Rebekah & Ben’s Wedding at East Cooper Baptist Church and the Citadel Beach House

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

Bekah and Ben were married Saturday, June 27th at East Cooper Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant. At first glance, most might not notice that ECBC (as most call it) is quite a photogenic place! (As you will see in several pics below!) Also, it’s my home church, and I’m always excited to get to shoot a wedding there!

So, Bekah and Ben…they’ve known each other since the fourth grade…isn’t that sweet? They are so cute together and everyone around them can tell how well they compliment one another! It was also such a blessing to see many past clients and friends at this wedding!

Now…any bride-to-be needs to take advice from Bekah about timing out her wedding day right…this girl is a pro! The day was fun and relaxed, everything flowed perfectly! (Also thanks to English Preston who did an amazing job as wedding coordinator!)

Their Citadel Beach House reception was also near-perfect, even though the cake fell over prior to the bride & groom’s arrival…oops! (But the newlyweds were able to roll with it, still all smiles!)

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Waters! I hope you are having a wonderful Disney honeymoon!!!

Here’s your sneak peek:

Lightning Storm over Charleston Harbor, June 27

Driving home tonight, I (Valerie) was awed by the lightning storm while driving down the road in my fahbulous convertible, Dolores. (Yes, and shamelessly so, I really do love my car!) Anyway, I realized that I had in-my-immediate-possession the right camera, lenses and tripod so I drove straight to Patriots Point, found the best view of the storm, and set up shop from about 9:40 till 11pm.

It was FUN taking these pics! As I set each exposure, I was cheering on the sky…“come on, come ON, sky! Show me what ya got!” and the moment I saw a big strike during one of my exposures, I found myself doing a dance on the dock that a bystander might say resembled a mix between a Superbowl touchdown dance, MC Hammer and the funky chicken dance. Oh yeah, I was cool alright.

(WARNING: PHOTO GEEK-SPEAK AHEAD…NERD ALERT!)
I shot these with my Canon 5D MkII at ISO 500, 16-35mm f/2.8L lens….mostly on full wide at around 13-20 second exposures at about f/8. (Fyi: Exact numbers are captioned on each pic in my Facebook album of these pics.)

Shana & Pert’s Wedding at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Goose Creek and the Sheraton Hotel in North Charleston

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

Every wedding I shoot has its own unique qualities…and I must say I dig Shana & Pert’s style! I really enjoyed getting to know them and their bridal party…it was a joyful,  happy day and everyone was all smiles (and that makes for great photos, of course!)

Shana’s dress had aqua accents (see photos below!) and her makeup was flawless! She’s a sweet, wonderful woman and I feel that her wedding reflected her personality well.

Everyone got ready at the Sheraton Hotel in North Charleston (off of Montague) before heading over to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Goose Creek for the wedding ceremony. Newly renovated, the Sheraton really had some great spots for pictures! Immaculate Conception is a beautiful church, with tall wood trust ceilings and stained glass windows. Their wedding ceremony included many Filipeno traditions that made it especially unique and special.

Here are a few of my favorites, but trust me there are SO many more great ones I wanted to post (but would make this post too long!) So, stay tuned in a couple weeks for their FULL album design and photo gallery to be posted on www.charlestonwedding.com!

Family Fun in Legacy Park

I (Mell) was in Greenville for a week taking care of my mom who had a hip replacement. She’s an awesome teacher who started and lead the vocational program for special needs children at her school. After surgery, she really wasn’t up for pictures. However, I did have the joy of spending time with and photographing a family close to my heart. I also got to be 3 years old again and play with bubbles in the park! Thank you guys

Let’s just say if there are bubbles, play dough, or coloring involved, count me in.  Here are just a few of my favorite moments with them in the new Legacy Park in Greenville:

Whittney and Ian’s wedding at St. Luke’s Chapel and 28 Bridgeside

St. Luke’s is always a gorgeous place to shoot an afternoon wedding.  Having the chance to shoot the wedding of two close friends made it that much more enjoyable!  There was a great atmosphere, as both families got along incredibly well.

The reception was at one of our favorite venues, 28 Bridgeside.  Jay Maxwell (as always) did a great job as the DJ.  We all had fun — there was choreography, a rapping bridesmaid, singalongs, and some incredibly adorable kids.

Since we never had the chance to do a bridal session before their big day, we spent an evening last week getting some killer shots.  Congrats guys!!

posted by Steve Donley

Sarah and Steven’s Wedding at Seacoast Community Church and The Citadel Beach House

Update:  The Album Design has been posted on our main site!  Check it out!

Sarah and Steven started dancing during the recessional, and really didn’t stop as long as I was with them.  They had an awesome celebration, and people genuinely had a GREAT time.  They had some very creative ideas for the beverages, with glass-bottled IBC Root Beers, Cokes and other specialty sodas sitting on ice throughout the reception.  Flavored teas and lemonade too.  Their wedding favors were actually the drink mixes from their various beverage tables.  Seacoast is a big church with a small chapel that’s perfect for weddings, and the Citadel Beach House is one of the most popular reception venues in Charleston for very good reason.  Enjoy!

Dawn and Chuck’s Wedding at The Cathedral of Praise and the Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, SC

Update!  The album has been posted at the main site!  Check it out!

I have to say that Dawn has a personality that made this wedding one of the most fun weddings to shoot in a long time.  She’s a pistol.  Chuck has his hands full here.  The ceremony was held in the inimate chapel of the Cathedral of Praise, followed by a classy reception at the Francis Marion Hotel, Downtown.

Erin and Matt’s Wedding at Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church and 28 Bridgeside

We spent a little time dodging the rain at Erin and Matt’s wedding, but by the time we made it to the reception at spectacular 28 Bridgeside, it had cleared up.  Camera-wise, we had to really think ahead at this one, as after the rain had passed, the humidity became rather high, which, when combined with air conditioning, can cause camera lenses to fog up upon exiting a  building (like glasses do).  It can take several minutes for the camera to acclimate, and there isn’t much to be done in the meantime.  We fought this by making regular trips outside to keep the cameras in from becoming too cold in the AC.    Bridgeside, of course offers a spectacular view of the bridge, which we made sure to take full advantage of.

Regal Catering provided the elaborate dining experience for the party.  We are very partial to Regal here, as they catered our (Nathan and Mell’s) wedding about 4 years ago.Up

Update:  The album design has been posted online!  Check it out!

We spent a little time dodging the rain at Erin and Matt’s wedding, but by the time we made it to the reception at spectacular 28 Bridgeside, it had cleared up.  Camera-wise, we had to really think ahead at this one, as after the rain had passed, the humidity became rather high, which, when combined with air conditioning, can cause camera lenses to fog up upon exiting a  building (like glasses do).  It can take several minutes for the camera to acclimate, and there isn’t much to be done in the meantime.  We fought this by making regular trips outside to keep the cameras in from becoming too cold in the AC.    Bridgeside, of course offers a spectacular view of the bridge, which we made sure to take full advantage of.

Regal Catering provided the elaborate dining experience for the party.  We are very partial to Regal here, as they catered our (Nathan and Mell’s) wedding about 4 years ago.

Brittney and Jesse’s Wedding at the Harbor Grille in Charleston, SC

rittney and Jesse threw a fun, low-stress wedding at the Harbor Grille.  Brittney has a very model look and poise, which was fun to shoot at the engagement sessions and couples portraits on the wedding day.  Jesse is a photography enthusiast, and was very excited about some of the shots we were getting.

Fountain Walk near the old IMAX theater is a neat little location unlike anything else in Charleston.  The Harbor Grill is right at the end on the water, and boasts one of the best views of the Cooper River Bridge that exists.   The fou

Update: The Album design has been posted!  Check it out!

Brittney and Jesse threw a fun, low-stress wedding at the Harbor Grille.  Brittney has a very model look and poise, which was fun to shoot at the engagement sessions and couples portraits on the wedding day.  Jesse is a photography enthusiast, and was very excited about some of the shots we were getting.

Fountain Walk near the old IMAX theater is a neat little location unlike anything else in Charleston.  The Harbor Grill is right at the end on the water, and boasts one of the best views of the Cooper River Bridge that exists.   The fountains and waterfalls on the short walk to the venue are phenomenal for photography–especially at night.

Whatever it takes!

This evening I had a killer beach session with Maria & Jorje. Such a sweet couple and they said they were up for anything and didn’t mind getting wet…so I took their word for it! Haha!

Next time I’ll remember to bring towels and a change of clothes!  (But it was SO worth it!) These portraits of Maria & Jorje are sweeeeeeeeeeeeet!

The artist at work:

The artist’s work:

We make it look so serious….but I assure you, when the waves crashed over us, there was plenty of yelping and laughing involved!!!