marry away in the USA
charleston, south carolina
Visit this genteel Southern belle of a city, and you’ll swear you’ve stepped back in time. Pastel-colored 19th-century mansions line cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages sweep past lush, magnolia-draped gardens. But the city is hardly stuck in time—hip boutique hotels, innovative restaurants and a serious cocktail culture have made Charleston one of the most coveted wedding spots in the country.
PLANTERS INN
WHY HERE Situated in the heart of the Historic District, this restored 1844 building (the only Relais & Châteaux property in South Carolina) is brimming with romantic relics. Each of its 64 rooms are outfitted with four-poster beds, custom crown molding and etchings by the late Charleston native Elizabeth O’Neill Verner. Along with the intimate Charleston Room and the fabric-paneled Garden Room, which is large enough for 120 guests, it’s also the only hotel in the city that has a bloom-filled courtyard available for private events ($2,500 venue fee for Garden Room and Courtyard, $500 ceremony fee, PlantersInn.com).
SWEET DEAL The hotel’s velvet-walled Peninsula Grill is famous for its 12-layer coconut cake. Do right by your guests by serving the scrumptious confection at your reception.
WENTWORTH MANSION
This brick beauty, built by a cotton baron in 1886, was meticulously renovated in 1997 and now has 21 uniquely decorated rooms, some with original gas fireplaces and plush daybeds. Gather up to 50 of).
