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An Evening Aglow

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Courtney Gunter & Carter Rowson; November 13, 2004, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church & Boone Hall Plantation

Photographs by:

David Edwards

Light Up the Night: On an inscribed card by local calligrapher Elizabeth Porcher Jones, guests were encouraged to take part in a “sparkling send-off.”

Drinks All Around: “Pomosas”—champagne mixed with pomegranate juice—were a colorful nod to the red accents in Courtney’s color scheme. “One thing I knew for sure was that there needed to be plenty of champagne served!” she recalls.

Friends Indeed: Nine bridesmaids, in Jenny Yoo ginger-colored Dupioni silk dresses, posed on a Charleston joggling board.

Circle of Light: “We danced all night to the band, whose lead singer sounded like a cross between James Brown and Otis Redding,” says Courtney. As guests formed a glowing backdrop, Carter capped off the evening with a ceremonial dip for his bride.

Special Delivery: The bride, a local graphic designer, created a monogram of the couple’s initials for the invitations, which were letter-pressed and hand-stamped.

The End of the Affair: A vintage Rolls Royce awaited to cart the newlyweds downtown to the Ansonborough Inn.

Natural Beauty: For the Boone Hall Plantation reception, large chandeliers hanging from trees, sconces framing the cake, and tea lights lining guest tables transformed the rustic Cotton Dock into a glowing autumn scene.

All the Groom’s Men: Heather Barrie fashioned simply elegant boutonnieres from crocosmia pods, eucalyptus seeds, rosemary, ranunuculus, and spray roses for Carter’s nine groomsmen and other members of the wedding party.

Grand Entrance: Bittersweet and lemon-leaf garland adorned the steps outside St. Stephen’s Church in Ansonborough where the two wed.

Something Old: Vintage-inspired elements, like this pair of antique silver goblets sharing space with a Jim Smeal-designed cake, echoed the affair’s air of familiarity and warmth.

Rustic Roots: An apropos announcement of the bride’s hometown, a winding display of bittersweet, which is indigenous to Courtney’s native Hickory, North Carolina, adorned the entrance of the reception.

Ribbons & Lace: Offering due complement to the couple’s vintage-inspired reception was the bride’s two-piece Monique Lhuillier dress. Fashioned from Alençon lace and tied with a honey-hued sash, “it was a modern take on a decades-old design, and different from anything I’d ever seen,” says Courtney, whose mother and sister helped usher her from the parish house behind St. Stephen’s to the church.

Perfect Match: North Carolina native Courtney met Carter while on vacation in Telluride, Colorado, seven years ago. Following their engage-ment, the couple moved to the Lowcountry: “Charleston was our compromise!” laughs Courtney.

An Evening Aglow