Founder & Stylist

destination wedding studio Principal designer and owner Peggy Russell started Destination Wedding Studio in 2005, and has since planned and designed events from the Florida Keys to Aspen, Chicago to Jamaica, and New Orleans to South Carolina.

As a retired architect, Peggy has always enjoyed blending both the creative and logistical sides at the same time. Going from designing homes, orchestrating weddings was a natural next step, as it still allows Peggy to see a couple’s dream come to life.

Destination Wedding Studio’s work has been featured in Martha Stewart, Style Me Pretty, The Knot Magazine, Wedding Chicks, Magnolia Rouge and more. DWS was selected as one of the first WeddingWire Ambassadors, is continuously “Best Of” The Knot and Wedding Wire and was selected as part of Style Me Pretty’s Little Black Book.

Describe myself as a planner in 5 words…

Personal, Detailed, Creative, Inspired, and Fun

What I love most about being a wedding planner…

I absolutely love the couples and their stories! I have been planning weddings for over 10 years, yet somehow no two stories have ever been the same. Every couple has come to me with a different journey to share. Hearing these stories and then telling them through the creation of the wedding, this is, without a doubt, what I love most about what I do!

Artist I’d want to collaborate with…?

I’d like to collaborate with both a primitive folk artist and an abstract artist because they both, in their own ways, leave a lot to the imagination.

Favorite travel destinations in the US and abroad?

In the US, it’s definitely the Keys! They’re sort of a throwback to how the world used to be. Abroad, I will never forget the Greek Islands, the Amalfi Coast of Italy, and St. Lucia (which is still slightly undiscovered).

Favorite TV show?

Downton Abbey and The Crown

Describe my wedding…

My husband and I were high school sweethearts and after 10 years of dating, we decided to finally call it official. We celebrated with just good friends and our families. I wore a blush pink wedding dress and had flowers in my hair. My father walked me down the stairs of my childhood home while Blackbird by the Beatles was being played by a solo guitarist in the background. Being Greek I fought every aspect of ‘my big, fat Greek wedding’ that my parents wanted, except for the big, fat Greek dessert table, which had every Greek dessert imaginable and was by far my most favorite part of our wedding day!

Anything else?

I really want all of our bride and grooms-to-be to know that we here at the Destination Wedding Studio look at our couples as part of our family. That for me, planning a wedding is really taking a journey together.  If you think we’d be a good fit for your wedding please fill out our contact form and one of our team members will contact you within 24 hours.