A Savannah Love Story: Kate and Ryan’s Editorial Elopement
A thoughtfully planned two-person wedding unfolding through Perry Lane Hotel, Pulaski Square, Forsyth Park, and a Savannah rooftop at sunset
Kate and Ryan wanted to elope in Savannah with no guests, no wedding party, and none of the complexity of a traditional wedding. But they did not want the day to feel small.
Kate imagined something intimate, romantic, and sophisticated. She wanted photographs with an editorial quality, but she also wanted the experience itself to feel genuine. Rather than simply meeting for a ceremony and posing for portraits afterward, she wanted the day to unfold like a story.
Kate had already chosen Perry Lane Hotel for their stay when she reached out to Savannah Proper. Coming from out of town, however, she needed more than a list of recommendations. She wanted someone in Savannah whom she could trust to understand her vision, make the right local connections, and bring every part of the experience together.
That became the role of Savannah Proper.
Perry Lane Hotel became the starting point and final celebration setting for Kate and Ryan’s Savannah elopement.
The smallest details began the visual story inside the couple’s Perry Lane Hotel suite.
Creating a Story Around a Two-Person Elopement
One of the creative challenges of photographing a two-person elopement is that there are naturally fewer candid moments than there would be during a larger wedding.
There are no bridesmaids helping the bride get ready, no cocktail hour filled with guests, and no reception unfolding across several hours. Beyond the ceremony, a traditional elopement session can easily become a photographer guiding a couple from one portrait location to another.
Portraits are an important part of editorial wedding photography, but a collection of beautiful portraits alone does not always create a complete story.
For Kate and Ryan, Savannah Proper Events Director Jennifer Maring collaborated with the bride and photographer Charles Maring of Maring Visuals to create a storyboard for the day. Together, they considered not only where the couple would go, but how the experience would move, what the photographs would communicate, and how each part of the day could lead naturally into the next.
The result was more than an elopement itinerary. It was a romantic Savannah experience designed around the couple.
There Is More to Planning Than Making a Plan
A beautiful itinerary is only the beginning.
Savannah Proper did not simply recommend a florist, suggest transportation, or provide a list of restaurants. The team handled the footwork of turning every idea into a confirmed arrangement.
Vendors were researched and selected. Services were booked. Reservations were made. Timing was coordinated. Transportation routes and pickup locations were considered. The individual pieces were then brought together to create one cohesive experience.
Before making those decisions, Jennifer took time to listen to Kate and learn about her personal style, preferences, and vision for the wedding. That understanding guided each recommendation.
For the flowers, Savannah Proper assembled visual look books that allowed Kate to consider different floral styles, colors, and compositions. Her responses helped the team refine the creative direction before communicating the final preferences to local florist Urban Poppy.
Planning also continued long after everything had been booked.
Savannah Proper followed up with each participating vendor one week before the wedding to reconfirm the arrangements, schedule, locations, timing, and responsibilities. A final round of communication took place the day before the event to ensure that everyone remained prepared and every detail was on track.
That behind-the-scenes work is rarely visible in the photographs, but it is one of the reasons a couple can remain present throughout the day.
Afternoon light transformed a quiet moment inside the hotel into an editorial bridal portrait.
Kate and Ryan did not need to call the florist, confirm the car service, check the dinner reservation, or wonder whether the rooftop arrangements were ready.
They could simply experience their wedding.
Getting Ready at Perry Lane Hotel
The story began in a suite at Perry Lane Hotel, where Kate prepared for the ceremony.
Charles photographed the quiet finishing moments as she dressed and gathered the final details of the day. Meanwhile, Ryan waited downstairs at the hotel bar.
By the time the photography began, the flowers had already been delivered to the hotel. Guided by the look books and Kate’s responses, Urban Poppy created a bouquet and boutonniere that complemented her dress and reflected the sophisticated, romantic feeling she wanted.
Kate later told the team that the bouquet was exactly what she had imagined.
This is an important part of the Savannah Proper approach. We do not simply give couples a list of vendors and leave them to manage the details. We listen, interpret, recommend, book, coordinate, confirm, and follow through.
A couple should not have to arrive in an unfamiliar city and spend their wedding day checking deliveries, calling transportation companies, or wondering whether everyone understands the plan.
A First Look in the Perry Lane Library
Once Kate was ready, she made her way downstairs to Perry Lane’s library.
Located near the lobby, the room offered a sophisticated contemporary setting with a piano, game tables, comfortable seating, and a quieter atmosphere than the hotel’s public gathering spaces. It became the setting for Kate and Ryan’s first look.
Photographed quietly through the doorway, Kate and Ryan’s first look became one of the most intimate chapters of the day.
The moment gave the couple time to see one another and settle into the day before leaving for the ceremony. It also created the first emotional chapter of their photographic story.
From the library, the couple crossed to another Perry Lane building, where Charles photographed them in an elegant foyer and hotel bar. Surrounded by artwork, flowers, and beautifully designed interiors, Kate and Ryan could sit together, enjoy the atmosphere, and have fun.
Rather than treating every moment as a formal portrait, Charles gave the couple room to interact. The resulting photographs felt playful, romantic, and natural while maintaining the sophisticated editorial quality Kate loved.
A Seamless Ride Through Savannah
Savannah Proper arranged private transportation with White Sands Transportation, providing Kate and Ryan with a luxury black SUV for the experience.
Transportation can easily be overlooked when planning an intimate wedding, but in Savannah it can transform the day. Parking, walking distances, changing locations, afternoon light, and the city’s heat all need to be considered.
Because the couple had a private vehicle waiting, they could move comfortably between the hotel, ceremony, portrait locations, rooftop, and dinner. The air-conditioned SUV also gave them a chance to cool down and relax between stops.
Most importantly, Kate and Ryan never had to think about how they were getting from one part of the experience to the next.
The transportation was not simply booked. It was integrated into the timing and movement of the entire day.
Pulaski Square offered filtered afternoon light and an intimate setting for the couple’s vows.
A Joyful Ceremony in Pulaski Square
The couple traveled from Perry Lane Hotel to Pulaski Square for their ceremony.
Savannah Proper and Maring Visuals connected with local officiant Allie West, who performed a warm and personal ceremony beneath the trees. Afternoon sunlight filtered through the canopy, giving the square a soft, golden glow.
Local officiant Allie West led a warm, personal ceremony beneath the trees of Pulaski Square.
Although it was an intimate ceremony for only two people, it was filled with laughter and joy. Those emotions became the heart of the photographs.
The ceremony felt personal without feeling overly formal. Kate and Ryan could focus on one another while the Savannah Proper and Maring Visuals teams quietly managed everything happening around them.
Kate and Ryan sealed their vows beneath one of Savannah’s magnificent live oaks.
After the vows, Charles photographed the newlyweds in and around Pulaski Square while Jennifer returned to Perry Lane Hotel to coordinate the rooftop portion of the experience.
This is where thoughtful planning and active day-of coordination make a visible difference. While one member of the team remained with the couple, another was already preparing what would happen next.
A quiet location detail records the Savannah square where Kate and Ryan were married.
A Romantic Walk Through Forsyth Park
The SUV returned to Pulaski Square at precisely the right time and carried Charles, Kate, and Ryan to Forsyth Park.
The portrait experience continued through the city with movement, spontaneity, and room for the couple to be themselves.
The couple walked beneath Savannah’s live oaks, along shaded pathways, past historic mansions and ironwork, and toward the iconic Forsyth Park fountain.
Historic architecture gave the editorial portrait session a distinctly Savannah sense of place.
Charles kept the portrait session moving while allowing time for the unscripted moments that make an editorial story feel alive. The photographs were guided without feeling rigid. Kate and Ryan could walk, talk, laugh, and experience the city together while Charles captured both the composed beauty of the setting and the smaller moments happening between them.
Throughout the session, he coordinated with the driver to determine the ideal place and time for pickup.
Forsyth Fountain and late-afternoon light created an unmistakable portrait of the couple’s Savannah experience.
Movement and playfulness kept the landmark photographs personal rather than merely posed.
As the portrait session ended, the car was waiting.
As the portrait session ended, the private car was waiting at the pickup location coordinated by the team.
There was no searching for the vehicle, retracing steps, or interrupting the rhythm of the day. Kate and Ryan simply stepped into the air-conditioned SUV and continued their celebration.
Champagne, Cake, and Sunset Above Savannah
A dramatic evening sky marked the transition from the portrait session to the rooftop celebration.
While Kate and Ryan were being photographed in Pulaski Square and Forsyth Park, Jennifer worked with Perry Lane Hotel to secure and prepare a rooftop table.
When the couple returned, champagne and a wedding cake were waiting.
The newlyweds returned to a bustling Savannah rooftop where their celebration had already been prepared.
Jennifer coordinated with Perry Lane so champagne, flowers, and a wedding cake were waiting when the couple arrived.
The rooftop was bustling, the air was beginning to cool, and the sky gradually transitioned from the warm colors of sunset into evening light.
Above the city, Kate and Ryan finally had time to settle into the evening and take in the experience together.
Kate and Ryan toasted their marriage, fed each other cake, and relaxed above the city as Charles photographed the final chapter of the experience.
These moments gave the story a natural conclusion.
The day had moved from the anticipation of getting ready to a private first look, a joyful ceremony, a romantic walk through Savannah, and finally a rooftop celebration at sunset.
The couple watched the light change over Savannah as their wedding day moved into evening.
Nothing felt rushed, and nothing felt disconnected.
As daylight faded, the rooftop became the final atmospheric chapter of the couple’s Savannah story.
Light, color, and the rooftop mural created one of the day’s boldest editorial portraits.
Dinner at Circa 1875
Kate trusted Savannah Proper to choose the right restaurant for the evening.
The team selected Circa 1875, a French bistro whose intimate atmosphere was a fitting conclusion to the couple’s sophisticated Savannah experience. Savannah Proper made the reservation in advance and incorporated the dinner timing into the larger itinerary.
The private car remained available to take the newlyweds from Perry Lane Hotel to the restaurant, completing an experience in which every transition had been considered.
For Kate and Ryan, the wedding was not defined by the number of people attending. It was defined by the thought placed into every part of it.
An Elopement Can Be a Complete Wedding Experience
An elopement does not have to be limited to meeting an officiant in a square, exchanging vows, and posing for a few photographs afterward.
It can have anticipation, movement, atmosphere, celebration, and a meaningful beginning, middle, and end.
For Kate and Ryan, getting ready at Perry Lane, seeing each other for the first time in the library, sharing a drink, traveling through the city, exchanging vows in Pulaski Square, walking beneath the live oaks, cutting a wedding cake at sunset, and dining together at Circa 1875 became individual chapters within one complete story.
The editorial quality of the photographs came not only from the locations, wardrobe, light, or photographic direction. It came from having a real experience to photograph.
The story was not manufactured for the camera. It was thoughtfully planned so the couple could live it.
With the planning and logistics handled, Kate and Ryan could end the experience exactly as intended: together, relaxed, and present.
What Savannah Proper Plans
Savannah Proper creates curated Savannah elopements and micro-weddings around who each couple is, how they want their wedding to feel, and the kind of Savannah experience they want to remember.
For one couple, that might mean a simple ceremony beneath the live oaks followed by photography and champagne. For another, it might include a private venue, flowers, cake, musicians, transportation, hotel accommodations, rooftop cocktails, dinner reservations, photography, and film.
Some celebrations can be created through Savannah Proper’s inner circle of trusted professionals. Larger weddings and events may require a dedicated planner, venue team, production partners, and additional vendors. In either case, Savannah Proper connects the right people and helps every element become part of one cohesive experience.
Our work can include:
Learning about a couple’s tastes, priorities, and vision
Developing the creative direction and itinerary
Researching and recommending the right professionals
Creating visual look books for flowers and other design elements
Booking vendors and making reservations
Coordinating timing, transportation, and locations
Communicating the complete plan to everyone involved
Reconfirming arrangements before the event
Providing final follow-up the day before
Coordinating the experience as it unfolds
Through our travel planning resources, Savannah Proper can also assist with flights, hotel reservations, room blocks, itineraries, and experiences for couples and their guests.
Our work extends beyond planning a wedding. We help couples experience Savannah.
If you are beginning to imagine your own celebration, explore our Ultimate Savannah Elopement Guide or contact Savannah Proper to begin creating an elopement, micro-wedding, full-scale wedding, or private event designed around you.
Kate and Ryan’s Savannah elopement was planned and coordinated by Savannah Proper, with photography by Charles Maring of Maring Visuals.