Married & Bright

Michael Benko and Grace Heaton connected on Hinge—despite her fudging their geographic distance. He lived in Charleston, while she was in her second year at the University of South Carolina School of Law in Columbia. Seeking a date for the Barrister’s Ball, Grace sneakily set her profile location to Charleston to see who popped up. Fortunately, when she and Michael matched after just one day, her address wasn’t a deal-breaker.  

Their relationship bloomed for more than a year until graduation, upon which she moved to the Lowcountry. And that December, Michael employed some trickery of his own while planning his proposal. After throwing Grace off with fake dinner reservations, cancelled family plans, and a pretend art walk, he dropped to one knee in downtown’s Washington Square. Against the holiday magic of the Holy City, the unexpected moment “was the perfect surprise,” she says. 

Having grown up visiting Charleston, the bride-to-be had long dreamed of a Boone Hall wedding, and the couple’s shared love of the water led them to the Cotton Dock. They romanticized a December wedding date, given the season’s propensity for bringing people together in celebrations of joy—not to mention the greenery, wreaths, and bows. Grace and Michael then teamed up with Grove Designs planner Emily Parham to unwrap their vision of a festive winter wedding.

The Benkos’ very merry day dazzled with a dozen Frasier firs dressed in string lights, a roaring wood fire, a bow-adorned cake baked by a family friend, and handmade oyster shell ornament favors. Even Santa Claus (played by a groomsman) made a jolly entrance for a ho ho hoedown on the dance floor before the couple made their exit with jingle bells ringing.