The Southern Bleachery is a place we love for weddings because it is a blank canvas you can make work for any wedding dreams you have! Matt and Marianna are so fun and joyful, and their wedding definitely showed their personality. Wait until you see where they went at the end of the night!We were honored to be part of their wedding day!

Their love story

Marianna swiped right on Matt in 2018. She was living in Charlotte at the time and he was in the Upstate area. Matt drove to Charlotte and they spent the whole day together. Marianna says “ I remember thinking he was really quiet and so he must not have been that into it but he kept coming up with new things for us to do that day so I just kept going along.” After a few months of dating, she realized he was the one when they were casually getting ready for a night out, she saw him in her home and just knew! For Matt, it was more of a feeling than a moment, a feeling that it was right. Marianna says Matt has the largest and sweetest heart she has ever experienced. He is so patient and kind and makes her safe in a way she's never experienced. She also loves that he lets her adopt all the dogs. Matt’s favorite thing about Marianna is the way she loves him and how she accepts him fully for who he is.

Marianna shares their proposal

Matt planned a whole day in Hendersonville! We had been dating about a year and a half at this point. We spent the morning walking around downtown Hendersonville and then we went to Burntshirt Vineyards. It was raining so our planned tour changed and we weren’t able to go into the vineyard itself. We ended up in the “barrel room” where they store their red wine. The tour guide had just explained this to me and I had no idea why Matt kept asking about their white wine. When I looked where he was pointing there was a sign there asking me to marry him. I turned around and he was down on one knee. After spending some time together in Hendersonville and drinking some wine we went to our favorite sushi restaurant and our families were there to celebrate with us! It was a perfect day!

Their Wedding Day

Marianna and her bridesmaids started the day getting ready at the Dollface salon in Greenville. After getting hair and makeup done, they headed to the Southern Bleachery to get dressed in their “Vault” room. We love that she went outside of the box for her spring wedding and used colors she really loved - grays, oranges, pinks, and burgundies. They chose not to do a first look and Matt’s face while Marianna walked down the aisle was so pure! He also says it was one of his favorite parts of the day: “Marianna walking down the aisle in her gown. Our vows, walking into the reception to a RuPaul song and our last dance.” Marianna says her favorite part was “Right before I walked down the aisle I was hiding in Southern Bleachery’s bridal suite. I could look through a little gap in the door and see past the bridal party to see Matt waiting for me at the end of the aisle. Listening to processional music and seeing him made me so happy.”

Why did you want to hire Katharine Marie Weddings?

Marianna came first to our boutique to look for a dress. Here’s what she had to say about working with us! “After struggling with changes to my body during searching for a gown I was worried that I wasn’t going to find anything I liked. I went to Katharine Marie Weddings first looking for a gown but found a life long friend in Allie. I knew that I had to have her there with us on our wedding day. The day was such a dream and I cannot recommend Allie and her team more.”

What advice would you give to couples planning a wedding?

This is our favorite question to ask our couples and we love sharing their answers with you! Take time for ourselves. If something does not feel right don’t do it. Hire vendors you trust!! Professional vendors are the difference between a smooth wedding day and a disaster in a big dress.