Lily's Senior Session, Aiken, South Carolina

Lily's Senior Session, Aiken, South Carolina

I absolutely loved this session!!  I got to go down to Aiken,  meet Lily, her mom and her light brown pony Nora.  Also there was Champagne and Ghost who were more than eager to get in front of the camera.  It was such a fun and magical morning I didn't want to leave!!

But what was even better, was getting to ride Nora back to the barn!!

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Jonah & Leticia Folly Beach Wedding, South Carolina

Jonah & Leticia Folly Beach Wedding, South Carolina

This was such an amazing afternoon on Folly Beach in Charleston.  Jonah and Leticia were so adorable you could feel the love radiating from them both.  When Jonah reached out to me about  being their photographer for their small beach ceremony, there was no threat of bad weather at all.  However, as their wedding date approached, there was a category 5 hurricane heading towards Florida, and coming up through Georgia and into South Carolina.

Jonah was not bothered at all by the threat of Mother Nature, and the ceremony commenced and I'm so happy that the ceremony was not cancelled!!

These photos are right before Hurricane Irma swept up the east coast.  Just by looking at them, you would never know of all the destruction and devastation that hurricane had caused.

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Kaysten & Kayleigh LDS Temple Columbia, South Carolina

Kaysten & Kayleigh LDS Temple Columbia, South Carolina

My first Groom's Dinner!  This is a traditional Mormon celebration and I was not allowed inside of the temple as they were performing the sacred ceremony, only a select few were.  The bride and groom wear traditional garb and afterwards change into what we know as the wedding gown and suit.

Afterwards they take photos and then go to dinner which is traditionally everyone else's rehearsal dinner.  I really enjoyed doing Kaysten and Kayleigh's portraits, they are genuinely nice people who are so in love it's adorable!  Their family and friends were so nice and I greatly appreciated the Mormon 101 lesson!!

Here's a few of my favorites from that day......

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Kenny & Jennifer Pet Portraits, Grovetown, Georgia

Kenny & Jennifer Pet Portraits, Grovetown, Georgia

If you know me then you know how much I love dogs!! So meeting five of them was so much fun! This is Konan, Lady, Rolly Polly, Vernan and Milk Dud.  Oh and their owners, Jennifer and Kenny!

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Nick & Alyssa Falls Park on the Reedy River, Greenville, South Carolina

Nick & Alyssa Falls Park on the Reedy River, Greenville, South Carolina

I met with Nick and Alyssa on Thursday in Greenville and it was great!  We first went to the Rock Quarry about five minutes down the road from downtown Greenville.  It was such a quiet and tranquil park and we were the only ones there on such a hot but beautiful day.  We finished up there which took all but 20 minutes and drove less than 5 minutes to downtown Greenville.  

I really take Greenville for granted!  What a beautiful city it is with so much architecture and culture and the river flowing right through the middle.  And the birds... so many different kinds of birds it was amazing!!  Nick and Alyssa were such a wonderful and cute couple.

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Ryan & Abbie The Carolina Girl, Charleston, South Carolina

Ryan & Abbie The Carolina Girl, Charleston, South Carolina

I had the pleasure of second shooting for the very talented Leslie Perkins of Leslie Perkins Photography in Charleston on the Carolina Girl where I met Ryan and Abbie Blackledge.  Ryan and Abbie had already gotten married the year before in front of the court house, because they got there when it closed.  They were able to find a fellow officer to officiate and notarize their marriage.  

You see, Ryan is in the Navy and was about to be deployed and wanted to make things official with Abbie!  A year later, they decided to have a real wedding and do a vow renewal and it was just wonderful!!

Here's a lot of my favorites!!  (I know I usually say just a few but I couldn't help it!!!)

Amelia Joy newborn session Lexington, South Carolina

Amelia Joy newborn session Lexington, South Carolina

It was such a pleasure meeting this little ray of sunshine!!  She was wide awake the whole session and watched me the entire time.  We had a little mishap while doing the "naked baby shots" she decided to use her daddy as a diaper and pooped and peed on him!  Of course dad was a great sport about it.

Here's a couple of my favorites from that session.... without the little mishap!

John & Brooke Lake Murray Columbia, South Carolina

John & Brooke Lake Murray Columbia, South Carolina

It was such an honor and privilege to have been apart of such a sweet ceremony.  I met with Brooke of Brooke Amelia Photography at Starbucks and she is just the sweetest person!  Her and John have already been married and each has kids so they didn't want to do anything big to tie the knot.

Their first date was actually a blind date for coffee at the exact Starbucks that we had met for our consultation.  They ended up hitting it off and talked for hours until Brooke had to leave to go to Toys R Us for her son.  Well John decided that he needed to go as well and that was their first date!  They haven't been together a year before deciding that they were meant for each other.

The ceremony took place on a Wednesday evening on John's family's property on Lake Murray.  It was in his dad's backyard in a garden that his mother had started before she passed away.  Her parents and his dad gathered around and the officiant was his uncle and the notary his aunt.  On her side was her son Thompson and on his side was his sons Jacob and Thomas.  It was one of the most beautiful and sweet ceremonies I've ever done or had the pleasure of witnessing!!  

Here are a few of my favorites!!

Andrew & Kate 1208 Washington Place, Columbia, South Carolina

Andrew & Kate 1208 Washington Place, Columbia, South Carolina

What a beautiful day for a wedding!  This was my first Catholic ceremony and it was amazing.  The church was pretty with a high vaulted ceiling and a beautiful nave and stained glass windows.  Kate came down the aisle beaming and Andrew mirrored her happiness while waiting at the end of the aisle for her.

I met Andrew and Kate a little over a year ago at a Starbucks in town and we talked for over an hour.  They are just the most genuinely nice and charming people you will ever meet.  We went to my beloved peach orchards for their engagement shoot and they did such an amazing job that I couldn't wait for their wedding!

And it finally happened after over a year of waiting and these photos are only a slight few of my favorites!!  

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Chris, Candace and Hampton Rhoden, Lexington, South Carolina

Chris, Candace and Hampton Rhoden, Lexington, South Carolina

Chris and Candace are the nicest people that I have had the pleasure of knowing.  I just wanted to do a family/maternity session for them because they struggled for so long for God to give them Hampton and now by the Grace of God, they are naturally having a little girl named Whaley! 

Here's just a few of my favorites!

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Daniel & Britta Engagement Columbia, South Carolina

Daniel & Britta Engagement Columbia, South Carolina

I met with Daniel and Britta yesterday.  They live in Florida but Britta is from Columbia so they decided to have their wedding here on May 4th of 2018.  Hints why they wore t-shirts and brought light sabers.  

They were so much fun to work with, I really had a great time meeting them and getting to know their story.  Britta wanted to go to school for the deaf because she wanted to do something different, so she packed her bags and headed down to Florida.  She soon met Daniel at the local church and he asked her to a movie, Batman vs. Superman, since she didn't know anyone.  And of course, the rest is history!

Sam & Kristina Verderame Columbia, SC

Sam & Kristina Verderame Columbia, SC

I met Sam and Kristina in November.  They just wanted a few engagement photos for their reception tables at their wedding.  Kristina is from Connecticut so they planned to do the wedding there so their family and close friends could be apart.  I did their session in my favorite place, the peach orchards, (R.I.P) and they were so much fun to work with!  

I did their session, edited the photos, and sent them on their way....  I recently received a phone call from Kristina who was very upset.

She expressed to me that they got their wedding photos back and that she didn't like them at all! I felt so bad for her and tried to console her.  Then, here's the real kicker, she said she wanted to print a couple for Sam to take with him when he gets deployed in July of this year to Afghanistan for A YEAR AND A HALF!!!!!

Unfortunately though, She could not make those photos work in any other size but the size of a smartphone.  So I told her, lets do a photo session!  So no, this was not a court house wedding. This was a couple that were in desperate need of just a few precious memories that couldn't be captured at their wedding.

Tommy & Sherri Rock Bottom Pond, Ridgeway, South Carolina

Tommy & Sherri Rock Bottom Pond, Ridgeway, South Carolina

Tommy and Sherri met a long time ago in a galaxy far away.  Just kidding!  They met through family, went their separate ways and came back to each other in the restaurant that Sherri's daughter was working at the time.  

After NINE YEARS together, Tommy finally asked Sherri to tie the knot.  It was a very bittersweet day on Saturday at Rock Bottom Pond in Ridgeway.

Sherri looked stunning in curve flattering simple dress from David's Bridal, and he was handsome in his cowboy boots.  At attendance were their close family and friends with the Matron of Honor being her daughter, the Best Man was his son and the flower girl was Sherri's adorable granddaughter. Their dogs were even apart of the ceremony and then were whisked away to the "man cave" because it's Summer in the South.

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At the reception, the bride and groom danced and then the groom danced with his mother.  They cut the cake and everyone cheered.  The happy couple was just that; happy!

Jamin & Beth Duff Farm Blythe, Georgia

Jamin & Beth Duff Farm Blythe, Georgia

I met Jamin and Beth one year ago for their engagement photos on their farm.  It was really more of an 'after court house legal wedding' photo shoot.  The couple went ahead with the legal portion of a marriage because Jamin wanted to be apart of their local church's band and to do so they had to have a legal binding with state and church.  

So one year later here we are celebrating one year of marriage with a small ceremony at the couples farm with their family and closeist friends.  This marriage brought together 5 adorable kids.... yeah I said 5.... 

The ceremony was in a field right next to horses.  It was short and sweet.  Everyone wore converse.... including myself, along with shades of blue.  Their boys wore belts depicting their favorite super hero and of course they had to try and emulate them as well.

What was even more wonderful was the cake!!  It was 3 tiers, with the whole families favorite fictional movies cascading down the front.  This was one of the sweetest ceremonies I've ever had the pleasure of being a part of.  Their family was a part of every little detail and no one was left out.

Please stick around and enjoy a few of my favorites from that day!

Matt & Amy Levine Museum of the New South Charlotte, North Carolina

Matt & Amy Levine Museum of the New South Charlotte, North Carolina

Matt and Amy are the cutest couple!  Their love for each other just radiates.  I first met both of them at their engagement session, which didn't go as planned.... that story is further down on the blog.  We were supposed to do their engagement photos in a peach orchard that turned out to be completely destroyed!  However, this couple is so amazing, that it didn't matter and they completely rocked their engagement session with out the orchard.

So of course on their wedding day I was so excited on May 20th to drive up to Charlotte, NC to capture this special day for this very special couple.  Surrounded by oh so many friends and family, Amy came down the aisle at The Levine Museum of The New South, right after she did the most adorable awkward wave to Matt that I've ever seen.  It was the usual ceremony followed by the best and most fun wedding party photos that I've ever had the pleasure of seeing or shooting!

 

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The most wonderful thing about having your wedding at The Levine Museum of The New South, is that you and your wedding party get exclusive access to all the exhibits.  Seriously... exclusive access to all the exhibits!!!  We had so much fun!  Please enjoy these photos from their fabulous night!

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Elis & Monica Wedding T&S Farm Events Batesburg, South Carolina

Elis & Monica Wedding T&S Farm Events Batesburg, South Carolina

Elis and Monica's day finally came!  Their wedding was on a hot Friday in SC, which isn't anything unusual.  I arrived and the bride was just finishing up getting ready for the 'first look' and boy was she a vision.  I knew what to expect because I did her bridal portraits, which you can find further down on the blog, but she still took my breath away.

Elis and Monica met when they were sophomores in high school and both worked at the local party supply store, Party City.  They waited until they graduated from the University of South Carolina Aiken before getting married.  

The wedding party consisted of close family and friends including a few grooms women who helped me keep the guys in line.  The whole party were wonderful to work with and were so warm and welcoming that I stayed afterwards and helped them celebrate this sweet couple.

These are just a few of my favorites!