Mother of: Sarah
Venue: North Corner Haven, Lancaster, South Carolina
Vibe: Black tie optional
Dress: Alexander by Daymor from Madeleine’s Daughter Bridal Boutique in Portsmouth, New Hampshire
For anyone struggling with online dress orders and returns, take it from Elaine: “I would tell every mother of the bride to go to a boutique over department stores or online shopping!”
For Elaine, whose daughter Sarah married Corey in November 2023, it was Madeleine’s Daughter Bridal Boutique in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. (Shout out to Annemarie, her shopping consultant!)
“This bridal boutique experience was like no other. My MOB consultant understood the assignment and nailed my taste and style. Between the perfect lighting, the pedestal to stand on, the major clips to pin the dress on me, to putting my hair up, jacking me up with earrings so that I could really envision what I would look like on the day, this was the experience that I needed.”
Her daughter Sarah flew in from North Carolina for the shopping excursion, and her son’s girlfriend Kaitlin joined as well. “That was the best,” Elaine says.
Sarah initially suggested her mom try to match the blue of the bridesmaid dresses. Neither of them expected to find a light colored gown, but when Elaine tried on the Alexander by Daymor pleated one shoulder gown in “bone,” it felt right. “I would never have chosen the bone color because it is in the family of whites, but I just loved it, and was so supported by my daughter, and my son’s girlfriend.”
The crepe dress does come in darker hues, but the bone was so fresh or Sarah and Corey’s outdoor wedding at a modern farmhouse venue called North Corner Haven, located “at the corner where the two Carolinas meet.” (It is technically in Lancaster, South Carolina—but not far from Charlotte, North Carolina.)
“I loved the flattering wavy “ruching” in the bodice that hugged all the right places and the subtle sparkle embellishments," Elaine says. "I knew it was the one!”
Sarah grew up with Corey in Wilbraham, Mass.—he was her brother’s best friend. The two were even college roommates. “I’ve always loved Corey and would have chosen him a million times over for any of my daughter’s friends,” Elaine says. “He was always over at our house, joined us on family trips…it blew my mind that they kindled a romance in their 20s. I never dreamed he would marry my daughter!”
The wedding was basically a destination event, since the vast majority of 170 guests flew in to the Carolinas from New England.
“It was a gorgeous setting and so much fun,” Elaine says. “I loved all of it!”
| Photography by Kelsie Elizabeth Photography