Hilton Head Monthly Magazine Voice of the Lowcountry 
MARCH 19TH , 2017
Leah Bloom’s 2017 wedding was notable for its familiarity as much as for its novelty.
“Growing up as a rabbi’s daughter, I had been to many, many weddings, and I had seen my dad do what he does best many times,” said Leah, whose father, Rabbi Brad Bloom of Congregation Beth Yam, married his daughter and her beau, Michael Miller, on March 19, 2017. The wedding took place at Congregation Beth Yam on Hilton Head.
Casey Witkowski and Joshua Tierney are proof that you can get married in the sweltering Hilton Head humidity of July and not regret it.
“It was a hot, sunny day, but we knew it was going to be, which is why we had everything inside that could be inside,” said Casey of her July 14 nuptials. Luckily, between gorgeous venues like Saint Andrew Chapel, where they tied the knot, and Callawassie Island Clubhouse, where they celebrated with friends and family afterward, the Lowcountry can be a beautifully cool place to wed year-round.
When you grow up surrounded by the beauty of the Lowcountry, your life’s backdrop is already the perfect wedding setting. And Halle Boni Keiffer knew it.
“I didn’t want a ton of decorations,” the Bluffton native said of her May 27 nuptials to Nicholas Keiffer. “I’m very, very simple, I just wanted lots of natural stuff. I love the oak trees, the moss, the leaves. I love the blooming magnolia trees.”
Generally speaking, wedding planners are a combination of personal assistant, event co-chair and fairy godmother. They suggest, assist, organize, double-check and generally get things done. But when Hurricane Matthew battered Hilton Head Island one week before Amy and Jason Loizides’ scheduled October 15, 2016 wedding, Celebrations Catering & Events coordinator Jackie Brino became more than a wedding planner: She became a miracle worker.
Maggie Lowther and Robbie Kelly were married September 3, 2016 at Honey Horn, a day after Tropical Storm Hermine blew through the Lowcountry, leaving debris and tree limbs in her wake.
Luckily, the easygoing bride took it all in stride.
Every wedding has the opportunity to become the bride and groom’s work of art. For Katherine Palmeri, that goal was taken literally.
The artist hand-painted all of her printed materials, then worked with the pros at Savannah Print Factory to digitize her artwork and design the invitations, save the date cards, table numbers, menu cards, place cards and every other bit of paper for the weekend.
When planning the ultimate dream wedding, there are many ingredients that go into creating the perfect day. A few key ingredients? A gorgeous couple, a bride who is supported by her family and enjoys the wedding planning process with her mother, a wedding planning team that is able to translate inspiration into reality, a beautiful location, and plenty of of personal and meaningful details.
Sometimes when you’re in love, one set of wedding vows just isn’t enough.
Caroline Santorum and Lee Ayres exchanged traditional wedding vows on June 11 at Sea Pines Country Club in front of 215 family members and friends. But a couple hours before that, they exchanged a different set of vows, promises of love and devotion they wrote themselves.
For a bride who grew up in Sea Pines and a groom who hails from Louisville, Kentucky, the Harbour Town wedding of Megan Dolyniuk and Stewart Koch on May 7, 2016 — the same day as the famed horse race in Stewart’s hometown — was a destination wedding with a bit of derby celebration.
