Charleston Wedding Photographers | Charleston Portrait Photography and best Engagement and Family Portraits by Reese Allen

Kiawah Island wedding of Malaika and Mark on The Sanctuary Grand Lawn

Reese Allen — Thu, 09 Aug 2018 21:54:04 +0000

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!

Kiawah Island wedding of Malaika and Mark at The Sanctuary on the Grand Lawn, fine-art bridal and family portraits by Reese Allen.

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

Hopsewee Plantation wedding of Megan and Justin

Reese Allen — Sun, 24 Dec 2017 05:22:19 +0000

Hopsewee Plantation rustic, vintage style wedding photography

Megan and Justin were married at Hopsewee Plantation in a beautiful ceremony kissed with light streaming through the live Oaks and tears flowing. We loved meeting their family and friends and could wax poetic about all the moments, but the pictures tell the story of the day perfectly…it was a beautiful day with two beautiful people! Thank you for welcoming us and allowing us the honor of capturing your wedding day! Merry Christmas!

Mills House Wedding of Kristen and Robb by Top Charleston wedding photojournalists

Reese Allen — Fri, 15 Dec 2017 06:40:45 +0000

The Mills House downtown Charleston wedding photos of Kristen and Robb by Top Wedding and Engagement photographers in Charleston SC, Reese Allen Studios.

We Love October weddings in Charleston and we love photographing them at The Mills House; it is centrally located in the middle of downtown blocks in each direction to our favorite downtown backdrops. We have photographed many weddings at The Mills House but these are special for several reasons.

First, we had such a great connection with Kristen and Robb getting to know them and from the start we knew it was going to be a fun and festive party. They lived in West Ashley before heading South to Florida and they were excited to showcase the Queen City in their wedding photos and the colors and textures of Charleston did not disappoint. In addition, one month earlier looking at the radar we weren’t sure there would be anything left to photograph or if the Mills House rooftop ceremony would end up as a beach wedding. Thankfully Hurricane Matthew sparred us…and the celebration was still a GO.

From the start it was a pleasure being part of the day and we LOVE the artistic chaos of the getting ready photos, trying to capture the best angle of Robb trying to hold back the tears, the perfect light for portraits downtown and the salt shaker microphone on the dancefloor. To give you an idea of the cast of characters at the wedding, the guest with the roller skates disappears before each of the friends wedding receptions and changes into a planned outfit-notice the glitter gun-HA! We hope you enjoy the pictures and story as much as we did photographing them all day. Thank you to Kristen and Robb for welcoming our team and making us feel like family. We are still going to see if we can make the paddleboard with your suit and wedding dress happen next time we are in South Florida.

Thank you to Alicia from the Mills House for making the day beautiful…we had a great time working with you and your team the The Mills House and The newly renovated Barbadoes Room. We are looking forward to our next wedding together.

Boone Hall Wedding of Cristen and Rich

Reese Allen — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 04:35:24 +0000

We had the pleasure of meeting Cristen and Richard, who live in New Zealand, and spending the day with them and their beautiful family and friends. We started our day out excited to be doing pictures in charming downtown Charleston in some of our favorite spots and then traveling to Boone Hall Plantation for a Cotton Dock wedding ceremony and reception. We could’ve used a boat to get downtown as there was a downpour that appeared to have no end in sight. Soon after we arrived and started shooting the skies cleared and it was a perfect day for a southern wedding. All the family members pitched in and helped make the day a special one!

Thank you again Cristen and Rich for allowing us the honor of spending the day with you documenting your wedding day…we are always available to head South of the Equator for an anniversary shoot in Auckland or for a newborn shoot. Just saying.

It was also a pleasure working with Natalie and her team at Boone Hall- thank you for making our day go smoothly.”

The Lakehouse at Bulow wedding of Bea and John

Reese Allen — Tue, 24 Oct 2017 03:23:44 +0000

We had the pleasure of being a part of one of the most stylish, fun and emotional weddings we have experienced in some time. John is a Miami restauranteur and Bea owns a vintage clothing boutique; so we were excited to see how they would combine the Miami style with the typical Southern wedding elements and the Lake House at Bulow-they did not disappoint. When we arrived John was busy coordinating the finishing touches and Bea was similarly taking care of others before they began getting ready for the pre-wedding welcome reception in the main house. From the beginning you could feel the joy as it was everywhere in the room. After the first of the days events ended, the guests moved across the bridge to the island for the wedding. From the expression on Johns face seeing Bea for the first time in her wedding dress to her emotional and tear filled vows, we felt honored to be a part of this beautiful experience. I was initially impressed with how cool everyone looked including: Bea’s three outfit changes and those awesome salmon pink shoes, to John’s feather bow-tie from local Brackish Bowties, to every guests unique style. However, what was most profound were the many unsolicited stories about how important, respected and meaningful both had been in each of lives of their family and friends. We felt truly honored to be a part of documenting this beautiful wedding.

A special shout-out to The Men of Distinction for keeping the dance floor rocking and Jessie from Willow Event Designs for making our day go flawlessly and creating the beautiful decor.

Magnolia Plantation Wedding of Sarah and Daniil

Reese Allen — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 23:32:16 +0000

We had the pleasure of spending a beautiful day photographing the wedding of Sarah and Daniil. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is quickly becoming our favorite Charleston venue for the many variety of amazing locations from the white bridge to the Avenue of Oaks. We should have known hearing their story that Sarah is originally from Hong Kong and Daniil is Russian, that we were in for an International affair. The couple met after each settled in New York and began their careers. Sarah joined a local running club with the goal of completing her first marathon. It sounds as though Daniil made a sprint for her at first sight and a year after her first marathon, the two gathered family and friends from all around the world to celebrate their wedding.

Magnolia Plantation wedding photographers fine art rustic wedding of Sarah and Daniil

We would like to thank our fellow friends and vendors who made our day excellent and for making things beautiful for our cameras!

Wedding Planner: Winship Productions

Catering: Cru Catering

Getting Ready venue: The Inn at Middleton Place

Charleston wedding, engagement and portrait photographers, Best Charleston weddings by Reese Allen

Documentary wedding photography Apex Award Winning Image

Reese Allen — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 04:39:06 +0000

SLR Lounge Apex award winning photojournalism wedding photograph by Reese Allen.

Documentary wedding photography contest winner May 2017. Apex award for Top 20 photos on the world.

We are excited to have been chosen among the Top 1% of Wedding Photographers worldwide by industry peers at SLR Lounge. It is always a humbling experience for other photographers, many many of whom I have admired for years, to pick an image from one of our recent weddings as one of the Top 20 images in the world.

Every couples first priority is to capture those elusive documentary moments from their wedding day. This particular image is a perfect example of what us wedding photographers do at every event. It doesn’t always happen, but when it does we are so happy to have captured an authentic moment of beauty. We also believe that it illustrates the truth that, “a great photograph can never happen again”.

Sloan and Brandon first contacted me from Australia where they were living and developing a new mission project for their church. Their work had taken them away from family and they were excited to be coming home to see everyone, including Sloan’s little brother Kyle. The ceremony was beautiful under the huge live Oak at Middleton Plantation and we were preparing for the formal family portraits. Sloan and Kyle were talking and she kneeled down to be closer to his level. I could not hear their conversation, but I did notice he seemed to be acting shy or doing his best to keep it together. I later learned that he was sad because he thought that the ceremony meant he was not going to see his sister again for a very long time, maybe never. I was lucky to have anticipated something happening and stepped in front of an Aunt who was certainly moving toward them to wipe the tear away and also to change the moment forever. Interestingly, the brother was OK with his display of emotion and I do not think he even noticed me photographing him as his eyes welled up with tears and they fell slowly down his cheek. For some reason, crying pictures are one of the most challenging to capture as raw emotion and tears are quickly wiped away or faces are hidden from everyone.

And while it is great to win awards, it is most gratifying being able to give these images back to the people who entrusted us to capture them. I am still in awe of a photographs ability to split time down to 1/500th of a second and freeze an emotion that is lost in real time and beautifully preserved for generations.

Magnolia Plantation 20’s Roaring Wedding of Caroline and Kevin

Reese Allen — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 02:05:37 +0000

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.

Folly Beach wedding at The Tides and downtown Charleston

Reese Allen — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 03:29:34 +0000

Charleston Best of wedding photography member Folly Beach nautical wedding of Amanda and Jeremy

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.

Historic Rice Mill Charleston SC wedding of Bekah and Micah

Reese Allen — Sat, 05 Nov 2016 01:23:59 +0000

We had the pleasure of meeting our beautiful new friends and family of Bekah and Micah and spending the day with them in downtown Charleston at the The Historic Rice Mill for a perfect wedding celebration. One of the best things about being a wedding photographer is getting an “all-access” backstage pass to experience the joy and happiness of two people standing up in front of loved ones declaring their love for each other. We learned early on that both sets of friends were childhood bonds and the fun and emotions of the day lasted from the getting ready festivities until the very last song. It is typical with weddings where everyone is so close and has been through most of their loves together, that we are welcomed in with enthusiasm and made to feel like on of the crew from the very start.

We always make a plan for the day and scouted the Francis Marion Hotel for an elegant and perfect location for the “first-look”. We picked the church next door as an ideal spot for this emotional and important part of the day. I thought after ten years photographing weddings in Charleston I knew all the best spots, but this location was amazing with the stone tile checkerboard floor and vibrant red door. It was also great to see Micah get a little emotional seeing Bekah for the first time in the beautiful dress-she looked stunning!

The rest of the night was so much fun hearing the toasts and photographing the entirety of family and wedding guests dance to the best wedding band I have ever heard. The band Super Deluxe was extraordinary in their range of genres and their musicianship-they played everything from R&B to old school rap perfectly. The best way to know your photographer is to see how those in front of the lens react and interact with them-it should be easily identifiable in the photographs. Similarly, besides hearing them in person, seeing photos of the energy on the dance floor is possibly the best way to evaluate the band. I think the photos are testament to the way Wilton and the rest of the band kept the dance floor rocking from the first note until last call. I can’t wait until the next wedding we have with Super Delux.

We also want to Thank Ashlyn Moylan from Duvall Events for the beautiful decor, cake which tasted as good as it looked and for another smooth wedding evening. Beautiful work Ashlyn. Thank you to Jenna from Good Food Catering provided delicious meals for us and we appreciate having such elegant food to keep us going. We are also excited to see the video from Adam Siegal from Siegalfilms; it was a pleasure working with their team.

Here is a few pictures from the day. Congratulations again to Bekah and Micah. Thank you for allowing us the honor of spending the day with you and telling your story in pictures.