Couples vie for Holy City wedding
TOURISM
Like it or not, New York's brides are heading here to tie the knot.
And it isn't because of the Holy City's abundance of churches. Nope, according to a 2007 survey from the College of Charleston's Office of Tourism Analysis, it's the sunny weather they're after.
The city's pre-eminence on the destination wedding circuit didn't get past the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, which launched a contest, "The Ultimate Wedding Giveaway," in April. The goal, said marketing director Louise Ballard, is to emphasize a growing and — key phrase here — recession-proof market. For richer or poorer, people will always get married. But not always like this:
The $80,000 package is more than an afternoon at the altar. It includes rehearsal at Middleton Place; ceremony, reception, lodging and golf at Wild Dunes; a night in the presidential suite at the Mills House Hotel; and brunch for 50 guests aboard SpiritLine Cruises.
It's no surprise the folks at the CVB has accumulated a stack of 400 videos from betrothed out-of-towners. And registration doesn't end until Aug. 29.
Judges will include hospitality insiders and potentially a few high-profile names in the wedding industry, Ballard said. From there, the finalists will be thrown to Internet voters on the CVB's Web site in September. The winner will be announced in October, and the wedding weekend is April 3-5, 2009.
From a couple hanging a sign from their dog's neck ("Pick us!" it reads) to agonizingly long testimonials, the CVB has seen all sorts of entrants.
"I think what we're looking for is someone who's enthusiastic about Charleston and who's just as enthusiastic about each other," Ballard said.
Tallahassee, Fla., resident Julia Haggerty hopes she and her fiance fit that bill. With her family in Montana and his in Atlanta, they agreed on a destination wedding. They mailed a video to the CVB. If they're selected for the giveaway, their ceremony would fall on her father's birthday.
When fiance Andy Butler took Haggerty to Savannah to propose, the hotel lost one night of their reservation. Then the horse-drawn carriages wouldn't take them all the way to Forsyth Park, where Butler planned to pop the question. When they finally arrived there - after driving themselves - they ran into a couple arguing so loudly they decided come back later.
Given that track record, Haggerty looks at the Charleston giveaway realistically: "Honestly, we just usually aren't that lucky," she said. "If this doesn't work out, the back-up plan is there."
And that would be: giving Savannah another try.
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