Charleston wedding at White Point Garden and the Citadel Beach Club.Open Post
This Charleston wedding at White Point Garden and the Citadel Beach Club may have been a destination wedding. But Charleston wasn’t chosen just for its beauty, beaches, and good restaurants.
Houston couple Mary Dallas and Hasnain were led here by roots that run two generations deep. Mary Dallas went to the College of Charleston and has all the amazing memories you’d expect from four years at what is widely known as a very fun school. But before her, her dad also went to college here, but at The Citadel, and had his own set of stories that he shared with his daughter. Mary Dallas’ father passed away several years ago, and her mother, back home in Greenville, SC, was too sick to attend her wedding. It was important to Mary Dallas to honor her father by stopping by his favorite college haunt, Big John’s Tavern, after the ceremony for a drink and photos. She also chose a couple of her own college haunts for portraits between the ceremony and reception. It was a way to have some one-on-one time with her new husband while also keeping those Charleston roots strong.
Charleston Wedding at White Point Garden
Mary Dallas and Hasnain held their ceremony in front of the iconic White Point Garden gazebo, built in 1907 as a bandstand. Mary Dallas’s sisters walked her down the aisle. Despite heavy winds whipping the veil (and everyone’s hair) around, it was an idyllic wedding ceremony interspersed with joy and tears. It was a big moment for these two, and everyone could feel it.
Reception at Citadel Beach Club
The reception was 40 minutes away at the Citadel Beach Club on Isle of Palms – again, a way to honor Mary Dallas’ dad. Everything was held outdoors on the lawn by the beach – cocktail hour complete with a freshly shucked oyster station (highly recommended!); dinner; and dancing.
On Hasnain’s side, his father also passed away years ago, so his mother – his vibrant, beaming, joyful mother – was the sole parent present at their wedding, and she held that role with such grace and gravity. Every time we saw her, she was smiling ear to ear. Mary Dallas and Hasnain found a perfect way to honor her as well, by having nearly the entire guest list learn and perform a dance from her favorite Bollywood movie, totally as a surprise to her. Seeing her reaction, as she realized what was happening, was priceless.
Family is Everything
Mary Dallas and Hasnain kept family at the center of everything they planned for their Charleston wedding weekend, including celebrating Hasnain’s Pakistani heritage the first night with a Mehndi party. Weddings are beautiful that way… honoring family who are no longer here; celebrating with the ones who are; all while starting a new family of your own. Life will always renew itself through each generation, and the lives of those generations are made richer by the vast bank of stories, memories and love left by each one that came before.
Planning a Charleston wedding and need ideas? Check out the Charleston wedding venues we’ve photographed and see our Charleston weddings here.
