Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Have Your Wedding on a Plantation
When most people hear the word “plantation,” horrifying images of the brutal treatment of enslaved people come to mind. For others, however, the idea of a plantation evokes a refined and genteel way of life. Until recently, plantations were even included among venue ideas on wedding-planning websites such as The Knot, Brides, and Zola.
Yes, you read that right. People had their weddings at a place where African Americans had suffered for centuries. Who thought that was a good idea?
Apparently, actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds did. In 2012, the couple got married at the Boone Hall Plantation located near Charleston, South Carolina. Photos of their wedding have popped up on pretty much every wedding-planning website as other couples also hope to incorporate the allure of the antebellum South on their own special day. Granted, the idyllic venue does capture that very ambiance with its wispy trees and stately mansions. Nevertheless, it fails to properly acknowledge the horrors of slavery and perpetuates the erasure of our nation’s ugly past.
Starting in 1681, the Boone Hall Plantation passed through the hands of various owners before landing in the possession of the McRae family in 1955. Four years later, the McRaes opened the site to the public. Unfortunately, however, rather than using this…
