1. Real Weddings

Hamilton & Kevin: A Spring Wedding in Mayesville, SC

Hamilton Fryer and Kevin Reavey met as Dartmouth undergrads after Hamilton spotted Kevin playing rugby. Shortly after, Kevin asked her out on a date.

Hamilton Fryer and Kevin Reavey met as Dartmouth undergrads after Hamilton spotted Kevin playing rugby. Shortly after, Kevin asked her out on a date. Several years later, Kevin planned extensively to catch Hamilton by surprise when asking her to marry him. He popped the question just before she opened the letter letting her know where her medical residency would be. “My message to her was, ‘Where you go, I go. No matter what,’” Kevin recalls. The Bride Hamilton Fryer, 28, radiology resident The Groom Kevin Reavey, 27, commercial real estate broker The Date April 14 The two chose to marry in Hamilton’s mother’s hometown of Mayesville. The region’s old plantation homes, cotton fields, and Spanish moss lent the location a truly Southern style, though it was also an especially meaningful spot -- the couple married in the same church where the bride’s parents were wed. From the barbecue held at the bride’s grandparents’ home the night before to the wedding onward, the look and feel of springtime in the South imbued every wedding detail.

Kevin and his attendants wore their own navy blue blazers and khaki pants. The groomsmen wore green ties to match the bridesmaid dresses, while Kevin wore a colorful striped tie.
Hamilton’s five bridesmaids carried bouquets of white daisies, green bupleriums, and apricot-hued sweetheart roses, all wrapped in green satin ribbon.
The rectangular tables at Hamilton and Kevin’s reception featured three low arrangements of gerberas, stock, roses, and hydrangeas. They named their tables after places in Mayesville and different members of the bride’s family, like “McBride’s Corner” and “The Crossroads.”
“My favorite color is green, and since we got married in early spring, we wanted to go with a fresh green theme,” Hamilton explains. Her maids wore two styles of J.Crew tea-length dresses, some choosing straps and some without.
Hamilton and Kevin joined their guests for a tented reception at the bride’s cousin’s plantation home. The celebration began with a cocktail hour on the front and back porches of the house.
Hamilton and Kevin’s guests enjoyed an authentically Southern menu featuring Carolina quail. Instead of a wedding cake, the couple opted for strawberries and petit fours.
Though they chose not to have favors, Hamilton and Kevin did give something to their attendants. The groomsmen received the neckties they wore for the ceremony, while the bridesmaids got pampered with monogrammed bathrobes, makeup bags, and champagne.
The First Dance
The church where Hamilton and Kevin married fit the theme perfectly for their nuptials, so they didn’t need to add much decor. They adorned the altar with two arrangements of green and white flowers, including hydrangeas, viburnums, bells of Ireland, larkspurs, lilies, stock, and roses. The couple married in a traditional Presbyterian ceremony. In honor of the groom’s heritage, at the end of the ceremony, one of Kevin’s cousins played the bagpipes as the guests left the church.
Small bouquets of lilies, roses, and other flowers tied with green fabric marked off the bride and groom’s seats at the reception.
Hamilton and Kevin’s reception tables were covered with cream-colored linens overlaid with green plaid cloths. The round tables’ centerpieces were elevated with wrought-iron containers, allowing guests to chat across the tables.