There is an inherent elegance to Charleston’s historic estates, and some of the most beautiful weddings in the South take place Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, where scenery unfolds with the seasons. From scarlet-colored camellias at Christmastime to cornflower blue sky in summer months, the landscape at these bucolic enclaves is a rich tapestry of natural beauty.

Established in 1676 and opened to the public in 1870, Magnolia Plantation is considered the home of America’s oldest unrestored gardens. The more than 600 acres are also home to egrets, gray foxes, pygmy goats and peacocks. The Carriage House (circa 1840) sits on a bluff overlooking the Ashley River, while the contemporary glass conservatory is appointed with exotic orchids and maidenhair ferns. All told, it is an incredible and versatile setting for a wedding.

SPRING
The list of spring blooms at Magnolia Plantation is a parade of flowering beauties: Flowering Almond, Flowering Cherry, Flowering Peach, Flowering Plum and Flowering Quince. Tea Olive perfumes the air and the azaleas put on a vivid show.

SUMMER
Brightly colored bougainvillea and butterfly bushes play a starring role in the summer month’s blooms.

AUTUMN
Rich, earthen colors cast Magnolia Plantation into a state of muted splendor during fall harvest months.

WINTER
While winter weather is often mild in the Lowcountry, the bald cypress and tupelo gum trees are the perfect backdrop for an enchanted forest theme.


SHARING THE ROMANCE CONTEST WINNERS
For better or worse has a different meaning for every couple. For Katie Durham and Bobby Hill, we hope their wedding at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens next year represents the best of the best.

One month after Bobby, an intelligence officer with the U.S. Army, proposed to Katie, an infantry officer, both were deployed to Afghanistan. Even with modern technology, planning a wedding from the opposite side of the planet would have been tricky, so they put their plan to marry on hold. Then they heard about Magnolia Plantation and Gardens’ Sharing the Romance contest, which promised a $50,000 wedding to one lucky couple. Although both are stationed in Kandahar, Katie and Bobby do not see one another regularly and had to request special permission to meet up in order to film their five-minute contest submission. Their video earned the most public votes, and they were announced as the winning couple in early September.

Congratulations, Katie and Bobby!

What would your Magnolia Plantation and Gardens dream wedding look like?

Here is a gallery for inspiration: click here.