WP Chrysler Club Conference

It was great to be back at Belmond Charleston Place this week, photographing the WP Chrysler Club sales meeting.

The program started off with a welcome reception for all the sales leaders and their significant others. My friend Gary and I partnered up to provide couples portraits, which Gary printed and delivered on-site for the guests to take home as a memento of the evening. We also photographed head-shots for the various dealership owners. Then everyone enjoyed a beautiful cocktail hour, followed by a fabulous dinner!

The next morning I photographed the business meeting, including all the networking opportunities, the keynote speakers, and of course the award presentations to the top sales leaders.Ā  CONGRATULATIONS to Chris & Joel for their achievements!

At the end of the day, everyone gathered for a big group photo on the famous Grand Staircase. That was the last “official” duty before everyone dispersed to partake in their various free-time activities, including golf, shopping, carriage tours, etc.Ā  As soon as I snapped the last frame, everyone scattered like school kids on the last day of class before summer break!Ā  šŸ˜‰

I’ve been slowly incorporating the new Nikon Z system into some of my shooting. Although most of these images were photographed with my trusty Nikon D5, many were captured with the Z6II, which I’m very impressed with. However, there are still a few things that have left me wondering “why did they do that?!?”. The jury is still out as to whether I will fully switch over to mirrorless.Ā  But so far it’s been fun to play with.Ā  So stay tuned…

Madeleine & McLane’s Surprise Proposal at The Belmond

I have a confession. I’ve been privy to some fun family secrets!!!

Several weeks ago, Madeleine’s father, Jim, contacted me about photographing a really special surprise for his daughter. Madeleine’s boyfriend, McLane, had asked for Jim’s blessing to marry his daughter. The two of them immediately began devising an elaborate plan for McLane’s surprise proposal! šŸ™‚

Jim and his family had a trip to Charleston coming up.Ā  One evening they were going to go out for cocktails at The Belmond Hotel, have a fun family portrait session, then head over to Halls Chophouse for a nice dinner. Unannounced to Madeleine, McLane had secretly flown in to Charleston as well. He had arranged for a horse and carriage to carry him into the courtyard behind The Belmond Hotel where we would be taking family photos.

As the carraige rounded the corner, the girls all commented on how cool it was to see an old-fashioned carriage pull up. Then all of a sudden, Madeleine exclaims “Wait. What?!? Is that McLane in the carraige???” Immediately the girls all started cracking up in disbelief!

McLain pulled in like a knight in shining armor, stepped off the carriage, and walked over to take Madeleine’s hand. I think she was still in shock as he then led her over to the carraige, dropped to one knee, and asked her to marry him. Suddenly the expression on Madeleine’s face completely transformed as it finally sunk in! McLane was proposing to her!!! Of all the proposals I’ve ever photographed, her expressions of absolute excitement were some of the best I’ve ever seen. šŸ™‚

But the surprise doesn’t stop there! After some congratulatory hugs from her family, McLane turned around in utter disbelief as HIS parents walked up!!! Going behind his back, Jim had secretly invited McLane’s parents to fly in and be there to surprise and support their son during this special time. McLane thought he was pulling a total surprise on Madeleine. But he had a surprise of his own in store! šŸ˜‰

After more hugs and high-fives, McLane & Madeleine took off on a fun carriage ride around the historic downtown Charleston.Ā  Plus they captured a few authentic engagement photos together.

Let’s say CONGRATULATIONS to this amazing couple as they embark on their new journey together…

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