Yesterday, we braved the cold and went out on a 45-ft sailboat to take some new campaign shots for Spooney Wearever clothing. The forecast said it was suppose to be in the 60′s, but it was below freezing when we got up and headed out to start the day! Luckily, our model Jessica is a real trooper and braved the cold Arctic blasts of air you get out on the Charleston Harbor on a day like this. We had blankets and hot coffee on hand, but I can’t imagine how tough it was to look happy and relaxed for the photos, while shivering to death inside. 

Janice Fetter, the creative force behind Spooney, talked her good friend Phil into letting us shoot on his boat and taking us out on the water. Like the excellent captain that he is, he made sure we knew the rules and all the safety precautions. Also on hand were Karen and Gillian. Karen is Janice’s assistant at Spooney and was the prop stylist extraordinaire and helped with the hair and make-up styling. Gillian, my new intern, was on hand to help with the lighting and reflectors and was put in charge of the boat in the unlikely event that we’d lose our captain. I was three to take the photos and hold on for dear life so I didn’t fall in with my cameras. 

Here is a preview of some of the shots we took…

Sarah and John are getting married in Destin, Florida in October, but they decided they’d like to do their engagement session here in Charleston where they live. Sarah is in graduate school for historic preservation, so she was interested in getting some shots in downtown historic Charleston showing some of the architecture and cobblestone streets. We also headed up to Hampton Park, which is close to where they live for a few as well. These two were great to photograph and full of smiles!

I love getting silhouette shots as I think they can really radiate the energy of a couple through body language.

An intimate moment on Chalmers Street

I had just asked Sarah and John to tell me how they got engaged.

Hampton Park

Dancing in the streets!

Walking on the cobblestones.

I love Sarah’s expression here.

On last silhouette.

Amanda and Ryan were married on a beautiful sunny day in January here in Charleston. I joined up with the girls at the hotel for some “getting ready” photos and then rode the cutest Charleston trolley with them over to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist on Broad Street for the ceremony.

The reception followed at the Carriage House at Magnolia Plantation with Permanent Vacation keeping everyone out on the dance floor all night! Courtney Parades of Fini Events was the “day of” wedding coordinator and did a wonderful job of keeping everything on schedule.

The flowers were designed by Tiger Lilly

I loved working with Amanda and her mom.  In addition to being well organized, they were also full of smiles and fun.

One of my favorite parts of wedding photography is getting to do a bridal portrait of the bride-to-be a couple of months before the big day. I love going out to great locations around Charleston and finding different spots for bridal portraits.

Amanda was just married last weekend here in Charleston, so I can show you the shots we took of her back on in November. Amanda came down with her mom and a friend and it happened to be the weekend where they reenact the Battle of Secessionville out at Boone Hall. That made for some interesting encounters! Luckily, we were he day before the actual enactment and there weren’t canons going off or anything.

Amanda was incredibly fun to photograph as she was all smiles. My next post will be photos from Amanda and Ryan’s wedding… so stay tuned!

In the gardens next to the house

The Cotton Dock