Planning Your Proposal

So you two are ready to start planning the rest of your lives together! Going from “dating” to “engaged” is a big step. How do you want to pop the question?

First of all, there’s no right way for everyone to propose. The only thing that matters is that it’s what you and your partner want. It can be as simple or complex of a plan as you want. These are just some steps to make it less stressful.

1. Pick a special place. Maybe it’s a place with a pretty view, and maybe it’s a place where you two share memories together. Think about how many people will be there and how easy it’ll be to access the spot you want.

Karl and Melanie had never been here before, but they heard how beautiful it was and made a weekend trip there. See More

2. Pick a time. The hour before sunset and the hour after sunrise are what we call “golden hour.” This gives us that pretty glow and is the most flattering on your faces. The exact time of golden hour will vary depending on where you are and what time of year it is, but I’m happy to coordinate that with you. Getting the sun behind you will be prettiest, but if that doesn’t work with your plan, we can find a spot in better light.

This proposal was midday because Tracy and Lawrence would be heading home later that day. I got there early and picked a place for Lawrence to stop that was in good lighting. I put a piece of tape on the ground and sent him a picture of my view. See More

3. Decide when your partner will know what’s going on. If you want it to be a total surprise the second you pop the question, then you’ll need to be in a place where I can easily hide. That could either mean finding a hiding place or blending in with a crowd.

For this proposal, there was not a safe place for me to be out of sight. Connor said that was okay because his plan involved Jess knowing earlier in the hike what would happen at the overlook. See More

4. Pick a spot you know you can easily get to. Let’s use the Table Rock summit as an example, because I’ve gotten this request before. And I get it—getting on one knee in front of that overlook would be so beautiful. Physically, it takes a lot for you, your partner, and your photographer (if you have one) to get there, especially in the warmer months, even if you’re experienced hikers. To quote another photographer who has been to this summit, “You will not be cute by the time you get to the top.” If one of us needs to turn around, or if the parking lot is full, we may not be able to communicate that to each other because cell service is so spotty there. It’s way easier if we simplify the plan, especially if your partner isn’t supposed to know I’ll be there.

For places in the upstate that are beautiful, easy to navigate to, and won’t wear you out before it’s time to take pictures, click here. If you were actually thinking about proposing at the Table Rock summit, that post will tell you about similar views and other pretty parts of the park.

The South Carolina Botanical Gardens have a variety of scenery that will change at different times of year. The trails are paved, there aren’t really steep parts, and you don’t have to go far to find beautiful places.

See More

5. Think about what to wear. If getting dressed up will tip off your partner, it’s up to you how to proceed, but keep in mind that they may want to wear something nicer for these photos. If you do choose to wear something nicer, make sure it won’t get messed up as you’re getting to the spot.

I helped Joe pick a restaurant in the area so that he could get Bree to the spot he wanted to propose. He told Bree she should wear something nice that day because they had a reservation at a nice restaurant. See More

6. Protect the ring. How you hide the ring depends on the situation, but some people have found that a ring box doesn’t sit well in their pockets. You could find a smaller box, a different container to protect it, or put the box deep in a bag you’re carrying so it doesn’t get moved.

Believe it or not, you can get desert scenery in the upstate! Click here to see!

7. Leave time to tell everyone. You might not know until after the proposal whether you’ll want to tell your family and friends ASAP or take some pictures first, so leave a little bit of time in case you decide to make a few phone calls.

AC wanted to call her family right away, but she didn’t know until later that Ben had planned to go by her parents’ house, and her whole extended family would be there. Read more

8. Consider the crowds. Are you and your partner okay with having onlookers as you get engaged? If not, consider proposing in a time and place where you might not encounter as many people. People tend to not be awake around sunrise on the weekends. There tends to be fewer people going downtown or to hiking trails on weekdays. Overall, not as many people go outside during the winter.

For this proposal, we got to the park right when it opened. Not only were we getting that just-after-sunrise light and those low morning clouds, we were also the only three people at the overlook when the actual engagement happened! See More

I hope this helps give you some peace of mind as you take the next step in your relationship! Read more about my engagement photo services, and check out some of the blog posts below to get some ideas!

Melanie and Karl’s Proposal at Caesars Head

Where to Take Engagement Photos in Upstate South Carolina

Connor and Jess’s Proposal at Lake Keowee

Bree and Joe’s Proposal in Downtown Greenville

Fill out the form below to tell me your plans so far for your engagement!

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View Point at Buckhorn Creek Wedding | Chandler and Will

Chandler and Will were married on a perfect spring day at The View Point at Buckhorn Creek in Greenville, South Carolina! I’m so excited to share the photos from their gorgeous wedding day.

There were so many sentimental parts of this wedding day! Will proposed to Chandler at his family’s lake house in Georgia around Christmas. He gave her ring from the jeweler everyone in his family has used, so I got to have a picture with three of those ring boxes together. Chandler is the sixth person in her family to wear this wedding dress. It was really special to have her mom and sisters help her put it on—three women who wore this dress on their wedding days were helping pass it on to her! Chandler also wore her grandma’s necklace and Will’s grandma’s earrings.

The View Point at Buckhorn Creek is a gorgeous venue near Paris Mountain. It overlooks the Blue Ridge Mountains and the surrounding garden is so full of color. Will and one of his friends built the cross that stood at the spot in front of the mountains where they said their vows. Since they had an early afternoon ceremony, the reception was more like a late lunch. Music played through the garden that overlooks the mountains, which made for such a peaceful atmosphere on a perfect spring afternoon! They were given a sendoff of lavender and flower petals.

Check out some of my favorite photos from this day full of peace, color, and laughter!


Vendors:
Venue: View Point at Buckhorn Creek
Catering and ice cream: Good Life Catering
Cake: Strossner’s Bakery
Music: Alie and Trevor Springgate
Officiant: Dr. Brian James
Dress: family heirloom for ceremony, Lulu’s for reception
Florals: Shari Power
Hair: Mika Davis
Groom’s accessories: Brooks Brothers
Bee cookies: Etsy

Looking for a wedding photographer? Click here to read a little more about me and what I do, or click here to get in touch!

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South Carolina Botanical Gardens Engagement Photos | Courtney and David

My cousin Courtney came to visit with her fiancé, David!  They live in Maryland and stopped in South Carolina on their way to Universal Studios.  We set a date for spring engagement photos in the South Carolina Botanical Gardens and crossed our fingers that it wouldn’t rain in the short time that they were here.   

Courtney and David met while David was studying abroad at a university near where Courtney lives.  They kept a long-distance relationship while David finished school in the Netherlands.  David came back to Maryland for graduate school and Courtney has visited the Netherlands with him twice now.  They plan to be married next summer in Maryland, then have another reception with David’s family and friends in the Netherlands.

I had told Courtney that we’d find at least something in bloom by their engagement photos, since there’s such a variety of plants in the Botanical Gardens that bloom at different times.  I like to think everything bloomed early here just for them.  We were so excited when we left my neighborhood and saw a long row of white trees, which doesn’t normally happen this early in the spring.  That meant that the gardens had to be full of color, and they were!  There was so much pink to go with Courtney’s pink hair, lipstick, and dresses.  It was cloudy most of the time we were there, but the temperature was perfect.

A few of my favorite things about this session include the design on Courtney’s nails (which you can see in some of the closeups), her Harry Potter dress in front of the caboose, and how amazing her hair and makeup looked—shoutout to Leigh and Meagan at Cotton Rouge for doing such an amazing job with that! 

Check out all the pretty colors and laughter from Courtney and David’s engagement session!

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The Ridge Asheville Styled Shoot

A styled shoot is an event where wedding vendors come together to showcase their work.  I was excited to be part of it because it’s 2020 and most wedding vendors don’t have a lot of recent photos, since so many weddings are being cancelled and postponed.  Not to mention that the pictures I’d seen from The Ridge were beautiful and I love taking pictures in the mountains!  Since I had traveled two hours to Asheville, I had never met any of these vendors before.  I got to meet photographers who had traveled from the other side of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee!  We took turns posing and we all got to show our own styles with the same subjects.  The best part?  There was a MASSIVE double rainbow towards the end, making the view even more incredible.

There were two themes to this styled shoot.  One was “English Countryside” and featured a blue color scheme with blueberry décor—I’m a blueberry lover and this was something I never knew I needed in my life.  The other theme was “Whimsical and Vibrant,” which was exciting because I love bold colors, but more subtle and neutral colors are more common at weddings right now. 

Check out some of the vendors behind this beautiful work!

Venue: The Ridge

Planning/Coordination/Co-Host: The Hunt is Over

Main photographer/Co-Host: Erin Allenczy

Florals: Stargazers Designs

Cake/Desserts: 828 Sweet Events

Rentals: East West Vintage Rentals

Linens: Classic Event Rentals Inc

HMUA: Della Terra Beauty

Groom's Suits: Mitchell’s Tuxedo Asheville

Bridal Attire: Wedding Inspirations Bridal; Justin Alexander

Earrings: Jim Ball Designs

Caterer: Santiago Vargas at Carrasco Catering

Invitations:  CJ Candee Graphics

Vow Calligraphy: Help Meet Letters

Signs: Abby Bruce

English Countryside Vendors

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Bridal veil: Bel Aire Bridal

Models: Hannah and Tyler

Tyler's suit: Kenneth Cole

Whimsical and Vibrant Vendors

Models: Karis and Jacob

Shoes: Coach

Do these belong on your Pinterest board? Because I’m in love with all of it! Click here to get in touch, or look at some of my other blog posts below.

Where to Take Engagement Photos in Upstate SC

Elope in South Carolina

Digital Files, Prints, and Albums

Your Wedding Cake Questions

Tips for Wedding Gifts

So much planning goes into the wedding day, but what about all the gifts you’ll end up taking home? What should you put on the registry and how do you keep it under control?  Here are some of the things we found helpful and some issues we can help you avoid!

Ask for frames or gift cards to somewhere you know you can buy them.

You’ll want prints from your wedding day to hang up, but you need frames in order to make that happen.  Either find a set that you like or ask for a gift card so you can pick them out based on the pictures you like best.

Think about what you currently use and what you don’t.

It’s no secret that I use a ton of lemons, so I put a lemon juicer on our registry.  Two, actually; a small handheld one and a larger electrical one for juicing a whole bag of lemons at a time.  My former roommate saw them on the registry and knew right away what to get us!  If you’re not as into lemons as I am, or if you don’t cook much, this might just take up space in your kitchen for a while. In that case, it might be better to leave it off the registry and focus on things that better fit your needs.

Don’t forget the bare necessities.

We spent a few days moving to a new apartment.  After the first day, we were exhausted, but realized several things we needed that day were either still at the old apartment or were provided by my former roommate.  We had to make a trip to get things like toilet paper, paper towels, soap, a kitchen trash can, trash bags, and paper plates.  Those little things added up and I did NOT feel like making that trip.  I had later gotten some of those things as gifts for my bridal shower—sure, it’s not as elegant as the gifts on our registry, but we went several months without having to buy those things.

If you’re making a big move right after the wedding, you might want to consider leaving stuff like that off your registry so they don’t take up space in the moving van.  Instead, you can make a list of things to buy right when you get to the new home.

Have a range of prices on your registry.

People will have different budgets when buying your gifts. There will be things you absolutely need that are under $5, like some of the bridal shower gifts I just mentioned.  One of our friends asked us if there was anything we really wanted that wasn’t on our registry, and I showed her this $7 Clemson ring dish that we love!  It’s also a really useful gift for the kitchen and bathroom.  On the other hand, you might have guests who come team up to buy a higher priced gift that they know you really want.

Make the registry together.

Dan and I were living in different states for most of our engagement. He made the registry and put a lot on it before I took a look at it.  Let’s just say I’m glad we replaced the bedspread he put on the registry before anyone bought it!

Update your registry periodically.

This is especially important after a bridal shower.  Sometimes people don’t mark that they’ve purchased something and you end up with duplicates.  If you return something, delete it from the registry so it doesn’t get marked as something you don’t have.  I think this is how we ended up with 7 of an item when we asked for 3.

Consolidate your gift cards.

On some sites, like Amazon and Target, you can load all your gift cards into your account at once.  If you plan to use a lot of them in person, have a designated box for the ones that haven’t been used yet.

Think outside the box.

My friend had her soon-to-be husband opened gifts with her at the bridal shower.  As they opened more and more kitchen items, he joked about how he was waiting for there to be a Lowe’s gift card in there.  We ended up giving them one at the wedding, and they said in their thank-you note that they ended up using it pretty quickly.  When it was our turn, we found the same—we used up the Lowe’s cards within the first few weeks of living together.

Ask for Visa gift cards if you’re travelling internationally for the honeymoon.

This is especially helpful if you have a layover in a country that doesn’t accept currency from your destination or your home country. 

Think about a Honeyfund.

This is where people can give money for you to spend on your honeymoon!  Check it out here.

Make sure you have a plan for how your gifts will get home.

This is especially important if you’re going straight to your honeymoon from the sendoff.  Dan and I left for our honeymoon two days after our wedding instead of the next day, so we had time the day after the wedding to get our gifts from our friend’s car.  If you have a roommate or a friend who has a key to your house, they can bring everything inside for you, and you can treat them when you get back from the honeymoon.

Write a list of gifts as you open them.

Writing everything down as soon as you open each gift helps keep track of who to thank for what. We took the list with us on the honeymoon so we could write thank-you notes at the airport.  It helped keep us busy when our layover was extended by 5 hours!

Ask for stamps.

Between invitations, save-the-dates, thank-you notes for the wedding and bridal showers, and Christmas cards, you’ll need a lot of stamps in a year.  Bonus tip: take your address list for wedding invitations and add to it every time you send out Christmas cards.

Order stationery and return address labels in bulk.

We made our return-address labels through Shutterfly and just reprinted the order on Black Friday so we could use them for Christmas cards.  I already had stationery, but if you don’t, be sure to either ask for it on your registry or get some yourself before your first bridal shower.

I hope this is helpful as you start planning for your new life together!  Check out some of my other posts below:

Sunny vs. Cloudy Days

Where to Take Engagement Photos in Upstate SC

Eloping in South Carolina

Planning Your Proposal

South Carolina Botanical Gardens and Clemson University Engagement | Presley and Logan

April

This engagement session is for an extra special couple. When Dan and I were at Clemson, we were part of Alpha Phi Omega, or APO, the service fraternity. Dan’s assigned little was a pledge named Logan, who quickly became one of our closest friends. Eventually, Logan was assigned a little, a pledge named Presley. Logan and Presley quickly became friends and eventually became a couple later that year.

APO formal is traditionally when each new member presents their big with a paddle they’ve decorated and each big presents their newly-initiated little with a stitched letter shirt. Presley was unable to attend formal in April, so she and her little planned to do the exchange a few days later. Her little, Hannah, suggested it might be fun to wear dresses and do the exchange somewhere pretty on campus and take some pictures. Presley wanted to come up with another plan when the forecast said it would rain, but Hannah convinced her that they could go to President’s Park and take cover under the rotunda if they needed to. As another APO brother took their pictures of them on his phone in front of the rotunda, he told Presley to turn around. She turned around and thought he was telling her to get out of the way of someone’s pictures, not realizing that the person with the camera was me with my hood on and that I was actually there to take pictures of her. He told Presley to turn around again, where she saw Logan, who had told her he was at work. He got down on one knee with the ring and Presley said yes!

November

Fast forward to a few minutes after Clemson beat South Carolina for the sixth year straight. It was the last day of November, but none of us were cold. Presley and Logan had chosen outfits that fit the location perfectly as it transitioned from fall to winter. We met up in the South Carolina Botanical Gardens for the first part of their session. We had JUST missed the peak foliage, but there was still plenty of fall color for us to find in the gardens. I loved the way the leaves on the ground added to the whole atmosphere. The new pier at the duck pond is so pretty and we had to get some pictures with it! I picked up all sorts of things that had fallen on the ground to set up for their ring shots. We then did a quick run through the main campus until the sun went down. After the sun went down, we headed over to Lee Hall to see what we could do with those huge glass windows at night.

Check out some of my favorites from this beautiful day!

Ready to take some photos of you and your favorite Clemson Tiger? Send me a message to get started, or check out some of my other work from around Clemson below!

Clemson Elopement | Katie and Matt

Clemson Bridal Portraits

Where to Take Engagement Photos at Clemson

Clemson Proposal and Engagement

Vintage Portraits with Lauren at Furman

Who else loves all things vintage?  I love the clothes, the music, the hair and makeup, the movies, and any combination of them all.  I chose my wedding dress because it reminded me of Grace Kelly’s dress in Rear Window, and I used a picture of Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina for my makeup.  Lauren posted on Instagram about how much she loves Old Hollywood, and I don’t know a lot of people who are as enthusiastic about that as I am. She specifically mentioned Singin’ in the Rain, which happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. We just had to pick the perfect vintage outfits and go hang on lamp posts like Gene Kelly. I love spinny dresses and black and white, but Lauren paired it with yellow pumps and a dark pink scarf (which we almost forgot to use).

We set a date to go to Furman and it happened to have cooled off quite a bit after a long stretch of unbearable heat. Lauren had never been to Furman’s campus before, but I had shot there a few times and knew it had so many beautiful spots to offer. From the fountains to the lake to the gazebo in the rose garden, it did not disappoint. The sun gave the prettiest glow in all the right places too!

At the last minute, I thought it would be cool to bring my grandpa’s camera. It would just be a prop because I don’t have the right film for it right now, but looking through it makes everything look like old film photos. I looked up his cameras that I had to figure out which one would have been around in the 50s. I found out that this one happens to be the same model that Colin Creevey has in Harry Potter! 

We had so much fun with these photos and we hope you love them too!  Check out Lauren’s photography and art at Art à la Lauren.  Also, if you’re interested in dressing up like Old Hollywood stars and taking pictures, I’m so down, so let’s set a date.

Clemson Proposal and Engagement | Tracy and Lawrence

Every once in a while, my friend Tracy will ask me about doing a session with her.  She was Miss Clemson University, then she graduated from Clemson twice, and we’ve done a few just for fun.  This time, it was Lawrence reaching out, telling me he was planning to propose to Tracy and he wanted me to be there.

Tracy and Lawrence had come back to South Carolina for a wedding.  Lawrence caught the garter.  They headed to Clemson for Sunday brunch and took a walk around campus.  They walked through President’s Park, where the superstition says you’ll be together forever if you walk through there holding hands.  The two of them walked hand-in-hand down the path until Lawrence stopped and got down on one knee.  I wasn’t actually close enough to hear him pop the question, but I saw a long hug and a kiss.  After Lawrence told Tracy to turn around to see me in the bushes (not being sketchy at all), I pointed out the tape I had put on the ground for Lawrence to stop.  We went inside so they could be in the air conditioning and share the news with their parents.

Lawrence had perfectly coordinated his outfit to complement the dress Tracy had packed, knowing there would be an engagement session that day.  Since it’s summer, we had the campus almost to ourselves.  We went back to President’s Park so I could take pictures of them actually walking through it, since I was behind a bush until the end of the first walk.  We came back through all the places where I’d done Tracy’s pictures for Miss Clemson University and her graduation years before.  The fountains were on at the reflection pond, which always makes the pictures there look cooler. 

These two made a 95-degree session at 11 AM so worth it!  Check out some of my favorites!

All About Wedding Cakes

Today’s blog topic is CAKE! There’s no denying that my love of cake comes from my mom, who spent years making wedding cakes in Charlottesville, Virginia. Am I biased about her making the best cakes? Maybe, but there’s no denying how good they are and how much she knows about them. My mom, Maureen, is answering some of the questions you might have about looking for a wedding cake.

My mom made my perfect 7th birthday cake from strawberry cake mix and a cake pan shaped like Ariel. Since my birthday is close to Christmas, there was one year when she made little gingerbread houses for my friends and me to decorate at my birthday party. As the years went by, she began to pursue baking professionally, working for people who trained at some of the best culinary programs in the world and making cakes completely from scratch with the best quality ingredients. Many years after making my Ariel cake, she made a Little Mermaid-inspired wedding cake with a cascade of handmade fondant seashells. She went from working all day on gingerbread houses for my birthday party to spending weeks helping make a huge, award-winning gingerbread house. She is a certified chocolatier and her work was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings. We hope this helps you with your cake decisions for your wedding day!

Little Mermaid cake, 2000

Little Mermaid cake, 2014

What’s your favorite thing about cakes?

My favorite thing about cakes is unlimited flavor combinations and design ideas! It's a privilege to be a part of one of the most exciting days of their life. It's a thrill to work alongside other talented vendors. Delivering a cake is exciting because when I arrive, other exciting things are always happening too. The florist is working their magic, the tables are getting set, the DJ or band is setting up, the smell of the food is in the air...it's just a fun and happy time! You can feel the excitement.

How did you get into doing cakes?

Since I was a little girl, I've always had a love of sweets and baking. 

What’s one thing you think everyone should know when they start thinking about their wedding cake?

I believe a wedding cake should be about the couple's taste and personality. I always suggest they not copy a cake they've seen somewhere else. Use it as an inspiration to come up with something personal to them.

What are some ways a couple can save money on a wedding cake?

The more handmade decorations that are put on a cake, the more the cake will cost. Handmade flowers are very time consuming. A cake frosted with buttercream is less expensive than fondant. A cake done with buttercream can have an smooth finish and fresh flowers and still be quite elegant and more budget friendly. 

Can having different cake and filling flavors add to the cost?

Yes. First, it adds to the cost of the ingredients. Second, it takes more time to scale out three different cake flavors than it does to scale out one flavor in a much larger  quantity. An entire wedding cake of a single flavor can be baked at one time at the same temperature. Different kinds of cake or different flavors may bake at different temperatures or have a different method. This can add quite a bit of time to bake all of the cakes.  Making separate fillings such as curds, ganache, jams, and flavored buttercreams are all delicious, but add to the cost as well.

What should couples consider if they’re having an outdoor wedding?

The type of cake, filling, buttercream, and decorations would have to be taken into consideration for a summer wedding. I would want to make a buttercream cake that is refrigerated as long as possible and delivered to the venue as late as possible. Naked cakes may be a better choice on a hot day and decorated with fresh berries or flowers. Sometimes an option other than a cake is more practical, like pies, cookies, or a dessert bar. Wedding cakes can be kept indoors until it’s time to cut the cake, but it’s always best if the cake stays in one place.

What are some alternatives to wedding cakes? 

I've seen couples who actually do not like cake at all. They've chosen to have pies or a dessert bar.

What’s the biggest misconception about wedding cakes? 

The biggest misconception about wedding cakes is that they have to be a white cake with vanilla buttercream. While that is traditional, most people pick creative flavors and have multiple tiers with different flavors.

What are some unique cake flavors you’ve made?

Cake flavors can be inspired from everywhere! Ice cream flavors, cocktails, childhood desserts that grandma used to make...I’ve done red velvet with strawberry and lavender, an Earl Grey tea chocolate cake, and bananas foster with bananas, vanilla, rum, and caramel. Kathryn (Christine’s sister/Maureen’s daughter) had a whole bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon in her 21st birthday cake.

What makes cake artists different from each other?

Our couples make us different from each other! When trying to make a cake unique to each couple, we discover new techniques and flavors inspired by them. Some bakers are known for their use of color, painting or airbrushing. Some bakers are known by their creative flavor combinations or sculpted cakes.

What are some trends you see with cakes and what's more classic?

A three tiered round cake is classic although it can be personalized with color, flavors and decorations. Wedding cupcakes have become very popular but still not as popular as the single wedding cake. Naked cakes and tall cakes are the newer trends I've seen.

Where can people learn more about wedding cakes?

I encourage couples to look at as many pictures of cakes as they can from Instagram or Facebook or just by Google. They will start to see a trend in the style that they like that will inspire their own cake unique to them. 

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Revel Wedding | Tori and Michael

Just like their engagement session in July, Tori and Michael’s wedding day was the perfect temperature with no clouds in the sky.  Their families and friends gathered at Revel on a Monday afternoon in April to see them become husband and wife. 

I knew when I first met with Tori and Michael that some of the details of their wedding would be a little different from what I’ve seen before, and all the details were so unique and well-coordinated when I saw them in person. They had a yellow and gray color scheme; the bridesmaids wore gray maxi skirts and the groomsmen wore yellow suspenders and bow ties, all with black Converses.  Tori’s long-sleeved lace and tulle gown was straight out of a fairy tale wedding, with a cotton crown she made herself and yellow Converses to match Michael’s—the same ones they wore with their black and white outfits at their engagement session. Instead of bouquets, Tori and her bridesmaids carried lanterns with cotton and string lights inside.  The tables had cotton centerpieces and their favorite yellow candies.  For the reception, they picked out breakfast food, because “who doesn’t love breakfast food?”  As a couple who met during Governor’s School and graduated from Clemson, they had all of their rings present for their detail shots.  Their “guest log” was cut from an actual log where all their guests could sign.

You could see that Tori and Michael were so happy for this day to finally be here.  They were so smiley for their portraits, which makes it easy for me!  It’s been so much fun to be part of their engagement and their wedding day over the past year or so. 

Venue: Revel

Photographer: Christine Scott Photography

Dress: Carolina Bride and Groom (sleeves added by The Perfect Fit)

Caterer: Chef 360

Everything else was made possible by family and friends.

Bleckley Inn Wedding | Katrina and McKenzie

The one snow day we had in Greenville all winter just so happened to land on the day McKenzie wanted to propose to Katrina.  The exciting night out he’d planned for the proposal quickly turned into a night in, so he had to think of a new plan quickly.  He put on “Millionaire” by Chris Stapleton and asked Katrina for a slow dance in the living room.  When the song finished, he told her that it was a good time to celebrate.  When Katrina asked what they were celebrating, McKenzie said, “our engagement,” and got down on one knee with this gorgeous vintage-looking engagement ring. 

Katrina and McKenzie’s intimate wedding was on a perfect April day at the Bleckley Inn in Anderson.  They made each other laugh during the ceremony and they had me laughing so much during their bride and groom portraits!  We took some photos out in the courtyard and some others in this little alleyway with flowers and string lights.  Katrina wore a gown with lace sleeves and an off-the-shoulder V-neckline, like a gown out of a 50s movie.  She also had these princess-looking shoes and the garter her mother wore on her own wedding day.  Many of the items they used were handmade, including their engraved tree-like ring box, McKenzie’s feather bow tie, and the succulent décor at the reception.  Katrina and her mom made and designed the decor themselves and set it up with the help of some of their family and friends. All three of their rings are so unique—McKenzie’s wedding band is made from meteorite! 

Thank you Katrina and McKenzie for letting me be part of this beautiful day!

Venue: The Bleckley Inn

Dress, Veil, and Shoes: David’s Bridal

Florals: Wedding Flowers for Rent

Catering: The Bleckley Inn

Officiant: Upstate Wedding Officiant

Decor: designed and created by Katrina and her mother

Invitations: Shutterfly

Cake: Publix Bakery

Arbor and Curtains: Event Rentals

Topper: Adore Your Door Decor

Wedding Favors: Classic Cactus

Succulents: Succulent Cuttings 4 U

Acrylic signs: Sweet NC Collective

Welcome sign: Timeless Accessory Inc

Suspenders: Dochriste

Bowties: Glamour Wedding Shop

Event Rentals: Arbor & Arbor Curtains

Ring Box: Trees 2 Art

Clemson Engagement Session | Lindsay and Tim

Lindsay and Tim met through the engineering program at Clemson.  They became friends when they both had their engineering co-op with the same company and they started dating not long after that.  For their first date, they went paddle boarding on Lake Hartwell, right outside their apartment community.  While they were on a ski trip to Colorado, Tim proposed to Lindsay on a horse-drawn carriage!  How sweet is that?

Since Clemson is such a special place for Lindsay and Tim, they decided that was where they wanted to do their engagement photos. They came down from Charlotte with their sweet puppy, Ray. We started down by the stadium and worked our way through the main part of campus.  Since legend has it that walking hand-in-hand through President’s Park guarantees that you’ll be together forever, it’s pretty much a milestone in any Clemson couple’s relationship, and we had to get some pictures in there.  This session wouldn’t have been complete without going to Harts Cove and taking some pictures at the docks on Lake Hartwell, where they had their first date.

Since the students were on spring break, the campus was nearly silent for a Friday evening, making this session more peaceful and intimate.  It was the perfect spring day; the temperature was in the upper 60s, the sky was clear, the trees were pink and white, and there were so many colorful flowers in front of Tillman Hall. The bigger trees were still bare enough for that glow you only see in the winter, and to show Tillman Hall in the background when we were at Sikes Hall.   

Enjoy the photos from this beautiful spring evening!  I can’t wait for their fall wedding in the mountains!

To see more Clemson engagement sessions and other work I’ve done around there, visit my Clemson page. 

Choosing Your Married Name

It’s actually a pretty big decision and I don’t know why I’ve never read a blog post on it. I never heard anyone talk about this, and I never thought to talk with anyone about it, maybe because everyone has such different views on marriage in general and what different name change options would say about you.  Even when you Google “name change after marriage,” the whole first page is about the process of changing your name and not what to change it to. I’m sure I’m not the only one who would have benefitted from reading something like this.

I initially didn’t like the idea of changing my name. This is what I had been called my whole life. I didn’t want to be called something else just because I made the decision to get married. Changing my name would mean having to update everything from my driver’s license to my Amazon shipping information to my paperwork at my job. I really didn’t want to go through all those processes, in addition to having to update pretty much everyone I knew.  The reason I did change my name was because I wanted our eventual family to all be under one name. “The Gows” wouldn’t include me if my last name was Scott or Scott-Gow. People wouldn’t know to associate me with Dan or our future children.  So I eventually decided that I wanted to be a Gow, but what would come between Christine and Gow? 

For other people, there are several factors to consider. I know professors who didn’t change their names so they can still be tied to different works they’ve published. Other professors might marry another professor in the same department and not want to be confused with each other. Some use a hyphenated name. One of my professors made her husband’s last name her middle name instead of the other way around. Some people change their name, but still choose to be known professionally as the name everyone knows. Carrie Underwood, for example, is not known to the public as Carrie Fisher, partially because so many people know her as Carrie Underwood, and partially because she could be confused with Princess Leia.

After deciding what your last name will be, you have to decide what you want your middle name to be. For some people, it’s an easy choice if they don’t like their middle or last name, or if it’s a name that they don’t want to be associated with anymore. I like my middle name and I didn’t like the idea of completely replacing my family name.  Plus, I had Christine Scott Photography going for me, but it would be weird if Scott wasn’t part of my name anymore.  I don’t think I really knew what I wanted my middle name to be until over a month after I was married.

This brings me to the legal process of name changes, which can vary by state.  In South Carolina, you can change your middle and last name to reflect your spouse’s name after becoming legally married.  Based on those rules, my options were Christine Laureana Scott, Christine Scott Gow, or Christine Laureana Gow (side note: Laureana is pronounced Laurie-Anna and it was my great-grandma’s name).   Somehow, I got away with making “Laureana Scott” my legal middle name without anyone questioning me. I don’t know what my plan would have been if I’d been told that wasn’t allowed or if I didn’t have enough space on the form. Another side note: that’s a very long name and kind of a pain when you have to write your full name on stuff.

Here’s where it gets complicated: if you don’t go by your first name, you will need a court order to legally change your name to the one everyone calls you.  This applies to people who go by their middle names, their last names, a nickname, or just another name they’ve chosen for themselves.  According to the South Carolina Legislature’s website, “A person who desires to change his name may petition, in writing, a family court judge in the appropriate circuit, setting forth the reason for the change, his age, his place of residence and birth, and the name by which he desires to be known,” as well as a series of background checks and an affidavit.

If monograms or initials are important to you, that’s something you’ll want to think about before making a legal name change. Remember the Big Bang Theory episode where they name their teams “Perpetual Motion Squad” and “Army Ants,” not realizing what the acronyms would be on their shirts?  Or what if your initials don’t spell anything, but your monogram does?  As for initials, I always thought “Christine S” sounded weird, maybe because it was rare for me to need to be distinguished from another Christine, so “Christine S Gow” sounded weird to me too. The only times I see “Christine L Gow” are in places like my bank account.  My signature is “Christine L Gow” because that’s what my credit card says and my signature is on the back.  On a side note, Dan and I recently realized that the “G” looks different in our signatures. His G looks like the one on the General Mills logo and mine looks like the one on the Goody hair accessories logo.

There are online services that will automate the process for you. I considered this since the DMV here wasn’t open when I wasn’t at work, but I read some negative reviews about the online services and decided I didn’t want to risk my legal name getting messed up.  I read that you’re supposed to go to the social security office before the DMV, so that’s what I did once I had a day off work.  I believe I was required to bring my marriage license and two forms of ID, which can include your driver’s license, your passport, your social security card, and your birth certificate.  I got there right when it opened and there was already a huge line across the front of the building.  I had some photography work to do, so I brought that with me in anticipation of a long wait.  The wait at the social security office was actually longer than the wait at the DMV, but I was able to sit down right away at the social security office.

I hope this has provided some insight to you as you get ready for this big change! Check out some other wedding inspiration below:

Caesars Head Engagement Session | Sierra and Remington

I have a lot of pictures to take in the wonderful month of October, and the first were for Sierra and Remington’s engagement session in the mountains!

When I first met Sierra and Remington in July for Sierra’s graduation photos at Clemson, they told me they were about to celebrate their 4th anniversary as a couple.  Right before that day came up, Remington told Sierra to make sure her trunk was shut because he got something out of it earlier and he wasn’t sure if it had closed all the way.  Thinking he was at work, Sierra opened the trunk to find three boxes with letters and pictures of them together.  Remington came from behind the house and proposed!  How pretty is the ring he picked out? And yes, I looked all around for red and yellow leaves before Sierra and Remington got there so I could do a fall-looking ring shot, even though it was still a few days before the fall temperature kicked in.

Sierra and Remington told me that they really wanted their pictures to have a pretty view, so I suggested a few places I’d been to in the upstate.  They chose Caesar’s Head, which became one of my favorite places in the whole state of South Carolina after I did an engagement session there last fall. Sierra and Remington drove up from Newberry and the sunset did NOT disappoint!  There was a small group of people who had come to the overlook to see the sunset, and I heard one kid say, “They look like they’re getting married!”    

I’ve found that people in other states tend to forget that there’s more to South Carolina than Charleston, but Charleston doesn’t have a view like this!   Check out some of my favorites from this session with an awesome couple in a beautiful place.

Digital Files, Prints, and Albums

Seeing your images for the first time is always such a fun experience, but deciding on what to do with the images can be difficult.  You probably value being able to share them on social media or hanging your favorites in your home, but what else is there to consider?  Here are some of the benefits of having digital files, prints, and albums.

Digital Files

When I was in middle or high school, a friend mentioned not having any baby pictures.  I couldn’t understand why since my family had so many pictures of me from when I was little.  His parents did take pictures of him when he was little, but his house had burned down when he was in elementary school, and any pictures that were in that house were gone.  This was before digital photography became the norm, so any pictures they had that were taken before the fire were either copied from photos given to friends and family, or from the school’s database of school pictures.  

This is the biggest reason why I never think twice about offering digital files.  Yes, I would be able to print them off again if you asked, but by that point, you’ve probably gone through the pain of telling so many people about this horrible thing you went through, and it would probably be easier if you didn’t have to go through that again with me. Another reason is that it’s always nice to be able to share your photos with so many friends and family members at once and to have them on your phone whenever you want to show someone, and you can get more prints if you need to years after I’ve given you the files.  But only having digital files isn't ideal for every situation.

Prints

When I got engaged, my grandma, who was losing her memory, asked me every time we talked on the phone what my ring looked like.  My grandma didn’t have access to a cell phone or a computer, so she couldn't see a digital file unless someone came and showed it to her. My ring was kind of hard to describe, so I texted a picture to my aunt, who I knew visited her often.  Still, my grandma would ask me during every conversation what it looked like, insisting that my aunt had never shown her the photo, even though I knew she had several times.  I printed off a photo and mailed it to her, along with some photos from our engagement session.  That way, they could hang on the fridge she passed every day, and she wouldn’t forget what my ring looked like or whose ring it was. 

So why would you want to order prints if you can just print the digital files yourself?

The short answer I give in my portrait guide is that I give you the option to order prints from a professional lab so that they’ll last longer over time and look closer to what you see on your screen.  Plus, it’s easier than downloading the photos and re-uploading them to wherever you’re printing them.

As for lasting over time, I always think back to the section of the athletic hallway at my high school with all the photos of teams that won state titles.  The color and clarity on some of these photos was pretty typical for the years printed on them—large, pixelated photos with overexposed faces from the 80s and 90s, and then smaller black and white photos from the 70s.  Then there was an ivory-colored piece of paper in a frame, where you could see outlines of something if you got really close to it in good lighting.  It was on a wall that faced away from the windows, presumably moved away from the sun a few years too late, but it was still there as a reminder that some team had won a state title sometime.  I'm not sure that any teachers could tell us what the picture was, but I was sure that the team members would be upset if they came back to visit and the important picture of their winning team was all but gone from the wall.

As someone who took lots of photos of the Clemson football team, color accuracy in photos is important to me.  I’ve seen so many pictures where the purple in their uniforms looks blue—I remember watching a “Purple Out” game against Duke on TV and it was so hard to tell whether the fans were wearing blue or purple.  I’ve seen lots of photos where the orange in the football uniforms would look like Tennessee orange, Texas orange, or even red.  I worked hard in my editing to make sure the colors in my photos looked like what I saw in person.  Still, I soon realized that this didn’t always matter if I was printing from the least expensive print source I could get to, because the print could be more yellow or blurry than the file I sent.  In college, I'd either pick up smaller prints from a pharmacy in a flimsy envelope, or the larger ones would be mailed to me in a cardboard tube.  Not even millimeters separated my prints from whatever could be happening outside.  What if a bigger package fell on it?  What if I spilled something on the envelope on the drive home?  Well, I can assure you that the prints that come from my galleries come from the same lab as the photos that hang on my walls.  They came in thick boxes with tons of layers, and you can see that our wedding colors are CLEARLY purple and orange.

Albums

Let’s go back to my grandma:  my dad made my grandma an album of family photos he had scanned, dating back to before my grandparents were married.  He said that when he showed her the photos, she was suddenly able to recall specific details about the photos.  Around that time, I made my sister's wedding album as her wedding gift, and my dad asked me to make another copy for my grandma.  I sometimes had to describe my cousins' weddings to her, even though she was at all of them, and we wanted her to remember how happy she was at my sister's wedding.  The album had pictures of the extended family, my sister’s accessories, and the sign they got with their names and wedding date on it.  She could pick it up from her coffee table and remember what my sister’s new last name was, the date of the wedding, who was there, and what everything looked like.  And someday, my sister and her husband won’t remember that day so well, and they’ll have the album to show their kids.

I decided to make my own wedding album because it’s something I like to do.  And I did make it…a year after my wedding.  It wouldn’t surprise me if other couples planned to make their own and just never did.  Unless you’re like me and you’re obsessed with detail shots, you probably won’t have prints of your shoes and rings hanging on your wall, but you would want to have some photos in your album that highlighted some of the important items from your wedding day, like any heirlooms or the lace on your veil that you love so much.  You wouldn’t hang pictures that included every guest, but you’d put some of them in an album so you can remember who was there.  Plus, looking through my grandparents’ wedding album is so much fun because everything was so different back then, and it’s only when I look at those photos that my family and I see how much I look like my grandma.

My approach to delivering photos has always been to serve you the best I can without making things too complicated for you.  Everyone has different photography needs, so hopefully this has helped you get a better idea of what your needs are.  Thanks for reading!

Want to talk about your vision for your wedding photos? Let’s set up a time!

Diana and Andrew's Wedding: Fort Mill and Charlotte

On Thursday, Diana became an alumna of Clemson’s engineering school. On Saturday, she became Andrew’s wife. I did this Clemson couple’s engagement photos on a cold January day in Clemson.  Here are their wedding pictures from a 90-something degree clear day in May!

The wedding ceremony took place in the Fort Mill church Diana grew up in and a priest from Andrew’s church delivered the sermon. Diana wore the same veil that her mother and her mother’s sisters all wore on their wedding days, except Diana added a pretty gold headband to it. And how beautiful are these rings? Diana’s yellow-gold rings look so pretty together!  Diana’s favorite color is gray, so her bridesmaids wore gray, but most of Diana’s accessories were gold and there were hints of blue in their bouquets, with Diana’s rosary wrapped around the bridal bouquet. 

After the ceremony, we found a shaded area by a pond near the church for bride and groom portraits, then crossed the border of the Carolinas to Diana’s aunt’s house in Charlotte for the reception.  Diana and Andrew love the movie Up, so “adventure” was a common theme throughout the reception.  They had a few single-tier cakes from All In, a coffee shop in Clemson where everything tastes amazing, including their cakes.  After a night of line dancing and partner dancing in the backyard, Diana and Andrew walked through a tunnel of their family and friends blowing bubbles that came from champagne bottle-shaped bubble containers, which I thought was adorable, before heading to Asheville for their first adventure as husband and wife. 

Enjoy the photos of this beautiful celebration of love between two sweet people!

Ceremony venue:  St. Phillip Neri Catholic Church, Fort Mill, SC

Reception Venue: Private residence, Charlotte, NC

Photographer: Christine Scott Photography

Florist:  Fresh Blossom

Catering: Famous Toastery of Dilworth

Disney World Engagement Session: Amethyst and Matt

Matt and Amethyst are not just a couple who likes Disney enough to have their engagement session in Disney World.  They are a couple who have such a significant part of their story in Disney World, so of course their engagement session would be at “the happiest place on Earth.”  

Amethyst and Matt first met while working at the same Disney World resort.  This past February, Matt got all of Amethyst’s friends in on his plan to propose at the top of the Orlando Eye, a giant Ferris wheel. When the ride was delayed due to a fire alarm going off, the group decided to take some pictures in front of the Ferris wheel while they were waiting. When it was Matt and Amethyst’s turn to have their picture taken, Matt popped the question.  Fast forward to the day of the engagement session: seeing the Winnie the Pooh characters react to a couple saying they’re engaged is the cutest thing ever.

We started the session on the beaches by some of their favorite resorts.   Yes, we had a beach and Cinderella’s Castle in the same shots!  That Winnie the Pooh song that says “and the rain rain rain came down down down” is a perfect description of what happened partway through.  Amethyst and Matt pulled out their Mickey and Minnie umbrellas, which was not only adorable, they looked especially gorgeous when a little patch of golden hour sun peeked out for a few minutes. To top it off, we saw a rainbow for a minute!  Luckily, there were lots of gazebos in the area, so Matt and Amethyst could stay dry while dancing to Disney songs.  Keep an eye out for a hidden Mickey in one of the gazebos!

I don’t normally shoot after the sun goes down, but we were in Disney.  We headed to Main Street and watched the fireworks and light show at the castle.  I asked Matt and Amethyst if they wanted some pictures with it.  They said to wait until the grand finale, when there would be the most fireworks.  There may have been a ton of people around, but the rush of catching the right moment was incredible.

I knew as soon as Matt and Amethyst told me where they wanted their engagement photos that this would be so much fun.  Hope you love looking through these photos from the most magical location!

“People do crazy things when they’re in love.” –Hercules

Clemson University Engagement Session: Diana and Andrew

One day at Clemson, Andrew and Diana walked hand-in-hand through President's Park.  Andrew did not know at the time that superstition says that means they'll be together forever.  This time, they held hands and danced through the park, knowing their wedding day will be here before they know it.

I've done lots of portrait sessions around Clemson, and I had my proposal, engagement, and wedding pictures at Clemson, but this was my first time shooting an engagement session at Clemson, so this one holds a special place in my heart.  It was also my first time doing a session in January; I don't know what colors are the most festive for January, but I'm pretty sure that Diana and Andrew wore them for the session, and Diana’s purple coat is so perfect for a session at Clemson.  At such a cold time of year, there were no leaves on the trees to hide some of the buildings on the main part of campus, so Tillman Hall could be in the background of our photo from the steps of Sikes Hall and the photo of Diana’s yellow-gold and sapphire engagement ring.  Diana has been on Clemson’s rowing team all four years of college, so we took some pictures down at the lake on the dock with a tiger paw painted on it.  With a high of 37 degrees that day, we couldn’t see or hear any people or boats, making it a peaceful time for Diana and Andrew to snuggle up in a blanket on the dock and watch the sun go down over the water.

Here are some of my personal favorite photos from Diana and Andrew's engagement session.  After having so much fun with them at their session, I'm even more excited now to be part of their wedding day!