Hey all you chocolate lovers in Charleston (that’s like everybody, right?) If you’re looking for little ways to break with wedding tradition—nothing too radical—you might want to try a chocolate wedding cake at your reception. There are a bunch of ways you can go about it:

• Your basic, classic cake—only in chocolate.
• As cupcakes, in different fancy flavors colors and icings. This can save you money, too!
• Mix it up by having chocolate icing with white inside, or vice versa. Or chocolate accents on the icing. Or some combination of white, chocolate or fruit.
• You’ve heard of croquembouches, right? (That’s French for “crunch in the mouth.”) Those glazed, crunchy pastry balls would be sinful in chocolate!
• A chocolate potpourri! Take the previous four suggestions and go nuts!

Whatever you choose, going with chocolate is a exciting way to mix things up. It will be a real conversation piece at your reception!

Incorporating pets into your wedding is a very popular new trend. However, you must keep in mind the behavior and temperament of your pet.

Can your pet sit or stay in one place for an extended period of time?

This may seem obvious, but remember that most dogs have not been required to sit in one place for 30 minutes or more. You may want to practice with well trained dogs.

Are they housetrained?

No one wants any “accidents” or “marking of territory” during your wedding. I was considering having my Scottish terrier as a ring bearer, until I realized that he would lift his leg on every pew going down the aisle.

What will happen to the pet during the reception?

Is there a place for them to play? Or will you have to crate them? Many times pets are not allowed in reception venues due to the health code. As always ask before you assume.

Has your pet ever been aggressive towards other pets or people?

You don’t have to be Cesar Milan to know that dogs feed off the surrounding human’s energy…and let’s face it ladies, odds are you are going to be a bit stressed out on your wedding day. So if you dog has ever shown any type of aggression, leave them at home. It doesn’t matter how cute your Yorkie is, if he bites the Best Man.

How old is the dog?

Puppies are generally not a good idea for weddings. Their energy level is still really high, and many haven’t grasp all the rules of good behavior. Very old dogs can present their own challenges. You would hate for your 15 year old lab to have to be woken up during the recessional, because he fell asleep during the wedding.



In the end there are no set rules as to whether or not a dog would be a good fit for your wedding. For more information on taking care of your pets, be sure to visit our sister site www.AnimalCare.sc.

With spring festival season in full swing, now is a great time to check out your local parks and venues. Lots of local events are thrown at parks and venues that also host weddings. Festivals give you a unique chance to see how well venues can handle crowds. While you may not be throwing a wedding for 2,000 people, events can give you a worst case scenario for how the venue will handle your guest list. Does it have enough bathrooms? Where can you set up food? Where is power? Does the grass get muddy?

Well summer is coming up, and many of you are planning vacations. Summer is both a good and a bad time to have a destination wedding. If you are inviting guest will children who attend school, summer is great because the children aren’t occupied. But , as many of you know South Carolina summers are hot. Temperatures can be well over 100 degrees and 100% humidity is the norm. Not to discourage any of you from having a beach wedding this summer, just keep it in mind, and plan your wedding during the cooler times of the day, in the morning and in the evening. No bride wants their wedding guest to bake on the beach.

Parasols, water, and fans are a great way to keep you guest cool. Also consider getting a wedding dress that is light, with as few layers as possible. You don’t want to be stuck on a warm beach day with a 80lbs of dress strapped on. Remember ladies, a comfortable bride is a happy bride.

Weddings can be very stressful. Don’t forget to take time for yourself. It can be tempting to spend all your free time working out the details for your wedding. If you don’t want to end up like one of the overstressed and over the top Bridezilla’s from TV, remember to take time for yourself. Have Wedding Free Days. Go see a movie with your fiancé, get a pedicure, go shopping, go to the beach. What ever makes you relax do it. If you are always getting calls from family members about the wedding, turn off the phone. Just for a day. Pick out the flowers tomorrow. Book your photographer next weekend. Anyone who is stressed out about the wedding is not invited to your day off. Assume the Lotus position brides…wedding Zen is a beautiful thing. Omm.

Okay, in case you were hiding under a rock, you taxes were due…yesterday! But here is something for you South Carolina brides and grooms to remember for next year. South Carolina has a $50 tax credit for anyone who takes premarital counseling. Now you have to follow a few guidelines in order to get the credit.


1) Your councilor has to be taught by a professional counselor or a member of the clergy. No talking with your dog and trying to write it off.

2) The counseling has to last a minimum of 6 hours. No trying to write off a 2 minute chat with your priest on the way out of church.

3) You have a year after you apply for your marriage license to complete the course.

4) You have to complete the course together.



Your counselor or priest should give you a certificate of completion at the end of the course to document the hours of counseling you had. As always, if you have any questions about your taxes, how to file, and what you can write off, check with a professional tax preparer in your area.

Well my Carolina brides…happy Monday. I just got my wedding photos back, I must say I am much happier with my bridal portraits. That’s the sad thing with having two photographers shoot a wedding and your bridal portrait. Odds our one of the photographers will be better at his craft than the other. Oh well. That’s life. If you all are looking for a photographer for your wedding be sure to check out our directory. And as always, check your photographer’s portfolio to make sure you like his or her work.

Okay, Ladies I promised you could see pictures and here they are. The first group of shots are from our Honeymoon on Fripp Island, South Carolina. The last few are from the wedding. I should be getting more wedding shots over the next few days. I hope you enjoy them all. As always if you are a South Carolina bride or groom and have photos you would like to share of your wedding, bridal shower, honeymoon, etc., we would love to feature you. Email you photos to info@weddings.sc.

Digital Cameras have made taking pictures much cheaper and easier for the everyday bride than it once was. No longer do you have to drag around countless rolls of film, and a bulky camera. My cameras, which as far as digital cameras go, is a relatively inexpensive one, and can hold about 2000 high quality photos. But the question remains, what do you do with you digital photos after you take them. With the events surrounding your wedding (showers, parties, etc) many people may want to see the photos, or even have copies, after you’ve taken them. Consider uploading your photos to a Digital Photo Printing service. Many services give you the option to email copies of your photos to your friends. You also have a chance to make all kinds of specialty items and gifts with ease. You can make thank you notes with photos of you and your groom at your wedding or on your honeymoon. Say thank you to your bridesmaids with photo books of your baccalaureate party, or let your both your mothers know how special they are and how much you appreciate their help with a framed print of you and your fiancé.


Another positive side to uploading your photos to a Digital Photo Printing service is that your photos are backed up on something other than your home computer. Let’s face it ladies, it doesn’t take a geek to know that bad things can happen to computers, hard drives fail, lighting storms fry things, and no amount of insurance will bring back the photos from your bridal shower. But if you have your photos saved through a Digital Photo service, they will wait for you online. The same thing holds true for prints you have ordered. Hurricanes, floods, and other “acts of god” will ruin photos in a heartbeat, but if you have your photos saved online, you can order them again.

This Bridezilla will be out for the next few days for her own wedding and honeymoon. So I hope you all have a great time planning your weddings this weekend, I know I will have fun having mine. I will return on Thursday the 10th. And don’t worry, I’ll bring pictures.


Which brings me to another point! If you are a Carolina Bride, send in your pictures, and a blurb about your wedding. We would love to feature you on the Weddings.sc blog.