When we say we have some of the most genuine clients in the world, we truly mean some of the sweetest, kindest couples imaginable. Chandler + David were no exception. Last October, we had the pleasure of being a part of their big day at Lowndes Grove and we could not had a more perfect setting for this perfect couple! Their love and admiration for one another lights up amy room and Virgil Bunao beautifully captured their love throughout the evening & even managed to get the iconic sunset photo on the dock. Catching up with this couple was such a treat!

Ashley: It is hard to believe it has been nearly 9 months since you and David tied the knot at Lowndes Grove! How has married life treated you so far?

Chandler: It has been wonderful! In the months leading up to our wedding, David and I were both so busy with work, school, and wedding planning, that we often didn’t have a lot of free time. Since our wedding, our lives have calmed down a little bit and it has been nice just having down time together.

Ashley: Looking back on your wedding day, what part of the day stands out the most to you and why?

Chandler: Walking down the aisle was by far the most memorable part of our wedding. I was a very emotional bride (to say the least) and ended up crying the whole way down the aisle, but nothing can compare to the flood of emotions I felt in that moment. After an 18 month engagement, there was so much anticipation leading up to that moment and finally experiencing it was really intense. When I saw David at the end of the aisle tearing up, I knew he was feeling the same way.

Ashley: What was your favorite part of the planning process?

Chandler: Looking back I really enjoyed the entire planning process, but my favorite part was definitely our planning trip to Charleston last December. During that trip, we had multiple tastings, our floral appointment, and a venue tour with A.Caldwell Events. Prior to this trip, the majority of our planning was done via email and telephone; therefore, it was nice to come to Charleston and see and taste things firsthand. It made us both really excited to see our vision coming to life. I also really enjoyed having David by my side for the planning process. Whether he will admit it or not, he was very involved in planning our wedding. Planning our wedding was good practice for married life because we learned to set priorities and compromise together.

Ashley: What was the biggest challenge for you to overcome while planning the wedding?

Chandler: The biggest challenge for us was definitely deciding on our guest list. Initially, we both wanted to invite everyone we knew, but we quickly learned that wasn’t realistic. Making decisions about who to invite ended up being very challenging for us. We ended up inviting those individuals who knew us and had supported us as a couple. We realized it wasn’t “my day” or “his day,” but rather “our day” and we wanted to be surrounded by those individuals who had given us love and encouragement as a couple.

Ashley: With so many wedding planners in Charleston, how did you come to choose A.Caldwell Events?

Chandler: A.Caldwell Events was actually recommended to us by our sales manager at Patrick Properties Hospitality Group. David and I sent Ali an email after committing to Lowndes Grove as our venue and the following morning, Ali reached out to us. Even at our first meeting, we were blown away by her. Hiring a planner was a little difficult for me at first because I am very type A and like to do things myself. However, shortly into our meeting with Ali, I learned that David and I could be as involved or uninvolved as we wanted with the planning process. I loved this because I really trusted that Ali would help guide our wedding vision, but allow us to have as much input as we wanted. David was especially impressed by Ali’s organizational skills, honesty and assertive (yet friendly) personality.  He felt confident that on the day of our wedding, Ali would be able to handle whatever issues were thrown her way. When it was all said and done, picking A.Caldwell Events as our wedding planner was the best decision we could have made. In the months leading up to our wedding, I felt like I was planning our wedding with a good friend rather than a hired vendor.

Ashley: What advice do you have for newly engaged couples as they begin the planning process and selecting a wedding planner?

Chandler: I have two pieces of advice: 1. It’s never too early to start planning. 2. Hire a planner. David and I were engaged for 18 months before we got married. I will admit, it often felt like our wedding was light years away, but in the end, our long engagement allowed us time to plan our wedding at our own pace. Wedding planning is a huge undertaking and our long engagement allowed us to put things on hold when life got crazy. We did not have the pressure of the clock winding down so planning our wedding never felt like a hassle. My second piece of advice is hire a planner. As I mentioned before, I was a little hesitant to hire a full service planner, but in the end, it was the best decision, especially since we lived in North Carolina. When planning our wedding, I talked to Ali and her team almost daily. The fact that David and I got along with the A.Caldwell Events team so well made those discussions enjoyable. Also, when choosing a planner, I think it is important to establish early on what your budget is, what your style is, and how involved you want to be in the planning process.

Ashley: What is next for you as a couple?

Chandler: I am not sure that either one of us knows for sure. These days we both stay pretty busy with our careers, but we have made it a priority to set aside time for just us. We recently became members of a church in Raleigh we have been going to for months so that was a really exciting and important step for us. We have had many discussions recently about finding our first house and having children together, but we are taking those decisions day by day. For our one year anniversary, we are heading to Dallas, Texas for 6 days and we could not be more excited! We actually met another newlywed couple while we were on our honeymoon in St. Lucia and they have become good friends of ours. They live outside of Dallas and invited us to come visit them. It should be a lot of fun!