Charleston Bridals

Originally the plan for Jessica's bridals was to shoot up at Cataloochee. Sort of last minute that changed to The Battery and Rainbow Row - and I'm glad it did! Her wedding was in this gazebo yesterday and even though I haven't edited previews just yet (because I drop down and back yesterday and now we are getting ready for Homecoming at our little church this morning) I DID have this post almost ready to post and that's the next best thing <3

Weirdly enough my friend and fellow Asheville vendor, Jordan, was already in Charleston for something else this weekend so when we scheduled them and picked the location it worked out perfectly with her for hair and makeup.

When Jessica realized I was going to be in Charleston the same weekend she was driving up to do her bridals here with me she called me and was like, "So, how about you just stay an extra day in Charleston and we do them here?" I am so, so glad the timing worked out the way it did because as much as I love the mountains I don't know that we could have done her dress the same justice as The Battery did.

Shooting her wedding here yesterday was a dream. & honestly - anyone who wants to get married here, you call me - I am 100% down for a road trip to Charleston (even if I make it down and back in one day like yesterday).

Shooting on Rainbow Row has been a dream of mine for a LONG long time. & I am so so thankful to Jessica for making that dream a reality and for letting me check one more thing off of my bucket list. The best part? Somewhere off frame the twins were sitting in their stroller eating chips and lollipops and watching Jessica twirl like a princess and talking about how amazing her dress was. Yesterday, on her wedding day, anytime someone complimented her on her dress I would ask Jess to twirl for them - it's honestly my favorite thing about that dress.

[This photo of the twins was from the day before her bridals while we were doing another shoot because well, I was in Charleston and more than one shoot was going to happen OF COURSE - we were so nervous the rain would come back for her bridals and it stopped right before, dried up, and stayed away until like an hour after we finished. The day of her wedding the forecast called for rain and I drove through rain to get there but didn't see another drop of rain from the time we arrived until we were leaving Charleston. Perfect timing both times, for sure].

Stargazers is one of my top three favorite florists in Asheville and when I hosted my first styled shoot I asked her to handle florals for a reason. I can walk into a room and spot her flowers even when I was unaware the bride chose her beforehand. It was so fun to snap some of these pictures of her flowers on Rainbow Row for her.

Her. Dress.

You guys honestly - I love pastel colors and if I could have an AirBNB or a beach house anywhere it would be in Folly Beach so I could visit Charleston while I'm on vacation. I want to make Charleston an annual trip. So far we'll have gone three times this year and while we were there yesterday for her wedding I found 23509 more pretty spots I wish I had had time to shoot. It will never get old (which is ironic, since it's historic).

Did we step into someone's court yard for these? Maybe. Were we so ready to apologize profusely and offer them copies of the pictures of their window boxes? Yes we were.

This little corner was one of my favorites and I had Jessica walking back and forth in front of these windows several times. That laugh ? Because I was saying things like, "OH YES flirt with those pretty flowers! Who is the prettiest flower of them all OH THAT'S RIGHT YOU!" Because telling a girl in a wedding dress downtown, "Say cheese!" is just not going to get the same smiles, let's be real.

& she has the BEST smile.

My favorite part about Charleston is that every five feet there's something beautiful and unique to look at and there's another window box to admire. We could have shot under window boxes all day and I never would have tired of them.

At the end of her bridal session we stopped to watch the sunset start over the water. It was so peaceful, even though the streets around us were incredibly busy and crowded. People would drive past Jessica and yell out of their windows things like, "YES QUEEN!" and "YOU LOOK LIKE A PRINCESS!" I wish people took the time to lift each other up and hype each other up like that everyday.

Right as we were about to leave a pelican flew by and in my usual frantic photographer way in about .02 seconds I thought, "Oh look a big pelican! Wait we could get a picture with it. She needs to walk toward it!" and I yelled, "Jess! There's a pelican turn around real fast and walk toward the rails!"

After I grabbed this shot Jessica walked over emotionally and told me that pelicans always made her think of her father, who passed away, and that it felt like he was there with her during her bridal session.

The day of her wedding that same pelican would fly by us in the same spot as she and her husband were walking toward their car. Yesterday I didn't snap a photo of him with her, but I got choked up thinking about how it must have made Jessica feel to see that pelican both times she wore her wedding dress.

Vendors:

Dress: Essence by Australia

Florals: Stargazers Designs

Wedding Inspirations Boutique Asheville, NC

Makeup: Makeup by Jordan

Ring: Tacori from Diamonds Direct in Mount Pleasant