David & Liz, Lexington, SC Lake Murray Quarantine Wedding

I think it’s safe to say that 2020 was not what everyone expected. No one expected the massive effect that the virus would take on the entire world. We were quarantined, business’s were shut down and shaking hands and giving a hug for a greeting is now a thing of the past. So how about planning your wedding? Scratch everything that you planned and everything that you expected and everything that you had hoped for and dreamed of….

Start over. And we all did. We started to rethink what was important and what we took for granted. Just like David and Liz who actually were diagnosed with the COVID-19 virus. After they were tested negative, they decided to go forward with getting married even if it meant not being able to go to Virginia where Liz was from, to have the wedding that they had planned for.

David and Liz met in 2016 while she lived in Texas and he was in Savannah. Liz became a special agent and David was a task force officer and criminal investigator and became a cooperate security agent.

They bought their first home together on Lake Murray in Lexington, South Carolina. Six months later, Dave asked Liz to marry him on Denis Beach in St. John's while on their first vacation together. They have since welcomed their new fur baby Ranger, to the family.

Katelynn's Bridal Portraits

This past summer, I learned that when a bride gets married to a firefighter or that bride is a firefighter, that bridal portraits are done at a fire station. What a great tradition and the guys at Lexington County Fire Station 4 were so nice and helpful with putting the trucks where we needed them and even giving us ideas because of course, their wives also did bridal portraits at a fire station.

We then decided to go to the wedding venue at T & S Farms in Batesburg and of course it was magical!

Dustin and Lindsey Wedding, Landrum, South Carolina

Dustin and Lindsey met through Plenty of Fish and had many of their first dates in the morning at the gym before Lindsey went to class. But their first official date was at Dave and Busters where Lindsey kicked Dustin’s butt at ski ball but he rocked it at basketball. But at the end of the night they had their first kiss and have been together for four years.

They planned a trip to California to the Santa Monica Mountains where they climbed to Inspiration Point. Lindsey was resting next to a pillar with a camera in her hand while Dustin fumbled around in the back pack telling her to hold on. She turned around and there he was on one knee and asked the big question. Lindsey said that it was so beautiful! There was all of California on one side and then ocean on the other.

They chose this venue because their first dates consisted of hiking and chasing waterfalls and panoramic views. Dustin moved to upstate South Carolina from Mississippi and had never hiked but loves the mountains. So it was natural that they were actively seeking adventure.

Jeff & Nekedia Wedding, Columbia, South Carolina

Venue: South Carolina Lace House and Gardens

Cake: Desmond Pringle with Gardenia’s Custom Cakes & Catering LLC

DJ: DJ D-Rex

Wedding Coordinator: Kristen Coulter

Jeff and Nekedia have been together for 6 years and met through the military. They were both at Fort Jackson at the Px one day and it took off from there!

Nekedia said, “We were on vacation for Thanksgiving in Cancun, Mexico. We had just came back from a day excursion of playing with dolphins and I was getting the babies ready to take a nap. I turn around and there he is with a ring. He had this big smile on his face and saying these silly things ( basically showing how afraid he really was)”.

And their wedding was so beautiful, intimate and romantic.

Devin and Amanda Wedding, Wintergreen Woods, Lexington, South Carolina

Venue: Wintergreen Woods

Baker: Wintergreen Woods

Florist: Sams Club

It was such a pleasure meeting Devin and Amanda. Their day started with just a touch of rain but ended up being perfect. Their venue, Wintergreen Woods, was decorated so warm and inviting with the beautiful stone hearth lit up with a blazing fire and a hot chocolate station set up on the patio. What was even warmer were Devin and Amanda. I absolutely love working with a couple who radiate their love and are genuinely excited about their lives together and not just having a party.

I asked Amanda how they met and she gave me a great story! She said,” We originally met in 2010 at a friends house. I even remember then seeing Devin and just being completely in awe of him. We obviously went our separate ways and then on March 29th of 2014, that's when it happened. We both had weddings to attend to that day. My friend from New York was in town and I promised her a night out in Columbia. We finally ended up at our last destination and a mutual friend of Devin and I called out to me and got us to the reserved section. When my friend and I sat down and I looked up, my whole world came crashing down in all the good ways. I grabbed my friend on her leg with a tight squeeze as she choked on her martini and she said "What!!!???" I told her that the most gorgeous man that was meant to be mine forever was standing right in front of me. She looked up and told me that I should go talk to him. I usually never approach men, but this time, I told myself, "I let him go once, and I’m not going to let him go again." It's been history ever since.”

And they’ve been together for 4 wonder years!

Devin proposed at Disney World and was so nervous that the box that had the ring in it would make the metal detector go off while walking through. Amanda said, “He was acting really strange as if he wasn't feeling well and I had no idea but he took me to Cinderella's castle and got down on one knee and asked. I didn't think this would happen at such a "public" place because he is VERY shy and dosen’t like all the attention on him.” Devin and Amanda already knew they were going to spend the rest of their lives together so Amanda told him that she didn’t need a proposal. But Devin wanted to make her feel like a princess and he absolutely did!

blessed describes both of you

“Being able to marry my best friend. I can't tell you how many times I prayed for him even when I didn't even know him. God was preparing the both of us for each other, so that HE would be glorified. Everything made since when we met. Even though you get told everyday "All in God's time." it never rang as true the day we met. I had finally found the rest of my rib in Devin. God was preparing us both for each other, even through all of our disappointments and past heartbreaks, we wouldn't change a thing because we would have always found each other. I always tell Devin, "You know when God created you, He smiled and thought of me. And when God made me, He smiled thought of you." We thank God every day for each other, for finding our best friend.”

Ben & Christin Herring, Asheville, North Carolina

This wedding and venue is probably one of my favorites so far!  Not only was the venue, Addison Family Farms, was amazingly beautiful but the wedding party themselves were so great to work with.  I love a good small ceremony.  It makes things laid back and very intimate and a little less stressful for everyone involved.

Here's some of my favorites from that day.

Ryan & Joanna Lexington, South Carolina

Jonah & Leticia Folly Beach Wedding, South Carolina

This was such an amazing afternoon on Folly Beach in Charleston.  Jonah and Leticia were so adorable you could feel the love radiating from them both.  When Jonah reached out to me about  being their photographer for their small beach ceremony, there was no threat of bad weather at all.  However, as their wedding date approached, there was a category 5 hurricane heading towards Florida, and coming up through Georgia and into South Carolina.

Jonah was not bothered at all by the threat of Mother Nature, and the ceremony commenced and I'm so happy that the ceremony was not cancelled!!

These photos are right before Hurricane Irma swept up the east coast.  Just by looking at them, you would never know of all the destruction and devastation that hurricane had caused.

Andrew & Kate 1208 Washington Place, Columbia, South Carolina

What a beautiful day for a wedding!  This was my first Catholic ceremony and it was amazing.  The church was pretty with a high vaulted ceiling and a beautiful nave and stained glass windows.  Kate came down the aisle beaming and Andrew mirrored her happiness while waiting at the end of the aisle for her.

I met Andrew and Kate a little over a year ago at a Starbucks in town and we talked for over an hour.  They are just the most genuinely nice and charming people you will ever meet.  We went to my beloved peach orchards for their engagement shoot and they did such an amazing job that I couldn't wait for their wedding!

And it finally happened after over a year of waiting and these photos are only a slight few of my favorites!!