A Waterfront Wedding at The Island House on Johns Island, South Carolina

Aryn Hardy and Thomas Richards invited guests to celebrate their waterfront nuptials in the bride's hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. The couple exchanged vows on The Island House's back lawn, with guests seated facing the Stono River, under a bamboo altar decorated with white hydrangeas and linen. Since the bride's favorite flower is the snapdragon, her one request was that these bloom be utilized throughout the decor, which added a pop of color to their navy and white palette. As a nod to their waterfront setting, the couple incorporated several nautical elements from a starfish motif on their paper products to starfish escort cards and favors. The main surprise of the evening was when Thomas serenaded his bride with a song that he had written for their wedding. "He had coordinated with the band, snuck his acoustic guitar down to Charleston via a friend from New York and put on a show that almost made me cry," says Aryn. "It was such a sweet surprise, and apparently it made him more nervous than anything else we had to do that weekend!" At the end of our reception, the newlyweds walked through a shower of birdseed toward a vintage white Rolls Royce getaway car.