Bekah & Casey’s Beautiful Wedding

When I lay hiding in the itchy bushes, heart pounding with excitement, photographing Casey’s secret proposal to Bekah several months ago…I had no idea that one day I’d also be photographing him placing the wedding band on her finger in marriage!

Casey & Bekah’s Secret Proposal at Magnolia Plantation

What an honor it was to be there for Bekah & Casey at their beautiful wedding in the lush countryside outside Mullins, SC. It was such an elegant affair, with the old rustic barn decorated with tasteful floral arrangements and antique lighting displays. Friends and family came from far and wide to witness the joy of this special day!

To see the rest of their photos, visit http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/bekahandcasey

Bekah was absolutely stunning in her whispy flowing gown and fairy-tale wreath. Casey was decked out in a handsome suit. Both of them wore their favorite shoes, which were also present on the day Casey asked for Bekah’s hand in marriage! It was so cool to know that those special shoes and I were the ONLY witnesses for both of these magical celebrations of their love for each other!!!

“My beloved is mine and I am his.” Song of Songs 2:16

CONGRATULATIONS Bekah & Casey!  We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey together!!!

Sarah & Todd’s Shenandoah Wedding

Last week Sarah & Todd finally tied the knot on a beautiful hillside, overlooking a gorgeous lake, in picturesque Shenandoah Crossing Resort!

Sarah & Todd were a personal referral through Cami’s Aunt Marian, who is good friends with Sarah’s mom and Sarah’s aunt. Once we started talking to Sarah, everything just “clicked”, and we knew it was meant to be! Meeting with Sarah months ago during the planning stages of the wedding confirmed our feelings…THIS was going to be an amazing wedding!!!

The week before the wedding, Cami and I drove up with her Aunt Marian and Uncle Joe, to enjoy the history and beauty of Virginia. We had a wonderful few days, getting to know the area the wedding was in…lush vineyards, green hillsides, and curvy country roads.

The morning of the wedding dawned with beautiful sunshine and happy faces!!! Sarah was absolutely gorgeous in her fitted gown. And Todd was looking pretty dapper himself. 🙂

The ceremony was down right perfect…right down to the geese serenading guests as they whistled overhead! The reception was filled with excitement and energy all night long. Everyone had a BLAST…and we were know exception!!!  To see ALL the crazy fun photos, visit http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/sarahandtodd.

“When in love, a cliff becomes a meadow.” – Ethiopian Wedding Blessing

CONGRATULATIONS, Sarah & Todd!  May your lives be filled with nothing but meadows as you begin this new journey together…

DHG Leadership Conference

One of my favorite corporate clients in the world is Dixon Hughes Goodman. The entire organization has an amazing culture, attitude, and authenticity about it. Plus I LOVE their “no jerk” policy. 🙂 So it was a great honor when they contacted me again to photograph this year’s DHG Leadership Conference!

Most of the conference centered around The Mills House, in beautiful downtown Charleston. But activities like historic carriage rides, ghost tours, volunteering at the Lowcountry Food Bank, and the grand gala on The Yorktown, took us to various parts of town. From the many keynote speakers and motivational leaders, to the team-building excercises, to the amazing food and fellowship, to the community outreach activities, to the awards presentations, to the fabulous banquet…it was one of the most amazing conferences to be a part of!
Here are just a few favorites of the zillions of photos from this fantastic 3-day event…

Anne’s Senior Portraits

Anne is an absolute NATURAL in front of the camera! And I love that her personality and interests are so grounded in reality and truth, not bling and fluff. The organic qualities that she brought to the shoot were absolutely AMAZING!!! It was so much fun photographing the raw beauty of this lovely young lady for her senior portraits. I just can’t believe how fast she’s grown up!!!

We’ve known the Doshers for a long time and love this family to pieces! It’s an honor and a pleasure to now photograph their second daughter’s senior portraits. It’ll be fun to see if their son is as photogenic as their beautiful daughters when it gets to be his turn. 🙂

Darcy & David at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church

Photographing Darcy & David’s AMAZING destination wedding in Augusta has been the highlight of our year!

Darcy & Cami are long-time “tennis gals”. And it’s always an EXTRA honor when good friends like Darcy & David ask us to be a part of their special day. We can’t thank them enough for allowing us to be there for them, and to capture all the fun and excitement of this beautiful time in their lives!!!

Darcy & David’s ceremony was held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, while the reception was held at the Augusta Country Club. Both were absolutely gorgeous venues!  It seemed like all of Augusta turned out to witness this incredible day. And with so many fabulous friends and family in attendance…this classy affair turned into the party of the century! It was like having the best of both worlds!!!  🙂

To see the rest of their wedding photos, visit http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/darcyanddavidwedding.  To see all their rehearsal dinner photos, visit http://chrisandcami.zenfolio.com/darcyanddavidrehearsal.

CONGRATULATIONS Darcy & David! We wish you both all the joy and happiness your hearts deserve!!!

Alyson & Dana’s Secret Proposal

My heart is full!!!

Being a part of Dana’s Secret Proposal to Alyson yesterday at Middleton Place was a real honor. They truly are a very special couple! If ever there was a match made in heaven, THIS is it!!! 🙂  I had so much fun secretly planning all the details with Dana.  And I couldn’t be happier for the two of them!

CONGRATULATIONS Dana & Alyson! May God bless you as you begin this beautiful new journey together…

Super Secret Proposal

I recently had the exhilaration of photographing a SUPER Secret Proposal at Magnolia Plantation!

Due to privacy concerns, and the sensitive nature of the subject, I am not allowed to post any photos/videos of the proposal itself…especially since NOT EVEN the bride-to-be will know the whole thing was captured until he reveals it to her at their wedding reception! 🙂

However, I get a lot of questions about how I set up for Secret Proposals. Although the situation is different for each one, I thought it would be fun to share a few behind-the-scenes photos of how I set up for this particular wedding proposal.

We don’t normally provide video service. However the groom-to-be requested we add it to his package, which I was happy to do.  Here you can see the general scene as viewed from their perspective. Can you pick out my cameras from the landscape?!? I set up one Nikon D4 + 24-70 f2.8, shooting HD Video, to get a wide perspective of “the scene”. I set up a second D4 + 200-400 f4, also shooting HD Video, to capture tight shots of “the action”. And I laid in the reeds with the Nikon D810 + 70-200 f2.8 + TC14eIII to capture all the action in photos.

Normally after photographing The Proposal, the gentleman reveals to his new fiance that he’s secretly had the event photographed for her! That’s when I come out and meet them…SURPRISE!!! Then we do a fun little mini-engagement session together. In this case, since everything was being kept hush-hush and I wasn’t going to be able to meet them, I arrived early and blended in with the other tourists to capture “sniper shots” of them as they toured the property…holding hands, reading the map, taking selfies…before our timed rendezvous under the oaks.

Anyway, I thought you’d enjoy seeing a little behind-the-lens action. It was an awesome event to be a part of.  CONGRATULATIONS to the amazing couple!  I only wish I could be a fly on the wall at their reception when he surprises her with the video/slideshow from this special day!!!  🙂

Darcy & David’s Rehearsal Dinner Party

What a blessing it was to be with Darcy & David during their “Wedding Weekend” in Augusta, GA!!!

Their celebrations began with a fabulous Rehearsal at St Paul’s Episcopal Church. I always love photographing the Wedding Rehearsal and the Rehearsal Dinner, because everyone is so excited in anticipation of the day ahead. Plus they are dressed more comfortably, more relaxed, and are more prone to cut-up and just be themselves! 🙂

The Rehearsal Dinner was held at The Enterprise Mill, an old historic building along the canal. It was such a cool location! Darcy & David agreed to a quick little photo shoot around the property while guests were arriving. Then the festivities began, with live music, touching toasts, and great food! Everyone had a BLAST!!!

COMING SOON: Darcy & David’s Wedding Photos!

Charleston Trident Association of Realtors at Edmunds Oast

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing a fantastic corporate event at Edmunds Oast for the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors! They are a great client, and we ALWAYS enjoy working with Claire and all the fabulous Charleston area realtors!!!

Volvo Car Open – Champions Photo

With Sloane’s big breakthrough this week at the Volvo Car Open, a NEW Champion is crowned!!!

After winning one match in five previous Charleston tries, Sloane Stephens, the 23-year-old American, found her fire this year. She made her first-ever final here, saving a match in the quarterfinals and playing standout tennis before Angelique Kerber was forced to retire. In the championship bout, she stopped a red-hot Elena Vesnina, earning her fourth WTA singles title, third in 2016 and first-ever on clay.

To top it all off, besides winning the trophy, plus a $128,100 check, she gets a NEW CAR!!! With Volvo Car USA as the new title sponsor, it had one more surprise up its sleeve by presenting Stephens with a brand-new limited edition Volvo. “Oh my goodness!” a shocked Sloane said on court. “You guys, I Just won a car.”

As the official photographers, after our champion had a chance to freshen up and catch her breath, Alice, Arielle, and I whisked her away for a private photo shoot with her new hardware. We had fun using our cameras as “stand-in” trophies to test the light. It was a chilly, overcast afternoon. But Sloan was a real trooper. And her hardware was waaay prettier than ours. We all had a BLAST!

CONGRATULATIONS to our new champion, Sloan Stephens!!!

Volvo Car Open – Day 7

Well, it was an eventful week! After eight 12-hour days in a row, of constant hustling, shooting, editing, and transmitting images for the tournament, we finally have a NEW Volvo Car Open Champion!!!

Congratulations to the French duo of Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic for taking home the doubles trophy.

And congratulations to American Sloan Stephens for weathering several years of early-round losses before finally going the distance and taking home the 2016 crown…AND a brand new limited-edition Volvo Car!!! 🙂