Haskell Harris and her now-husband, Marshall McKinney, were both recruited to work for Garden & Gun magazine soon after it launched in 2007. Her as Style Editor and he as Art Director. (They’re now the Style Director and Design Director, respectively.) “We were good friends in the beginning and then started dating about a year later,” says Haskell. “Eventually, we had to tell our editor-in-chief,” she laughs.
The two had been seeing each other for five years, when Haskell woke up on Valentine’s Day morning to find a small box on her pillow. “I thought it was a Valentine’s Day gift, but when I opened the box, it was the exact ring we’d picked out together months prior,” remembers Haskell. “He even saved the notes he took about what I liked and had those in the box, which made me cry obviously. It was very simple and sweet. And it made me remember how special the experience of choosing the ring at this wonderful old school jewelry store called Croghan’s here in downtown Charleston really was. Going there is like stepping back in time, and they really treat you like royalty.”
Haskell wanted something subtle that she could add to, so Marshall chose a central band with diamonds all of the way around that she could stack other pieces on either side of. “In the years since, I’ve added two diamond and emerald bands that belonged to my mother and two gold bands by Charleston-based jewelry designer Christina Jervey,” says Haskell. “I love that it feels like a collection and has family pieces thrown in too.”
Haskell knew from the moment that Marshall proposed that she didn’t want a long engagement. Instead, she had her heart set on getting hitched at the courthouse in Charleston. “I’ve always thought the idea of keeping the wedding simple and just making it about the two people getting married was so romantic and down to earth,” admits Haskell. And so, she set out to plan a wedding in a week.
Unsurprisingly, choosing what to wear wasn’t difficult for this fashion editor. She wanted something white and something created by a southern designer. Ultimately, she went with a white shift by Amy Smilovic of Tibi. “I’ve spent most of my adult career championing designers in the region through my work at magazines, so this was a natural fit,” says Haskell.“It also reminded me of the simplicity of the wedding suit my grandmother wore when she got married right after World War II.”
For flowers, she wanted something less fussy than a bouquet so she had friend Anne Bowen of Charleston Stems create a fresh wrist corsage with one big bloom instead. “A bouquet seemed too formal to me for the courthouse, and I didn’t wear much jewelry so I let that one big bloom make the statement,” Haskell explains. She also wore an Art Deco ring on her right hand and powder blue shoes as her something blue.
Never a big makeup person, the bride kept her look minimal and wore her hair down in soft waves. “We literally woke up, got dressed, and went to the courthouse with our amazing friend and photographer Charlotte,” says Haskell. “She was our only witness—much to both of our parents’ and my huge family’s chagrin.” Charlotte photographed Haskell and Marshall exchanging their vows, and then joined the newlyweds for Champagne on the porch of Husk restaurant afterwards. “After that, she gave us a big hug and a kiss, took one last shot, and then we spent the afternoon with our phones off, eating an amazing, long lunch,” says Haskell. “It was fun because everyone knew we’d just gotten married and there was a real spirit of joy around us that whole afternoon. Plus, we got to sit and talk to each other about why we were so excited to have finally done it. It makes me happy just thinking about that lunch!
The next morning, the two were off to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for their honeymoon—“a city I’d always wanted to visit with Marshall,” says Haskell. “It was amazing because it was all so spontaneous!”
