I was so excited to see one of my favorite weddings from last year on The Wedding Row today! You may remember seeing images from Anne Marie’s bridal shower, designed by Kristin Newman Designs & Gathering, which was featured in Smitten Magazine last year.
Anne Marie and Edward were married last August at Bethel United Methodist and had their reception at the Hibernian. To see more of their incredible style and grace, check out The Wedding Row.
Peggy and Dan held their rehearsal dinner at the Walker Fine Art Center at Woodberry Forest. Woodberry is an all boys boarding school in the hills near Orange, VA and was founded in 1889 by Peggy’s great-grandfather. The school is quite special to Peggy and her family and what better way to share it with their friends and family than to have the rehearsal dinner and the wedding there!
Peggy and Dan live in Charleston, SC and enlisted the talented team of Kristin Newman Designs and Gathering Events + Floral Design to help design their wedding weekend.
Peggy, ever the fashionista, looked stunning in a gown by Dolly Pearl that she found at Bella Bridesmaid in Charleston.
Guests watch a slideshow of Peggy and Dan’s childhoods. I love watching these too and enjoying the universal nostalgia of childhood.
Peggy’s dad and brother cross the campus enroute to the cocktail hour
The art work is by Kelly Lonergan, the chair of the Fine Arts department at Woodberry Forest.
Friends and family sat at one long table that stretched through the gallery.
Peggy surprised Dan with not one, but two groom’s cakes! (I’m guessing they have a good rivalry going here.)
I love this fun shot during dinner!
Rehearsal Dinner Venue: Woodberry Forest
Event Designers: Kristin Newman Designs
Flowers: Gathering Events + Floral Design
You know those days where everything just seems to fall into place? That is how I felt on the day of Sally & Taylor’s wedding. I walked away at the end of the night thinking… I wish every wedding I photograph could unfold just as theirs had. There’s a lot that goes into making the “perfect” wedding day from a photographer’s perspective and I should probably save that for a different blog post. But this one had it all: perfect weather, a well organized schedule, stunning surroundings and most importantly, a confident bride and groom. It was the ease and excitement of Sally and Taylor, along with their wedding party and families, that really made this wedding so wonderful to photograph.
Sally’s sister Amy was married earlier this year, so perhaps that had something to do with how natural and excited everyone was for this wedding. Kristin Newman Designs was at the helm, ensuring a stress free day and Gathering Events + Design created a perfect fall palette of fall flowers and decor.
I had not met Taylor, the groom, before the wedding day. But within minutes of meeting him, I was charmed and loved the fact he had his groomsmen wear cowboy boots along with monogrammed orange and white cummerbunds to support his home team, the Vols.
Sally and her bridesmaids got ready at her parents’ home and there is something very intimate about that. To be surrounded by things that are familiar and special to you makes a difference. Wedding gifts were laid out downstairs and her Cavalier Poo was ready for his moment in the limelight, a portrait with Sally. I took their family portraits on the veranda and the bridesmaids photos in the garden. You can not get any more Charleston than that.
The ceremony took place at First Scots in downtown Charleston. It is one of my favorite churches to photograph in for a wedding as I love the exterior and the pomp with which that church commands. There were two state governors in attendance, Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Bill Haslam of Tennessee.
Enjoy these photos that feature the wedding day up until the ceremony. But stay tuned for part 2, which will carry you through the rest of the evening!
Endlessly creative Gathering Events + Design used a variety of fall toned flowers to create cozy little nooks at the Carolina Yacht Club.
Taylor and his groomsmen looked dapper in preppy monogrammed cummerbunds and cowboy boots!
11 groomsmen on the dock at the Carolina Yacht Club and no one fell in. (I say that in jest!)
A few details from Sally getting ready…
Sally’s sister helps her with the veil.
The Congressional Cookbook was a special gift they received.
I love all of these photos of Sally!!! Classic, timeless and real.
The McKinney family, whom we dubbed “movie stars”.
The ceremony begins at First Scots in downtown Charleston.
Look at these two! A classic father/daughter moment minutes before walking down the aisle. I love it.
More to come!!!
Sometimes I think that if I could fill all the weekends when I am not photographing weddings with the job of just shooting the gorgeous “details” of a wedding, I’d have it made. You see, as much as I love being the constant observer and anticipating the “decisive” moment, I am also a fiend for the other end of the spectrum, set-up and detail shots. Perhaps wedding photography is the ultimate path for me as it allows me to combine lifestyle, editorial and photojournalist photography all into one collection of images.
I am lucky to live in Charleston, SC as it holds some of the most talented wedding designers I know. It is amazing not only what they come up with, but the fact that they build these environments in less than a day. Then, their artful environments only gets to be enjoyed for the duration of the event before being broken down and filed away for the next time. It’s kind of sad when you think about it!
Here are a few detail shots from Anne Marie’s bridal luncheon that took place on the morning of her wedding. Kristin Newman Designs and Gathering Events + Floral Design created this for her. Who wouldn’t love getting an invitation to this?!
Yesterday’s feature was on the Friday night dinner party leading up to Simon’s bar mitzvah and today we get to focus on the bar mitzvah itself! This was the first bar mitzvah I had ever photographed, but I’ve worked with Kristin Newman Designs long enough to know that any event they produce is worth shooting. They regularly team up with Gathering Events + Floral Design and the level of detail and thought that went into planning this event at The Dunes Club was extraordinary.
As guests arrived, they were given the red carpet treatment, literally. After being photographed in front of the custom “step and repeat“, the kids were escorted to their VIP party room and the adults enjoyed an outdoor cocktail party on an elevated platform with a view of the ocean. The kids’ VIP room was better than any arcade or pavilion you’ve ever seen. In addition to various Wii stations, there was also lots of candy, kid friendly cocktail food and drinks and best of all, an electronic bronking bull. Yes, you read that right, a bronking bull.
I had gone to see Simon and his family late last year to take photos of them, some which we planned would be used for the invitations, website and such. Custom design studio, Oscar and Emma took the “Simon Rocks” concept and carried it through everything, from the ticket style invitations to the Playbill of events.
One of the most entertaining and engaging MC’s I’ve ever scene is Sir Andrew. He flew in from DC and had this great ability to simultaneously engage the kids and the adults. To get the party started, Simon made a grand entrance into the ballroom on a rickshaw and the crowd went wild. His arrival was followed by a performance by Daniel D., an electric violinist who plays “jazz, hip-hop, R&B and everything in-between”.
The kids sat at long picnic-style tables and loaded up on delicacies such as french fries, pasta and funnel cakes, all served out of vendor stalls, like you see at a concert. The adults enjoyed fine dining. Throughout dinner, the entertainment continued. After Daniel D. and his electric violin came the break dancers and Sir Andrew had the kids out on the LED dance floor doing Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
It wasn’t all high energy entertainment though, there were some really sweet words spoken by Simon’s dad and he danced with his mom. I can assure you that no one had a dry eye and it was one of the sweetest things I’ve seen. Simon and his mom have a very special relationship. Dan Levison of Moxie Pictures is a close friend of Simon’s dad and created the most creative video slide show I’ve ever seen. It was based on the ever popular Facebook and included clips of video, photos and some funny status updates.
The night absolutely flew by and besides all of the entertainment and decor to photograph, these kids’ faces were priceless. Most of them had never been to a bar mitzvah and I’m sure they all went home asking for one. At the end of the night, who else but Elivs arrived to lead Simon and his family out for their golf cart escape. It went by all too fast and I am ready to photograph my next bar or bat mitzvah! A huge thanks to Jebb Graff who helped me photograph this event!
Oscar and Emma custom designed all the printed materials
The adults enjoy their cocktail hour at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club
Vendors stalls like you’d see at a concert were set up for the kids, who sat at long VIP tables
Daniel D. on electric violin
Getting crazy on the LED dancefloor
I love this one. Youth.
Simon leads the way!
There are a lot of hilarious bronking bull shots. This girl was a champ, I htink she stayed on longer than anyone.
A little zombie action
What party is complete without a cake?!
It’s been one crazy busy Spring and I am waaaayyy behind on blogging, but I’ve been eager to post photos from Simon’s amazing Bar Mitzvah weekend for a long time. Today’s post features the Friday night outdoor dinner party that the Shore’s hosted for their family and out of town guests.
Kristin Newman and her right hand gal, Reagan Kerr, of Kristin Newman Designs were the creative force behind the amazing weekend. They enlisted the help of Gathering Event + Floral Design for the lush florals both inside the house and of course throughout the dinner party. “The” Callie White, of Callie’s Biscuits was on site catering the affair and the food was absolutely “to die for”!
Knowing that there would be lots of kids and teenagers about, Kristin Newman Designs made sure that there were activities to keep them entertained so the adults could enjoy their cocktails. The biggest hit of the night were the “hampster balls” that the kids got to play in. These are gigantic inflatable bubbles that you get into and then roll in on a pool of water. You’ll have to see the photos below!
As the sun began to set the back yard, which was set with long wooden table and strung with white lights, began to come alive. Especially popular were the homemade oatmeal cream pies that went along with the homemade chocolate milk. It was a perfect evening and the start of a wonderful weekend!
