Starkey Family Photo Session - The Ivy Place, SC

 Stacy contacted me awhile back wanting me to take some pictures of her son Aiden for his upcoming birthday invitations. We set the date and when we were working to come up with wardrobe options and location she talked about some of the things Aiden liked and that she thought it would be fun to do an outdoor cake smashing session in honor of his upcoming1st birthday! I was all for it!! It turned out to be a gorgeous day, and Aiden was all smiles! (Well except for when we had to clean him up after he thoroughly enjoyed his cake =/ But he made it through and bounced right back and was the smiling baby I had seen the rest of the time.) I'm looking forward to seeing how he treats his cake during his actual birthday party coming up in August! Oh and P.S. I was sooo excited to use my new bucket!! Aiden was perfect for it!!

Justin & Renee: Anne Springs Close Greenway Engagement Session - Fort Mill, SC

Justin and Renee are sooo cute together! We set up their engagement session at the Anne Springs Close Greenway Field Trail Barn, which is where their wedding will be held next year. They wanted to set it up for the end of April so they could see what the venue would be like a year from now when they are walking down the aisle. The whole week had been beautiful blue skys, but as they were driving down Renee called me and said it was storming in Charlotte and wanted to see if we should reschedule. Knowing the weather here I said lets meet up anyway because even if it does rain we may be able to get some shots dancing in the rain and usually after about 10 minutes or so the rain is gone. So as we both pulled up to the barn it started to get really windy and then sprinkled pretty hard. We decided to sit it out for a couple minutes and see what would happen. During that time I got to know Justin and Renee a little more and was able to see just how much I was going to love them, and taking their pictures! Then wouldn't you know it, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out. It was amazing and we were able to capture some great images of the two with a beautiful sky and gorgeous sunset.  I can't wait to see the awesome things these two have in store for their wedding next April!

Sneak Peek: Matt & Laura - South Carolina Wedding Photographer

Matt & Laura are such a fun couple! They kept me laughing the whole day! I can't wait to blog the rest of their wedding to show you just how awesome they both are, but in the mean time here is a sneak peak!

Laura's Bridal Session: The Ivy Place - Van Wyck, SC

First off I want to say congrats to Matt & Laura! Their wedding was absolutely gorgeous this weekend, and the rain held off all day! Now I have the pleasure of posting her lovely bridals for everyone to see! During our session, Laura was such a good sport... it sprinkled off and on, while tiny inch worms simultaneously fell onto her and her dress! Both her mother and Genie (one of the owners of tThe Ivy Place) helped me keep Laura dry and inch worm free! (See image below) And to top it all off, during the session Laura had a bird poop on her! Luckily it graced her arm, and just missed the dress! Laura shrugged it off as good luck and we continued on. Then as we were packing up to leave a bird pooped on me! Luckily it landed on my giant head of hair, and Laura was able to help me get it out! So I guess the bird blessing both of us that day was a sign of how beautiful her wedding day would be! ;)

 

Creative Guest Book Ideas For Your Wedding Reception

Now-a-days brides look for every opportunity to be different and have their wedding styled their way! When I was getting married, I remember looking through magazines and online trying to find at better guest book idea. Almost everyone I talked too said how silly it was to have a traditional guest book as it will sit in a box and you will never look at it again. 

Here are 20 ideas of great alternatives to the traditional guest book... http://tiny.cc/uaucy

This past weekend I photographed a beautiful wedding in Charleston, SC. The wedding couple chose the engagement book idea and I thought it was so neat to be able to display the engagement pictures and turn it into a keepsake to last forever! I attached a picture below...

My husband and I decided to do a photo mat frame for our wedding. This way the guests could write on the mat and then it would become a decoration in our house. It turned out beautifully and hangs in the stairway even now, three years later! Both my husband and I love to stop every once in a while to read something funny, silly, or sweet one of our friends wrote, which allows us to smile and remember that day!  So when choosing an idea for your guest book, make sure you make it a good one! =)

 

P.S. I also did a wishing tree, as seen in the link I posted. It was something fun for the guests to do during the reception, and we read them in the plane on the way to our honeymoon. We also intend to read them again on our 5 year anniversary!

Photos on the left above are courtesy of our wedding photographer Clinton Mackinnon!