Mount Pleasant Magazine Jan/Feb 2020

68 www.MPMcalendar.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ILoveMountPleasant.com bridal W eddings in the Lowcountry are always romantic and memorable. That’s why so many brides from all over have their destination celebrations here. Whether the setting is a historic venue downtown, a plantation like Boone Hall with its Cotton Dock and oak allée or Alhambra Hall in the Old Village with its sweeping waterfront view, brides and grooms love to say “I do” amidst the finest Southern hospitality. While the nuptials share the same customs no matter where you wed, a true Southern wedding is seated in deep tradition — and timing. For locals, the date of the ceremony is ever important, not just for the best weather, but for the most important season of all: football. Years ago, a friend of mine asked his intended’s father for her hand in marriage. While the future father-in-law gave his blessing, he had questions on the actual date, an upcoming Saturday. After looking at his calendar, he shook his head: “Nope, can’t have it then. Clemson plays Carolina that day.” Weddings, it turns out, aren’t big enough to top the biggest football rivalry in the state, and the couple had to come up with another, more acceptable date. From the Sea Islands to the Hammock Coast, Carolinians are all about tradition. The bride often wears pearls, a vintage lace veil or another heirloom accessory handed down in the family. For Mount Pleasant resident Paige Crone, each bride in her family wears a little gold wishbone pin with its own backstory. Explained Crone, “Every Wilson bride wears my great-grandmother’s pin adorned with a small turquoise and pearl four-leaf clover. I wore the pin tucked in the bodice of my dress. My cousin pinned it to her bouquet attaching the wedding bands to it. Of course, it’s a unique family tradition but the wishbone and clover also harken good luck, and it covers something borrowed, blue and old.” Crone is the principal of Charleston Protocol Y’All, a lifestyle brand that offers tips, event planning and gift items to turn a wedding into a Lowcountry-inspired event. She grew up in downtown Charleston and noted that local BY ANNE SEMMES Creating a Traditional Lowcountry Wedding Principal of Charleston Protocol Y’All, Paige Crone, at home. Silver giftware from Charleston Protocol’s shop.