In my younger days, I was quite the nomad traveling twice a year up and down the East Coast training racehorses.  While Malaika’s may have not lived out of a suitcase, her travel history had a similar theme as she hit all the major cities along the way pursuing her dream of a law degree.  Her journey began in Minnesota and along the way landed her in Dallas, Philly for undergrad, followed by 7 years in The Big Apple where she graduated and began her life as an overachieving successful attorney.   Restless for another adventure and after hearing good things about Charlotte, she had a “gut feeling” that something or someone was pulling her South to The Queen City.

Mark, on the other hand was basically a native as his family moved to the Charlotte when he was six years old.  It is so cool to see those who grow up in one place with friends who have been through little league, prom’s, the bar exam and through the excitement when you first meet “the one”.  It didn’t take Mark’s friends long to learn that he experienced “love at first sight” at a backyard barbecue “set-up” date with Malaika.  Mark boldly told her he was going to marry her on their second date to a Mary J. Blige concert: “Chemistry was crazy from the get-go, Neither one of us knew why…people swore it off as a phase, said we couldn’t see that, Now from top to bottom, they see that we did that (yes).

Mark made good on his promise and they exchanged vows June 23rd on the Grand Lawn of The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island.   Both Mark and Malaika wanted “non-traditional” documentary style wedding photographs that they could feel they’re wedding day when looking back at the photos.  After 20 years as a photographer, I am always still amazed how a 1/1000th of a second slice of time can show moments of pure happiness, emotion and love.   We had an amazing time getting to know everyone throughout the three days of festivities and wanted to say Thank You for making us feel like one of the family!

 

 

 

LOCATION |  The Sanctuary Kiawah Island

WEDDING COORDINATOR  |  Engaging Events- Cindy

BRIDES GOWN  |  Sabrina Dahan

GROOM’S TUXEDO  |  Rocky Chugani and Sapna Jiandani-Rocky’s Custom, Sherman Oaks, CA.

BRIDE’S BOUQUET  |

OFFICIANT  |  Pastor Terrence Autry

CEREMONY MUSIC  |  Christopher Teves Trio

STATIONERY  |  Studio R

CAKE  |  Jim Smeal

HARPIST  |  Kathleen Wilson

MUSIC  |  Natty Heavy-Nate Lopez

VIDEOGRAPHY  |  Paragon Filmworks-Matt Suchodolski

HAIR STYLIST  |  Curtis Strother

TRANSPORTATION  |  Charleston Style Limo

 

 

 

 

It is always exciting to be a part of a unique wedding celebration with awesome people.  We spent our Halloween with Caroline and Kevin at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens photographing a FUN and beautiful wedding celebration.

We would like to thank Blythe and her team from YOJ Events for creating the beautiful decor and being a part of making the day perfect.  The beautiful flowers fit beautifully within the Conservatory reception thanks to Eliza at BranchDesignStudio.  Also, a shout out to DJ James Lee from Other Brother Entertainment for keeping the dancefloor rocking until last call.

Thanks to all the great vendors:

Catering: Cru Catering.

Transportation: LowCountryValet.  (Home of the big Green vintage bus).

Rentals: EventHausRentals.

Wildfower Pastries: Lauren Mitterer

Kevin and Caroline’s Magnolia Plantation Highlights.

 

It was a fun day capturing the wedding of Amanda and Jeremy and enjoying a beautiful sunset cruise aboard the paddlewheel Carolina Queen.

We met them last year and had a great time taking them through Charleston for their engagement session.  They have both settled in Charleston for work with Boeing, but wanted to have a beach wedding.  We started the day at The Tides Hotel and after a ride downtown in a vintage Bentley, it was time to set sail for the party.  It is always interesting to see who in the group is going to get the party started.  We had so much fun watching Jeremy’s brother and Amanda’s Mom “go off” and cut the rug until last song.

We also love seeing the full spectrum of emotions throughout the day.  Amanda tried to fight back the tears, unsuccessfully during the ceremony, but as you can see in the photos, couldn’t stop smiling from that point forward.

I love hearing the stories of how amidst the thousands of people we all meet, there will be that moment when everything changes.  For Brett, that moment occurred on her birthday with a craving for pizza.  She found herself in Anthony’s Italian restaurant and now years later, following a helicopter proposal in downtown Charleston at Battery Park, they gathered with their family and friends for a beautiful wedding at The Cottages in Mount Pleasant, followed by an amazing reception at No. 5 Faber St.  We feel honored to have been able to share the day with their beautiful family and friends.  We have a special Thank You to Lisa for being there with us through the day; we couldn’t have done it without you.  Here are some of our favorites from the day…

 

 

 

We love traveling to new and exciting places to capture and create beautiful wedding stories.  This Spring we had the pleasure of meeting Carlin and Matthew and photograph their wedding at Moorespring Manor in Westfield North Carolina.  Carlin is the sister of one of our favorite people, Gracen who we photographed at Boone Hall Plantation a few years ago.  Having the chance to get to know the family, we were sure it was going to be an amazing day.

While I always say that Charleston is “like Disneyland” for photographers, as an artist it is also exciting to challenge our senses and experience new places with a fresh palette of colors and texture.  The venue is located in a rural area and a beautiful drive from nearby Mount Airy.  As photographers, we are always on the lookout for any interesting structures or places with natural beauty to use as elements for unique and artistic photos.  After scouting all the surrounding back roads and little towns we hit the jackpot by finding am amazing barn with richly knurled grain that was perfect starting place for bridal party portraits that were reminiscent of the rural location.  As with any shoot, the element of surprise can often lead to some of the most beautiful images from the day.  On the short half mile drive back to the reception, I noticed a field of beautiful wheat grass that was glowing with the setting sun.  We figured that we had some leeway with a bride in a  wedding dress and took the short walk into the field for these portraits.

We want to thank the Witt and Manning family for allowing us to spend the day with them celebrating this beautiful day.  We can’t wait for Gracen’s wedding at Boone Hall-just saying!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had the pleasure of photographing Allison and Butch’s beautiful wedding at the The Ancient Spanish Monastery.  It was awesome meeting their families and we had so much fun being treated like one of the crew; however, seeing Allison smile from beginning to last dance was the best part of the day!

The Spring wedding and engagement portrait season is winding down-we are having a blast and getting to meet some amazing new friends!  We haven’t had a chance to update the blog in awhile and so we wanted to show you a quick peek from a few of our recent weddings and portraits.  More coming soon…

We had an amazing time photographing one of our Spring wedding couples at both of Charleston’s most beautiful and picturesque venues.

We started downtown at our favorite spots and ended up having so much fun we made the trek to Middleton Plantation for a horse ride, then on to their wedding location-Magnolia Plantation.  We absolutely loved their energy and had a blast spending the afternoon with them.  Ivan began riding horses when he was five and this was a special place to them both as they had one of their first dates at the stable.  We know their wedding is going to be so much fun and are looking forward to meeting the rest of the family.

We had the pleasure of spending the day with Noa, Andrew and their family and friends last Sunday at LeGare Waring House.  We have photographed many weddings at this popular Charleston venue, but this was one of the most beautiful and elegant weddings EVER.   That said, as you will see from the photos, this was definitely a case of a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.  This crew ROCKED the Photobooth!

We are sure that one reason for the energy that night was Noa and Andrews “first dance” moves, and also provided by “The Business“.  This talented group of musicians from Asheville kept the dance floor packed all night-they kept it funky and played everything from James Brown to modern hits.  Great job gentleman!

Make sure to check back soon as we are in the process of editing the wedding photos.  If you are planning a wedding at LeGare Waring you will definitely be interested to see how Noa styled the grounds with the ceremony under the beautiful Wedding Oak.  However, her (brave) decision to have the reception under the Avenue of the Oaks is such a perfect way for guests from all across the country to experience the beauty of the low country.

 

Wedding details are an important part of every wedding story.  Of course, the beautiful bridal portraits and photojournalistic moments of the ceremony can capture the emotion and energy of your day, but a beautiful photographed detail shot can be a work of art and document the special character of your wedding.

Wedding details are also an artistic way for your wedding to look like the pages of an “editorial” magazine spread and are essential in creating extraordinary album design. We know these little details have been meticulously planned and should be photographed with the same care and artistry as the family portraits.  Even a simple food shot can be a way to bring all your senses back to the wedding day?  Here are a few examples of individual and composite images from some of our favorite past weddings details.

Since we are perfectionists, we are also experimenting with some new films in order to give our wedding images a look we feel may only be possible with specific film.  For example, overexposure on film creates beautiful skin tones with a “dreamy” look that is not possible in digital because the highlights do not photograph with the same tonality.  Check back in a few months when we plan on publishing for our tests shots and see if you can tell the difference.