Izzy & Stephen’s Surprise Proposal

It was such an honor being a part of Stephen’s Secret Proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Izzy, last night!

Stephen & Izzy have been together for 3 years now.Ā  Although her family now lives in Florida, her dad is originally from Colombia, which explains her gorgeous Latin complexion.Ā  His is lives in North Carolina.Ā  The two of them met at a college in NC and have been dating ever since.Ā Ā They live near Charlotte, where she works for a marketing agency, and he works for the Whitewater Center (like a Theme Park for outdoor enthusiasts).

When his company purchased the gorgeous Middleburg Plantation in Huger, Stephen knew EXACTLY where he wanted to propose!Ā  So he called me and we came up with a plan.Ā  Because his company has had surveyors, maintenance workers, photographers, influencers, and marketing teams out at the new property to get it ready for launch, he said it would be easy to pretend that I was out there to photograph the grounds for the company brochures.Ā  We agreed on the perfect spot under the long avenue of amazing oak trees for me to photograph his surprise proposal.Ā  And sure enough, it worked like a charm!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Stephen & Izzy!Ā  We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your new journey together…

Matt’s Middleton Place Proposal to Becca

Becca & Matt are the most adorable couple ever!!!

When Matt called to ask if I would capture his surprise proposal to his girlfriend, Becca, I was super excited. He had already put so much thought into how he was going to propose, and had so many fantastic ideas. I could tell he was head-over heals in love. And I couldn’t wait to be a part of it!Ā  We spent the next few weeks planning out every detail.

Matt knew how much Becca loved gardens and flowers. So he had chosen the Octagonal Garden at Middleton Place as the spot where he would ask her to marry him. Isn’t that awesome! I arrived at “the spot” a little early that morning to get in place. Right on cue, Matt led Becca around the corner and over to our pre-chosen location. Taking a knee in front of the girl of his dreams, he asked Becca to be his wife. She said YES!!!Ā  šŸ™‚Ā  I could hardly contain my emotions, as I witnessed the whole thing from inside my viewfinder.

Afterwards, we had so much fun, exploring the gorgeous grounds at Middleton Plantation, getting to know each other, and photographing a variety of authentic engagement photos for them to commemorate this special day! CONGRATULATIONS Matt & Becca!!!

Nick & Nicole’s Secret Proposal at The Sanctuary

After weeks and weeks of planning every detail for Nick’s secret proposal, we had to call a last-minute audible!!!

Nick and I had worked so hard to come up with the perfect plan for him to ask his beautiful girlfriend, Nicole, to marry him. We had picked a pristine beach at the northern end of Kiawah Island as the backdrop. We had chosen the perfect time of day to catch that “golden hour” light before sunset. But all our plans fell apart minutes before our scheduled time when the skies opened up, pelting buckets of rain down from the sky!!!

Fortunately, Nick and Nicole’s parents had secretly flown in to surprise the couple after the proposal. Since his parents were staying at The Sanctuary, they quickly scouted out a secluded spot indoors and out of the rain. They even placed a trail of rose petals leading Nick to “the spot” where he would do his magic. It worked out PERFECTLY!!!

Arriving right on cue, Nicole said later that she could sense Nick was acting a little strange. But she wasn’t sure why? Then Nick hit his mark, turned to face the love of his life, and dropped to one knee. It was a truly magical moment. Nicole burst into a HUGE grin as she realized what was going on…and she couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the night!

Afterwar she said “Yes”, we were able to incorporate the beautiful hallways, archways, and grand staircase of the famous hotel into a fun authentic engagement shoot. I got some neat candids of Nick & Nicole’s parents surprising them and checking out Nicole’s AMAZING ring. And of course we captured a few nice family portraits to commemorate the occasion.

CONGRATULATIONS Nick & Nicole!!! We wish you all the best as you begin your new journey together!

Richard Surprises Stephanie with Folly Beach Proposal

SHE SAID YES!!!

It was such an honor capturing Richard’s Surprise Proposal to Stephanie on Folly Beach last evening!

This amazing couple met at Southwest College, where Stephanie played hard to get at first. But before long, her and Richard became inseparable. They’ve been best friends ever since. After 5 years together, Richard FINALLY dropped to his knee at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean and asked Stephanie to be his wife. šŸ™‚

While making plans to vacation on Folly Beach together, Stephanie thought it would be fun to schedule a couple’s session. Since Richard had already bought the ring, and was trying to think of the perfect time to pop the question, he thought this could work in his favor. Together, he and I worked out a secret phrase so that half-way through their couple’s session, he would know it was time to do his magic. Richard’s brother had joined us under the ruse of “helping hold your phones and sunglasses”. Unknown to Stephanie, he was also secretly hiding the ring! At our pre-determined time of 8:00 PM, I distracted Stephanie by asking to photograph a couple shots of her by herself…giving Richard time to get the ring from David. Richard then took Stephanie’s hand and led her down the shoreline for a little privacy. Facing her with waves gently lapping at their feet, he opened his heart and asked her to marry him. It was SO AWESOME!!!

CONGRATULATIONS Richard & Stephanie! We wish you all the best as you begin this beautiful new stage in your journey together…

Tres Surprises Keri with a Secret Proposal

I owe a HUGE “Thank You” to Tres’ mom, who called to vet photographers in Charleston for her son, and decided we were worthy of this special event!

Tres and Keri met online and have been inseparable since. Tres has known for a while that Keri was “the one”. In fact, he’s had her engagement ring since August!!! He wanted to wait for the right moment, and to make sure Keri had a very special proposal. I would say he pulled that off in spades!

Tres is from Alabama. But he and Keri now live in Charlotte. This weekend, they planned a fun “get-away” for a few days in Port Royal, with a side-trip to historic Charleston. It’s been so much fun working with Tres the last couple months, secretly scheming about how to make his proposal absolutely perfect!

Arriving at White Point Garden early, I scouted our location under the avenue of oak trees, and placed two branches in an “X” formation so Tres knew the right spot. I took my position on the curb, hid my cameras under a towel, and pretended to be a tourist reading a map. Arriving right on cue, Tres led Keri to the beautiful location he had picked, dropped to his knee underneath the gorgeous cathedral of oaks, and asked Keri to be his wife!!! šŸ™‚

Getting to know Tres & Keri afterwards, as we walked around historic downtown, was so much fun! We captured a ton of fun engagement photos for them. These were “authentic” engagement photos because they weren’t staged months later, but actually took place moments after she said YES!!!

Eventually it was time for this amazing couple to head off to the next part of Tres’ surprise…a fantastic dinner cruise around Charleston Harbor.

Please help me in saying CONGRATULATIONS to Tres & Keri!!! We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey together…

Lea & Frank are ENGAGED!!!

Frank has been a fantastic friend, a fabulous neighbor (4 doors down from us), and a fun colleague (he’s an awesome wedding videographer that I frequently get the privilege of working with). Yesterday, it was my distinct honor to help Frank capture this secret proposal to his beautiful girlfriend, Lea!!!

May 8th has special meaning to Frank & Lea. It’s Lea’s son’s birthday. It’s Mother’s Day. And it’s the day Frank’s beloved father passed away. Knowing how special this day already was in their lives, Frank wanted to make it even MORE meaningful to the two of them! So we came up with a mischievous ruse together…

Frank told Lea that he booked me to photograph a special “Mother & Son” photo shoot for her on Mother’s Day. We even had Cami print out a fake gift certificate for him to put in her Mother’s Day card. When I met up with them at the picturesque Stono River Park that morning, I pretended to follow along, photographing a variety of portraits of just Josiah and his mom as we walked along the path.

Arriving at the entrance to the boardwalk, I told Leah “Hey, we should get a few shots of you and Frank while we’re here!” This was Frank’s cue to lead her out onto the boardwalk, overlooking the peaceful marsh. When he got to the middle, he pretended to tie his shoe, and then surprised her with a beautiful diamond ring! Lea’s expression speaks for itself!!!Ā  šŸ™‚

CONGRATULATIONS Lea & Frank! We wish you all the best as you begin this new journey together!!!

Tyler & Melody’s Surprise Waterfront Proposal

Melody got a new Fuji XE4 and has turned into quite an amazing photo buff. So Tyler thought hiring me to give her one of my private photography mentoring sessions (https://chrisandcami.com/workshops/private-mentoring/) would be the perfect ruse for his proposal. HE WAS RIGHT!!!

It’s been so much fun secretly scheming with Tyler over the last few weeks to come up with the perfect plan to surprise the love of his life. Finally the BIG DAY arrived! I met up with Tyler & Melody at the famous Pineapple Fountain in Waterfront Park. After going over Melody’s camera settings, and practicing a few techniques, we went on a fun walk-about around the picturesque back alleys and colorful walkways of our historic city. Melody and I would stop periodically to shoot photos together. And I would suggest they do a nice portrait in front of whatever backdrop had caught our eyes. Since they are moving into a new house soon, and wanted photos to decorate it with, the “let me get a shot of you guys here for your house” excuse was a natural part of Tyler’s plan.

Now let me back up here for a minute. Believe it or not, Tyler & Melody got together because of the pandemic! Originally from L.A., Melody moved to Dallas, where she enjoys her career as a financial planner. Tyler travels a lot for his work as a medical consultant.Ā  Originally from Michigan, he lived in the same apartment complex as Melody. In fact, they were neighbors on the same floor, and kind of knew each other in passing. When the pandemic shuttered a lot of travel, forced everyone to quarantine indoors, and curtailed extra curricular activities, Tyler & Melody began hanging out and became good friends. Then they began hanging out a LOT MORE!!! Until…well…here we are today.

Tyler really wanted to propose with the gorgeous Charleston Harbor behind them. So we had planned to conclude our photo walk down at the dock with the soft glow of twilight. Arriving at our location, it was miraculously void of all tourists and fishermen! Tyler and I had a secret sign arranged so that he would know when to make his move. Right on cue, as we stood on the open dock with the famous Arthur Ravenel Bridge standing as witness, Tyler NAILED IT!!! Melody was so surprised!Ā  It was a beautiful moment I’ll never forget.

Some heartfelt words were spoken by Tyler. A GORGEOUS ring was placed on Melody’s finger. And SHE SAID YES!!! Please help me in congratulating this amazing couple! šŸ™‚

Danielle & Andrew are Engaged!!!

I had SO MUCH FUN meeting and hanging out with Danielle & Andrew this weekend during their engagement session!!! I owe a huge “thank you” to my friend, Kim, for her kind referral. 🙂

Although Danielle & Andrew were both born and raised in southern California, the two met while working in Washington D.C. They now live in Greensboro, NC, where Andrew works in infectious diseases, and Danielle does research on the long-term effects of tobacco use. They really like being closer to Charleston, where Andrew’s parents live now. Andrew lived here for several years in his younger days. And Danielle fell in love with our charming city during their visits. So they decided to have their wedding here!

Meeting up at Waterfront Park, we were overwhelmed by how packed the park was with young people dressed to the hilt. Turns out it was graduation weekend! But we ducked down some side streets to avoid all the mayhem, and had a fantastic evening strolling around and capturing fun photos of them to commemorate this beautiful time in their lives!!!

Paulina & Ben’s Engagement

You may remember Paulina & Ben from one of the most unique secret proposals I’ve ever had the honor of capturing: https://chrisandcami.com/ben-proposes-to-paulina-at-the-holiday-festival-of-lights/. Fast forward to springtime, when I had the pleasure of photographing their beautiful engagement photos last evening!!!

We met up at White Point Garden to take advantage of the gorgeous spring sunshine, and the amazing backdrops that this historic park and surrounding neighborhood has to offer. To make it extra special, Paulina & Ben brought their adorable 2 year-old Goldendoodle, Cooper. We all know what a big dog-lover Cami is. So of course she jumped at the chance to join us so she could play with Cooper when we didn’t need him. šŸ™‚

For this session, I brought the flagship Nikon Z9, coupled with the incredibly versatile new 24-120 f4 Z-mount lens. This lens is in such high demand that it’s very hard to get. I’m lucky to have it in the bag! Attaching the WR-R11 wireless transmitter to the Z9 allowed me full control of the off-camera SB-5000 when needed.

We had an absolute BLAST exploring downtown Charleston and strolling along The Battery, photographing tons of great shots as we went! Paulina & Ben are such a perfect couple. I can’t wait to photograph their FABULOUS wedding!!!

Nina & Brendan are Expecting!!!

It has been such a joy for me to capture Brendan’s surprise proposal to Nina (https://chrisandcami.com/brendans-surprises-nina-with-a-proposal/), photograph their beautiful wedding (https://chrisandcami.com/nina-brendan-at-holy-trinity-greek-orthodox-church/), and now preserve this truly miraculous time in their journey as they prepare to bring a new life into this amazing world.

CONGRATULATIONS Nina & Brendan! You two are going to be the most amazing parents ever!!! šŸ™‚

Sarah & Cody’s Maternity Session at Hampton Park

Maaany years ago in another lifetime, one of our bestest friends at High-Purity Standards was an adorable young lady named Andrea. Although we don’t see her as much anymore, we’ve never lost touch with the fond memories of our time together. So it was SUPER excited when Cody told me he’d gotten our name from Andrea! šŸ™‚

Cody was calling to schedule a maternity portrait session for his beautiful wife, Sarah! She had broken her foot recently. They weren’t sure how it would work. But they really wanted to capture this special time in their lives! We picked Hampton Park as a beautiful backdrop with easy access to get Sarah around in a wheelchair since she still wasn’t allowed to put weight on her foot.

It turned out to be a GORGEOUS day!!! Sarah was absolutely stunning in her flowing hunter-green maternity gown, which really brought out her beautiful green eyes. Cody was awesome and clearly so proud to be a first-time Dad. I can just tell these two are going to be the most incredible parents to this wonderful child when it arrives next month. šŸ™‚

CONGRATULATIONS Sarah & Cody! We wish you all the happiness in the world as you begin your new family together.

Leslie & Colton’s Rainbow Row Engagement Session

I owe a HUGE thank you to Pam at First Citizens Bank for referring us to Leslie & Colton!

Leslie works at First Citizens. So after Colton proposed to her and she started looking for a photographer, Pam gave her our information. I am SO GLAD she did because these two are an AMAZING couple!!!

We met up at the famous pineapple fountain in Waterfront Park. Wandering through the French Quarter, up to Rainbow Row, and back down the cobblestone streets of Adgers Wharf gave us so many beautiful backdrops to work with. Our grand finale on the dock overlooking Charleston Harbor and the iconic Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge coincided with the last glow of daylight. It was a PERFECT day with two beautiful human beings! I’m so honored that I got to meet and work with these two!!!

Leslie & Colton, we wish all the happiness in the world as you begin this new journey together…