There are only 4 weeks left until these two tie the knot! I’m excited for these two because they are one of the most fun and in love couples I’ve ever seen.
This was actually the second engagement shoot we did together as there was a little wardrobe malfunction the first time. They were old pros at getting photographed the second time around, so by their wedding, they are going to be like trained models! I can’t wait!!
Brittney and Dusty are new to the Charleston area and wanted to celebrate their their move and engagement with an engagement portrait session! They will be getting married in Jackson, Mississippi in December, and so we took advantage of Charleston’s long sultry days for some summer portraits.
We hit a few spots around town and then headed out to the beach with their puppy “Tate”. He’s an English creme golden retriever (have you ever heard of one of those?!) and was full of all that fun puppy energy.
These two were so much fun to photograph. When they stopped at home to pick up Tate on the way to the beach, they did a little wardrobe change, which I always think is a fun thing to do in your engagement session. It adds a little variety and a change of mood to the photos.
I wish I were photographing their wedding as I’d love to see them all dressed up in their wedding attire!
Kristin and Ryan are getting married at Kiawah in October and were in Charleston this past weekend for one last whirlwind weekend of planning. We met up on a blazing hot afternoon and they seemed happy not to be getting married during this heat wave, but were up for doing their engagement session in downtown Charleston. They were troopers and didn’t complain a bit about the heat, even after a wardrobe change that put Ryan in jeans.
Here are some of my favorite shots. Enjoy!
I first met with Megan and Scott way back in the Fall of 2009 to talk about photographing their upcoming wedding in July. I was thrilled they wanted to do an engagement session as it’s always a great way to get to know people before the big wedding day and makes photographing the wedding so much smoother.
Photography is an intimate process when the goal is to capture true emotion and love between two people. It requires the bride and groom to let down their armor a bit and relax in front of me and interact with one another in front of me. That can be a little intimidating at first. I know because I am always at a loss when the camera is turned on me and suddenly I am the subject. It takes a bit of warming up to to be able to shed your inhibitions.
All of that is to say that these two are naturals. They are naturally beautiful people who love to joke around and have fun with one another. There was hardly a dull moment! They told me that they are huge fans of the “Have Nots!”, a comedy troupe based here in Charleston at Theater 99. I could totally see these two starring in their own act!
Back in April, I took engagement photos for Allison and Matt. You might remember seeing them here. I was very excited to see the creative ways that they have been used on their wedding website!
With the help of their planners, Kristin Newman Designs and the uber talented duo at Stitch Design Co., these photos are now gracing their gorgeous and well designed wedding website. These days, a wedding website is an excellent way to share all the necessary info about your wedding with your guests. Below are a few screen shots, don’t you love the clean and snappy design!
It’s amazing how interconnected we all are. I had gotten a call from Parker & Elizabeth about photographing an engagement session for them here in Charleston, as their wedding was going to be held in Raleigh in the fall. Unfortunately, I was unavailable for their wedding date, but I mentioned that my sister lives in Raleigh.
We embarked on the engagement session in downtown Charleston and were talking about Raleigh and where my sister lives and wouldn’t you know it…. Elizabeth has actually babysat for my nieces?! They live blocks apart, how crazy is that? And Parker, well his mom lives in my hometown of Hickory, NC. Our conversation was full of coincidences!
We had fun scouting the streets of the French Quarter in Charleston for great backdrops for their portraits. These two were quick to smile and after an initial wave of nerves, fell right into the fun of it.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure (and excitement!) of photographing a real life marriage proposal. Ty had emailed me several weeks in advance and had all the details laid out of how and where it was going to happen. My job was to be there, incognito, and capture it as it happened.
Though I’ve photographed proposals before, I wasn’t prepared for how nervous I was going to be. I wasn’t worried about her saying “Yes” (I figured he had that covered), I was just worried about remaining inconspicuous in the courtyard at the Jasmine Inn. Luckily, Bryan came along with me and played decoy. Hopefully we looked like a happy couple enjoying the romantic late afternoon courtyard and eying the table of champagne, strawberries and flowers set up for these two.
The moment all happened pretty quickly and there was a lot of excitement and tears. I’m happy to know that we could play a part in helping it all come together so nicely and capture those smiles!
Congratulations you two!!!
Gorgeous couple + Historic Charleston + Lots of Love = A Really Fun and Very Charleston Engagement Session!
Allison & Matt are getting married in the fall, but we took advantage of the perfect Spring afternoon to take a few photographs about town. The goal was to get a photo of them holding a “Save the Date” banner that Stitch designed for Allison & Matt and their wedding designer, Kristin Newman Designs. That photo is still under wraps for the time being!
It’s amazing what you can learn about a couple in an hour or two of trolling the streets of Charleston looking for great light, cultured landscape design and wandering down alleyways. I came to learn that Matt and I went to rival high schools and Allison has an internship with Nathalie Dupree that I’d love to experience. And that these two are madly in love.
I met Cat and Adam several months ago at Luke Wilson Special Events to talk with them about being their wedding photographer. It was one of those meetings where I walked out thinking, “I really hope they use me because what an energetic couple!” Lucky for me, they did decide to use me for their April wedding! These two have known each other for years, but reconnected more recently. They have tons of shared friends and families that are excited to see the two of them get hitched. On top of that, they are really into each other, that always makes taking portraits more fun.
We rescheduled from a potentially rainy day shoot to a more “Charleston” style day with lots of sunshine and took a little walk through the historic areas of Charleston. Both Cat and Adam were looking quite dapper and we had a bit of a fashion shoot on the streets of Charleston. Here are a few classic shots of these two. Enjoy!
I love her smile and the way she’s looking at Adam. Very sweet!
Even the camellias bloom here in January.
I thought that finding this orange door was a bit serendipitous! It matched Catherine’s dress perfectly!
I’m looking forward to the wedding!
It is a special thing when you see a girl’s face light up as much as Blair’s does when her groom Charles is around. I had photographed Blair’s bridal portrait the afternoon before and had taken gorgeous photos of her. But what I found out the next day is that when you add Charles into the mix, Blair really comes alive. And I have to say, it’s hard not to smile around Charles as he’s full of antics.
In the first minute I met him, he picked Blair up in his arms and spun her around. So much for needing a few minutes to break the ice!
A stroll down Church Street
All tangled up
A new view on the Battery
Party On! See you at the wedding!
