I have to start by saying that I am a SCAD grad (Savannah College of Art and Design) and that I am totally inspired by Savannah every time I visit. So, it didn’t take much arm twisting when Jason and Lilah called to inquire about me photographing their wedding there. Even though I only live two hours away in Charleston, I hardly ever get any inquiries for Savannah weddings and I’d been dying to photograph one there for a while. So I drove down to meet Lilah and Jason a Gallery Espresso just to show them how eager I was to potentially photograph their wedding in Savannah. It worked!

Charleston better watch out!. Even through we’re ranked as the number one or two top wedding destination spots, Savannah is close on our heels. In the span of 2 blocks, Jebb and I saw four wedding parties. It’s a stunning city to get married in and there are endless gorgeous backdrops for photos and cool venues for weddings and receptions. If there are any Savannah brides out there reading this, please feel free to call me, I’d love to photograph your “I Do’s”.

Enough about Savannah, this blog post is all about Lilah and Jason and their amazing wedding. Savannah was a destination wedding spot for them and they were married in the famous Mickve Israel Temple (Whose website opens with Shalom Y’all!) on Monterey Square. It is home to the third oldest Jewish congregation in America. Now, if you’re a fan of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, you’ll know exactly which temple I am talking about… It’s the one across from Jim William’s house in the book. Besides being historically and culturally famous, it is also incredibly beautiful inside. It was an honor to get to photograph there.

The temple is also conveniently located next to Forsythe Park, so we headed there to do all of the wedding party photos before the wedding. Jason and Lilah were happy to see each other before the wedding, which is always fun for us photographers! Following the ceremony, the reception was held at the AVIA Savannah Hotel, a hip new hotel, filled with great art.

Lilah looking stunning!

The rings in the Torah

Lilah getting a sneak peek of the ring bearer on his mom’s camera.

Jason and his groomsmen

Guests arriving for the 6pm ceremony

Jason’s two nieces were the flower girls and they gave the cutest toast to their new “Auntie Lilah”.

Breaking of the glass, a Jewish tradition. Mazel tov!

Mickve Israel

The reception took place at the AVIA Savannah Hotel. It’s a hip and modern spot right near City Market and it is full of art. I am definitely staying there the next time I am in town!

Guests were treated to the most divine gift, handmade chocolates, crafted by Lilah’s brother who is a chocolatier for the Ritz Carlton. Wow! Yum!

Jason’s dad performed the Jewish tradition of the breaking of the bread before dinner.

Everyone’s favorite Jewish wedding tradition, the Hora!!!

My apologies for the fact that is has taken me several weeks to post photos from this amazing wedding between Wallis and Nick LeMasurier. It’s not because I wasn’t extremely excited to share the photos with you, rather I happened to become the latest flu victim and I got a little backlogged. All excuses aside, I am excited to finally post the photos from one of the fall’s most romantic unions!

Wallis is one of those girls who has a million true friends and she loves them all like crazy. Perhaps that’s evident in the fact that she had 14 bridesmaids and 10 honorary bridesmaids! (I think that might be a record.) Apparently, Wallis has the knack of nicknaming everyone she knows and all of those people were elated that the “Wally Cat” found her perfect complement in “Nickodemis”.

The wedding party got ready in the cottages at the Belvidere Harbor Cottages at Patriot’s Point. I love these cottages and there are great spots for photos along the path that connects them. And you can only imagine what it’s like for 25 women in the bridal party to get ready at once!

The ceremony and reception both took place at the Carriage House at Magnolia Plantation. It is a stunning, very Southern spot to get married along the Ashley River and the plantation dates back to 1679. Hannah, of WED, was the event designer, and she created a magical day for Wallis and Nick and all of their guests. Sara Grimshaw of Dahlia Designs was the floral designer and WOW! Did she ever impress with her flowers. Sara’s husband Ian was the acoustic musician for Wallis and Nick’s rehearsal dinner the night before. Between Sara and Ian Grimshaw, this couple has talents to envy!

The ceremony took place outside, along the Ashley River. The bar and catering were done by Granvilles and guests were greeted with mason jars of mint juleps. Talk about Southern hospitality! The Plantation Singers sang their beautiful a capella hymns, it was enough to make your heart melt. The cocktail hour and reception followed inside and out of the Carriage House at Magnolia Plantation. Guests partied like crazy to the rockin’ band and at the end of the night, Wallis and Nick left under a shower of colorful autumn leaves.

There was no question where the Manolo’s were headed… Down the aisle!

The gorgeous wedding ring!

I wonder if there is a term for a group of bridesmaids? This sure was a good looking group!

The stunning florals are by Dahlia Designs.

Mmm! Mint Juleps in a Mason jar.

Mr. and Mrs. Nick LeMasurier

A candid shot of the wedding party.

And one of the newly married couple.

The Plantation Singers filled the air with the beautiful sounds of Gullah soul.

Wallis’s bouquet

Under the tent

This is only a detail of this incredible cake by Jim Smeal.

And off they go under the falling Autumn leaves!

For any of you who didn’t know, last week was Philanthropy Week and last Thursday was National Philanthropy Day. The Association of Fundraising Professionals South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter has been celebrating this day with an awards luncheon for the past four years by honoring an Outstanding Individual and an Outstanding Business.

We were all enthralled with the keynote speaker, Matt Dunne’s, of Google. See below for some outstanding statistics he presented in his presentation! Google is quite philanthropic it seems, check Google.org for more info.

This years winners were Mr. and Mrs. William A. Baker (Individual)  and the Charleston Place Hotel (Business) for their outstanding philanthropic contribution to our community. Congratulations!

The invitations were designed by Cultigraphic

The Charleston Regional Business Journal had a special insert.

Mr. and Mrs. Wailliam A. Baker were awarded for Outstanding Individual in Philanthropy for the Lowcountry

2 BILLION Google searches worldwide per day!

The tables looked amazing! Flowers were done by Wildflowers Inc.

Suzy and Robert are both Southern kids who have found their home (and each other!) in Brooklyn, NY. These two crazy kids were already married a few months ago in Brooklyn, after which they went bowling! But they came home recently to the South so they could celebrate with their friends and family out at Goldbug Island.

One of the most fun aspects of this celebration were the outfits! Suzy and Robert both work with theaters and they aren’t afraid of a little dressing up. Robert broke the groom mold by wearing a fitted white suit with a vintage tie. Suzy wore a beautiful dress from the 1950′s that worked perfectly with her complexion.

After a quick photo shoot of the couple on Sullivan’s, we made out way over to Goldbug for their celebration with friends and family. Home Team BBQ catered the party and guests were all treated to good old Southern Firefly sweet tea vodka. Congrats you two!

Someone’s Happy!

I love this photo of Robert and Suzy. They’re a lot of fun to photograph!

The Rings

Suzy and Robert had about 6 different, delicious looking cakes to tempt their guests. I swear June Cleaver was there baking all day!

Suzy and her bridesmaids all wore vintage dresses from the 50′s.

Suzy meticulously canned jars of green beans for each of her guests. Now that is a totally unique wedding favor!

See what I mean about the scrumptious cakes?!

The dancing and party continued with some funk music.

Colored lanterns make for a cool decor!

I thought this was a fun way to sum up the night! Suzy’s dancing shoes and a tasty Firefly.