Runnymede Wedding Venue – Kalyn & Lewis Fall Wedding by McSween Photography
Sparklers lighting up the dark, oyster shells piling up at cocktail hour, and two people who couldn’t stop smiling all day. As wedding photographers at McSween Photography, Harry and I have to tell you about this perfect fall Charleston wedding at Runnymede Wedding Venue on the Ashley River.
The Rehearsal Dinner at Parcel 32
The celebration started the night before, downtown, at Parcel 32. It’s a sweet spot — intimate, right-sized for a smaller crowd, and it held their rehearsal dinner beautifully. We swung by for a handful of photos. Kalyn and Lewis were glowing and happy, surrounded by the people who love them most. We didn’t stay long. Just long enough to capture the feeling before letting them enjoy the rest of their night with friends and family.
Getting Ready in Charleston
The wedding day started early, downtown. The girls got ready in an Airbnb in Cannonborough, one of our favorite little pockets of Charleston proper, that easy morning mix of coffee, nerves, and laughter we love to document. Once everyone was ready, the whole crew loaded up and made their way out to the venue, which is about 30 minutes from downtown Charleston.
A Little Runnymede History
Part of what makes Runnymede Wedding Venue so special is the story the land itself carries.
We love telling people about the land, because honestly, it’s been through more than most places twice its age. It all started back in 1705, when 300 acres were granted to a man named John Cattell. From there, the property changed hands a bunch of times over the next century: Abraham Ladson, Nathaniel Fuller, Glenn Drayton, Lambert Lance, until it finally landed with John Julius Pringle.
Pringle called it “Greenville” at first, then renamed it “Sarah’s Place” after his wife. He’d actually lost the original mansion to a fire before he even got settled, so he built a new one, and that’s when things got interesting. He noticed the land reminded him of Runnymede, England: same big oak standing guard in the yard, same meadow rolling down to the river. So he renamed it Runnymede, and the name just stuck.
When Pringle passed in 1841, his son William Bull sold the place to Charles Pinckney, who found out the land was loaded with phosphate. But then, and I still think about this, Union troops burned the mansion down during the Civil War in 1865. Pinckney didn’t give up, though. He rebuilt again, and what he put up was this gorgeous Victorian country home, apparently one of the only ones of its kind in the whole Lowcountry back then.
The Pinckneys held onto it for generations. It even made it through Hurricane Hugo. Then in 1995, Floyd and Shirley Whitfield bought the property. And just when you’d think it had earned a break, fire hit again in 2002, cause unknown, and took the mansion a third time. All that survived was a two-story brick chimney from the old kitchen house and a bell stamped 1704.
Arriving at Runnymede Wedding Venue
If you know the Ashley River well, you know the corridor it runs through is home to some of the most beautiful old properties in the Lowcountry — Magnolia Plantation, Middleton Place, Drayton Hall. Runnymede sits right in that same stretch, tucked into a bend of the river off Ashley River Road. It’s the kind of setting that does half the work for you.
Wedding Photography Locations at Runnymede
We photographed the bridal party and the groomsmen separately, and then Kalyn and Lewis shared their first look. Tears, joy, the whole thing. These two were an absolute joy to photograph, genuinely one of our favorite couples we’ve worked with. They were present all day. They wanted to be in their moment, not performing for a camera, and it showed. Instead of leaning editorial and posed, we let them lead. Lots of candid, natural photos that followed their energy rather than directing it.
Wedding Ceremony at Runnymede
The wedding fell in October, and Charleston in the fall is hard to beat — oranges, yellows, deep greens woven through the whole design. Their ceremony was sweet and simple, and their first kiss down the aisle was pure joy, radiating out to every guest in attendance.
Runnymede Cocktail Hour Location
From there, everyone moved into cocktail hour, and this is one of the best parts of Runnymede Wedding Venue: they host cocktail hour within the ruins of the property’s old home. A few brick stacks still stand, one forming a beautiful old fireplace you can design around, with the river and Spanish moss framing the whole scene. Kalyn and Lewis chose to spend that time mingling with their guests over oysters and cocktails rather than sneaking off for more portraits; something I recommend to every couple we work with. Taking photos earlier in the day means you actually get to be a guest at your own party.
Tented Reception at Runnymede Wedding Venue
After cocktail hour, the couple stepped into their reception tent and saw the full design for the first time. Lush green drapery, layered florals, and baskets designed by Shannon of Hill & Co. Creative. It was gorgeous. Exactly right for a Charleston fall wedding. The large 5,000-square-foot permanent clear-top tent on-site is included when you rent Runnymede at your wedding venue.
Dinner was stations rather than seated, another format we love. No assigned seats, just guests moving between food stations, grabbing a cocktail at the bar, and continuing conversations all night. Kalyn and Lewis’s first dance was full of laughing and kissing, followed by a father-daughter dance and a mother-son dance that had the whole tent enraptured. Toasts brought plenty of laughs, the cake got cut, and then the band took over and never let the dance floor empty out for the rest of the night.
Kalyn even worked in a dress change midway through the reception, swapping into a mid-length, rhinestone-studded white dress that was made for dancing. The night closed out with a sparkler exit, everyone gathered around, sending them off.
Why We Loved This Day
Kalyn and Lewis are exactly the kind of couple we love to serve. Joyful, radiant, fully present. They never treated photos as the point of the day. They wanted their love documented, not staged, and that mindset is what let us capture something honest. You can see it in every frame.
Looking for a wedding photographer for your Charleston wedding?
If a day like Kalyn and Lewis’s sounds like what you’re picturing for your own wedding, we’d love to talk. You can learn more about how we work at McSween Photography by visiting our home page or reach out directly through our contact page to check our availability and start the conversation.
Runnymede Wedding Vendor Team
Planning & Design @hillandcocreative
Photography @mcsweenphotography
Venue @runnymedeevents
Floral @gibbsfloralstudio
Catering @crucatering @spikebarservice
Bakery @ashleybakery
Violinist @zoeviolin_
Band @atlantapartyfanatics
Bridal Gown & Veil @grace_loves_lace
Bridal Shoes @loefflerrandall
Bridesmaids @jennyyoonyc
Groomsmen @generationtux
HUMA @charlestonbridalcollab
Invitations @saseink
Videographer @siegelfilms
Rentals @snyderevents @thesocialspool @beachview_event_rentals
Lighting – JHS Productions
