5 Ideas for a Truly Charleston Wedding Reception

Maybe you have family and friends coming in from all over the country to celebrate your wedding day or maybe you’re having a destination wedding and want to create a truly Charleston wedding reception. These 5 ideas can help make it happen!

1. Go al fresco

In Charleston we are so lucky to have nice weather all year long making going al fresco for your Charleston wedding reception so doable. Imagine dining and dancing under the stars with an unobstructed view of your venue’s Spanish moss draped trees or marshy views!
Of course it’s always good to have a backup plan if you’re planning an al fresco reception. Having a tent on hold just in case can be a life saver. You can always rent a clear top tent so you don’t miss out on the view!

2. Lowcountry cuisine

Lowcountry boil, steamed oysters, mini tomato pies – my mouth is watering just writing this. Southern foods like these are staples for a Charleston wedding reception. Instead of having a sit down dinner, so many Charleston wedding receptions have dinner stations with a few different options to keep guests moving.

3. Oyster knife favors

Speaking of serving oysters, why not send your guests home with a Lowcountry necessity that they can also use throughout the night — an oyster knife! I can’t get over these oyster knife favors from Blair and Jason’s wedding.

4. A joggling board guest book

In my years as a wedding photographer, I’ve seen a lot of different guest book ideas but I’ve never seen anything quite like this. At Grace and Tom’s wedding, they had the most perfect joggling board guest book and it makes my heart so happy. For the history of the joggling board, click here!

5. Hire a wedding band

The question of band or DJ is a big wedding planning decision with no right or wrong answer but adding a live wedding band to your Charleston wedding reception can take the party to a whole new level. I’ve seen wedding bands play a variety of sets from popular covers to beach music all night!