Miami Heat

Leave it to Miami natives Andrea Gomez and Daniel Cardenas to balk at Charleston’s cool season: “It was in the mid-60s—that’s chilly for us!” Andrea laughs. The readings had their fellow Floridians donning furs as the sun set on Magnolia Plantation & Garden’s spacious back lawn, an oft-overlooked spot that had stolen the bride’s heart. “It was a blank canvas and felt so secluded,” she explains. While décor-wise, she and Ooh! Events opted for understated pieces that complemented the natural beauty, the festivities were anything but mild. It may have been cool, but between her mom’s famous habanero-pineapple jam (jars of it served as escort cards) and his mom’s sizzling moves (she and Daniel performed to “Uptown Funk”), guests were fanning themselves all night long.

Top Tips
Take It from the Cardenases ...
• Spell check! Daniel “outsourced” his luxury hotel room rose petal proposal and ended up asking Andrea “Will Yuo Marry Me?”
• Call in family for wedding favor help. The bride’s aunt supplied dozens of her company’s “Chiqui’s Chocolates” sampler boxes.
• Create outdoor “rooms” using arbors, greens, and curtain sheers.
• Hosting an outdoor fête before spring strikes? Pick a venue with cold-weather blooms, like camellias.
• Advise the female guests to wear heel guards, wedges, platforms, or flats for lawn parties.

Vendor List:

Wedding design and coordination, furniture, rentals, linens: Ooh! Events, www.TheArtofCreating.com/OohEvents

Ceremony and reception venue: Magnolia Plantation & Gardens, www.MagnoliaPlantation.com

Photography: Clay Austin Photography, www.ClayAustinPhotography.com

Florals: Out of the Garden, www.TheArtofCreating.com/outofthegarden

Catering: Fresh Foods Market Catering, www.FreshFoodsMarketCatering.com

Cake: Ashley Brown Cake Design, www.ABCDCakemake.carbonmade.com

Bar Service: Squeeze On Site, www.Squeeze-Onsite.com

Silverware: Polished, www.PolishedTabletop.com

Stationery: Nunez Stationary Printing, www.NunezPrinting.CarlsonCraft.com

Bride’s gown: Inbal Dror, www.InbalDror.co.il

Beauty: (hair) Swish Charleston, www.Swish123.com; (makeup) Charlotte Laystrom, Ooh! Beautiful, www.TheArtofCreating.com/oohbeautiful