Charleston Beach Wedding

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

I saw that a bride was looking to plan a beach wedding here in Charleston. It sounds like an easy task but can be difficult to research something like that. Having done more than a few beach weddings, I decided I would write to her in hopes that it would help narrow her search. Below is the email. Maybe it will help you too!

Wild Dunes Beach Wedding

Congratulations on your engagement! November is a beautiful time of the year here in Charleston to get married. I do currently have your wedding date available. Sounds like you have a lot of planning to do still. Feel free to check out my wedding picture gallery and look at some of the different locations. You can contact me directly through the site and I can let you know where the locations are for some of the pictures.

Wedding Gallery: http://www.glenna.co/gallery.html

For a 100 person beach wedding you have a few great choices around charleston. On Isle of Palms, Wild Dunes has locations on and near the beach and there is also the Citadel Beach House.

On Sullivan’s island there are a few locations but you can also contact the city and request to just have it on the beach. My favorite Station on Sullivan’s Island is #18. It is near the light house and has a nice boardwalk down to the beach. This would just be for the ceremony though. Here is their info on it: http://www.sullivansisland-sc.com/Files/General%20documents/TOSI%20Beach%20Wedding%20Information%20Sheet%20(3-15-10).pdf

I know that you wouldn’t think of it but Mount Pleasant has a little beach. It is actually the Charleston Harbor Resort. They have a man made beach and a nice pier and it all overlooks the Charleston Harbor.

Folly Beach is the other close to Charleston Beach. At the Holiday Inn on Folly right next to the pier, they do a great job with weddings. The restaurant is called Blu and they have just recently redone the entire hotel so it is very clean and updated.

Hope this helps you narrow down your wedding location. Happy planning!

Sullivan's Island Beach Wedding

Lauren & Chesley’s Wedding Photos in Charleston

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

There were so many great photos from this amazing wedding that I put them into a collage.

Charleston New Years Eve Wedding Photographer

Lauren & Chesley's Wedding on New Years Eve in Charleston

Should I do Bridal Portraits?

Posted on January 17, 2012 by admin

Bridal Shoes

I always include Bridal portraits in my wedding packages at a discounted rate. I feel that bridal portraits are very important for three main reasons. The first reason is that we are able to spend an hour getting pictures of just you in your dress and you don’t have to waste that time on your wedding day. On your wedding day, we will still get a few pictures of you in your wedding dress but you will already have some great shots so there are no worries. Some brides like to display their bridal portraits at their reception. Many brides get a canvas print that they will want for their home and display it on an easel at the reception.

Bridal Portraits

The next reason is to do a run through of your entire “look” for your wedding day. Make sure that you hair and make-up look exactly how you want them too. You may find that despite how much you love that red lipstick, a more natural and classic color work better with the style of your dress. I have many brides that make small adjustments to what they are wearing after the bridal portraits because they want to be more comfortable or something didn’t look quite as they had planned. The most changed thing is always the shoes. Make sure that those silky things you got to wear on your wedding day are broken in before you wear them for 10 hours straight on your feet. Most brides will make the change if they have blisters after just one hour of bridal portraits in those shoes.

Bridal Portrait

The last reason is so you are comfortable with me and in front of the camera on your wedding day. These pictures will be a great way to see how the little things you do effect how you look in pictures. You may have a really big smile and need to tone it down so we can see your eyes. You may slouch your shoulders or don’t have good posture and it really shows in the pictures. You may notice that you appear to have a double chin when you look down but when you elongate you neck and drop your shoulders it disappears. These are just a few examples of things that people notice. I work with you on your wedding day as well as during the bridal portraits to have you looking your best. I don’t do this by over posing you. I give you hint that let you know what to be mindful of so your pictures turn out great.

Bridal Portrait

The Best Engagement Portrait Location!

Posted on January 12, 2012 by admin

When you are getting married in Charleston, SC, you get the beauty and historic feel of the city in your pictures. Charleston is one of America’s top wedding destinations and a very popular tourist destination. There are so many amazing place to choose from to get married as well as do your engagement portraits. While I am always up for new and other locations, my favorite place to do engagement portraits is at the Battery in Downtown Charleston.

Lindsay & Michael Under the Oaks

I like to start under the oak trees in White Point Gardens. The beauty of the light that bounces down between the leaves has a wonderful natural feeling for the setting. I enjoy using natural light and playing with the shadows.

Save the Date Engagement Portrait

The gazebo has just recently been redone by the City of Charleston and is a great way to add a little interest to the pictures in addition to the beautiful oaks. It also allows me to get a bit of a different angle on the soon-to-be bride and groom.

Sarah & Michael in Gazebo

When you take a stroll down Church Street, you will find beautiful homes (not mansion) and a quaint bricked road. The rod-iron gates, the gas lanterns, the texture of the old bricks and facades create the perfect city-scape for old downtown Charleston.

Sarah and Brandon's Engagement Portait

Kissing Engagement Portrait

The Palmer Home is a beautiful bed and breakfast situated 2 houses down from White Point Gardens. I have the pleasure of knowing the owner, Frances Palmer, and have taken some beautiful pictures inside and out. The front bay window overlooks Charleston Harbor and provides a stunning background with its wooden floors and larger than life windows.

Palmer Home Engagement Portrait

The piazza is also a beautiful setting for picture with its big white columns, palmetto trees and the blue skies and water.

Palmer Home Engagement Portraits

The Charleston Harbor provides the final piece to the perfect portrait location puzzle. There is something about those blue skies and waters, not to mention the little white sail boats off in the distance, that makes the picture so eye catching and alluring.

Engagement Portrait looking at Charleston Harbor

By no means and I trying to be bias about the beauty of Charleston. There are hundreds of locations in the area that are wonderful to do pictures. I just think The Battery is the Best Location for Engagement Portraits.

Should I do Engagement Portraits?

Posted on January 10, 2012 by admin

Engagement portraits are a great opportunity for the couple. I include a one-hour engagement portrait sitting with all of my wedding packages. Some people get them done right after they get engaged and others wait until closer to the wedding. It is really a personal preference. The most obvious reason for engagement portraits is that you need a decent photo of the two of you for your engagement announcement. No, you do not want to send a picture of the two of you in a bar to your grandmother (however good you may look in that picture).

Matt and Candace on Church Street for Engagement Portraits

Engagement portraits are a great opportunity to become comfortable with the photographer (hopefully me). Some couples start out nervous but by the end they are all relaxed and having a good time. The couples that do the engagement and bridal portraits are more relaxed about the pictures on the wedding day even if they are a little camera shy.

Couple on Steps for Engagement Portrait

Wedding pictures can be spotted a mile away. That big white dress and that tuxedo jump out of the picture frame and yell wedding. Though they are classic and timeless, you don’t want your wedding photos to be the only good photos you have of the two of you. Engagement photos can be proudly displayed around your house or office without having to explain the entire wedding to each person that decides to comment on “the happy couple.”

How much does a wedding photographer cost in Charleston, SC?

Posted on January 7, 2012 by admin

Every wedding has some kind of budget and there are plenty of little web tools out there that inform you of how to spend this budget. While as helpful as these tools are they are not really practical. Many things affect how photographers price their services. Talent, experience, credentials and locational standards are some of the most important.

Beach Wedding Ceremony

Talent in your wedding photographer should be easy to spot, right? That is most often not the case. Photographers put their absolute best pictures on their portfolio online. They don’t want to show you a bad picture! How do you get around this? Ask your prospective wedding photographer to show you an entire recent wedding. Personally, I kill two birds with one stone by sending my inquiring brides to one of my recent wedding websites like: http://pictage.com/944111. This way they get to see an entire wedding from sunny ceremony, to beautiful low-light sunset and then to a dimly lit wedding reception dance area.

Experience and credentials play a big part in what wedding photographers charge. Some wedding photographers have been doing this for so long and their pictures are so amazing that people will pay them $50,000 or more to come take pictures at their wedding. While that is not practical for the average bride, there is a lot to be said in that. If a photographer charges a large amount because of years of experience in the wedding industry, awards they have won, accreditations from dozens of photography associations and most importantly their portfolio and references from their brides, it is very justified. So keep in mind what level of wedding photographer you are hiring while requesting prices.

Location standards are very important for a wedding photographer. If a wedding photographer comes into an area and price cuts other professionals, it is usually a sign that they are lacking in talent, experience and/or credentials. Charleston, South Carolina is a very desirable wedding location and while you can get married on a budget, you may need to prioritize. The average wedding budget in Charleston is about $25,000 though I have seen plenty of people pull off a beautiful wedding for around $10,000 to $12,000.

Bridal Portrait

When planning out your Charleston wedding, you should budget around $2,500 for a wedding photographer if you are having a modest size wedding and getting a reasonable package from a good photographer. With all of that said there are really 2 things that matter. 1^st is this wedding photographer going to take some amazing wedding photographs? 2^nd can I afford to have them as my wedding photographer? If you know that this is your wedding photographer, don’t be afraid to ask them what they can do to help get your wedding photography prices to work within your budget. Remember, if it is too good to be true, it probably is. It’s not worth paying anything for fuzzy, out of focus or under exposed pictures. Hope this helps. HAPPY PLANNING!