Advice/Suggestions Needed! Bride & Groom from Philadelphia getting married in Charleston!

excuseprincess

Ok ladies!  I need all the help I can get.  The date is set: November 5, 2011. The venue is reserved: Creek Club @ I'on (Mt. Pleasant). Caterer reserved (through Creek Club)  I need suggestions on vendors for flowers, coordinators, rehearsal dinner restaurants, hotels, DJs, transportation...etc!  The dress, centerpieces, and photographer are covered.

Background info:
  Our families are all over the eat coast, mostly Pennsylvania, but we wanted a destination wedding that was not on a beach.  We pick Charleston bc of previous trips we have had there.   We are going to have 125-150 guests and most will be traveling guests.  Any suggestions/advice would be great.   We also JUST bought a house and are closing mid September, so our budget is limited and I'll be trying to do lots of DIY projects

TaraSG

I am getting married in Charleston in a few weeks and have been planning from Atlanta - not as far as Philadelphia, but still challenging!  My whole family will be coming in from the west coast, so I can relate.  These are my recommendations ...

Coordinator - Emmy Loyd Brooks with Peacock Events.  By far the best money I have spent so far.  I am using her as a day-of, but she also does full service.  She has referred me to great vendors and thought of a million things I would have never remembered or even known about.

Florist - Katie Bell with Timeless Designs.  Easy to work with, and understands how to work with a budget.

Rehearsal Dinner Restaurants - this will depend on how many guests you expect at the rehearsal dinner.  If you are planning on inviting everyone, you may have trouble finding a restaurant that can accommodate 100+.  That was my problem, and so my future in-laws decided instead to rent a boat and have the dinner on the water.  If you are having fewer guests, I recommend High Cotton.  They have a beautiful private dining room.

jcristg

dahlia designs - sara grimshaw is fantastic.

d'lish for cake

woodsandminkin

My florist is Beth at Wildflowers. She is amazing to work with and I knew someone who planned from far away and never even met Beth in person, but she still was able to pull it all off.
Are you wanting to stay in the Mt. Pleasant area for the rehearsal? Check out Events on Shem Creek- they have two venues. Old Village Post House is in the Old Village of Mt. Pleasant and it is really nice.
I'm using Jay Maxwell's Music by Request for my DJ.
I hope this helps. You can check my wedding website for hotels as I am also getting married in Mt. Pleasant but my wedding will be on the other side of town.

www.theknot.com/ourwedding/meganwoods&danminkin

cougarette

Flowers - Beth at Wildflowers Inc.  She's very sweet and can work with any budget.  She has great ideas and her work is beautiful.

Cake - Michelle at Peacock Feather Cakes.  Again, she can work with any budget and has excellent ideas.  Our cake was amazing.

DJ - Rhett with Jay Maxwell's Music by Request.  He was great and kept the reception flowing.  The dancefloor was never empty.

Coordinator - Amanda with Southern Chic Weddings.  She's great and again, has lots of ideas for tight budgets.

There are plenty of hotels in Mt. Pleasant that aren't too far from I'on.  I think there's a new Holiday Inn about a mile away.  I second the recommendation for Old Village Post House.

katydid2014

I am also using Jay Maxwell for dj.  He supplies you with a great booklet full of all the timelines, info, and music list for you to be as picky (or not) with your music selections.  I spoke to Jay on the phone to make my reservation with him, but he has multiple dj's for events, so you don't know which one you will get. However, I have never seen a bad review on the company.

I am using D'lish desserts for our cake/cupcakes.  Molly is fabulous, SO easy to work with, laid back, creative, and her cake was the absolutely most delicious of the few places we tasted.  She is kind of a one-woman show so you need to book her well in advance b/c she takes on limited weddings per weekend.

I think we are going to use Charleston Executive Limos and Black Cab for transportation.  Both have been good about responding to my questions so far, I just haven't gotten around to booking them yet.

I am using Yoj Events for our ceremony coordinator since I don't need a full day-of, but they are also full service and do an amazing job.  She can also coordinate all your flowers through a florist she works with so you don't have to book that separately. 

Depending on how formal/informal you want a rehearsal dinner, I know SouthEnd Brewery can hold a large number of people on their upper level private rooms and they even have some pool tables and tvs I think for hanging out in one area.  The building itself is pretty cool too.  McCrady's is another option for a large group and is more formal.  We are actually having our reception in one of their upstairs private rooms.  For smaller groups, try Bocci's (italian).

HTH!

kd.joseph

I used Tiger Lily florists. My flowers turned out wonderful and they were able to work in my budget, and give me suggestions.

We had a very small wedding, so we didnt have a RD. But we had a private room at Tristan for our reception, and I know they can accomodate a larger group.

Good Luck and have fun.

excuseprincess

Thanks for all the suggestions ladies!!!!! We are heading to Charleston/Mt. Pleasant the first week of this November to meet vendors and get everything set!

jamos8

I am planning a wedding in Charleston from Kentucky next spring.  If you are still looking for a hotel close to Creek Club try the Homestead Suites by Hilton (I think it is on the IOP connector).  We just went to Charleston a couple of weeks ago and stayed there while we were finalizing our location. 

I second the recommendation with Tiger Lilly.  Check out Rob Duren if you need a DJ - that is who we chose and his wife is also a photographer.  Good luck~
JY

Lucy062405

We are also planning a Charleston area wedding from afar. (Virginia Beach)
We are using Dr Clarke lowcountryminister.com for our officiant/minister, he has been great to work with over the phone/email.
We are also using Jay Maxwell by Request for DJ and we are spending the extra $ for Jay himself. For welcome/rehearsal dinner we are looking in downtown Charleston at SouthEnd Brewery, McCrady's or High Cotton was reffered to us. Molly from D'lish has great reviews but isn't available on our date

hull91

If you're looking for awesome ceremony musicians - look into Black Tie Event Staffing (www.blacktieeventstaffing.com).  They can coordinate any type of musical combination of instruments (we had flute/oboe/cello - it was beautiful combination).  The musicians were very professional and talented, and the price was very affordable too.  Good luck   

MellandNate

You should check out my friend Kayla and Ben's wedding photos at Creek Club at I'On...gorgeous

http://charlestonwedding.com/index.html#/creek-club-at-i-on-charleston-wedding-and-reception-venue/

katykat03

I can't help you, but I'm doing the opposite: getting married in Philly and living in Charleston!