South Carolina Chic on the Weekly Wedding Blog

Ladies, once you’ve worn it … you’ve rocked it … you’ve efficiently upstaged the bride, what will you do with it? All that taffeta, chiffon and dupioni creates a gorgeous collection in your closet, but will you wear it again? Of course, we encourage repeat bridesmaid dresses. It carries a great memory, it was tailored to your form and it cost you a chunk of change. But we do admit, at the end of the day, it is a frock you didn’t choose for yourself.

Check out the fun from the pics shot by Dreams to Blessings Photography

Have no fear the fairy godmother is here! Welcome to Cinderella Day!

Cinderella Day is a glorious event here in Charleston where girls who otherwise couldn’t afford to go to prom for lack of a dress are paired with a personal shopper to outfit them for their special evening.

If you live in North Charleston you can take your dresses to the North Charleston Dream Center located at 5505 North Rhett Ave. North Charleston, SC 29406. Or pop into Broadway Images at 2298 Otranto Road.

If you’re in Mount Pleasant you can take your dresses to the 750 Long Point Rd. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Donation Shed located in the back parking lot. It is open 24 hours a day, fully equipped with tax receipts. You can also donate at Victoria’s Consignments at 920 Houston Northcutt Blvd., located in the Village Point Shopping Center in Mt. Pleasant or at Butterfly Consignments at 624 Long Point Rd., located in the Belle Hall Shopping Center in Mt. Pleasant (Mon-Sat 10 to 6; Closed Sunday). Any of these places will accept your donations, plus you might find a great piece for yourself … because shopping consignment is cool and cool for the ole wallet.

If you’re downtown, pop into Bits of Lace located at 302 King Street or Butterfly Consignments at 482 King Street. They’ll love to take your unwanted dresses!

You’ll want to make sure to take your unwanted and gently used dresses to a donation center this week because the big day is on Saturday, March 3!

Trust me, a dress you can’t see yourself wearing again has all the potential in the world to make a gal hoping to go to the prom the happiest girl there ever was!

It’ll seriously be a pretty fun Saturday, you may even want to stop by yourself and see the next lucky owner of your garb. Go on down to the North Charleston Dream Center and watch future prom goers shop til they drop!

Check out a fun Georgetown Affair on the WeddingWire Blog today!

Flashing back today to one of my fave sweet days.  Caroline and Matt had a great sense of style, and wanted nothing but great experiences for their guests on their beautiful day last spring.  With a great couple like those two, you are bound up with gorgeous images and happy memories!

For a beautiful natural ceremony, let an oak be your arbor.

After the ‘I Dos’, everyone celebrated with a toast- of strawberry champagne popsicles!

The Talented Contributing Pros:

Alhambra Hall * McCrady’s Restaurant * Tracy  Turpen * Absolutely Charleston * Branch Design Studio * Sugar Bakeshop

Featured Wedding: Smitten Magazine * The Wedding Row

Oh, mom. That woman who has loved you, clothed you, taught you, fed you … what a special gal she is. And while yes, this is your big day, every guest is going to be coming up to your mother and congratulating her on what a wonderful daughter or son she’s raised. So, while she’s fielding compliments on her child rearing abilities, we suggest she look hot. Better than hot, we suggest she give you and your hubby a run for your money. The challenge therein lies in her garb. The mother of the bride and/or groom dress proves more difficult than any other wedding related task more often than not, and rightly so. Many mothers have such varying tastes, it seems impossible to hone in on one collection or one store that can offer her everything. However, may Yoj try to direct you in to some of our favorites? Let’s get started!

COLLECTION 20

Collection 20 is a phenomenal line put out by the ever reliable Watters brand. We love this line because of the jackets paired with the fun dresses. Not only do these gorgeous jackets allow for coverage for the more modest mommies, but they also provide a great option for weddings in iffy weather. To boot the silhouettes are sensational!

J.CREW

You can’t ever go wrong with the timeless J.Crew. You know you’re going to get a quality fit and finish in any J.Crew piece, and since you’re dealing with a well oiled machine you shouldn’t have any surprises. Gorgeous fabrics. Simple cuts. Just a great all around garment that can be jazzed up with statement jewelry!

MARISA BARATELLI

For those formal and fancy fashionistas out there, Marisa Baratelli is a no brainer! The sheer elegance of her pieces make them show stoppers, but beware of the price tag. This isn’t a frugal frock. However, it is one that you will wear again, and it is one that will render compliments galore!

Now, make note that these three labels aren’t the only ones out there to flatter your mother. They are some of our favorites, but we know whatever she wears will be a winner. Heck, she is your mother after all … she’s bound to look awesome!

Thanks for the sweet mention, Charleston Weddings Mag.  We loved styling the wedding on Folly, as well!

I don’t even know where to begin with these two crazy kids!  All I know is when you combine a rocker with the bubbly personality of a hip baby boutique owner, you get a night of serious fun!

Zhenya and Ryan are devout downtowners, and they wanted to show their town off more than anything with their big night!  Too hip for the usual drinks and dinner, a 7:30 ceremony in Society Hall allowed the sun to begin setting as they said their ‘I do’s’ and the ballroom went from ceremony site to party site in the blink of an eye.

The usual menu went out the window too, as guests were served an over-the-top menu of Bubbles and Sweets that trended from glazed goodness to savory and unbelievable.

The front parlor double doors flung wide as soon as the aisle was cleared for the pianist to turn it over to Super Deluxe, in place and ready to jam as soon as mom cleared the aisle.  It was the perfect crescendo for these two creative personalities, and let their guests know the fun was just beginning!

Creative and Amazing Pros from the day:

Charlotte Elizabeth Photography * Cafe Catering * Sugar Bakeshop * SC Society Hall * Mac and Murphy * Super Deluxe Live * Fabulous Frocks

Welcoming guests to be a part of your special day can be a touch of class and a touch of fun that totally sets your wedding apart. It is completely doable to allot for this in your very precarious bridal budget, and in our Yoj opinion, it is really worth the extra dinero. Why? Because it shows your guests just how important they are to your day and how much it means that they made the trek to see you tie the knot. And anyone who gives gifts beyond birthday and Christmas is just awesome … that’s just that. You heard it here first, my brides:  welcome baskets rock!

Thanks to Leigh Webber Photography for the amazing imagery!

It doesn’t have to be the biggest bag or basket you’ve ever seen, and it doesn’t have to be a ton of stuff. To be honest, in this particular scenario, less is definitely more. However, what it does have to be is personal to the couple and to the location. This one that Yoj truly did for our dearest Smitten speaks to Charleston. From the flip flops to the classic benne wafers to the shucking set, it is oh so very local. But you could include anything! For a Charleston Christmas wedding, we suggest sweetgrass ornaments! For a hot summer Charleston wedding, why not include a great local cookbook with seafood recipes perfect for the season (tons of restaurants are putting out the most sensational cookbooks you’ve ever seen … and how sensational would it be if your rehearsal dinner restaurant put out a cookbook to remind your guests of their fantastic night … think Carolina’s or Cypress, just to name a few). Gosh, now that we’ve started the ideas are hard to stop! Think tea from the Charleston Tea Plantation or a gorgeous bow tie and bow bracelet from local designer Barry Beaux! Stop us before we start spinning!

Contributing Pros: Hoppmann Creative * Leigh Webber Photography

If you are local to Charleston or not, you may have heard the heart-wrenching story of Veronica.  She is the MOST ADORABLE toddler who was recently taken from the only parents she has ever known.  Since December 31, 2011, the day she was removed, her parents have still not given up fighting for her back.  The link at the bottom of this blog will take you to their site to read the whole story.

You can help bring her home!  Local wedding BFFs of us here at Yoj, D’lish Dessert and Branch Design Studio have teamed up to make your Valentine gift stylish and sweet.

For $65, $85 or $100, you will get a Gorgeous Branch bouquet and D’lish Valentine’s cupcakes.  The money earned by this dynamic duo will go to offset mounting legal fees for Matt and Melanie Capobianco in the fight to bring their sweet little girl home.  Your money will be doubly well spent going to such a worthy cause and helping you put the ‘Happy’ in Happy Valentines for someone special.  To get your sweet gift, go here https://www.facebook.com/events/246703645407305/?ref=nf.

Don’t just take my word for it on this cause.  Learn the whole story here, SaveVeronica.org.

There is no denying that adding burlap to basically anything makes it cool. Come on, you can’t deny that the earthy, soulful look of burlap married to the elegance of candles and flowers doesn’t get you going every time. Well, it gets us going … going right down the aisle, because believe you me, this textured addition has been hitting wedding home runs like you wouldn’t believe. And once again, we at Yoj believe there are a myriad of ways you can incorporate burlap into your nuptials … by pairing it with a hint of mint.

CAKE

Adding a punch of color to that delicious treat is just what the confectioner ordered! Burlap table cloth, mint green icing … BOOM … you’ve got a look that is so completely amazing, your guests will be talking for years after that top tier is devoured. Ahh … its such a brilliant idea, because today cakes have become such a focus of creative inspiration in weddings. Here is an area of wedding style where you can really start having some fun, start getting creative, and start drooling!

TABLESCAPES

To be honest, it really doesn’t matter if you’re having a sit down dinner at your wedding or not, because the tabelscapes that highlight the day are more like works of art than actual functioning vestiges. And do you see what we mean by burlap and candlelight … ah, romance. This material carries this quality that’s quite tricky but really genius. Yes it is indeed heavy, but it is also slightly transparent. Do you know what this means? Of course you do! It means multiple uses in multiple seasons! It is the decorator’s saving grace and go-to accouterment!

BRIDESMAID DRESSES

Well, duh, this is one of our favorite ways to incorporate the mint green of your day! Putting your girls in a color is a great way to make them stand out. After all, you’ve chosen these special ladies to stand up there with you while you say your “I dos,” they deserve to feel a little special wouldn’t you say?! Yes, we did consider wrapping them up in burlap … but the mint is so much less itchy!

Now, let’s show you how Yoj does it. One mint and burlap wedding, coming right up!

Incorporating an Oak tree in the Lowcountry in your decor is a now brainer!

Aren’t you seeing how the green hues make the burlap pop? Or is it vise versa? Quite frankly, when it looks this good, we don’t care!

This mossy addition is such a great tie-in to the heavy nature of the burlap, and a great counterbalance to the softness of the candles. How great is it to use Charlestonian nature in decor? Pretty freakin’ great.

Cake. Enough said.

The birch-style vase is such a stellar piece paired with the burlap, and using the florals to make a color (or minty) statement is a all around winner.

Using darker woods to break up the fabric usage of the burlap is a great idea, and it still provides an awesome canvas to showcase those minty hues.

This is a pretty inspired way of using the fabric if we do say so ourselves.

They look pretty happy … our best guess is because they did their wedding in mint and burlap.

Kidding!

Kind of.