Caroline Springs & James L. Hills Jr. - April 29, 2017 • First Presbyterian Church & Private Residence

Caroline and Jamie Hills may have shared the hometown of Myrtle Beach, but they really didn’t get to know one another until they shared the same love for the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, meeting atop a “Cockaboose” after a football game victory.

Caroline says she fell head over heels for Jamie’s Southern charm and love of life, which was proven time and again over their seven-year courtship.

“One memory I have is of Jamie pulling the car over during a road trip to shag dance with me in a parking lot to one of our favorite songs,” says Caroline.

While romance was a priority, the couple’s education needed to take precedence over tying the knot, hence the seven years of dating life for Caroline and Jamie, who is eight years her senior. During that time, Jamie earned his degree from Charleston School of Law and Caroline graduated from the University of South Carolina.

“We were at different places in our lives, with him in law school and me in my undergrad years, but we finally had enough of the long distance relationship and wanted to come back here to our hometown,” says Caroline.

Jamie got down on one knee soon after they woke up the morning of July 31, 2016, which was followed by an all-day celebratory brunch and pool party with close friends and family, hosted by Caroline’s parents. The couple soon began plans for their wedding celebration, scheduled for April 29, 2017.

Bride and groom said “I do” in the couple’s childhood church, First Presbyterian Church in Myrtle Beach, where they exchanged custom-designed rings by Ash Hoffman Jewelry and Caroline walked down the aisle in a wedding gown that defined simple elegance (also the theme of the Hills’ wedding day).

Caroline shares how, on her search for the dress, she impulsively tried on a few while she was in Charleston on a solo trip for something else. She tried sending photos of the dresses to her parents, but they decided instead to drive down the next day to see the dresses in person. And when her father, Jay Springs Jr., had tears in his eyes when she walked out in a gown, she knew that was the one.

Her parents’ backyard would be the location for the reception, a sprawling, magical outdoor venue embraced by ancient live oaks, Carolina pines and the greens of the Dunes Golf & Beach Club.

“Many of my friends had their wedding reception in the Dunes Club clubhouse, which is pretty, but I love my parents’ backyard because that’s home for me,” says Caroline. “I always envisioned my reception there.”

Nearly 400 guests gathered in the Springs’ backyard splendor, complete with trees and manicured shrubs strung with twinkling white lights. The father of the bride, a former Italian chef, jarred his famous barbecue sauce as a wedding favor, and Jamie, also known to rule the dance floor, crooned a ballad for his lovely new wife along with the wedding’s live band, Deas-Guyz.

Caroline’s grand vision for her big day was made a reality from start to finish.

“I say to other brides that less is more,” she says. “The less stress you have that day, the better.”

Caroline, a merchant sales and service representative with South Atlantic Bank, and Jamie, an attorney with the Guyton Law Firm, are living as newlyweds in the Dunes Club in Myrtle Beach.

Key Vendors:

Venue: First Presbyterian Church and Private Residence
Photographer: Kristy Roderick Photography
Planner: Stunning & Brilliant Events
Jeweler: Ash Hoffman Jewelry
Catering: Marina Inn at Grande Dunes
Cake: Priceless Desserts
Flowers: Gale Richardson
Dress: Maddison Row
Tux: M. Dumas & Sons
Videographers: Turner Films
Band: Deaz-Guyz
Transportation: Carolina Limousine