upstate south carolina

,

Proposal at Caesars Head | Melanie and Karl

,

I was so excited when Karl told me he wanted to propose to Melanie at one of my favorite places in all of South Carolina: the overlook at Caesars Head State Park!

Melanie and Karl live on the coast and planned to come up to the upstate for a weekend to hike in the mountains. They had heard Caesars Head was beautiful, so they wanted to check it out. Karl and I talked on the phone a few weeks before and came up with a plan for the proposal. I helped him choose a pretty trail near the Caesars Head visitor center that wouldn’t wear them out too much or take too much time. Since it’s hard to get phone signal in that area, we had to make sure we were on the same page beforehand, so I sent him a photo with what I had in mind for where he should get down on one knee:

Note that this was from the first attempt at my very first engagement session. We got all the way up there and the clouds/fog covered EVERYTHING, so we decided to come back a different day. I just sent him this one because it was the widest shot I had of the overlook.

After Melanie and Karl hiked to the Raven Cliff Falls observation deck, they came to the overlook at Caesars Head. Since it was right before Thanksgiving, there were a ton of people on the overlook, so I just stood right there taking pictures like everyone else was. Melanie waited for some people to clear away from the railing so she could take a picture on her phone. When she turned around, Karl was on one knee! The amount of happiness radiating from them in these photos is contagious, and I was smiling so much while I was editing these.  

Karl remembered that Melanie had shown him her Pinterest at one point, and that there were rings on there. He looked her profile up and chose a ring that was similar to the ones she had pinned. I thought that was a pretty good idea! I also like the red box that it was in. 

I had so much fun with these two and I hope you love their photos!  If you’re looking for a photographer, click to read about the engagement experience and the elopement experience!


My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. Sometimes we wear hiking boots, sometimes we wear dress shoes, and sometimes we’re barefoot in the surf.

One thing I love about South Carolina is that it’s not just the beaches and colorful houses that you imagine when you picture it. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Planning Resources

, ,

Clemson Bridal Portraits in South Carolina Botanical Gardens | Brittany

, ,

Brittany and I met at a wedding expo in February of 2020.  It was only a few weeks after she got engaged, and a few weeks before the world turned upside-down, which made it hard to set dates for anything in stone. We eventually scheduled her bridal portraits a week after her Clemson graduation portraits.  She totally lucked out on the weather—about 70 degrees and partly cloudy both days!

We started Brittany’s bridal portraits at the South Carolina Botanical Gardens, which is technically part of Clemson’s campus.  I love doing sessions here because it’s such a rabbit hole—there are obvious places that are pretty, but there are little pockets of hidden gems everywhere.  Since Clemson has so many different majors involving plants and wildlife, it’s no surprise that there’s so much diversity in the garden and it changes so much throughout the year.  On this beautiful day in May, the gardens didn’t have the pink and white blooms that it had when I did a session here in March, but there were some colorful flowers that weren’t there before, and a lot more green overall.  The garden was so quiet and peaceful, with the occasional splash in the pond or rustle through the bushes.  We caught the scents of different blossoms as we walked down the trail, including something that smelled like bubblegum! 

I loved that Brittany’s veil complemented her ruffly dress so well, and bridal headbands are some of my favorite accessories!  She found her dress at The Castle in Spartanburg.  She said she loved having another opportunity to wear everything—she loved feeling like a bride and she could know a few weeks before the wedding day how her whole ensemble felt. She was so smiley the whole session!

Brittany also wanted to have some of her bridal portraits at Clemson’s main campus, since it’s become such a special place to her and held a significant role in her relationship with her now-husband.  She wanted some pictures with Tillman Hall/Old Main, since she’s an education major and that’s where most of her classes are.  We spent a good amount of time at Sikes Hall, which both of us love.  I thought she looked like Cinderella in some of the photos we took on the steps at Sikes!

I’m so happy to have met Brittany and I’ve loved getting to know her at both her graduation session and her bridal portraits.  Check out a few of my favorites that I’ve been dying to share!


Are you thinking about having photos done at Clemson? Click here to check out some of my favorite galleries from Clemson, including wedding, engagement, graduation, and pageant photos! To schedule a session, fill out my contact form to tell me all about it!


You may also like:

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

My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. Sometimes we wear hiking boots, sometimes we wear dress shoes, and sometimes we’re barefoot in the surf.

One thing I love about South Carolina is that it’s not just the beaches and colorful houses that you imagine when you picture it. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Planning Resources

,

Station Cove Falls | Lauren and Christian

,

Lauren and I connected through a local hiking group, where she saw pictures I took of a couple at Carrick Creek Falls. She said that she and her husband didn’t have photos taken on their wedding day and would love to have some done together. I asked her if she had anywhere in mind, and she told me the place that was at the top of my bucket list: Station Cove Falls! 

Lauren and Christian were married in front of the waterfall six months ago, with a few of their family members as witnesses. In the middle of an October with otherwise perfect fall weather, it poured the whole day.  A lot of the trail had flooded, and they had to choose a different rock to stand on for the ceremony itself.

A few days after their wedding, I took the trail for the first time and it went on my bucket list for places to take pictures. There are a few reasons why I like this trail:

  1. You can safely take a lot of different pictures with the main attraction.

  2. It’s an easy trail, so it’s less likely that the couple would be sweaty or exhausted in their photos—or worse, you have to turn around before you get to the good part.

  3. It’s a short trail, so we could plan to be at the falls when the lighting is optimal and still be off the trail by dark.

  4. It’s not too crowded, especially on weekdays.

  5. There’s enough of a variety of pictures we could take here—it’s not just three hours of hiking with one spot that’s pretty.

Eventually, we decided to move their session from the evening to the morning because there was a high chance of thunderstorms in the evening. It was so quiet, aside from some running water and birds singing. A dog ran up to us at the waterfall, shook water all over us, and dropped a giant piece of wood at our feet and waited for us to throw it. 

One thing I love about sessions with waterfalls is how loud the water is once we’re right up in front of it. We end up shouting to each other and making gestures, and it always makes us all laugh. We found the spot where Lauren and Christian stood where they said their vows, but we also made sure to get pictures at the spot they wanted to say their vows before they knew how much water would cover it. 

Enjoy the photos from Lauren and Christian’s session!

Ready for the best day ever?

My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. We love being outside, but we also love being at home and watching Pixar movies on the couch.

One thing I love about South Carolina is that it’s not just the beaches and colorful houses that you imagine when you picture it. Whether you’re looking for mountains, beaches, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Planning Resources

,

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.

Ready for your best day ever?

My name is Christine (Scott) Gow and I’m an elopement photographer based out of Greenville, South Carolina. I’m a wife and a beagle mom. The three of us have visited beautiful places in every corner of South Carolina, to include all 48 of our state parks. Sometimes we wear hiking boots, sometimes we wear dress shoes, and sometimes we’re barefoot in the surf.

One thing I love about Greenville is that it’s everything you DON’T think about when you picture South Carolina, but it’s still picturesque. Whether you’re into mountains, waterfalls, lakes, or anything in between; I can help you find the perfect place for the two of you and make it as smooth of a day as possible. No matter how you two choose to spend your day, I’m happy you’re doing it the way that you want.

I can’t wait to meet you!

Elopement Planning Resources

,

Lake Keowee Proposal | Connor and Jess

,

Dan and I had hiked the Raven Rock Trail at Keowee Toxaway State Park back in February.  We were looking for a lesser known trail with a pretty view.  When we got to the overlook, I immediately asked why more people don’t post pictures from there.  Well, you can imagine how happy I was when Connor told me that’s where he planned to propose to Jess!

Jess and Connor had been friends since high school, eventually becoming a couple.  They share a love for the outdoors and have hiked some really cool places together.  Eventually, Jess gave Connor a ring she had fallen in love with years before, holding onto it until she knew she found the person she wanted to be with for the rest of her life.  When Connor and Jess were spending the week at Lake Keowee, Connor suggested hiking the Raven Rock Trail, a place he loved to visit growing up.

As Connor and Jess made their way through the trail, there were bags hanging from the trees.  Each bag had a gold bow, a rose, and a scrapbook page with pictures of them together.  Once they reached the overlook, there was a picnic set up with wine, cheese, and pepper jelly.  There was a scrapbook on the picnic blanket for all the pages to go into.  Around the wine bottle was a necklace chain with the stone from the ring Jess had given Connor.  After Connor put it around Jess’s neck, he proposed to her with the ring with a new stone in it.  She says she was so overwhelmed that she couldn’t even remember whether she said yes, so Connor popped the question again a minute later so she could answer.  Not only was this a beautiful view of the lake at golden hour, there was literally nobody else on the trail the entire time, making this such an intimate proposal.  Their first “congratulations” came from a boat horn down below! 

Shoutout to Connor’s brother and brother’s fiancée for setting up everything beforehand and for hiking the first half of the trail with me!

Are you looking for a wedding photographer who loves quirky and intimate weddings? Click here to read more about me and what I do, or click here to get in touch!

You May Also Like…

 

Cart (0)