FEATURE
The Secret is Out: Charleston is a Top Wedding Destination!

By: PremiereCharleston.com Weddings Editor

04/08/2010

A “Destination Wedding,” roughly defined, is a wedding that occurs somewhere that neither the bride nor groom calls home. The destination, chosen either for its historical significance or natural beauty (or both) is often as important as the ceremony itself. 

A Charleston destination wedding is the act of bringing to life that classic Charleston Picture Postcard, and having it serve as the backdrop for your special day.  To many potential brides, travel writers and wedding planners across the US, this is a no-brainer. If you happen to live here, this news may come as a surprise.

Picture Postcard Charleston is that romantic image that people (who don’t live here) have of our fair city. To someone living outside the Kudzu Curtain, Charleston IS Rainbow Row, cobblestone streets, the Market, gas lamps, horse-drawn carriages, gentle harbor breezes and sunsets at the beach.  It’s the honor, tradition and secret shame of a Pat Conroy novel. It’s the stolen glance or heaving bosom nine feet high in tragic romance movies like “The Notebook” or “Dear John.” 

A lovely bride on one of Charleston's historic and charming cobblestone streets. Photo by MCGPHOTOGRAPHY.COM

Charleston SC is a Popular Wedding Destination

For a term that barely existed a decade ago, destination weddings have become big business. One estimate says that over 10 percent of weddings in the US are of the Destination variety. And where are happy couples and their wedding parties jetting off to for that special day or weekend? Well, Charleston is high on the list.

It’s a subjective list, and it’s hard to nail down a Top 10 of US Wedding Destinations, but search the web and you will find Charleston to be well represented. For instance, consider these nuggets of Charleston matrimonial goodness:

• Influential wedding site TheKnot.com says “You can't go wrong with charming, historic, refined Charleston.”
• LocationWeddings.net says “South Carolina and the Lowcountry have much to offer in the way of fabulous wedding locations.
• Destination Wedding Magazine considers Magnolia Plantation and Gardens one of its “10 Unique Destination Wedding Venues in the U.S.”
• The beach is a Destination Wedding staple. And The Travel Channel has called the beach at Kiawah one of the nation's best.

Purely anecdotal evidence? Just selling bridal magazines? Maybe. But here is an interesting factoid: one estimate says that of all the wedding licenses issued in Charleston, roughly half of them are to out-of-towners.

Middleton Place Plantation, Ashley River Road, Charleston, SC

Why a Charleston Destination Wedding?

Charleston’s popularity as a wedding destination is not terribly difficult to understand. Think about your wedding wish list. Whether you have been imagining it since you were ten years old, or it never occurred to you…you likely have a mental picture. Words like elegance, natural beauty, history, romance and charm come to mind. These aren’t elements that your wedding planner will have to import to make your dream wedding come true in Charleston. Why, these attributes are practically falling from the stately, ancient, moss-covered oak trees framing exquisite antebellum mansions along our charming cobblestone streets. Or something. 

If a Charleston Wedding Destination sounds like your cup of tea, here are some Google searches to get your creative juices flowing:

• Charleston SC Wedding Venues
• Charleston SC Wedding Reception Sites
• Charleston SC Beach Weddings
• Charleston SC Plantations
• Charleston SC Wedding Planners

 

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