for our table assignments, we opted to name our tables after some of our favorite places we’ve traveled together – The French Riviera, Old San Juan, Lisbon, and more! [/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]I surprised Nick with a sentimental gift to open during our first look that I had kept up my sleeve for some time! I was able to track down the receipt from our first date 5 years ago, which I had framed through Framebridge.
We had the incredibly talented Chloe Strickland from Cloud Studio paint watercolor portraits of our guests – gifting them timeless keepsakes to cherish. We knew our guests traveled far and wide to be with us, and we really wanted to incorporate a special and unique touch to thank them for being there.[/field]
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[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]

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[board_carousel title=”Reception”]

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