Hosting & Toasting: Charleston Bachelorette Bash

Charleston has quickly become one of my favorite cities - the food {oh, the food!} scene is one of a kind, the people are incredibly nice and welcoming, the views and scenery will take your breath away and the history of the city is fascinating! I am sure it won't shock you but...I've already started to plan my next trip to Charleston. :)

My beautiful, sweet, big sister is getting married in 10 days and we made sure that she celebrated in style during her Bachelorette Bash in Charleston a few weekends ago!

I had been planning this weekend for months so by the time Friday morning rolled around, I was ready to get in the car and go! I was in Charleston by 11am and started counting down the hours until my sister's flight arrived around 1pm. As you can imagine, I was ready to get the weekend started so those 2 hours seemed like 10.

The entire weekend was a surprise to her so I created "date cards" that contained clues for every event {if you watch the Bachelor/Bachelorette than you know where I got this idea}. It was a lot of fun to have her guess what the next adventure was going to be! 

Sara's Bachelorette Bash Overview: 

On Friday, we ate lunch at Fleet Landing Restaurant which has been voted as one of downtown Charleston's best waterfront dining destinations. We had their crab cake sandwich and pasta salad, it was delicious! My sister and I love blow dry bars so we headed to Tease Blow Dry Bar on King Street. We enjoyed a glass of wine and chatted while their stylists pampered us. It was the perfect start to the weekend! Then we headed back to the house on Upper King Street that I rented through HomeAway to enjoy cocktails and appetizers on the porch while everyone arrived. I made reservations at The Grocery for dinner, it is located in a former furniture warehouse but now resembles a small-town grocery. The menu was full of seasonal ingredients from the local and regional farmers and fishermen.  

Saturday morning, we all slept in and slowly gathered in the living room to enjoy mimosas before brunch. Every bride-to-be needs a few surprises for their honeymoon so I hosted a catered brunch and lingerie shower at the house. Duvall Catering and Events did an outstanding job, I am still dreaming about the Quiche Lorraine and Apple Bread Pudding with Bourbon Glaze.

The rain decided to hold off for us {thank goodness!} so we spent the afternoon walking and shopping on King Street. I was in heaven, every store that you could imagine can be found along King Street.

I have been reading Natalie's blog, Designer Bags & Dirty Diapers, for a long time and she has the best Charleston recommendations {along with an impeccable style and an abundance of creative recipes, you will love her!}. She mentioned that Goat.Sheep.Cow had an amazing selection of meat, cheese and wine so we had to check it out. She wasn't kidding!  

We bought tickets for the Saturday afternoon Charleston Culinary Tour - Upper King Street, it was tons of fun! We had a wonderful tour guide & tasted a lot of flavorful food from HOM, R Kitchen, Lana Restaurant and Jeni's Ice cream. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone that is visiting Charleston. You won't be disappointed!     

Later that evening, we enjoyed dinner at The MacIntosh followed by cocktails at The Cocktail Club and Stars Rooftop.

Before we said goodbye on Sunday, we had to have one last meal together. Can you tell that we like to sip and eat {a lot}?! Poogan's Porch was another perfect spot. When you sit down at your table, you can request the story that explains Poogan's porch. Of course, the house is haunted! But what I loved most about the story was it said that, "we believe in conversations on porches, Sunday brunch, old Southern dogs, ghosts, seersucker, biscuits, homemade and handmade, sweet tea, handwritten recipes, friends old and new, great stories, gracious hospitality and our Moms." I don't think anyone could sum up the South any better than that!

Have you been to Charleston? If so, I would love to hear your recommendations for our next trip!