Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively shocked the world by secretly swapping vows just outside of Charleston, S.C., on Sunday night. And the superstar couple managed to keep the hush-hush I do’s under wraps up until the big day.
“It had been quiet at Boone Hall until the day of it all,” local Top 40 95SX Hit Music Now pop culture expert Kelly Gukanovich exclusively told Celebuzz. The ceremony, attended by some 70 family members and friends of the couple, was “very intimate,” Gukanovich added, and it was clear “a lot of money was spent on the event.”
And much of that went to small-town businesses, many of which had a hand in making Lively and Reynolds’ dream wedding come to life.
FIG, a sustainable-food restaurant in the heart of downtown Charleston, catered the nighttime reception, revealed Gukanovich, who hosts a daily segment, Kelly’s Sleaze, on the local radio station. Fox Audio Visual, a full-service supplier of production equipment, provided the sound system. And before belting out a set at the reception, Florence Welch was “super-nervous,” Gukanovich said. The singer had her look perfected by Kacie Faulling, a celebrity hair and makeup artist based in Charleston.
Though reports claim the ceremony took place in a white tent, Gukanovich explained the venue was a waterside barn (see above photo). “It’s all old wood,” she said off the barn-like building, which was covered with sheer white curtains for the nuptials. “They rebuilt it after Hurricane Hugo. Very rustic and romantic. It does have barn doors.” In past “I do” ceremonies, couples stroll out onto the dock to exchange vows overlooking the pure-blue water.
As for the guest list, Bette Midler — who E! News reports sang during the reception — is in Charleston for two weeks. Ahead of the wedding, Midler dined with Lively and her mother, both close friends of veteran singer-actress, over the weekend.
And it certainly wasn’t Lively and Reynolds’ first time in town. “He’d been here before when he wasn’t with Blake,” said Gukanovich. “Then he brought her here. The past two to three months, the two of them had been here.”
During a recent visit, the now-newlyweds were spotted dining at Leaf Restaurant and Halls Chophouse — a very “swanky” spot, according to Gukanovich, who speculates the couple were putting the finishing touches on their wedding plans then.
Find out other new details about the couple’s surprise nuptials here.
