Tag Archive for: Waterfront Park

Shameika and Adrain

We are excited for Shameika and Adrain’s wedding on May 15th at the Francis Marion!  Here are a few pictures from their engagement session with Mell at Waterfront Park in Mount Pleasant.

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Leah and Justin’s Waterfront Park engagement session!

I (Valerie) had a really fun engagement photo session downtown with Leah and Justin! Their wedding isn’t until July 18th, but since neither of them live in Charleston, we were lucky to squeeze in their session!

We met up in Waterfront Park, but the majority of our session was spent walking around downtown! We walked over to the train tracks, then to the steps of the Customs House, up East Bay Street a bit (where we shot in one of my favorite alleyways!) and ended back in Waterfront Park. 🙂

Here are a few favorites from their session:

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5 Year Anniversary Pictures!

Kaitlin and Robert got married 5 years ago on January 3rd, 2004 at Summerall Chapel.  Their wedding was one of the first weddings I shot after taking over the Studio from my dad, and their album was the first flushmount storybook ablum that we produced by special request for Kaitlin.  That storybook was the forerunner for our entire present album product line.  So Kaitlin and Robert are a big deal for us around here (I still have a picture of her haning in the studio!).

Robert is finally back from serving our country in the Middle East, and they came to downtown Charleston to stay at the French Quarter Inn, where they stayed their honeymoon night. 

AND THEY BROUGHT COLLIN, their 10 month-old little boy.

So of course we did a family portrait shoot right there at the Inn.  It was great to see them again, especially on such a special day.  Here are a few of the shots:

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Baby Grace’s 7 month downtown shoot.

We did quite  a few shoots downtown over the holidays, so I thought I’d post some previews from a few of them.   This one is baby Grace who is getting regular portraits for her first year.  We went downtown to Waterfront park for this shoot.  Did very well and is getting to that age where she has a lot of great expressions.  Happy New Year, Grace!

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When the light is right, this is a great spot for a real Charlestonstonian picture.

When the light is right, this is a great spot for a real Charlestonstonian picture.

Darby takes on downtown Charleston

When you’re 18 months old,  your legs are made for walking and running, but sitting still makes you cranky. Rocks are one of your favorite toys, and your photographer has to be ready for your split second adorable poses. Darby was no exception, and Nathan and I had the pleasure of photography her family recently around Waterfront Park in downtown Charleston. Thank you so much for playing outside with us! Here are some of our favorite shots from the shoot:

Darby on the go with her rock

Darby on the go with her rock

You can't cross the street without holding someone's hand, but you can definitely sit in it with your parents for a fun family shot.

You can't cross the street without holding someone's hand, but you can definitely sit in it with your parents for a fun family shot.

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Darby and her family were so fun and willing to try different things like this.

Darby and her family were so fun and willing to try different things like this.

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The best way to end a day downtown is laughing and playing in the grass. This is one my favorite shots from the day.

Baby Sophia’s portraits, downtown and in the studio!

First of all – you know how much I love babies!!!! (<–four exclamation marks’ worth, apparently)

It’s such a blessing to have the opportunity to continue a relationship with my once brides-and-grooms who are now parents by taking photos of their children! I shot Laurie & Mark’s wedding at Middleton Plantation back in June of 2007, and now they have precious baby Sophia who is now 7 months old!

We started at Waterfront Park, in downtown Charleston’s historic district and then we went back to the studio for a few more photos of Sophia in her Christmas outfit!

The Grinnell Family!

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Sophia loved playing in the leaves!

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She is so expressive! Happy girl…

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(And she LOVES smiling for her Daddy!)

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I sneaked in one of me and Sophia. 🙂

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And then….we headed back up to North Charleston our studio session!

Doesn’t she look like a Baby Gap ad in this pic?

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* * * And this one is my personal favorite! * * *
(Trust me, this shot wasn’t easy b/c she only cried for these 2 seconds the whole shoot so I had to be quick!)

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Fun Family Portraits, downtown Charleston

A couple of weeks ago (before this crazy cold snap!) I had the pleasure of doing a downtown family session with the McCrackin family! We started at Waterfront Park, and walked over to the Customs House steps and a few neat back alleyways!

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The kids were a little shy at first, but tons of fun after we all warmed up to each other! Along our walk, there was an art gallery on East Bay St. with a dog inside.

“How much is that doggie in the window?”

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By the end of the shoot, it was all silliness….which if you ask me, is so much fun! 
(I love this pic of the kids being goofy!)

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Wedding at Waterfront Park, by the Pineapple Fountain in Historic Charleston!

Lourdes & William got married in Waterfront Park, right by the Pineapple Fountain! Of all the engagement sessions I’ve done downtown in that area, I was thrilled that Lourdes and William chose me to photograph their special day.

Lourdes had the neatest veil – so stylish!

She is such a fun person, and a natural at modeling! (And the sunset lighting was ideal!)

Her parents came all the way from Venezuela for her wedding! Here’s a fun selective color edit I did of her dad walking her down the aisle:

William and Lourdes smiled the whole ceremony. It is easy to tell that these two are very much in love!

Here’s one with a good view of the pineapple fountain. (Did you know that the pineapple is an international symbol of welcome? Just another tidbit of Charleston History from your photographer-tourguide, haha!)

It got dark so fast…and we had to get creative with lighting!

Shooting a large wedding party in the dark of night was a huge challenge…and the pictures turned out to be so neat and unique! I love this one:

I love this one of Lourdes and William in the alley by Waterfront Park. We snapped this one quickly on our way to the reception!

William & Lourdes have such a great sense of humor between them. She wore red shoes (which I think is fabulous) and her bridesmaids had red dresses. To be funny, William (and all of his groomsmen!) wore red socks to match.

This one captures so much of their personality in the “looks” they give each other. I love it!

Please check out their entire wedding album design here: http://www.charlestonwedding.com/weddings/nogueira

April & Justin’s engagement session, historic Charleston portrait session

After many months of planning and anticipation, April & Justin are getting married this weekend! They have been so much fun to photograph so far, and I can’t wait!

Taken in hisotric downtown Charleston, their engagement session was a lot of fun. I thought you might like to see a few fun pics of this happy couple!

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Tom and Angela’s Trash the Dress Session

Tom and Angela had a simple destination wedding at the Gazebo on the Battery at White Point Gardens in Downtown Charleston, SC.  Eleven people total made it an easy and fun affair with little to-do, but a lot of great pictures and an album I’m very proud of.

Angela and Tom had their first glance at Stolles Alley off of East Bay Street, not far from Rainbow Row.  It was a beautiful moment.

Angela and Tom had their first glance at Stolles Alley off of East Bay Street, not far from Rainbow Row. It was a beautiful moment.

1) Secure your dress well (I'll leave it at that) 2) hang on tight to your ring (don't worry, they found it).

Right after the ceremony, (at Angela's Request) they went to Waterfront Park for pictures in the Fountain. Amazing pictures, but two pieces of advice: 1) Secure your dress well (I'll leave it at that) 2) hang on tight to your ring (don't worry, they found it).

They had their private 11-course dinner at McCrady's Restaurant, located on this alleyway off of East Bay.

They had their private 11-course dinner at McCrady's Restaurant, located on this alleyway off of East Bay.

You can view Angela and Tom’s full wedding album design: Click Here