………..A William Aiken House wedding is one of my favorite things: a grand historic home surrounded by the hustle and bustle of King St that is host to many great locations to shoot (and party!). Even though this wedding was nearly 3 years ago, I’m still completely in love with it! It’s always incredible to have clients that trust me to make them look amazing and who are up for anything!
…………Travelling in classic Charleston style by vintage trolley (and leaving in a rickshaw), Paige and John oozed elegance from start to finish (even with a broken dress strap on the dance floor!) – the guys got ready and relaxed with some drinks beforehand at The Thoroughbred Club bar at the Charleston Place Hotel and the girls prepared for the day in the stately red-toned ready-room at the William Aiken House.
…………Paige and John’s elegant wedding was ideally suited to this venue – rich tones of red, yellow, and gold paired wonderfully with the couple’s neutral palette – black tuxedos, a hint of blush pink, and cream roses. The ceremony, held at St. Mary of the Annunciation (i.e. that Church with the best frescoes in town), was followed by plenty of portraiture and a glamorous reception.
…………Thanks to all of the vendors that helped make this William Aiken House wedding as amazing as it was! This really was a dream team wedding. From the fantastic planning by Janet from JVM Events to the videography, flowers and hair and makeup, I’d work with this team again any day of the week!
Remember to click the read more link at the bottom of the page for more photos!
……….On a brisk November morning while the sun was shining, Carolyn and Mario tied the knot in the historic courtyard of the Parsonage at St. Johannes in Charleston, South Carolina. I don’t shoot many morning weddings, but after working with these two, I definitely want to shoot more. In addition to the fun challenge of finding color in the middle of the day (hello color block walls!), we had so much more time to shoot since we weren’t chasing fading light. If you only have a small group for your wedding, I’d definitely recommend considering a morning wedding!
……….This intimate affair was flawlessly Charleston, with traditional touches from Mario’s native Spain – including a coin ceremony using the same coins (known as Las Arras) that Mario’s parents had used for their wedding! They were even able to incorporate their adorable dog Sammy that had his own spa day at The Dog Wash!
…………This was actually one of the first weddings performed at The Parsonage. At the time it was brand new, and my team and I couldn’t have been more impressed! It is extremely close to everything, but once you step off the quiet Hassell St. sidewalk and into the secluded courtyard at the rear of The Parsonage you feel like you’re in your own private world. The ability to stay on site in one of their large, well appointed rooms, is also a huge plus and cuts out the hassle of getting around in downtown Charleston.
Remember to click the read more link at the bottom of the page for more photos!
……….This is definitely the latest anyone has ever gotten in touch with me: I received a slightly-panicked phone call around 2 PM (three hours before we had a scheduled shoot with another couple) from Amber and Stehle – there had been a scheduling mix-up with their photographer and they were left with no one to shoot their wedding portraits! Luckily, I was free at the time and live downtown so was already nearby when they rang. After filing their paperwork at the courthouse we headed out to the streets to take some downtown Charleston wedding portraits – and they couldn’t have turned out better!
……….I’m a total sucker for day-after shoots. They give you as a couple the freedom to enjoy your wedding day without feeling like you have to be torn away from your friends and family to go out and take portraits. That means we can take a few hours a day (or several depending on your schedule) after the ceremony to wander through the streets of downtown, or explore Magnolia Plantation and take some amazing photos! Amber and Stehle were relaxed and poised throughout the shoot (despite having an unbelievably stressful morning). They and their families were gracious and even cheered us on later when they saw us later on while were were out shooting with our second couple of the day! Amber’s family came all the way over from France for their special day, and I’m so glad that we were able to be there to capture these memories for them.
……….Amber and Stehle actually just welcomed their first child into the world a few days ago so a huge congratulations are definitely in order! Best of luck!
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An intimate beach front ceremony, a crisp April afternoon, and a private home reception on Hilton Head Island – what could be better?
Hilton Head is a place special to Brad. His family has been travelling here since he was young. He and Elizabeth vacationed here, too, and upon deciding to marry here have created yet another special memory to cherish on the Island. Elizabeth’s elegant dress was paired perfectly with a blush sash and pearl jewelry. The soft blush accent color was picked in the roses in her bouquet and complimented by the darker shades from the anemones.
Having clients with an interest in photography means that I have more time and freedom for portraiture on wedding days, which is always inspiring. Lucky for us as well, the weather and sunset were in full cooperation (the gnats are another story, though!). From beachfront to woodland to a crumbling mill, we had ample time pre-and-post-ceremony to cover all of the bases and then some. Brad and Elizabeth were a gracious couple that knew how to celebrate in style – thanks to all of the vendors for coming together to make this special Hilton Head wedding possible!
Remember to click the read more link at the bottom of the page for more photos!
Anna and Cole nailed it. I can give all the direction in the world, but there’s nothing I can do to fake the simplicity of two people being in love with with one another.
Let’s be honest, engagement sessions certainly aren’t natural things. Most people don’t get photographed being cuddly with their significant other on a regular basis. The best piece of advice I can give anyone, more than clothing choices or anything else, is just this. Relax with your partner and be present in the moment. That’s probably great life advice too, eh?
If you have any questions at all Contact Us today or follow us on Instagram for stay up to date with our work!
A wedding planner might seem like just another wedding expense, but in reality, your wedding planner can make you day so much better and really cut the amount of stress you deal with in both the planning process and on your big day.
Our friend Meagan over at Stella Jane Events just put together an awesome list of 5 real reasons why you need a wedding planner! Check them out below:
1.) Want To Talk Over Ideas? Your Planner Can Give You Informed Advice
A planner can be a sounding board for you. Wedding planning is not an easy task, especially for the bride. You have a lot of family and friends that want to be involved and let you know what they think and what you should do. I do think you should be polite and listen to what they have to say. But you can always tell them, “Well let me ask my planner what I should do.” I always tell my brides to call me if they need to vent about the planning process. Even when you have a planner doing most of the work you can still experience stress during your wedding. I like to think that I am there for my brides when they need to talk about things to a neutral party.
2.) Planners Can Help You Get The Most For Your Money
The wedding market is very competitive and so is the pricing. Weddings can get out of control when it comes to what you have to pay. I get asked a lot if I get a discount with certain vendors. I don’t but I do let my brides know that I sometimes can help get things that might have been overlooked. I have had a flower crisis where the glass centerpieces were blowing off the table since the wind had picked up that afternoon. Just goes to show that you never know what can happen at an outdoor wedding. Luckily having worked with the florist multiple times and having a good relationship with them I was able to have them bring me centerpiece vases that would work and we were able to change them out before anyone noticed.
3.) Planners Can Help You Narrow Down Your Ideas
Narrow in your vision and give you new ideas. Pinterest is a great tool for wedding ideas but it can also be overwhelming. You start to want to incorporate every idea you see. I am all about the details but I do think that you can start to have too many ideas and things can look jumbled. A planner can send you pins that fit your theme and budget. They can keep track of your original vision and let you know what details to focus on and that will be noticed by your guests.
4.) Planners Can Help You Find Vendors You May Not Know About
Up and coming vendors. As a wedding planner I am always interested in new vendors, meeting them and getting their story. Without a planner you are limited to websites to find your vendors or by word of mouth. I am always trying to meet people that are good at what they do and are trying to make a name for themselves in the area.
5.) Planners Can Help Plan So Much More Than Just Your Wedding Day
Planners can help you plan more than the day. Weddings now have evolved into entire weekends and sometimes vacations for guests. As the hosting couple you want to let them know what there is to do when there are there. This is where a wedding website is very important. I love helping with the wedding website and adding the best spots in town to visit.I am always there for my brides with recommends for them. Even if it is from the simplest thing like my favorite nail salon to where to have the rehearsal dinner.
Hair and makeup is such an important part of your wedding! Your wedding day is the single most photographed day of your life and your hair and makeup is in all of those photos. We’ve teamed up with our friend Carrie from Paper Dolls Wedding Hair and Makeup to walk you through an underrated part of the hair and makeup process; the trial. Check out her tips below.
The Importance of a Hair and Makeup Trial
I recommend that all brides do a trial run. It gives you and your artist an opportunity to work together in a low stress environment to create the perfect wedding day look. I’ve put together a few tips to help you get the most out of your trial run experience.
1. Search For Inspiration, But There’s Always Room To Combine and Create Looks
Thanks to all the wedding blogs, online wedding magazines, Pinterest, Instagram and Google you have plenty of resources to find inspiration for your hair! Try to find models with hair color similar to yours for your hair inspiration. Try narrowing your searches by searching specific things. Instead of “low bun” try searching “brunette low bun”. Instead of “wedding hair” search “bridal half up style”.
Most hair pictures only show the style from the back or the side. Remember that you can choose elements from multiple pictures to create the perfect wedding day style! These photos only serve as a guide to get you and your stylist on the same page at your trial run.
I love when brides say “I like the look and shape of the bun on this photo but I like the placement of the bun better on this other photo and I love the texture and volume on this photo”. You don’t have to find one perfect photo of the look you want! If you plan on wearing a veil and/or hair piece you should bring it along to the trial run if possible.
Also, don’t eliminate styles you love because you assume your hair won’t do something or that you won’t have enough hair for it! Most talented artists can give you the hair of your dreams you may just need to get clip in extensions or filler hair for the style!
2. Learn To Read The Makeup In Photos
When searching for makeup inspiration try to find models with a similar skin tone to yours. For example if you are fair with freckles try searching specific hashtags and keywords like “natural makeup for fair skin”. Searching for makeup inspiration pictures can be tricky! You have to look past the pretty face in the picture and actually look at the makeup in the photo. Here is an example of how I usually break the photo down into sections when a bride shows it to me. For some reason I always start with the eyes!
Eyes:
What colors can I see on her eyes? determine what colors I see on her eyes and make sure that my bride is on the same page as me
What color is her eyeliner? Is it winged? Is there a liner along the waterline (inside on the bottom) or not?
What about a shadow along the bottom lash line?
Are there false lashes?
Cheeks
Is the cheek peachy, pink or bronze?
What about a shimmer/highlight on the top of the cheek?
Is there contouring below the blush to chisel out the cheekbones?
Lips
Usually for this step we go with the brides preference and try to keep her in her comfort zone. Most brides have a color they wear every day and incorporating that can help you feel like yourself!
Skin
Is the finish on the skin dewey and glowing or is it more matte?
These are just a few things to consider when looking at a makeup inspiration photo! Try to imagine each element of the photo on your face. Talk through each of these steps with your artist prior to starting the makeup trial run. Don’t ever just show a photo and have the artist just start right up on you! Each face is different and the makeup needs to be customized to accentuate YOUR best features, not look like a carbon copy of a pinterest photo! Also, try to avoid photos that are super edited and filtered. Everyone has pores – even celebrities!
3. Think About The Timing Of Your Hair And Makeup Trial
Try to schedule your trial run on a day where the weather is similar to what it will be on the wedding day. This can be tricky when planning from out of town but it’s really important, as your hair may hold up beautifully in a down style at your trial run in January, but it may not stand a chance in the Charleston humidity in July. Also, try to wear your hair and makeup after the trial run for as long as possible to really test out the longevity of it – your wedding day is going to be long and you want to make sure that your hair and makeup will last. After all, that’s what a trial run is for!
4. Schedule Your Trial and Bridal Portraits Together
If you are planning on doing bridal portraits, try to schedule them the same day as your hair and makeup trial run. If you aren’t planning on doing bridal portraits you could always schedule your dress fitting for the same day – this way you’ll be able tovsee your entire look put together.
5. Let Your Artist Know What You’re Thinking
This is the most important tip I can give you! If you aren’t 100% sure about anything at all SPEAK UP! We are professionals and we won’t get our feelings hurt if you want to see a different style or change something about the hair and/or the makeup! We really, truly want our brides to love their hair and makeup on their wedding day and the whole point of the trial is to try different things so we get it right. Don’t ever walk out wishing you had asked to have something changed – a true professional won’t get upset.
Your wedding dress is one of the most important elements of your entire wedding day. It’s the thing that everyone is dying to see you in and for most people, it’s the outfit that you’ll be photographed in more than any other in your entire life! So obviously you want it to be perfect.
But the dress shopping experience can be a bit overwhelming so our friends over at Bridals by Jodi have put together an awesome guide to get the most out of your dress shopping experience, enjoy the experience more and most importantly, find the perfect dress!
1. Make An Appointment and Plan Ahead
Yes, we will absolutely take a walk in appointment if we are available, but making an
appointment guarantees you a consultant and a fitting room. It also means we are ready to
receive you and give you the best possible experience! Several things go on behind the scenes in
the store and when you walk in you risk us being busy and not being able to give you the
attention you deserve.
Trying on wedding gowns is a VERY different experience than normal clothes shopping and you
do need a consultant to guide you through the process!
Know that is it is never too early to find your gown. 1 1⁄2 years to 8 months is the sweet spot for
dress shopping. The gowns take about 6 months to get in and then need 2-3 months for
alterations. We can work with a shorter timeline, but brides will be looking at additional rush
fees and having to purchase off the rack.
2. Know Your Purchase Power
Too often we have brides who come in and have not discussed their wedding gown budget/ and
or do not have the person with them who is ultimately paying for the dress. This makes wedding dress
shopping difficult for several reasons. Knowing your budget will help you and your consultant
pull dresses that are appropriate. Nothing hurts more than falling in love with a $3,000 dress
only to find out you can only spend $1000. Once you have put on the more expensive wedding dress and
fallen in love, sadly there is often no going back.
Having the person responsible for paying for the gown with you is also important. Many brides
will come in alone or without this person to “just look.” We have found that you never know
when you are going to put on the one and have that magic moment! You may also miss out on
any special discounts the store is running that day by having to come back. Or worse, the dress
may only be there for a special event or could be sold off the rack. Trying to recreate the magic
at a later appointment is difficult for you and your consultant and by not shopping with
Mom/Grandma or whomever you miss out on savings!
3. Leave your group at home/ Save your Bubbles for the Bridesmaids
Limit the group to 4 people max! Your aunt’s best friend does not need to be at your
appointment to help you find the most important dress you will ever wear! Only bring in the
people whose opinions matter to you the most! Too many people turns shopping into a
production and this is the only time we have brides call the next day with dress regret. The
group picked the wedding dress and the bride’s opinion was lost. It is also our feeling that the less people
that see your dress, the more fun and special it is on your wedding day!
Don’t feel guilty about excluding some of your maids from shopping day as well. You can always
book a bridesmaid appointment at a later date so your girls can see the gown. And then you sit
back with a glass of bubbly while they find their dress! Side note- Don’t pick bridesmaid dresses
hoping the girls will wear them again. They won’t. Pick a dress and color that you love- it is your
pictures and memories! You will one day return the favor for your girls and wear a dress and
color of their choice!
4. Limit the shops you go to
Do some research prior to wedding dress shopping to make sure you are going to a shop with styles and
prices that you are looking for! Also limit yourself to 2-3 gown shops. More than that can quickly
overwhelm you and take the fun out of shopping. Typically you narrow down your favorites to
one or two wedding dresses at each shop and then go from there. If you are shopping at 6 shops, you
then have to choose from 6 favorite dresses which leads to a very stressed out bride! If you go
to your first round of 2-3 shops and legitimately find nothing, absolutely keep shopping!
Normally, brides have found the “one” pretty quickly! (More often than not it is the first dress
they ever tried on!)
5. Keep an open mind and have fun!
So many brides come in with a set idea of what they want, but purchase something completely
different! It is good to look at Pinterest and designers websites for general ideas but be willing
to put on anything! You never know which dress could be the one and refusing to try on certain
styles really limits what may look best.
Enjoy the experience and don’t stress. This is the fun part of wedding planning!
Hope you enjoyed this article! Check out Bridals By Jodi for all your wedding dress needs and of course, all photos were taken by Nicholas Gore Weddings. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
To first look, or not to first look? That is the question asked by dozens of my clients every year. One of the biggest changes that I’ve seen in the wedding industry over the past 10 years is the number of clients opting for a first look. While it’s purely a personal decision, here are 4 reasons why you should consider a first look, and 1 big reason why you may not want to:
