Wrede Family on Isle of Palms

I owe a HUGE “Thank You” to Patrick & Gina Maloney for their kindness in recommending us to their friends Doug & Chrissy!!!

While vacationing here on IOP, they wanted to do a fun beach session with their family. It was supposed to happen last night. But the CRAZY storms and lightning that covered our city had different intentions for our evening. So we pivoted to this morning and it turned out BEAUTIFUL!!! Last night’s rain had cooled things off a bit. And the cloud cover gave us a gorgeous soft palette of light to work with.

I had so much fun playing with Doug & Chrissy’s adorable kids. And we came away with some fabulous images to commemorate their time together!  🙂

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Grace’s Senior Portraits on Kiawah Island

When she called, Marianne sounded a bit flustered. She had nothing to wear.

Vacationing on Kiawah Island for the week, Marianne and her family hadn’t planned for family portraits. They realized what a great opportunity this was to get some beautiful and unique Senior Portraits for their daughter Grace. And I had suggested we throw in a few fun family portraits while we were at it!  So suddenly Marianne was scrambling to find outfits for everyone.

Fortunately this gave her a good excuse to do a little shopping. And everything worked out PERFECT!!! 🙂 In spite of an afternoon thunderstorm, the weather was beautiful. Selecting three outfits for her session, Grace was absolutely stunning in each one. And the family outfits Marianne had selected were awesome.  We all had a fantastic time together…even their 11-year old golden doodle, Bella.

CONGRATULATIONS Grace! You rocked it!!!

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Muro Family on Isle of Palms

Every year I look forward with great anticipation to hanging out with and photographing the amazing Muro clan during their vacation to Isle of Palms!

We got rained out the night before, but quickly pivoted to this morning. It turned out to be a glorious day! The kids were all excited and full of energy. The sun finally peaked out from between the thunderclouds.  We all had so much fun!  🙂

Many thanks to Susan for all her hard work corralling and organizing this crazy crew!!!

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Johnston Family on Isle of Palms

Originally from the Greenville area, like most extended families these days the Johnstons are now all spread out. Individuals are following their dreams, from a Physical Therapist in Bristow to a dentist in Spartanburg, from a computer engineer in San Antonio to an attorney in Greenville. But they all come together once a year to re-connect those family ties!

I had the pleasure of meeting up with them at their beach house on IOP yesterday to capture some fun family memories. In addition to the usual family photos, we also celebrated Brook and her friends graduating college. Congratulations to them as they embark on a new journey following THEIR dreams!

It was a beautiful evening and I had a great time getting to know the three sisters and their families. Thanks for allowing me to be part of this year’s reunion, Susan, Stacey, and Cara!!!

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Jeff & Sarah’s Kiawah Island Surprise Proposal

After arriving early, carefully picking out “the spot”, and settling in to wait for Jeff’s surprise proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Sarah, a group of a dozen middle-aged men in khaki shorts and Hawaiian shirts came walking down to the beach with beers in hand and a cooler in tow. I got REALLY nervous since Jeff had just texted that they were in the parking lot! Luckily, they were great guys and after hearing about the exciting moment that was about to transpire, they happily moved down the beach so as not to obstruct our beautiful backdrop. 🙂

Jeff, his father, and I have been secretly planning for this surprise proposal for a long time! After careful deliberation, we settled on the picturesque beach and grounds of the historic Ocean Course. It was so much fun working with them to pick out the PERFECT location for this very special moment in Jeff & Sarah’s lives.

Arriving right on cue after the group of kind gentleman had moved off, Jeff launched into a touching speech he had prepared for Sarah. I have no idea what was said, but he took his time and did it right. I could tell by the AMAZING reactions from Sarah afterwards!

Following the proposal, we had a great time photographing some fun engagement photos together around this gorgeous area on the far reaches of Kiawah Island. It was really neat getting to know these two. I loved how they couldn’t keep their eyes off each other…and how Sarah couldn’t stop smiling!

The excitement continued as we all zipped over to The Sanctuary for yet another surprise. There, waiting with applause and champagne, were both their families, exchanging hugs and high-fives to the new “celebrity couple”. Moving over to the Grand Staircase, we photographed a wide variety of family portraits, the first moments of Jeff & Sarah being welcomed into each other’s families!

It was truly an honor and a pleasure to be a part of beautiful afternoon in Jeff & Sarah’s lives!  CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Parikshak Family on Kiawah Island

A few days ago, I had the great pleasure of meeting the Parikshak family at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island to photograph their family reunion.

We had a beautiful afternoon with gorgeous light. With half the family coming in from North Carolina, and the other half from Indiana, it was great to see all of them together, renewing family bonds, and building new memories together!

The best part was, the night of the photo shoot was also Rita’s birthday. So after the photo shoot all the kids got to go have cake! Happy Birthday, Rita!!! 🙂

Nester Family on Seabrook Island

We had a smaller crowd this year. Some of the Nester clan couldn’t make it. Even though they were missed, we still had a BLAST!!!

I had so much fun catching up with Jeff & Suzanna, who’s beautiful wedding I had the honor of photographing all those years ago. Their kids are growing like weeds and starting to show off their personalities. And in spite of a couple health-hiccups this year, their parents are doing great!

We met up at our usual spot on Seabrook Island. The landscape out there has changed quite a bit from their vacation last year…various storms and tides have shifted the sand and dunes considerably. In spite of the usual summer afternoon thunder-storms, it turned out to be a GORGEOUS evening!  We got some awesome shots!!!

Many thanks to the Nesters for all the years of fond memories together! We love you guys!!!

Sweigart Family Senior Portraits

It’s been five or six years since I last photographed the Sweigart Family. But I recognized them instantly…in spite of how much the kids have grown!

Back on Kiawah Island for vacation this summer, we met up at The Sanctuary to update their family portraits. Plus since their middle daughter, Kara, is going to be a senior in high-school, we thought it would be fun to capture some unique senior portraits for her. Being from Pennsylvania, this would give her some beautiful lowcountry scenery in her portfolio of images that none of her friends back home will have! 🙂

We lucked out with a GORGEOUS evening! Everyone was so much fun and so into the shoot! We came away with a wonderful set of photos to memorialize this special time in their family’s life!!!

Gilligan Family at The Sanctuary

I was so bummed last year when the Gilligans called to see if I could photograph their family portraits again, and I wasn’t available. I’d photographed their family the year before, and they were so much fun to work with! So this year when they called, I made sure to find a spot on the schedule for them! 🙂

We met at The Sanctuary, near the villa they had rented for the week. Although it had rained that afternoon, the skies cleared up just in time for us to have some beautiful light at the end of the day.

We had an absolute BLAST, and came away with so many fun memories from our time together!!!

Muro Family on Isle of Palms

Every year I look forward to the famous Muro Family Reunion photo shoot with great anticipation!!! It’s been so much fun capturing fun memories for this wonderful group for the last several years. Watching the kids grow (and having new kids magically join the group), has been so much fun for me.

One thing I particularly love is that these guys all welcome me in like part of the family. In fact, so much so this year, that the in-laws asked me to participate in a group photo with them! So I got to be in front of the camera for a change. How fun is that?!?

CONGRATULATIONS to all the Muros for another wonderful family vacation. We love you guys!!!

Grandparents and Grandchildren

I had a lovely and unique photo shoot at The Sanctuary on Kiawah Island this week!

While they were in town on vacation with the whole family, Debbie and Russell had asked for a very special photo shoot with JUST them and their grandchildren.  Normally these family photo requests include everyone in the family, of course. But I thought it was so special that these two love their grandkids so much that they wanted a private photo shoot of just them and their adorable little people. How cool is THAT?!?

We had an awesome time together. All the kids were fantastic. I could tell their was a very special bond between them!  🙂

Grindall Family at The Sanctuary

I absolutely love the Grindall family! They are such an amazing group of kind and generous human beings. I had so much fun catching up with them last night at our annual family beach shoot on Kiawah Island!!!  We started off in what I call the “Enchanted Forest” near The Sanctuary.  Then finished up on the beautiful beach in front.  We had an absolutely GORGEOUS day!!!  Here are a few of my favorites… 🙂