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Jumping (the Broom) for Joy

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Christi Ascue to Sean Kershaw; April 11, 2009, Boone Hall Plantation

An hour before the ceremony, guests were invited to gather and enjoy the setting, sweets, and a signature “Sweetgrass Punch” made of vodka, pineapple juice, ginger ale, and melon liquor, concocted by Keisha Jenkins Antonitte of Gullah Cuisine.

To offer the couple and their guests a little privacy from tourists visiting the plantation, white sheers and floral “Ks” were hung on iron gates leading to the mansion’s garden.

Forget Me Nots floral designers filled urns with white hydrangeas, ivy, larkspur, snapdragons, and several varieties of roses and placed them next to the rows of pristine white chairs that awaited guests.

ALL IN THE FAMILY: The couple adapted a traditional funeral family procession into a wedding version, where relatives walked down the aisle hand in hand. Here Christi’s maternal aunts Julia V. Brown and Wilhelmina V. Griffith make their way to their seats.

Pearl and Timothy Ascue took their seats in places of honor beneath an arbor at their only daughter’s wedding.

Christi called on 14 of her favorite gal pals from East Cooper to Orangeburg, South Carolina, to serve as bridesmaids.

Young attendants wore halos of sweetheart roses and variegated ivy from Forget Me Nots floral designer. The bride and her mother purchased their woven baskets on a trip to Senegal.

FLOWER BED: Christi found the idea for this ring bearer’s pillow—made of green mums and carried by Ahman Greenidge—online.

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS: Christi and Sean honored loved ones who had passed by ringing bells and gave the engraved silver pieces to surviving relatives. Here, Siera Post, Azlynn Frank, Ta'Nae Clark, Meredith Shaw, and Zoe Ascue act as dutiful bell ringers.

“It was an unforgettable walk down the aisle into a lifetime together,” says Christi of leaving the ceremony with Sean.

TEARS OF JOY: A family friend slipped Christi a handkerchief as she was about to walk down the aisle. It was “a makeup saver,” says Christi.

WALK THE WALK: “It was an unforgettable walk down the aisle into a lifetime together,” says Christi.

SANDS OF TIME: Christi, Sean, her parents, and his aunt and uncle filled a vase with two shades of sand to symbolize their two families joining together. Christi and Sean display their vase of sand in their home as “a constant reminder of our special day,” says Christi.

As an ode to a 400-year-old tradition, Christi and Sean “jumped the broom” to seal their wedding vows after the modern ceremony.

GET YOUR BEARINGS: A pre-ceremony cocktail hour in Boone Hall’s rose garden gave guests time to take in their surroundings.

Following a cocktail hour, guests enjoyed a sit-down dinner of traditional Gullah fare like seasoned rice and shrimp-and-grits cooked up by CJ’s Catering—another Ascue family enterprise in Mount Pleasant. Guests enjoyed dancing, hand-rolled cigars from Coastal Cigars, and fireworks.

Christi’s aunt Alice Vanderhorst and family friend Maybell Wigfall wove 200 sweetgrass baskets—all in one month—as favors for out-of-town guests.

CENTER STAGE: The Ascues marked guest tables with a number, added an engagement photo of the couple, and submerged green cymbidiums and dendrobiums in oversized vases. Cousin Keisha Jenkins Antonitte graced food tables with vases of plantation-inspired beans, corn, and pepper seeds.

Jumping (the Broom) for Joy

Photographs by Darrell Johnson & Harold Horlback; Wedding Design by Christi Ascue-Kershaw & Pearl V. Ascue