For most couples, a wedding is the culmination of a love story – an exclamation point at the end of months or years of dating. For Forest Richardson and Andrew Kocis, however, their Hilton Head Island wedding was far more joyful than any single piece of punctuation could ever convey. It was the joining together of two families’ traditions, two deep-rooted Southern stories, and two lives knit together by family threads of faith and intentionality.
It was the destination of a journey two souls took to find one another. It was a celebration of the purest love.
It was also, as Forest describes it, “a true honor to celebrate in a place that means so much to us – Hilton Head Island will always hold our hearts.”
Forest radiates timeless beauty in a Verdin gown outside her childhood home, just moments before her walk down the aisle.
Growing Up Southern
Forest’s story begins right here on Hilton Head Island. Born at Hilton Head Hospital, she spent her childhood steeped in the culture of the island as part of a family that helped define it. The daughter of Coligny Plaza owners, Leslie and JR Richardson, Forest carries on a legacy that began when her grandparents made their way here in 1955, before the bridge was built. As founders of Coligny, they helped establish the community as more than a beach getaway. That sense of place still resonates with Forest.
“I grew up cherishing sunrises on the beach and sunsets on Calibogue Sound. The island is home to me,” Forest said. “I attended Hilton Head Prep, then Wake Forest University, and after completing my Masters in Business Analytics, I joined Deloitte Consulting in Washington D.C. I came to Hilton Head Island the weekend before the pandemic to spend time with my parents. That Sunday, my boss called and advised me to cancel my flight and remain on the island, since no one would be returning to the office that week. I spent that unexpected stretch with my parents, settling into a slower routine and falling in love with the island all over again as an adult.”
Following the ebb of the pandemic, Forest moved back to Washington D.C.
Hoping to make her way closer to her family and friends, Forest decided to move to Charlotte. Little did she know that a fellow resident of her new city would change the trajectory of her life.
Forest and Andrew Kocis on their wedding day, June 7th, 2025. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Born in Charlotte and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Andrew Kocis carries the Palmetto State in his bones. “I went to Presbyterian College, then moved to Chicago for five years to work in finance,” he said. “But after five winters, I was ready to come back South. The Southeast is home.”
Having grandparents who bought a home in Sea Pines 50 years ago and lived on the island for years, Andrew’s childhood memories are peppered with the Lowcountry from regular family get-togethers. His aunt and uncle still call the island home. “To marry an island girl was a dream,” he said with a laugh. “Hilton Head Island has always been special to me, too.”
The couple’s wedding cake, beautifully crafted by Carrie Castano, was designed to match Forest’s wedding dress.
A Match Made by Providence – and a Little Help From Friends
Their meeting wasn’t the result of swipes on an app or chance encounters. It came through an unexpected matchmaker: Joe Owen, one of Andrew’s father’s best friends, and past Hilton Head resident who served as the Island Recrecation Center’s first director.
“I was fly fishing with my dad in the North Carolina mountains,” Andrew said. “Joe called and asked about my dating life, and I told him I wasn’t seeing anyone. He said, ‘Give me 24 hours.’ The next day he sent me a picture of Forest and said, ‘This is the perfect girl for you.’”
Andrew agreed to have Joe reach out and make the connection. It came, as many island connections do, through a maze of friends and family. Forest had a friend from college, Mary Winston Dalrymple, whose mother is Joe’s cousin, and this grapevine was able to put Andrew’s LinkedIn photo in front of Forest.
An artist herself, Forest personally handwrote the couple’s save-the-date, which featured artwork from North Carolina artist, Herb Jackson, in the liner.
The stage was set for a blind date.
“Mary Winston, as sweet as she is, had set me up on a few blind dates that didn’t work out,” Forest said. “But I said ‘yes’ to this one. And thank goodness I did.”
Their first encounter came at Inizio, a pizza restaurant in Charlotte. After splitting a pistachio pesto pizza, they talked for hours beneath an oak tree outside the restaurant. The conversation flowed as it can only between two souls that have found each other. It wasn’t long after the date ended that Forest sent a text to her eventual maid of honor: “Husband. I’m going to marry him.”
A cherished moment: JR Richardson escorts his only daughter down the aisle at their Calibogue Sound home.
Shared Values, Shared Lives
What sealed their connection wasn’t just chemistry, but shared convictions.
“On our first date, we covered everything from our love for our families to our shared Christian values,” Forest said. “It was clear that our roots were similar and our faith was woven throughout our upbringings. I admired the way Andrew cared for his nieces and nephews. Family dinners, time together, the way we cherish time with our loved ones – it all aligned.”
Andrew agreed. “Faith and family were the big two,” he said. “And then there’s Forest herself – her bubbly personality, how deeply she cares, and how she invests in her relationships. She shows up for people. She makes everyone feel special.”
Both living in Charlotte, the couple settled into a rhythm of shared routines. Walks through the park, picnics, long evenings cooking together.
In front of a hand-crafted oyster cross, Forest and Andrew sealed their vows with their first kiss. Reverend Gregory Kronz, who baptized Forest as a baby, officiated the ceremony.
“We love to cook,” Forest said. “We write notes in our cookbooks when we make something – what we cooked, the date, what was going on in our lives. It’s like a cooking diary.”
They also jumped headfirst into each other’s family lives. Holidays, kids’ ball games, weddings of friends – every experience felt richer and more meaningful with a partner by their side. “It was so fun to be at a friend’s wedding and finally say, ‘This is my person,’” Andrew said.
The Proposal
By spring of 2024, Andrew knew it was time. He asked Forest’s father, JR, for his blessing during the RBC Heritage golf tournament weekend on Hilton Head Island.
After juggling the calendars of the couple’s busy summer schedules and both sets of parents, a sunny Wednesday in June was chosen for the day Andrew would pop the question. To cover his approach – and keep Forest unaware of what he had planned – Andrew arranged a short mid-summer jaunt to Linville, North Carolina, where Forest spent summers during her childhood. His plan was to take their dog to Camp Yonahnoka, a gorgeous park in Linville, where Andrew would conveniently “forget” the leash.
Colorful place settings and lush floral banquettes adorned the seated dinner.
“On our way to our favorite spot for dinner, we made a quick stop at the park to ‘pick up the leash,’” Andrew said. “I dropped down on one knee.” Forest chimed in, “It was truly the best Wednesday ever!”
Against a backdrop of Blue Ridge skies and the blossoming of an eternal love, Andrew asked Forest to join their lives together. You already know what she said.
All of Andrew’s meticulous planning paid off when Forest found both sets of their parents waiting nearby, ready to celebrate the news.
A Wedding Steeped in Island Tides
When it came to planning the wedding, Forest knew one thing: It had to happen at the place she’d always called home – Hilton Head Island.
“I always dreamed of getting married in my parents’ backyard where I had lived since I was 9,” she said. “So that’s where we had the ceremony. Our reception was at Honey Horn, a place deeply tied to my family history, as we are related to the Loomis family who originally owned the land. For us, it felt symbolic to be married in a place rooted with history.”
Forest worked with wedding planner Kelli Corn to design what she calls a “bright, colorful garden party.” She drew inspiration from a beloved painting by North Carolina artist Herb Jackson, infusing cheerful colors into everything from the save-the-dates to the groomsmen’s pocket squares and dance floor.
With Jackson’s blessing, she was able to incorporate his artwork throughout the celebration.
Perhaps the most unique touch was the oyster cross. Forest’s parents invited friends and family to glue oyster shells onto a wooden cross in the weeks before the wedding – each shell prayed over with blessings for the couple. “That cross still stands in my parents’ backyard,” Forest said. “It’s one of the most meaningful things because of the love all of our friends and family put into it.”
The result was a joyful, vibrant celebration rooted in faith, family, and place.
The Richardson Family. (left to right): Amanda Richardson, James Richardson IV, James Richardson III, JR Richardson, Forest Richardson Kocis, Andrew Kocis, Leslie Richardson, Collins Richardson, and Morgan Richardson.
The Rain and the Sunshine
Like many Lowcountry weddings, weather played its part. But as any wedding planner will tell you, there are few greater miracles a wedding day can enjoy than kisses from angels falling from the heavens as drops of blessed rain.
“Right as I was about to walk down the aisle, one small cloud opened up,” Forest said. “It rained for just a few minutes. I looked at Andrew, smiling at the end of the aisle, and realized – none of it matters. We’re here to get married. That’s my favorite memory.”
Andrew agreed, adding a poetic touch: “I wasn’t worried about the weather. As I told someone that week, I’m marrying sunshine personified. And that’s Forest.”
Forest and Andrew dance their way out of the reception, wrapped in a whirlwind of festive fun.
Favorite Memories
Though the day was full of highlights, one quiet moment stands out for Andrew.
“We planned a last dance,” he said. “After everyone left the tent, before the big exit, the band played one last song. Just the two of us, alone on the dance floor. After all the craziness and joy during our wedding weekend, it felt like our first moment to truly settle into being husband and wife.”
It was a perfect moment of quiet reflection following the pomp and energy of the wedding, giving the happy couple time to reflect, treasure the love they had found, and begin in earnest their new life together. Afterward, the couple was able to give a small token of appreciation to the people who made it all possible, including gifting Mary Winston and Joe with matching champagne buckets, bestowing on them the “Matchmaker Award.”
“You always hope for the best when you set your friend up on a date, so it’s been a true joy to be a part of their love story,” Mary Winston said. “You could see right away that Andrew and Forest were two people who had fallen immediately, and deeply, in love.”
Looking Ahead
Now back in Charlotte with their chocolate lab, Chip, the Kocises are enjoying married life.
“We are excited to have a family someday and raise our children knowing how meaningful Hilton Head Island is to us,” Forest said.
“Whether we’re in Charlotte or Hilton Head, we want to raise our children with the same traditions and values we grew up with – faith, family dinners, and approaching relationships with intentionality,” Andrew said.
And Hilton Head Island? “It will always be home,” Forest said. “We wouldn’t be surprised if life brings us back to the island someday.”
Asked to sum up their love for one another, both pause, then speak with clarity.
“For Andrew, it’s his intentionality,” Forest said. “Andrew is so thoughtful and purposeful in how he cares for others. He slows me down and provides a steady calm throughout the chaos of life. I am excited to see all that we build together over the years.”
For Andrew, it’s Forest’s joy. “Forest truly believes every day is a special occasion, and she lives that out. She makes everyone feel celebrated. To marry someone like that? I’m beyond blessed.”
Epilogue: A Faithful Union
Their story reads like something out of a novel. Two people, brought together by fate and bound instantly by love, their union blessed with rain and filled with family and faith, but nothing could be more real than the devotion that these two have found in one another.
On Hilton Head Island, where romance is painted in gentle sea breezes and sunsets that blur the sky into soul-stirring artistry, Forest and Andrew began their forever. As they step into their future – wherever it may lead – they carry the island with them.
