Sunday’s Amazing Charleston Sunset

Did you see it? It was absolutely incredible! Textures of yellow over blue, with spikes of bright orange and towards the south, whisps of cotton candy pink over purple!

I couldn’t get a high enough angle to do it justice, and in retrospect, I regret not taking MORE pictures of it with my 5D MkII. (But I got a few great artsy shots, so stay tuned!) But for now, here are my favorite three pics I took with my Palm Pre.

5 minutes later:

and, 5 minutes after that it kept getting better:

Jean & Adam’s wedding at St. Mary’s Catholic and the Charleston AFB

View their full album design here: http://charlestonwedding.com/#/brock/

What a unique wedding for a wonderful couple! (Especially don’t miss their rehearsal dinner photography by Betty Boop (aka Mell Bell).

Jean Marie & Adam’s wedding was unique and classy all the way. St. Mary’s Catholic Church in downtown Charleston in the historic district is one of the most beautiful churches in this area!

Though their wedding was scheduled in October to avoid the Charleston summertime humidity, it was a freakishly humid day with heat index over 100F! Everyone was such good sports about it, I mean, what can you do, right? This is Charleston, afterall.

Krissy and Bryan’s beautiful Cypress Gardens wedding

Krissy and and her new mom-in-law used to work for years at SIB, a company who shared office space with us for over 8 years, so there were a lot of familiar faces at this event, and it was a happy thing to be a part of.  Cypress Gardens is such a beautiful place for portraits.  Krissy arrived at the ceremony via boat, which provided some awesome picture opportunities.

See their album design and photos at:  Krissy and Brian

Christy and Dan’s happy wedding at Dunes West Golf Club

Christy and Dan are happy and classy and had a wedding that reflected that very well.  Starting out at the Dunes West Country Club where they had a ceremony under the Spanish moss by the marsh.  The rain managed to hold off until about half way through the ceremony, at which point the minister seemed to talk a bit faster.  But it didn’t rain too hard, and everyone laughed.  After a dinner in the Club, they went to a spectacular neighboring home where they had an ‘after-reception’ out by the pool.  Small, comfortable, and very enjoyable, this was one of the more unique, well-planned, decorated, and accomplished weddings I (Nathan) have attended in some time.

See their album design and wedding photos at : Christy and Dan

Lauren and Jason’s Wedding at the Magnolia Plantation Carriage House

I(Mell) remember the day I met Lauren and first took her picture at a wedding show. She was so excited that it was contagious!  The big day arrived, and I had my awesome BFF, Wanda, as my second photographer. What could be more perfect than a Magnolia Plantation wedding and the Dynamic Duo? Of course, our cameras, (Ursela, Shorty, and the Mighty Boosh), were ready for action.

The wedding began shortly after the USC vs. Kentucky game, which ended favorably and added a sense of fun to the groomsmen portraits while we listened to the game over the radio. Just before the ceremony, thunder, dark clouds, and rain threatened, and when I told Lauren it was sprinkling outside. She replied, “I can handle sprinkles. I really don’t care…I’m just so excited!” (That’s my bride!)

So this Carriage House wedding began outside in the rain, which stopped right around the time Lauren was at the front of the aisle. The rain started again during the reception but cleared up in time to make S’mores over the outdoor firepit while the sun set.

Lauren and Jason have a special place in my heart because not only are they fellow Gamecocks but also, they are the first couple to hire me as the lead photographer for their wedding. I have been a second photographer for Nathan or Valerie at numerous weddings, so it an honor to be the lead at this one. Thank you so much, and GO GAMECOCKS!

Check out their Album design: Lauren and Jason

Just minutes after birth…

Early this morning, I (Valerie) had the honor of photographing a newborn baby girl, just minutes after her birth! The kind doctors and nurses at MUSC L&D unit even let me inside the delivery room! Here are a few pics, first one of me and then a couple of precious baby Julieanne with her parents:

Katie and Neil’s beautiful Alhambra Hall wedding

Katie and Neil’s wedding is no doubt one of the weddings I was most excited about shooting this year. They are such a fun-loving couple and we hit it off from the start.

What impressed me most about these two was when it poured down rain during what was supposed to be their beach engagement photo session, they didn’t let that get them down one bit! We all we able to shrug it off and roll with the punches….and ended up getting some gorgeous shots in the rain.

Luckily, we had PERFECT weather for their wedding day at Alhambra Hall! Katie looked absolutely stunning, and all of their friends and family were a ton of fun the whole day. Everyone was so supportive and thrilled to see Katie & Neil start their new life together as husband and wife. And once this group started dancing, they didn’t stop! Ron from Jay Maxwell’s Music by Request was the DJ (www.jaymaxwell.com) and he did an amazing job leaving the crowd cheering for more!

I had a hard time choosing my favorite shots for the preview gallery…so here are just a few of my favorites. Check back in a week for their full album design!

Jen & Joey Tied the Knot at Tidewater Chapel in Mount Pleasant

On Saturday, October 2nd, I had the honor of documenting every beautiful detail of Jennifer & Joey’s big day! They are such a sweet couple, and Mell and I had so much fun getting creative with them!

Both the wedding and the reception were at Tidewater Chapel in Mount Pleasant. We could not have asked for a more beautiful October day! Jennifer carefully chose every single design detail of the day and let me say, the girl has style!

After their ceremony, Jen, Joey, Mell and I drove the few blocks over to the new Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. This was not my first time at this fabulous new park, but it was my first time doing portraits there. I have so much fun shooting at new locations!

Here are a few of my favorites….and I’ll have their album design posted soon so check back in a few days!

Adrian & Jody’s Beautiful Daniel Island Wedding at Smythe Park

Adrian and Jody had a breathtakingly beautiful wedding in Smythe Park on Daniel Island. This is one of my favorite places in Charleston, in general, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to shoot a wedding there!

Adrian looked smashing in her wedding dress, and was cool as a cucumber all day long. Amanda Assey from Southern Chic Weddings did an incredible job coordinating the day. (If you are looking for a wedding planner or day-of coordinator, I highly recommend her services!) Also, Cru Catering did an amazing job catering. They had to bring an entire kitchen out to there; it was impressive!

Here are a few of my favorites from their wedding day:

Lauren and Graham’s wedding at First Baptist Church Downtown and the Old Exchange, Charleston, SC

Update!  The album is available to view! Check it out.

Taking place in the two of the most historically ‘Charleston’ Venues on the Peninsula (First Baptist and The Old Exchange), Lauren and Graham had a very classy, well paced wedding. The wedding party had a little parade between the church and the reception, which I think is a great touch. We even ended up with extra time to take a few shots down by the waterfront before we went into the reception. Lauren and Graham hold the current record for ‘longest on the books’. They booked us for their wedding about a year and 9 months ahead of time! We’ve been looking forward to this for a while.