Meekins Documentary Session

People sometimes ask me whether I prefer to shoot weddings or families. It is a hard question to answer, since the two are so different. There's an adrenaline rush that comes with shooting weddings that is, frankly, a little addicting. The pace is fast, time flies, and everyone is (for the most part) deliriously happy. My wife can attest that when I get home from shooting a wedding at midnight or so, I am so jacked up with excitement that sleep is out of the question for several hours.

Shooting families is more intimate and I have lots more time to breathe and enjoy myself. I love getting silly with kids and inhabiting their space for a few hours. Letting the family have a typical morning or evening is refreshingly low-stakes for them, and it tends to help them enjoy themselves and react more naturally to what is going on.

That being said, shooting families I know is absolutely the best. I was looking forward to spending time with the Meekins family for weeks leading up to our Sunday date. I had the pleasure of teaching both daughters when they were in first grade and they are intelligent and hilarious and lovely young people. Their family is about to expand to include another little girl, and they wanted a lasting memory of what is was like to be a family of four.

Well, five if you include the Westy van (they do). Six if you include Guiness the dog.

As they prepare for the newest Meekins, the girls are helping to prepare the nursery and are writing notes and letters to little "Skittles" as they call their new baby sister. The provenance of the nickname was in dispute, but one of the girls came up with it. The whole thing is so adorable. 

So, to sum it all up in a list: bedroom tours, crepes and coffee, PJs, notes to baby sister, belly kisses, sleepy dog, raucous barefoot dancing, vanlife, tree climbing, and SO many tickle fights.

Who could ask for more than that? 

2016

A lot has been said about this year. Mostly about how awful it has been. Or how it has brought out the worst in people, or in the nation. Or how it killed too many talented celebrities (give me a break, please). The folks at Merriam-Webster appropriately proclaimed "surreal" the Word of the Year.

I can't say its been a cakewalk for me, but I'm not ready to write 2016 off as a total loss. In the last two weeks I have experienced the best and worst this year has had to offer. A year has its ups and downs just like a week or a day.

2016 brought challenges and triumphs to my family, my friends, and me. Health improved and deteriorated. People bravely fought depression and personal tragedy, often in secret. Good news and new opportunities were celebrated zestfully. Lessons were learned. Babies were born and babies were lost. Facing obstacles, some revealed undiscovered depths of grace. I witnessed new relationships blossoming and old relationships growing deeper. 

This year I was challenged to anticipate the needs of others, to move through the world with a better sense of perspective, and to reach new levels of patience. I was challenged to approach people with more kindness and less judgement, to believe in myself as a professional and as an artist, and to embrace the unknown.

I'm looking forward to the gifts and challenges that 2017 brings.

Sassmans @ Home

You know those novels you read where the setting acts as an important character in the tale?
This is a lot like that.

Hannah and Wyatt moved to Charleston as boyfriend and girlfriend. They found a lovely little house downtown near Colonial Lake and the historic district. Their pets got comfortable. Soon, Wyatt proposed and they spent their engagement in the house. Soon after their marriage, they were already preparing for the next step: a move to Washington DC. This house was a special place for them as their relationship evolved and their love deepened. Less than a week before their move I had the pleasure of spending an evening with them, to document this special place. In Hannah's words, she wanted to "commemorate our home together, where we first made our joint home, grew as professionals, learned to love our combined strengths."

Best of luck to Hannah and Wyatt in DC!

Michelle + Adam

A few years ago when I was first starting out as a photographer in Charleston, a close friend and artistic mentor gave me some excellent advice: "Find a way to work only with great people." For many people in the creative industry, this is simply not possible. I have been lucky enough to work with some truly great people since I received that advice, but I really struck gold with Michelle and Adam. 

I did an engagement shoot with them last November on James Island and I was impressed with their sense of adventure, their patience, and their deep connection to one another. They brought along their dog Daisy, who had more fun than any of us humans and featured prominently in the engagement photos. She rarely left their sight and was a surprisingly good dog-model for photos. Sadly, Daisy died in February. I thought of Daisy at Michelle and Adam's wedding and how much she would have loved to be with her two favorite humans on one of the happiest days of their lives. 

The sense of excitement and glee was downright electric. Many of Michelle's family members traveled from The Philippines to be present for this special day, and Adam and Michelle's colleagues brought a level of energy and stamina that I have rarely seen (shout out to the three gents who performed the 'Single Ladies' moves). Oh, and of course the weather was perfect and the late-afternoon light was blasting through the stately live oak trees in all the right ways. Oh, and did I mention that some naughty raccoons showed up to eat some of the extra food left out by the caterers? Or that Michelle and Adam collected almost all of the flowers themselves and dried them at home for the centerpieces? 

In short, all of the ingredients were present for a fun and memorable day (raccoons included).
And it was.

First Dance Song: Hold onto My Heart - Graham Colton
Father/Daughter Dance Song: Forever - The Beach Boys
Mother/Son Dance Song: My Wish - Rascal Flatts
Michelle's Occupation: Healthcare Credentialing
Adam's Occupation: Fisheries Biologist
How You Met: Graduate School at College of Charleston
Interesting Facts About You: We love the outdoors and we try to "live off the land" as much as possible. We enjoy everything from fishing, shrimping, and hunting to gardening, mushroom foraging, and raising 2 chickens.
Honeymoon location(s): Philippines (hopefully next year)

Vendor Credits: 
Venue - Edisto Hall at James Island County Park
Officiant – Joe Evans
Band/DJ – Brandon from Jay Maxwell's Music by Request
Florist – the bride (and groom)
Cake/Dessert Bakery – Publix Bakery
Caterer – Smoky Oak Taproom
Hair/Makeup – Krystal from VSKI Salon
Coordinator – Rebecca Balazs

Megan + Chad

After shooting Megan and Chad's engagement session back in February, I couldn't wait for their October wedding in Charleston. If you get to spend any time at all with Megan and Chad, you'll quickly see how comfortable they are with one another and how natural their relationship feels. They are so right for each other that it seems inevitable that the universe would have brought them together.

Their downtown wedding was small and filled with personal touches. I was surprised to learn that the tradition of the bride having "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," concludes with "and a sixpence in her shoe." Who knew? Megan, that's who. Depending on the culture, the coin can represent good luck in marriage, prosperity, or generosity. As Megan put the finishing touch on her outfit by placing the coin, the Clemson Tigers were about to go into overtime against North Carolina State. She knew Chad and his groomsmen were watching the football game and she worried that if the game went on too long, they would be delayed in arriving at the venue.

Little did she know that the football game was not Chad's primary concern of the moment. Chad (a personal trainer) had realized that he had been lifting a bit too vigorously since purchasing his wedding suit. His proportions had changed so much that he was afraid of "Hulking out" of his jacket. It was with much determination that he carefully limited his range of motion for the rest of the afternoon, until the jacket could come off after the ceremony. He was impressively restrained.

Later on, rather that coordinate a complex exit, the couple simply said their goodbyes to friends and family and walked off quietly into the night, the first Saturday night of the rest of their lives together. Congratulations to the happy couple!

First Dance Song: Carry You by Dispatch
Father/Daughter Dance Song: My Girl by the Temptations
Mother/Son Dance Song: Days Like This by Van Morrison

Megan's Occupation:  Research Specialist at MUSC
Chad's Occupation: Personal Trainer and Lifeguard
How They Met: Worked together in Wilmington, NC
Interesting Facts:  We were together for 6 years before getting married!
Honeymoon location(s): Curacao

Vendor Credits: 
Venue - Upstairs at Midtown
Officiant – Rev. Clarence Derrick, grandfather of the bride
Band/DJ – Mike Root
Florist – Charleston Florist
Cake/Dessert Bakery – Charleston Cakes, Etc.
Caterer – King Street Hospitality Group
Hair/Makeup – Krystal Hill at Vski Salon
Coordinator – Stuart with KSHG

Hannah + Wyatt

On Tuesday, October 4th, South Carolina governor Nikki Haley stated that a complete evacuation of the state's coast would take place beginning the following day. Hurricane Matthew would soon be bearing down on Charleston and The Gadsen House, the site of Hannah and Wyatt's wedding. Downtown Charleston is notorious for flooding during large storms and unusually high tides. The projected record-breaking storm surge made it seem unlikely that the Sunday evening wedding would take place as planned. 

After some consideration, Hannah and Wyatt made the difficult decision to move their ceremony and reception to Summerville, SC, twenty-five miles north of Charleston and presumably out of the flood zone. Wedding number two: planned.

As the hours turned into days, it became clear that the storm would not spare Summerville. So, for a third time, Hannah and Wyatt needed to plan a wedding. They settled on Magnolia Manor B&B in the small town of Westminster, SC, five hours upstate and out of the path of Hurricane Matthew. With a lot of help from their families, they moved their flowers and their food (pre-made by the caterer), and began figuring out logistics for this third (and final) location.  

And... they totally pulled it off. Despite it being a near-nightmare scenario for a typical bride and groom, it is absolutely a testament to Hannah and Wyatt's down to earth attitude that they were completely relaxed throughout their wedding day. Not only that, they had a blast! Their wedding was filled with personal and unique details, like Wyatt's cufflinks depicting Christopher Gadsen's (remember the Gadsen House?) 1775 design for the "Don't Tread on Me" motto flag. After planning not one, not two, but THREE weddings, no couple deserved a honeymoon more than these two.

Congratulations and best wishes to Hannah and Wyatt!

First Dance Song: "Dream a Little Dream of Me," 
Hannah’s Occupation: Master's student in Marine Biology
Wyatt’s Occupation: Teaching Fellow at Georgetown Law School
How You Met: at a skating rink in high school!  They went to each other's senior proms and remained friends through college.  It wasn't until after college, while Hannah was dating someone else, that Wyatt told her he liked her.  It took Hannah a year and a half to move back to Nashville to be with him.
Interesting Facts About Hannah and Wyatt: their wedding was cancelled due to a hurricane... 
Honeymoon location(s): road trip on Southern Coast of Iceland, then to Bergen, Norway, Oslo, Norway, Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
 

Vendor Credits: 
Officiant – Pastor W. Bryan Bellotte
Band – The Great Society Band
Florist – Carolina Floral Creations
Cake/Dessert Bakery – Publix
Caterer – Salthouse Catering
Hair/Makeup – Wendy.... I'll have to track down this information
Coordinator – Jessica Cruz (for Gadsden and Summerville weddings), Hannah's mother and sister for the Westminster wedding!