Clemson Elopement | Katie and Matt

Katie and Matt knew they wanted their wedding day to be unique and intimate. A year and a half after I did Katie’s Clemson graduation portraits, she told me they were planning to elope and asked if I could do their wedding photos. Since so much of Matt and Katie’s story takes place around Clemson, it felt like a perfect fit for them. They said they shared a lot of memories at the amphitheater, so we made a plan for them to get married there on New Year’s Eve.

Katie, Matt, and I met up at the amphitheater with my friend Rebecca of A Different Officiant. Since it was New Year’s Eve, there weren’t hardly any people around, and only the bells of the clock tower broke the silence around them. Even though there was a high chance of rain for the whole day, none came down while we were together! We went through so much of campus that day, even through some of the botanical gardens. Since there were no guests, Katie and Matt could spend their wedding day wherever. They popped a bottle of champagne together on Bowman Field, which made for plenty of laughs as it sprayed everywhere. They even cut their wedding cake right in front of Death Valley!

Katie and Matt spent years walking this campus with no idea that they were passing by the place where they would someday get married. This was such a fun day that was totally centered around them and their story. Check out some of my favorite photos from Katie and Matt’s wedding!

Special thanks to Rebecca Inman of A Different Officiant for making it possible for Katie and Matt to get married in a place that was so special to them. Their cake came from Sugar Mama’s Cakes and Desserts in Seneca.

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Ready to have a wedding ceremony that’s super intimate and totally unique to you? I’d love to help you make that happen!

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Clemson Proposal | AC and Ben

This proposal has been in the works for 2 months now. Ben originally wanted to propose to AC on the day of the Clemson spring game. The pandemic came, the game was cancelled, and we heard people were being escorted off campus. We reconvened a few weeks later and set a new date. Ben organized a weekend trip to the mountains and would pass through Clemson on the way back.

Ben always knew he wanted to propose at the spot where they first met—outside of Core Campus, near the stadium. It was a quiet day on campus with only a few people passing through. He pulled up to their special spot and they walked down the steps. After they talked briefly about how that was where they met, Ben pulled something out of his backpack and got down on one knee. AC said she was completely caught off guard, but in the next few minutes, she found out that there was a lot more to this plan than she realized. Ben had gotten coordinating face masks off of Etsy just for these photos. He brought his Clemson ring in his backpack because she knew he didn’t normally wear it and he wanted to have it for the photos. AC’s family would be waiting for her at their lake house. Her friends had even suggested getting their nails done together a few days earlier!

We took some pictures around campus, and even though we got tired and sweaty, there was so much joy. As I walked behind them and took pictures, I kept overhearing AC:

“WE’RE ENGAGED!”
“They knew?”
“She did?”
“WE’RE GETTING MARRIED!”

Check out some of my favorite photos from this special day!

Does this proposal look like what you had in mind? Check out some of my other posts below for more ideas, or click here to contact me about your own photos!

Planning Your Proposal

Where to Take Engagement Photos at Clemson

Clemson Bridal Portraits

Clemson Elopement

Unique Ideas for Clemson Engagement Photos

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know that I shoot a lot at Clemson. It makes sense, considering I graduated from there and my husband and I had our proposal, engagement session, and wedding there! I’ve shot there in every season and can tell you what trees to look for in January, April, and November. Want pictures inside Death Valley? I know when it’s open to the public. If you want a ring shot in purple and orange flowers, I know where and when to do that. If there’s a building on campus that’s special to you, there’s a good chance I’ve taken pictures of someone there before. While I have a general outline that I follow with all the essentials—Tillman, Sikes, Reflection Pond, Carillon Bell, and outside of Death Valley—every session is unique and there are different parts of campus that mean something to different people. Here are some of my favorite places on campus that you might not have thought about.

Daniel Hall

I spent so much time in this building as an undergrad and considered it one of the ugliest buildings on campus. I had no desire to have my graduation pictures there. At some point, though, I realized how much I love the ivy and the lattice outside one of the entrances.

Downtown Clemson

The place where you probably hung out on Friday nights and watched a lot of away games together on Saturdays.

Botanical Gardens

This one gets its own post so you can see all the beautiful places in it and how it looks at different seasons! One thing I love about Clemson is how well you can see the hard work of the staff and students who study plants.  I always find something new when I visit the Botanical Gardens!  I was born in Arizona and I have a soft spot for cacti and succulents, so we’re lucky to have a spot with them here in South Carolina. Also, how gorgeous is this pier?

President’s Park

This one may seem obvious because of the legend behind it, but do you know what else makes this the perfect place for a proposal? Since it’s one of the only places on campus with an outdoor covered area, you can still plan to be there whether or not it’s raining. Here are some pictures from proposals I shot on a sunny and an on-and-off rainy day. Also, the bushes bloom so beautifully there in April!

Places Outside Death Valley

As much as I love the days when the stadium is open to the public, it’s only at certain times, so I have to get creative with what to do at the other times.  The porch of Stadium Suites gives you the whole stadium in the background and I love the view you can get from outside some of the gates!

Lake Hartwell

Since Lake Hartwell is not part of the main campus, it’s easy to forget about. If it’s cold outside, nobody will be at the lake, making for a more intimate and peaceful session. The reason I love the rowing center is because of the paw on the docks, but the lake is accessible from some of the off-campus apartment complexes as well.

Lee Hall

I was surprised nobody had ever asked me for a session here because I think this building is so cool! I thought it’d be even cooler if we went after the sun went down and creatively used some flashes.

Sunflowers

It’s amazing to me how much I’ve discovered that I used to walk or drive past all the time. In the summer, the sunflowers at the student organic farm are nice and tall.  You can even color coordinate with them like Tori and Michael did!

Sikes Hall

It’s not exactly overlooked, but it’s one of my favorite places on campus to take pictures. Not only do I love the steps and pillars here, it becomes one of my favorite backgrounds when it gets cold.  When the tree in front of Tillman loses its leaves, you get Sikes and Tillman in the same picture.

Like what you see? Check out some of the other photos below and let’s plan your Clemson engagement session!

Botanical Gardens

Campus, Lake Hartwell

Lake Hartwell, Esso, Stadium

Campus, Harts Cove

President’s Park Proposal

Botanical Gardens, Lee Hall

Desert Garden, Sunflowers

Proposal at Core Campus

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Ready to set up your own Clemson engagement session? Click here to get started, or check out some of my other blog posts below!

Elopement at Clemson

Clemson Bridal Portraits

Where to Take Engagement Photos in Upstate SC

Miss Clemson University '21

Clemson University Engagement | Ann and Joe

I first met Ann on the night of Miss Clemson University in 2017. It was my first time as the pageant photographer and Ann was one of the pageant co-directors. A few months later, I did Ann’s graduation portraits around campus. As we were talking that day, we found out that she and I are both from Virginia and her sister-in-law now teaches at my high school! 

Ann and Joe met while they were students at Clemson. While they were at a brewery in Virginia (about 45 minutes from where I grew up), Joe proposed in front of a beautiful view of the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains. Isn’t the band on her ring so pretty? 

Since Clemson is where so much of Ann and Joe’s story takes place, it only made sense for them to have their engagement photos there! We met on the first weekend in November, right when the leaves started to change. We started at Lake Hartwell, which was silent on this cool fall morning, making this part of the session so peaceful and intimate. We progressed to the Esso Club, a popular spot in downtown Clemson, especially to watch away games. They were in town for the weekend to see a home game, meaning that if we did the session the next day, we could go into the stadium. We hit all the iconic parts of campus and got some pretty yellow trees around Sikes Hall and President’s Park. I will always love an engagement ring with two Clemson rings, especially with Ann’s gorgeous engagement ring and some of the first leaves from this fall. 

Check out some of my favorite photos of Ann and Joe from this gorgeous fall morning around Clemson! We’re so lucky to have such a gorgeous campus to use for commemorating our stories.