There’s nothing like a well-planned winter nuptial, and the wedding of Charlie Visconage and Clementine Wall proved that summer and fall brides don’t have all the fun. Despite living in Washington D.C., Charlie and Clem chose to marry in Clem’s hometown of Charlotte in an event that coupled both the elegance and the laid-back charm for which the South is known.
We’ve all heard the stories about internet dating gone wrong, but Clem and her husband are a success story for the books. They met on OKCupid in early 2013, though their first interaction was actually the previous fall. “Charlie had messaged me in November, and if you’re a woman dating online, you get a lot of messages,” Clem says. “I didn’t even register it and didn’t message him back. Then, in early spring I messaged him, completely unaware, and OKCupid put it in a thread. I was like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize that I had ignored you months earlier.’”
Despite the early hiccups, things progressed fairly quickly after Clem’s message. “Our first date was supposed to be on a Wednesday, but Charlie texted me the Sunday before and said, ‘Can you do tonight? I’d really like to meet you.’ So we moved it up a few days, and I guess the rest is history.”
Looking back, Clem remembers the proposal being “very quiet and sweet.” She had just returned home from work, exhausted on a Friday and cold after walking two miles in the middle of a D.C. winter. “I was taking off my coat and my scarf and just talking and complaining, and Charlie said, ‘I think you should just come sit down.’”
Clem’s ring features diamonds that previously belonged to Charlie’s grandmother and great-grandmother. He had them recast into a modern design that combined everything into one stunning and cohesive piece. And while Clem had some input in the process, she didn’t see the final version until Charlie popped that all-important question.
The answer, of course, was “yes,” and a pre-planned trip to New York for President’s Day weekend the following day became an impromptu engagement celebration. One year later, President’s Day weekend was the date of their gorgeous winter wedding.
Clem started looking for dresses in D.C. but didn’t find anything she liked. Then, after visiting five Charlotte dress stores in two days, mom and sister in tow, Clem found “the one” at Hayden Olivia.
For the wedding planning, Clem relied on her mom, who still lives in Charlotte, as well as the staff of the Charlotte Country Club to oversee many of the details while she was in D.C. “I grew up going there, and I knew it could be really beautiful having seen it for other weddings and events,” Clem says. “It was sort an easy choice for us, and they were fantastic. We didn’t need to hire a planner because they did so much.”
Clem was also intentional about going with the flow and letting the planning come together organically, instead of becoming a stereotypical bridezilla. Instead of dictating the floral arrangements, she asked the florist what would look best for a winter wedding and followed that direction. As opposed to choosing bridesmaids’ dresses that may only complement one or two of the women in her bridal party, she told everyone to pick a black, floor-length dress that they believed made them look nice.
“I just had this fear that the wedding was going to take on a life of its own and become something that I couldn’t really get my arms around anymore, and I didn’t want that,” says Clem. “Obviously, we wanted everything to be nice, we wanted it to be fun, and we wanted the food to be delicious — but we weren’t going to stress about it.”
The result was a laid-back but elegant affair that celebrated the handsome couple and prepared them for their new lives as husband and wife.
Clem and Charlie chose to write their own vows, trying to keep them short and sweet. “I cried through mine,” Clem says. “I really cried through the whole wedding. I had a hard time pulling it together.”
At the reception, ensuring that the food was delicious — and that everyone could enjoy it — was very important to Clem and Charlie. “I love to cook, and we both love to eat,” Clem says. “I’ve been to weddings where you either starve to death or the food is not good, and we didn’t want that.”
The sit-down dinner was served family style. Plates of salads and vegetable side dishes were on the table with labels that designated them as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc., and servers brought short ribs and polenta.
Both Clem and Charlie chose their favorite flavor for one layer of the wedding cake. Clem’s was almond wedding cake with raspberry filling, while Charlie’s was “death by chocolate.”
Clem and Charlie’s first dance was to “Only You” by Anderson East, and the dancing was, in fact, Clem’s favorite part of the evening. “The band that we had was great, and people just danced and never stopped,” Clem says. “The dance floor was full the whole night, and that was so fun.”
After an evening filled with love, laughter and lots of dancing, Clem and Charlie headed home as newlyweds and prepared to embark on an adventure-filled honeymoon to Malaysia and Thailand.
We wish the happy couple of lifetime of love and happiness!
RESOURCES
Venue & catering: Charlotte Country Club
Photography: Piper Warlick Photography
Bride’s gown: Modern Trousseau purchased at Hayden Olivia
Hair & makeup: Who’s the Fairest
Groom’s & groomsmen’s formalwear: Tom James
Invitations, programs & menu cards: Arzberger Stationers
Flowers: In Bloom
Music: The Business (via East Coast Entertainment)
Cake: For Goodness Cakes
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