Did you know that Charleston, South Carolina, is a top wedding destination in the United States?! Something that surprised Rich & Kitch during our first trip to Charleston was the amount of unique wedding venues engaged couples have the opportunity to get hitched in! We toured so many wedding venues in Charleston, so we’re sharing a roundup of our favorites with you here! We visited Charleston in October which is apparently (per the locals) the best month to travel to the holy city. Keep reading for inspiration as you plan your destination wedding, bachelorette party, and/or anniversary trip to Charleston, South Carolina!
FUN PHOTO FACT: Recognize this American Theater from The Notebook movie?! It’s where Allie & Noah had their first date & now it is used for marriage proposals & announcements as you can see behind me in the photo!
BEACHY SOUTH CAROLINA RESORTS
Did you know that the Charleston area has beachy resorts that make for an amazing destination wedding location in the US?! Here is a roundup of Rich & Kitch’s favorite beachy destination wedding venues in SC.
We love the vibes at Wild Dunes & it was honestly such a surprise to find this major resort in the Charleston area! Watch this @kitchensinkit IG Reel to see all the wedding venue options Wild Dunes has to offer. The resort has multiple pools & the beach area at this resort is amazing to enjoy during your destination wedding week, too.
While Charleston Harbor Resort is less beachy than Wild Dunes, this is another beautiful resort we were surprised to find in Charleston! Watch this @kitchensinkit IG Reel to see all the wedding venue options Charleston Harbor Resort has to offer. This is a beautiful property that has water taxi access to downtown Charleston, too!
While we didn’t get a chance to check out the Sanctuary at Kwiawi, we’ve heard amazing things about it for destination weddings!
CHIC DOWNTOWN CHARLESTON HOTELS
Downtown Charleston has some very unique, chic, & boutique hotels that offer amazing spaces for a South Carolina destination wedding. Downtown Charleston hotels would make for a romantic weekend getaway, anniversary trip, or bachelorette party, too! Here is a list of Rich & Kitch’s favorites hotels in downtown Charleston!
This hotel tops our list in terms of everything you need all in one place, right in the heart of downtown Charleston. It was named the #1 luxury hotel in 2021 by USA Today & it is easy to see why! They have their La Pâtisserie bakery, Camellias champagne bar, Gabrielle lounge, Fiat Lux rooftop, & an amazing rooftop pool reserved exclusively for Hotel Bennett guests. They of course plan amazing weddings, too!
This hotel is another amazing option for a Charleston destination wedding venue. You have the option to get married on their terrace, which then flows back into a covered patio area for cocktail hour, followed by your wedding reception in the ballroom!
The property also has an amazing coffee shop, trendy restaurant on the terrace, & they partner with Hank's seafood across the street, which would make for a convenient place to have your wedding rehearsal dinner!
We’ll also give an honorable mention to the The Mills House Hotel since a wedding on their rooftop terrace across from the pool or in the patio garden below would be amazing!
OTHER CHARLESTON WEDDING VENUE OPTIONS
South Carolina is known for their plantations, so if this is your wedding venue style, we recommended looking into Boone Hall Plantation. While you can’t get married in the main house on property, it may look familiar since it was used as Allie’s summer home in The Notebook movie. The Dock House area Boone Hall DOES use for weddings is beautiful though, as you can see in the photos below. And you can take some dreamy wedding day photos under the property’s willow trees!
You can also rent vintage cars for your wedding party from Low Country Valet. Talk about a wedding with Southern charm, right?!
Other unique South Carolina wedding venues that made Rich & Kitch’s list of favorites include:
WELCOME PARTY & REHEARSAL DINNER RECOMMENDATIONS
If you want to do something unique for your wedding guests, we recommend planning a welcome party or rehearsal dinner on the Spiritline.
If boating isn’t your thing, then we recommend hosting a wedding weekend event at one of the following rooftop bars:
We’ve also heard amazing things about the Citrus Club rooftop at the Dewberry & the Little Palm Bar, but we didn’t have a chance to check those out this trip!
BONUS CHARLESTON RECOMMENDATIONS
Looking for instagrammable photo locations in downtown Charleston? Make sure you stop by the Pineapple Fountain & Rainbow Row!
If your bachelorette party destination is in Charleston, or you’re planning an anniversary trip to the city, add Camellias Champagne Bar at the Hotel Bennett to your Charleston bucket list! Food Network named this the most instagrammable restaurant in South Carolina & it’s easy to see why! Check out my IG Reel of Camellias here & make sure to follow @kitchensinkit on the gram!
Whatever your reason for visiting Charleston is, checking out King Street is a must. Our favorite bar is the Cocktail Club since it’s more low-key & the cocktails are amazing! If it’s a nice evening, make sure you walk straight to the back to see if there is open seating on their outdoor patio! We also liked Bourbon & Bubbles as a date night spot!
If you aren’t staying at a beachy resort during your trip to Charleston, but want to check out the beach, we recommend heading to Folly Beach. It is the most laid-back & beachy town in the Charleston area. You aren’t allowed to drink on the beach though so don’t plan on this being a party scene. We recommend pregaming with some delicious skinny spicy margaritas at Taco Boy then walking to the beach with your beach chairs to soak up the sun!
Renting a car makes it easier to check out other areas outside of Charleston, since everything outside of downtown is pretty far apart. So if you have a car & extra time to explore, we recommend heading to the Shem Creek area. They have a lot of restaurant offerings on the water & we highly recommend getting grilled fish tacos at Saltwater Cowboys! & if this area looks familiar (like from a scene straight out of Outer Banks), that’s because parts of the show were filmed in the area!
Last but not least, here are some honorable mentions we have on our Charleston bucket list for next time!
While Rich & Kitch specialize in Cabo San Lucas destination weddings & travel, we love to explore new cities, too! If you are interested in having your destination wedding in Charleston, please contact us here or click the button below. We’d be happy to connect you with the wedding venues you & your fiancé are interested in!
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