You're Here for a Reason
While deciding on our "day of" details, the topic of table numbers surfaced in conversation. As Charleston has quite the special place in our heart, we knew we wanted to incorporate our moments made here over the years somehow and share with all of you.
We decided to nix the table numbers, and create table "stories" instead.
Below you will find a handful of terms, all that you may or may not recognize their significance to Charleston. However, these terms have incredible significance to our story. Pairing with each term is the meaning they each have to us, with a mini story of our experience (and a little humor added in as well!)
You are sitting at your table for a reason.
Enjoy!
CHEZ NOUS
The phrase itself means “home” and how incredibly significant. Tucked inside a pint-sized old house, Chez Nous is a tiny yet charming neighborhood restaurant located in downtown Charleston, which features food & wine from Southern France, Northern Italy & Northern Spain. What we love about Chez Nous is that they offer a daily changing menu of local ingredients – consisting of only 2 appetizers, 2 entreés & 2 desserts all day – Ken and I always order one of each, making our ordering decision that much easier! To top off the ambience, all menus are written by hand in their executive chef’s penmanship, a perfect memento to take home to remember the experience.
Oysters on the Half Shell
I think the secrets out, Lindsay and Ken absolutely love oysters! Single Ladies, St. Helena’s and Oyster Blades are just a few of Charleston’s best locals when it comes to these delicacies. Ask Lindsay where she tasted her first oyster!
Ken & Lindsay’s Favorite: Add Mignonette, Horseradish and Cocktail sauce with a splash of lemon.
THE GIN JOINT
Located off East Bay Street, this small cocktail joint may be tucked inside a tiny old house, but their drinks are sure fancy and full of flavor. We love to stop here for a perfect night cap and always lean towards the Bartender’s Choice cocktail. Allowing you to choose any 2 descriptive words that fit your style, a delicious drink will be shaken up for you in a flash!
Lindsay’s Pick: Gin - Refreshing & Tart
Ken’s Choice: Mezcal - Spicy & Smoky
PLANTER'S INN
On our 6 month anniversary back in 2014, Ken handed Lindsay a postcard from South Carolina and surprised her with a weekend away. He reserved our stay at Planter’s Inn, a quaint hotel with a hidden, yet welcoming courtyard and flickering lantern lights. Visiting right before Christmas, it brought the holidays even further to life and definitely set the expectations high for our future visits down south. Leave it to Ken to always do his research and make our first trip down to Charleston a special weekend we would always remember.
Side note to this story: As odd luck would have it, during our stay this same weekend we also ended up with a flat tire as we were driving our rental car away from the hotel. Ironically, on our itinerary for the day was to drive here where you are right now, Legare Waring House! The bellhops at the hotel were so generous and swapped out the tire quickly to get us on our way for the afternoon. Not all vacations go perfectly as planned. This is one small part of the weekend we definitely won’t forget!
MAGNOLIA
Tucked into this very venue are majestic Oak and Magnolia Trees, along with 80 acres of English park gardens, all what makes Legare Waring House naturally appealing. Lindsay also incorporated magnolia leaves into her floral arrangements to tie in with the charming natural landscape
MINI BISCUITS
Warm, delicious, buttery biscuits - the perfect snack in the south, at any size! Our favorite mini biscuits here in Charleston are from Calie’s Hot Little Biscuit (HLB’s for short!) of all sorts and flavors. Be sure to head down King Street before you leave to snag a treat!
- Ken’s Favorite: Black Pepper Bacon HLB with Pimento Cheese
- Lindsay’s Favorite: Country Ham HLB with Carolina Honey & Homemade Jam
Avenue of the Oaks
If you have seen Oak Trees in person, you’ll understand why we fell in love with Legare Waring House as the venue to have our ceremony. Pairing with the church pews, one of the our favorite details of the wedding is how the trees arch in a cathedral-like shape and create the feeling and atmosphere as though we are inside an actual church setting.
During our first visit to Charleston in 2014, we attended a festival here at Legare. Our initial plan was only to attend on Friday, but Ken surprised Lindsay on Sunday with final concert tickets to come back here and to see Johnnyswimm, both one of their favorite folk couples. As luck would have it, Lindsay and Ken took a photo in the exact spot that day in 2014 where they said their wedding vows tonight. The Avenue of the Oaks mean more to them than most would think!
Legare Waring House
Here we are! To us, Legare Waring House is Charleston's hidden gem. Inside Charles Towne Landing, the venue is unique not only for the beauty but also for its rich history. Built in the 1840's, the modest two-story cottage was a part of Old Town Plantation. How ironic that we both lived in the Old Town neighborhood in Chicago before and when then met… fast forward months later when we visited here for our first time knowing it was a special place, and 3 years later here we are today at our wedding.
Since the 1980’s it has hosted South Carolina's first families, national officials and international dignitaries...and is now host to a few lucky couples – one being us!
Ask Lindsay and Ken about their first time visiting Legare Waring House- It’s quite special!
The Darling
…as in The Darling Oyster Bar. As pretty as it sounds, the restaurant is a new hot spot right off King Street and has become one of our favorites. If you’re into brunch’n, this is your spot.
While Lindsay orders her dozen oysters, Ken can’t pass up their infamous Bloody Mary, a meal all in itself: a glass of goodness including a lobster claw, king crab leg, a hush puppy and two pickled shrimp. One word: MASSIVE. One more word: YUM.
KING STREET
King Street is Charleston at her best! We think of this main cobblestone road as the “Michigan Avenue” of Charleston.
Upper King Street is known as the design and dining district, while Middle to Lower King near the water houses all the best boutiques and antique shops. Each with its own sense of style and flavor, but all are uniquely Charleston.
CHARLES TOWNE LANDING
Guess what? You’re standing on it! Our venue, Legare Waring House, is tucked inside this historic state site. The raw natural landscape of Charles Towne Landing was transformed into one of Charleston’s best-loved suburban gardens, including 80 acres of grounds, and an elegant live oak alley.
Ken and Lindsay fell in love with this historic site on our first visit to Charleston back in 2014. We attended a festival on the property called “The Jubilee” and knew it was going to be a special place from the initial drive in through the beautiful Oak trees. To Lindsay, Charles Town Landing has a charming feel of a welcoming backyard garden, where family and friends can gather and spend time with one another. All the reason more that we decided that this would be the perfect venue for our special day.
RAINBOW ROW
Rainbow Row calls for a series of thirteen colorful historic houses in the East Bay neighborhood in downtown Charleston. The collection of brightly-colored homes, which are stacked side by side, is arguably one of the most photographed streets of the city. You don’t want to miss the opportunity for an “instagrammable” moment like this!
SOUTHERN LIVING
Lindsay and Ken both knew each other were someone special on their first date. They met in Old Town one Sunday in May 2014, and ending up spending time together all afternoon, over 7 hours to be exact! After learning about each other, and each other’s families, Lindsay mentioned her love for the South (…. and if this date didn’t work out she would eventually want to move to a Southern state!) As fate would have it, Lindsay and Ken hit it off on that first date, amongst others and learned Ken’s love for the South as well.
Fast forward almost 4 years later and now spending the rest of our lives together, we don’t plan to move to that southern state anytime in the future, but slowing down every so often for a vacation down here as husband and wife is a perfect trade off!
SOUTH OF BROAD
If you are Charleston local, you know the exact location when someone mentions “South of Broad.” Near the southern point of the peninsula, South of Broad is Charleston’s most storied neighborhood and perhaps the most exclusive part of Downtown. Rows of palatial antebellum mansions line East Bay and Meeting Street but you’ll find homes of all shapes and sizes on the quaint cobblestone roads.
We met our photographer, Olivia Rae James, in this quaint neighborhood to capture the perfect photos for our engagement session. From the cobblestone roads, to the colorful homes and floral landscape, we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful scenic backdrop behind us.
THE ESTATE
You all sitting with us tonight have made an incredible impact in our lives, and our relationship as we become husband and wife. We decided to create this estate table for gathering, rather than sitting on our own tonight. This allows all sitting here to cherish the memories for this night forever with those who mean so much to us.
The JUBILEE
On our first visit to Charleston in 2014, we attended a festival hosted by Garden & Gun Magazine called “The Jubilee” right here on Charles Town Landing and completely fell in love with the venue. We shopped local artisans, enjoyed tasty oysters, and drank Charleston brew. We had such a great time the first year that we brought Ken’s parents back the following year for a second round of “The Jubilee” so they could experience the charm as well!
THE ORDINARY
Located right in the heart of King Street, this southern seafood and oyster hall lives inside an old bank and has the most charming ambience once you walk inside. Enjoying one of our first dinners when we visited Charleston in 2014, it was ironically also where Lindsay tried her first oyster (p.s. she hasn’t turned back since!).
Whether visiting for a 3 course meal or going the tasty cocktail route with a simple appetizer, The Ordinary has become “our happy place” and we cannot leave Charleston without stopping in!
ZERO GEORGE
The tiny, yet charming 18 room Bed & Breakfast captured our hearts when we stayed with Ken’s parents on our second visit to Charleston in December 2015. Their courtyard is made from old oyster shells and as a guest, you don’t spend 4-5PM anywhere else in Charleston but at their VIP guest exclusive happy hour, enjoying your own cheese board, and sipping on Rose.
Lindsay fell in love with the hotel so much that she knew Zero George was where she wanted to wake up on her wedding day, get ready with her bridesmaids, and share the first look with her husband in their beautiful courtyard.