touring WEDDING venues 👰🏼‍♀️💍 charleston & savannah wedding venue tours!

Hello from Charleston. Welcome to the very start of the wedding planning vlogs. We are on our wedding venue touring trip. We are touring in Charleston and Savannah. Charlie and I have been here since Monday. It's Wednesday morning. My mom, my wedding planner, are on a plane right now. Their flight was delayed a little bit, so they're going to be a little bit late to the start of the tours. They were delayed from last night. It's been the whole thing with travel. Anyway, so they're going to meet us eventually. Charlie just got a car because we are going to be touring, I believe, five venues today in Charleston, and then we are touring to tomorrow in Savannah. So we're going to drive to Savannah tonight, which I love Savannah. I love Charleston too, but I die for Savannah, Georgia. Savannah, oh my God. But as far as actual wedding and stuff, it's going to be completely dependent on the venues, and I love Charleston. This is just more of the vibe of what we wanted for our wedding. I've talked about this a little bit on TikTok and Instagram, but even the podcast and everywhere, I'm acting like I've kept this under wraps. I've literally told you guys a billion times, we did decide on doing a destination wedding for a couple different reasons. The number one being the fact that I love the idea of everyone being together for days on end instead of just seeing them at a rehearsal dinner, maybe, or a welcome party, and then the wedding. I would rather really have time with our guests and be able to spend time together, and I think doing it in a city like Savannah or Charleston is so fun, because it's such a fun place to go. I didn't want to do all the way to an international destination wedding, because I want my grandparents to come and stuff, which my sister did Greece, and it was literally the most beautiful wedding ever, and she did it how she wanted, and did her civil wedding with her grandparents, which is also really special. But for Charlie and I, I think this is just what we mutually have decided on. So we're doing that. Oh, my wedding planner, which you guys will actually, you just met her on the podcast last week, Hunter. I will have her information and stuff linked below, but she's on her way. She's literally the best. I've known her for, I think, 70 years, and I just have always planned on using her. She is literally the best, so you guys are going to die for her, and I did get some content creators in Charleston and Savannah to help me with the footage and stuff, because I have to be focused and locked in. I do do my hair, and it's like, why don't I even do my hair when it's so humid here, you know? Anyway, I have this dress from J.Crew that I love. We're about to check out of our Airbnb. I also have had this bracelet from Jenny Bird, the new one, not the tennis bracelet, and I just put it back on. I'm like, this is so perfect for my stack. I'm obsessed. So anyway, we're going to head out. I have to go to Baba's. Oh, my God. I'll fill you guys in on my Baba's drama. I literally humiliated myself. I don't know how I'm ever going to come back. So anyway, we will chat in a second. I have to actually get ready to go. This right here, Baba's, is the reason, the real reason, or was the real reason I wanted to get married here. We'll chat soon about this. Thank you. Okay, guys, so Baba's is the best coffee shop ever in Charleston. If you watched the last Charleston vlog, you would know about the strawberry whipped espresso iced with peanut milk. It tastes like PB&J, and it's the best drink you'll ever have in your life. Alexa showed it to me, and I was like, life has changed. So I had to make a fool out of myself. It's seasonal. You just ruined the whole story. No, I haven't even been telling Charlie, like, every day, like, we're going to be up at 701. We're going to be at that coffee shop. It opens at 7. I'm getting this drink. It's the best thing ever, whatever. So I go up full of joy, full of excitement. Like, I'm so excited. The first one is over here, yesterday. And then she just crushes my drink. Well, the water can't end. Like, the energy is not the same as the one before. The one before was fun. The one that I got now, way better. She just crushed my drink. She was like, no, please don't. I was like, okay, I have to make a fool out of myself because I've literally told everyone that I know that I'm getting this drink. This morning, I posted on Instagram, and, you know, it was a cool thing. And, like, it's July. Like, how is it not in season? Desperate. Not desperate. Devastating. I was trying to say devastating. Devastating. So, anyway, I will be back when it's in season, and I knew the recipe for the greatest drink ever. The peanut drink is number two. It's also amazing. It is so good that Charlie who doesn't even drink coffee, literally ever, ordered himself this morning. He's never done that. I've never seen him order anything ever. Okay, our drinks have arrived. First off, even the cup that they put these things in. Insane. And you become a cup of coffee. Let me double mine in a second. No, Charlie takes one sip because this thing is so good. Like, I guess he doesn't order anything to, like, water or whiskey, you know? It's insane. Like, it's so good. It's so good. I can't imagine. I'm giving one to you now. It's insane. Alright, please don't ever bring that to me, guys. It's a trigger warning. Strawberry espresso bottles. It's so good. What an amazing farewell to Baga's. Wentworth is the best location. I got a drink to go. Charlie ordered his own. I've never seen him do that. We get coffee, like, every morning, or he makes me coffee every morning, but he makes me coffee every morning, and then we also get coffee when we're, like, traveling. Never once have I seen a man order something, okay? That is all you need to know. The peanut drink ice. So insanely good. I can't even begin to explain it to you. Anyway, you guys are not looking, oh my god, okay. You're not looking for a coffee review here. You're looking for some wedding venue things. Yes, yes, yes. So, we are on our way to the first place. Updates to come. The first place we went to was the Island House. I have seen, obviously, tons of weddings at all these venues now, and this is the one where they have, like, the DJs outside on the water during sunset. So fun. So pretty. I actually took this tour without my mom and wedding planner because their flights were delayed, and this is the tour where I realized that I'm a type B bride and Charlie is a type A groom. Also, it does come with that tent. For the amount of people that we're looking for for a wedding, which is around 200 to 250, we would need to rent another one. Out here, they do ceremonies over here, and then if you saw us under that big tree earlier in this video, that's another place that they do ceremonies. So this is where the guys would get ready. Y'all could come in as early as nine. Typically, I see you guys come in a little later, but totally up to you. So, we got a TV there. You got all this space here, and then we got a bar area, refrigerator, and I'll walk you through this way, and then this is a great spot to kind of line everybody up, too, if you're doing, like, ceremony on the waterfront. Restroom here. Very fun. The house was built in the late 60s, so wait until you get upstairs. I love wallpaper. It is so coming back, and I'm getting ready to walk around my kitchen. My whole house is wallpaper. Yeah, that's a nice addition. I love this. Did you do the stick and peel? I started with stick and peel. I've had it in my walkover for, like, seven years, and I've started with stick and peel, and now I mainly do, like, the normal stuff. Okay. Just because over time, like, if it's hot, it falls and stuff, and in Texas, it's so hot, but it really... I lived in California, and it worked. Oh my god, I love the texture on this wallpaper. Yeah, so this is, like, the black wallpaper, and it's totally coming back. Yeah, this is so cool. So, obviously, wallpaper is not something that I'm scared of. Anyway, they're taking us through the house. So, this... I'm trying to give you guys as much information as I remember. During the actual, like, ceremony reception, the only people allowed in this house would be family and a bridal party. That's where you get ready. I actually think it might just be family during the reception. I thought the house was really cool in the sense that it is giving, like, traditional home, but it almost looks like the holiday cottage. You know what I mean? This is Kinsey, our friend. Yeah. Nice to meet you. So, for this tour, we are going to a property that has a ton of different venues on it. This is actually the property, without me even realizing it until I got there, because I was so not really involved in... Actually, Hunter did quite literally everything. There was a TikTok video that Macy and I found on TikTok, obviously, probably a couple months ago when I said, you know, we should at least go tour Charleston because I loved the vibe of it. And it's actually from this property, which is really cool. This was fun because I literally just looked at my Google Calendar and I showed up to the venues. Like, I had no idea where we were really going. Hunter really... I cannot stress enough how much she really did all of this. So, when it comes to the chapel, this is not something I'd originally pictured myself doing ever. I'd never really thought about, like, getting married in a chapel. Obviously, this is the most, like, traditional, classic, most done thing that's ever existed, but I feel like people just aren't, like, doing it anymore. So, I hadn't even really thought about it until that morning. For some reason, it just came across my desk. I had no idea there was even going to be a chapel at this, like, location, and it was so cute. All right, what song y'all are requesting? Yeah, think about, like, coming out. What we could do is, like, everyone line up and you guys come out. Like, there's, like, all the moments. Yeah. And so, if we're getting... Let's just say we get married here. Is there a potential that someone else could get married over there? No, we would never do two complete weddings at the same time. Okay. So, this is actually where part of the notebook was filmed. I mentioned that earlier. The painting scene was up on that balcony. I also don't think the videos do this place justice. It is perfect. So, you get a little bit more of that, like, royalty vibe in here. Yeah. You see people put, like, a cake here, champagne, and then people will, like, congregate inside. So, it's a great place to, like, hang out. Yeah. And then, we see a perpetual lawn. So, we would just encourage that you bring it back. Look at that view with the trees. Yeah, you know, it's insane. It's crazy. Where do you see the most, like, eating dinner portion here on the property? It's gonna be on the turf. Yeah, well, I do. I can't do that right now. But, yeah, it's so cool. Are the brides, like, to, like, come in the morning? Yeah, that's cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of cool. You're watching it a lot. As far as the bar goes and stuff too, they serve from all sides. Oh, yeah. All right, y'all. We just toured the first two places, and they're, both of them are beautiful. The second one was unbelievable. Oh, my mom's here now, guys, by the way. The second one was unbelievable. Charlie, first off, you, I am, like, type E bride. Charlie is type A groom. Like, he, you're good at this. Thanks. He, like, knew all the questions to ask. He, and I was like, yeah, it looks good to me. And he's like, anyway, we have, like, he had so many questions. He's asking about bathrooms. Yeah, he's, like, so good at this. But, no, it's seriously beautiful here. The, like, the, our favorite venue, part of, like, this scene in the notebook where she's, like, painting was filmed there. I mean, it is so perfect. Like, I really thought we were going to do Savannah, and, like, after being, well, actually, no, I kind of did think we were going to do the Charleston venue, but, like, this is literally perfect. So, this is the one venue that's different from all the others in the sense that this one is, like, actually in the city, in the middle of everything. We loved the vibe of this one and the look of this one, so we wanted to see it. It is really, really cool. First off, it's my favorite color. It's yellow. It's definitely brighter yellow in person, but on photos, it looks like it's a butter yellow. And I love how there's multiple balconies. All of the doors open around, too, so it just feels very open. And I, one, was recommended this by a friend, and then, two, all the stuff that I saw online of this venue, I really, really liked. There was a couple different places for ceremony. They had a cute little maze. They also had this theater that it was connected to, so you could do like, I think, maybe an after party or a rehearsal dinner or whatever that might be, and that place is a little more art deco, which isn't, like, my vibe traditionally, but this venue was really, really cool. Like, I actually, I really, really like this one, and I also, like, this is one that I really want to attend a wedding at, if that makes any sense. So, anyways, when you go through here, there's a bar up to the left throughout here, or you can use that space as a bar, if I'm remembering this correctly. During these tours, guys, it's just so much information that I felt like I was just, like, going brain dead. I just couldn't, like, think, and I am trying my best to remember all the good details for you guys, in case you guys are interested. The next tour that we go on actually is owned by the same people, so it's, like, two tours in one. As you can see, all these out here, that's where the doors open. All right, y'all, we have made it to Savannah. We had a very successful day of, like, not planning, of touring. I actually, like, loved them. I think number two and number four were definitely my favorites. Also, number four is where I have not seen Outerbakes, but, like, was it Sarah's house? Whose house was it in Outerbakes? One of the characters in Outerbakes, if it looks familiar to you, that is why, but now I need to watch Outerbakes. I'm also, like, so far behind, and also, like, Deacon Claymore in Nashville. Charles is in that, so I need to watch that. Anyway, my mom, Charlie, and I just drove to Savannah. Hunter is in Charleston for the night, and then we are meeting up tomorrow in Savannah to do all of the touring and stuff tomorrow. I think we only have two venues tomorrow. I'm really excited to see. I just, like, loved the venues today. Like, they were so good. So anyway, we are about to go. Charlie and I were here. I don't know if I said this already, but we're staying at the Municipal Grand, which is, like, the cutest hotel. My mom's also staying here. One, like, okay, guys, Savannah is one of the best hotels ever. It's such a good hotel. One, and it's also, like, so inexpensive. Like, it's so perfectly priced. The people here are amazing. Rooftop bar. Rooftop pool. Rooftop bar. There's a little speakeasy. The restaurant is amazing. The speakeasy is cool, too. Like, there is literally a bathtub in our room. It is just the best hotel. It is so good. We have two bathtubs. It is the best hotel. Like, it really is just so good. If you guys are ever coming to Savannah, I have a full itinerary on, like, things that you should do. We are going back and going to two restaurants that we've already been to that we really loved. We're going to go. We didn't even talk about the restaurant down here, too, did we? Yeah. I did. It's really good. It's amazing, too. The Sassarac thing. I kind of want one now. We can go before. We should. Yeah. So we're going to do that. Anyways, we're going to Vicks on the River tonight, and then we're going to go to the Old Pink House tomorrow, except for that reservation's at 9pm, and you guys know how I feel about, like, a late-night reservation, so let's figure that one out. But the Old Pink House is just so cute, and my mom is, like, such a... Like, my mom's never been to Savannah. She's actually never been to Charlottesville, which is, like, shocking because it's so my mom's vibe. Specifically Savannah. Like, Savannah is my mother. Like, she would just love it here. Also, Savannah's, like, a little bit more, like, I don't know. It's just great. So anyways, love both cities. I need to change really quickly. Got some stitching done in the car. I'm just teaching my mom to needlepoint. I'm stitching right now. Okay, so right now, I'm stitching my Blue Canary. The way I'm showing you guys, this is insane. My Blue Canary, like, bridal clutch. It's everything. I'm obsessed with this. I just need to do the background. Like, the velvet I love. It's just kind of a boring basket with the background, but it's good to do when... I'm like, you guys are not even seeing me. It's good to do when you're, like, watching something because sometimes you just need, like, a palette you know. So anyways, I'm gonna change really quickly. I did already write all my outfits out for the week, so I can figure out what I'm wearing right now. All right, y'all. We are off to tour some Savannah venues. My hair is up because it's so humid. I hate my hair up, but really, there's not much I can do here today. I'm wearing this set that I got at Reformation this week on King Street. It's really cute. I like how this is, like, not so white bridal. I've been having a hard time, like, finding bridal clothes. I haven't really, like, locked in yet, but I was using this as, like, my first adventure into, like, my bridal looks, you know, and, like, I could do better. I could do better. I know. Anyway, I love this set. I just love Reformation, and we are about to... We just called for the car. We're about to head off to... I think it's Holly Max first or Holly Oaks, and then we're going to the Mackie House. Holly Oaks and then the Mackie House. Those are the two venues that we're touring today. I'm really excited. So, I have to go. We're packing up the car, and we're leaving, and then we're gonna have a really fun day in Charleston, which I'm obviously very excited for. So, that's... I have to go. Holly Oaks was one of the coolest experiences I think I've ever had in my life. They are the fourth owner of this home. It was built in 1927 from, like, undeveloped, unfarmed land, and this woman had always had this dream since she was 10 years old that she was going to own a house, and they were going to host weddings at it. They host four weddings every... I think it's spring, and then four weddings every single fall. So, just eight total a year. It's really cool because it's family-owned, and they're very involved. She said she gets very close with all the clients. It's a beautiful, beautiful home. To see what they've done with it is really cool, and there's so many different things you can do on this land. This is the complete opposite of it feeling, like, commercial and not personal. Like, everything can be personalized. And your vendors and all that happens out in the field. We're letting that grow a little bit right now, so typically it would be cut short. There's a former tennis court out there, and motor coach drop-off. If your ceremony is up here, typically they will stop at the tree right there by that lantern, and your guests will walk up from there. That really starts there. A ceremony directly here in front of the house, where the bride comes from the cottage. This becomes the center aisle, and they've been married here. And a third would be in front of the unity oak here. In that case, the guests are seated up here about where it's shady there, and then your officiant stands in front of the tree, as well. This is blank space. It just unveils the whole estate for people to see. This was just such a cool experience to see someone, like, make their dream, create their dream, make it a reality. Stephanie, the owner, I was telling her, I'm like, we have got to get you on Homeworthy, and we've also got to get you Needlepointing. She was so kind. It's actually her house, which is so cool. They move everything out, and they handle everything. You can still use the house for your pride party and all the things. It was such an amazing experience out here. You can do a dance floor. They've really thought of everything. It is so personalized. Also, I have the worst RBF when I'm focused and trying to listen to things. Like, that's what I've learned from these tours. I'm like, oh my god, I look scary. They also have a pool. It's beautiful. I mean, they have animals on property. They said they moved them, but I was like, that would be no issue. I mean, it was just, I was there just so grateful to have this experience because it was so, so, so, so cool. I feel like this is just, like, so us. It was so cool. All right, y'all. We just toured Hollyoaks. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. I had no idea because I'm, you know, hundreds of people riding this thing. I did not know that it was, like, a family-owned private property. They only do eight weddings a year, four in the house, and then they host these weddings in just the story. You guys know me and the story around the house and all that. Like, the story of the house and the way they do everything. The venue was beautiful. Like, it was just so cool. They also bought land to let other people live out here and do stuff. It's really... Do they own this? Yes. They bought 80 acres and they kept the 25 and they developed this. Oh. And they're, like, housing and hosting everybody here. That's how they funded the renovation. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, seriously, so cool. Like, she said her whole life she had had this dream since she was, like, 10 or 11 to own a house that was also a wedding venue space and it's just so personal and, like, she gets close with everyone. Like, it was so cool. Like, it felt like I was in a Homeworthy video. Like, the best Homeworthy video you've ever seen. I was, like, I'm connecting you with Homeworthy. Like, I'm getting her email and I'm connecting her today. I'm not kidding. Oh, my God. It was so cool. Like, amazing. So, anyway, we are off now to the Mackie House which was another, like, top one. I'm excited to see this. Oh, my God. Like, that was just so cool. The Mackie House is another one that I know so many of y'all have gotten married at. It's a really beautiful place. They could do quite literally everything here. I don't even know where to begin. This is actually a family-owned one as well. We did a little fake ceremony here. We had a really good time. Anyways, this is actually owned by a family as well and they hosted, I think it was their daughter's wedding, like, 30, 35 years ago and then people just kept asking them if they could host their wedding there and that's kind of how the Mackie House was born. It doesn't feel as, like, personalized, I would say, as Hollyoaks. There's a lot of other things you can do here. I think between the two, the Hollyoaks definitely is, like, more us. Mackie House is, like, an amazing venue though. They have quite literally everything you could ever possibly need. Something about the Mackie House that I thought was the most incredible thing, quite literally ever, is they have outside in the back, you guys will see, I'll tell you guys when we get there, but they have this, like, tent that looks like just, like, another outdoor area but they have 10 tons of AC where in that area you really only need five. So in the hot, humid, Savannah weather, you are able to completely control the, like, weather for yourselves, if you will, the air conditioning. It is so nice. Also, that kitchen, this is, like, their house, that kitchen is, like, early 2000s where the roosters were all the decor and that's where Dolly was born, our friend and my mascot, in case you guys are wondering. Dolly was born from, like, early 2000s roosters being all over our homes. Anyway, the, like, dance floor outside out here is also really incredible. They've really thought about anything you could ever possibly want. It does feel, like, a little bit more commercial, like, in the sense that they've, like, thought of everything you could possibly want. There's different places for ceremony. They have, like, golf carts for you throughout the day. It just didn't feel as much like Charlie and I as the other ones have but it was a really cool venue. They also had the best, like, grooms men's getting ready suite ever. Like, it was so incredible. Here's Charlie. He was tearing up. Don't worry about it. So here we are getting married. All right, we're not, we're going our way through. Charlie's like, I'll be a bride to me. Knock this out right now. We can do this right now. Oh yeah, there you go. Takes you by the arm. You're now husband and wife. Seating underneath here, plus out into that area, we can handle about 200 guests. Walk underneath. Artwork. Ceremony. It could be random cats and dogs. Your art in the southeast including the states. Came back and built this and you guys get a cool experience and the bartender absolutely loves everything in this space. Two out here, put two up there. Have one blowing cold this way, one blowing cold this way, plus the cold air out there and this is actually feels like it feels comfortable. All the greenery, all the potted plants are all included. The little garden over here is because we're during their second year practicing regenerative gardening. This is where my social battery was really officially like killing me. I think it's just so much information coming at you and like thank god I have Hunter but this is where my social battery had officially worn out. They really have thought of everything, every single thing you could possibly think of at this venue. Guys, even when I'm trying to tell you the tours, I'm still like overwhelmed from it because I'm like, okay, it is a lot. Anyway, they've thought of everything you could possibly think of when it comes to this venue. This is a great like groomsman suite. Not that Charlie would like literally ever care if it was like good or not for them but it really was so great. Everything you see up there is available. Yeah, I know this week you go back over again too. Yeah, of course. We have a handful of preferred and required caterers. Have your master ceremonies make an announcement that goes something like this. Hey you guys, give the newlyweds a few minutes to enjoy their first meal together as husband and wife. Seriously. We don't have to ask questions. Yeah. You know, you're investing a good deal of time, energy, effort, finances. You deserve it. You deserve to have your answers and just kind of some kind of runaround. Y'all, that was such a successful trip. I do have to say like seriously, big thanks and shout out to my wedding planner Hunter because if I honestly like there's no way I could have done quite literally any of this without her and she's the best and we've been friends for years but like she's so good at her job. I could like even just from like the first tour to the rest of them because their flights were delayed and tours have been delayed like basically a full day. I was like I don't even know what to ask. These are things I would have like literally never thought of. I will say I have realized that I'm a type B bride. Charlie is a type A groom. Like he knows what to look for. He knows whatever but even then like when she came in versus when they were like do you have questions? I'm like I have like literally no ideas. I'm like yeah it's cool. Like I have nothing to say. Anyway, all that to say this is I'm just like completely going off on a tangent. I'm just trying to end this vlog. We're about to go to dinner with my mom in Savannah and then we're flying out very early tomorrow morning to go to Nashville for our stitch tour which I'm really really excited about but what a successful trip. Like I feel like my mind is made up. I feel like our mind is made up. We've been very aligned and both have like the same feeling for the venues but you know we do have a couple weeks to like actually make the decision. What are you guys thinking? Please comment down below. I need to hear everything. All the opinions. All the like whatever. I will say that I just I want a venue that you have a house that like the guests can go into. I don't want one that's just for like the guests or the bridal party and the family or just the family or whatever. Yeah it was like so successful and the venues today were so cool. The whole experience was just like really fun. Now I'm understanding when people are like really lean into your bridal era and like do everything. Like I feel like I'm like getting it as of today. I'm like oh I understand. Like it's actually really fun. Sometimes it just feels like the bridal industry has like become like really over the top and crazy and I feel like guilty even asking people to do this stuff and now I'm like oh I understand what they're saying when they're like you know like lean in and do the whole thing. Like it is fun. So I'm having a great time and I feel like we have we're coming to a conclusion soon. So anyway I love you guys so much. I hope you guys enjoyed. We're going to dinner at the old pink house. If you guys are in Charleston you need to go stay at the Municipal Grand and go to dinner at the old pink house. They're like next door to each other conveniently but they're so good and then I'm going to bed early hopefully and we have a very early morning flight. So anyway I hope you guys enjoyed. This is just the start of all wedding planning vlogs. I love you guys so much and I will talk to you guys very very soon aka in like 12 hours. Bye!