This Dreamy Garden Wedding at The Lace House in Columbia, South Carolina, Was a Family Affair

Courtney and Gerald's theme for their Columbia, South Carolina, wedding was, "'A Night in the Gardens,' We wanted our wedding to focus on family and friends gathering to celebrate two people in love. I was inspired by the venue, I love period films and this house is an absolute beauty. The house was built in 1854; so for me, this felt like a place where our ancestors would be proud to see us wed. I really wanted the gardens to shine, so I chose a simple color pallet; champagne, sage, and pale pinks," Courtney says. "My flowers were very clean, charming, and classic. I had garden roses, heather, hypericum, spray roses, and mixed foliage's. I wanted a simplistic classic bouquet of flowers that would not overpower us or our dresses. I chose to tell Alisha, the wedding planner, the look I was going for, and the florist, Andrew, brought it to life. My style is very classic and chic. I wanted to look back at our wedding photos and feel like it's still in style years to come."

The couple's, "ceremony took place in the wedding garden at 5:30pm, the space is lush with greenery surrounding it. Honestly, you don't have to do much to make the space come to life. We were on a budget, so we chose to let the space speak for itself. Luckily, we had a few extra florals that our wedding planner placed in the vases by where we stood during our ceremony. I wanted to keep the garden theme by having white chairs for everyone. We wanted the space to feel more romantic, so we had guest greeted with music from a harpist. Our parents walked down the aisle to 'Somewhere over the Rainbow', I walked down the aisle to one of his custom pieces 'Walking down Butterfly Lane', and our recessional song was 'Can't Help Falling in Love'. We had scripture readings done by Reverend Darrisaw, We chose Ruth 1:16 and 1 John 3: 18-24. Our son was the highlight of the day. As soon as we finished our vows he cried from all the cheering."

Following the ceremony, cocktail hour included, "sage green and champagne linens on the tabletops with white and pale pink florals as the centerpiece. I designed a seating chart that had a historic look to resemble the historical time period. We had an exciting entrance with our bridal party cheering us on. Our first dance song was 'Love Ballad' by LTD surrounded by our friends and family under trees and string lighting, it was magical," Courtney shares. 

As for advice to current to-be-weds, Courtney had this to share: "I would tell her to dance. One thing I kept telling myself was if I'm going to extensively plan and invest in one day, I'm going to dance on that day. I danced the entire night of our wedding. With my husband, my friends, my aunts, my mother-in-law. I enjoyed my time with everyone in one room. Your wedding day is a celebration, don't spend it stressing over the little things. I would also tell her to tackle any appointments two days prior to her wedding day. I woke up the morning of my wedding to get my nails done, and I still regret not sleeping in."