Wedding Season Madness…Loving Every Minute!!!
The months of March, April, May, October, and November are the height of the Charleston wedding season. We, of course, have events throughout the year…but we can barely catch our breath in those months! This is a good thing, I love being busy. We’ve had a lot of great events in these last few months, I’ll share just a few…
John and Holly held their ceremony and reception at Magnolia Plantation in the Summerville area. Out-of-town guests came from all over to celebrate the happy day. Though it was only April, the temperature was Charleston summer all the way, hot and humid. The ceremony was held outdoors overlooking the Ashley River. Around sunset, I wandered with the bride and groom over into the garden to shoot some more intimate shots. The lighting was so perfect, giving us that lovely, even light, kissed with the warmth that only sunset light can give.
Hailing from Ohio (where it is not terribly warm, nor are there any sand beaches) came our wonderful couple, LaToya and Sean. LaToya is originally from South Carolina, all of her family traveled from the upstate to be on Isle of Palms for the event. Months of planning, and more than a few prayers, could not convince the heavens to give the couple the beautiful day for their outdoor ceremony they had hoped South Carolina would give them. It rained like only summer in the South East can bring, hard and fast. Being that it is the responsibility of the photographer to get great pictures of every event, a good photographer always has a plan B and C and D in their back pocket. I covered the ceremony and reception the day of the actual wedding, shooting the family pictures in front of a large picture where we could still see the beach in the background and I also came out to the beach the next day (the last the couple would be in town) in order to get the beach pictures LaToya had envisioned for her big day. It was a lovely day at the beach, I asked the couple to say something meaningful to each other (to get back into that wedding frame of mind) and then they spread some of their unity sand out on the beach, we did some great shots of the two of them together on the beach and, as if any more proof were needed, we carved their names in the sand.
Anyone unfamiliar with the Charleston area may be unaware of a wedding venue jewel we have here in Charleston. Every local bride knows that the Alhambra Hall in Mt. Pleasant is one of the most popular, and hardest to get into, locations in town. Kelly and Danny were lucky enough to have their Friday evening wedding and reception at Alhambra Hall. The ceremony was held outside on the lawn at sunset and the reception was held upstairs in the hall and on the veranda. Doug Farmer was the officiant. He did a wonderful job of performing the ceremony just as directed by the bride and groom, short and sweet! Emphasis on sweet! Frampton Flowers did an awe-inspiring job with the flowers, not just the bouquet for the bride and bridesmaids, but the most astoundingly beautiful explosion of flowers on the arch where the bride and groom said their vows. Jay Maxwell’s Music by Request had one of their stupendous DJ’s at the event. He had the most impressive system I have ever seen. To provide music for the ceremony, he set up a speaker…not just any speaker. This speaker was wireless and self contained. It has a built-in player…the whole unit is so compact and unobtrusive, an absolute must for outdoor events in my book! After the ceremony, the couple and I went out to the marsh area and were able to capture the incredible Charleston sunset as a backdrop for our beautiful couple.
We travel often for our work, it is simply part of the job. This May found us in Savannah, Georgia. Our sister city has a charm all its own. We traveled there early in order to enjoy the area, and scout locations to take Andy and Kelly for their outdoor shoot. Their ceremony and reception took place at the Inn at Ellis Square. This venue is located just steps from the City Market and has a beautiful ballroom. Across the street are a series of antiques stores which we visited on Friday. I personally recommend Jere’s Antiques which has an astounding collection of reasonably priced antique and vintage furniture. As we were exiting one of the stores, I glanced over and saw this area underneath the stores. In an instant, I saw this image in my mind’s eye. Kelly and Andy were great to work with and they could see what I had seen when I asked them to descend a set of very steep stairs in order to translate my inspiration into an actualized image. It didn’t hurt that they were a very handsome couple!
Things will slow down a bit for us now. We’re gearing up for the big bridal show coming up in July. It’s a Thursday Evening show, a new concept to be sure. We’re taking our booth up another notch and I’m very excited. More on that as things develop!
http://www.magnoliaplantation.com/
http://www.townofmountpleasant.com/index.cfm?section=9&page=4
http://www.framptonsflowers.com/
Despite what some other industries are saying the wedding business in Charleston is booming and growing. More and more entrepreneurs are focusing their attentions on this sector and are coming up with some amazing and innovative ideas.
Leave it to Charleston to attract so many wonderful, creative people!
thanks for posting the picture of my daughter Katie, and her husband, Andy in Savannah. We totally were blown away by the beautiful pictures you took and would recommend you to ANYONE interested in have unique pictures taken in the coastal empire.