Ah, gorgeous Leigh. It’s fun to have a bride with whom I share a name!

Leigh and Andrew were married this past weekend at Mount Pleasant Presbyterian with a reception following at Alhambra Hall. Banner Radin and Bryan Deel helped me to photograph their lovely wedding and photos are soon to come. But I thought I’d take this opportunity to show off her stunning bridal portraits that we did back in May at Bone Hall.

Leigh is a laid back gal and decided to forgo the heels and wear her Rainbow flip flops instead. I loved her for that. She is all about being outside and we were on the hunt for a great dock to use for a few of the photos.

She is a totally understated stunner and that truly, is the best kind. Real, un-fussed, natural beauty.

One of my favorite parts about wedding photography is getting to do the bridal portrait a month or two before the wedding. Bridal portraits are a very Southern thing, I have learned, and our brides from up north and out west sometimes give me a funny look at the mention of doing one. But really, it is more of a two hour fashion shoot of the bride looking her best a couple of months before the wedding at the location of your choice. It’s a lot of fun!

Huge advantages of a bridal portrait include doing a hair and makeup trial run, having a sample bouquet made, trying out your dress and shoes before the big day and of course, getting to model in front of the camera! It’s a work in progress for both of us as I get to see what angles are most flattering and you get a feel for how I work. I take a ton of photos and not all of them are going to be perfect. You may be blinking in some and I may miss the moment in others. But the important things is that after i edit out the not so good ones, that there are still a generous handful of beautiful shots and we have images to use for the paper or as an enlarged portrait, if you choose.

Amber was just married this past weekend and I have a wonderful time taking her bridal portrait a month or so before her wedding. Her mom, who also made her gorgeous bouquet, was there and it’s always great to have a friend or family member come to help as your stylist. Amber has a crazy and witty personality and kept me on my toes the whole time. She’s a lot of fun to be around! She teaches algebra to high school kids and there’s no doubt that she’s their favorite teacher as she makes everything fun.

These are a few of my favorites from her bridal portrait. I can’t wait to share her wedding photos!

Grace represents the modern Southern woman, through and through. Charm, hospitality and adventure are three words that I would use to just start to describe the any great qualities she has!

After studying fashion design in college, Grace moved to Chicago with friends and worked for Nieman Marcus, every fashionistas dream. Not fully satisfied with the fashion world and wanting to make more of a difference in people’s lives, Grace returned to school to study nursing.. Then! Grace met Bayne, her new husband, who is an Army Apache helicopter pilot and fell head over heels. Feeling the need to support her country like her beau, she decided to join the Army as a nurse. From the sounds of it, she was quite a hit, being the only debutante in her platoon!

Let’s just say, Grace has personality. But at the heart of it, she’s a strong Southern woman with a huge and loving family centered around tradition and, well, grace.

The day of her bridal portrait in Columbia was unfortunately a gully buster. It rained like you wouldn’t believe. So we were a bit limited on the outdoor photos, but it was  great taking her bridal portrait in her childhood home.

This is her favorite shot, mine too!

I love the muted colors in this along with her profile.

Brides + Blue = A Great Combination

A classic Southern portrait in Grace’s childhood home.

Grace with her sweet dog Jasmine

Over the weekend, I was excited the photograph the marriage between Charles and Blair. These are two of the nicest people I’ve worked with and they have wonderful families that were thrilled to see them exchange vows. The blog post about their eventful, yet stress free wedding is coming.

But since they are now happily married and headed off on a wonderful honeymoon in Mexico, I can show you a few photos from Blair’s bridal portrait session which took place down at Waterfront Park in historic Charleston. You may think that Blair is smiling in these photos, but wait until you see the photos of her and Charles together! That boy REALLY makes her smile.

I love the light coming down this awesome cobblestone road and lighting up Blair!

I recently had the pleasure of photographing Melissa’s bridal portrait here in Charleston. Melissa was actually getting married in Charlotte this past weekend and the very talented Abigail Seymour photographed her wedding. Melissa really wanted to have her bridal portrait taken in Charleston, as she’d lived here for a long time, having gone to both the College of Charleston and the Charleston School of Law. Unfortunately, Abigail couldn’t be here on a certain date to do the bridal portrait for Melissa, but I was happy to step in and help. We started at the William Aiken House and then went to the Cistern for photos in front on Randolf Hall.

There are a couple of things I know for sure about Melissa. First, she has, without a doubt, the most amazing, porcelain skin. I do not believe she has ever been freckled by the sun. Second, she has amazing taste. Between her unbelievable Monique Lhuillier dress and magnificent blue Manolos, you know this girl has style! Lastly, she’s a true Southern lady, extremely gracious and smart!

Here are a few of my faves from the session. Enjoy!

This bow requires a degree. But Melissa’s mom is a bow-tying pro!

The red room at the William Aiken House

Randolf Hall on the College of Charleston campus

I love this blue in the William Aiken House

Back in March when the azaleas were blooming like crazy, Jamie came down from Myrtle Beach to have her bridal portrait taken here in Charleston. We had such a great time that day and did some shots of her in the studio as well as on the navy yard at Noisette.

Leslie Moore of Moore Makeup, did Jamie’s makeup and she looked incredibly stunning. Jamie is all about the bling and proud of it. She looked amazing and was a very happy bride!

Photos from her wedding to Judson last weekend at the Summerall Chapel are coming soon!

This is the image she chose for her bridal portrait.

These are a few from in the studio…

This is a shot Jebb took of us during her bridal shoot in the new studio.