downtown Charleston – Page 3 – Rich Bell Photography

Jesse and Liza’s Wedding at St. John’s Lutheran Church and Three Lions Pub

February 23, 2009/in album designs, weddings/by admin

Jesse and Liza were married at St. John’s Lutheran Church–a historic beauty nestled in a hard-to-find alley in downtown Charleston. The group had a great time and we had lots of opportunity for some creative portraiture.

Liza is a DELIGHT. The best man, Brian, captured it in his toast, that this bride is the happiest and kindest person he knows. Jesse hit it big on this one.

Three Lions Club on Daniel Island is quite a find! The venue provides several different adjoining rooms with posh furnishing where guests could gather and have conversation, but the flow and dancing happened very organically. Good choice!

This wedding was a particular pleasure to be a part of, as Jesse and Liza and I went to High School together. So it was great seeing some of my old friends and classmates.

The album is now posted! Click below to see the entire wedding album!

Rebekah and Korey’s Wedding Album Posted!

February 12, 2009/in album designs, weddings/by admin

Rebekah and Korey’s wedding, at Summerall Chapel and the Citadel Beach House is now posted on our site!

Everyone sing Happy Birthday to Damien…

January 29, 2009/in family portraits, personal, Uncategorized/by admin

Ladies, meet Damien. He’s 5′ 11” and enjoys long walks on the beach and good Italian food………just kidding. (But only sort of!)

Aaaaaaanyway, Sunday was my good friend Damien’s birthday, and of all things, I was able to talk him into letting me take his goodlookin self out for a photo shoot!

We had lots of fun and took pictures all over the downtown area! We had WAY too many good ones to choose from by the end of the evening, but I guess that’s nothing to complain about! Damien was so much fun to photograph…he’s easygoing and relaxed…and c’mon girls you gotta admit he’s also easy on the eyes! 😉

So now I need your help picking the overall favorite! (There is a poll at the end of this post so go vote!)

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I can’t decide if I like it better in color or black & white!
What do you think?

[polldaddy poll=1323215]

If you are viewing this post on Facebook, you can click on the poll here: http://richardbellphotography.wordpress.com/2009/01/29/everyone-sing-happy-birthday-to-damien/

5 Year Anniversary Pictures!

January 11, 2009/in family portraits/by admin

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:

French Quarter Inn Family Portraits

Baby Grace’s 7 month downtown shoot.

January 7, 2009/in family portraits/by admin

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!

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

Julie & Blake = one hot couple!

December 17, 2008/in Engagement, family portraits/by admin

One Sunday evening back in April, I (Valerie) had the pleasure of meeting Julie and her husband Blake downtown for a fun lifestyle portrait shoot! They’ve been married for a few years now, and decided it was time to have new pictures made.

Per special request, I am reaching back into our archives (8 months of shoots ago is a “long time” for us, haha!!!) – and posting a few. Here ya go, Julie!

A few of my favorites from their shoot:

Leah + Rob, downtown Charleston

December 12, 2008/in Engagement/by admin

Talk about a cute couple! 🙂 Leah and Rob are getting married this coming April on a family plantation in a little town outside of Greenwood, SC. It’s going to be so neat and unique!

We had a great engagement portrait session! We started in Waterfront Park, and wandered around the Customs House, and a few alleyways on East Bay St.

Here are a few of my favorites:

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

December 5, 2008/in family portraits/by admin

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!

Sophia loved playing in the leaves!

She is so expressive! Happy girl…

(And she LOVES smiling for her Daddy!)

I sneaked in one of me and Sophia. 🙂

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

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

* * * 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!)

Wedding at St. Luke’s Chapel and Francis Marion Hotel reception!

November 25, 2008/in weddings/by admin

April + Justin, married at last!

After much planning and anticipation, April & Justin’s wedding was wonderful! They have been such a fun-loving couple to work with!

Their rehearsal dinner was on a harbor cruise on the newly launched Spirit of the Lowcountry from SpiritLine Cruises. It is such a beautiful boat and was perfect for the occasion! (Nathan and I had the privilege of photographing the launch party for the Spirit of the Lowcountry about a month ago!)

In April’s Dad’s rehearsal dinner toast, he referenced Forrest Gump, saying that April and Justin “are like peas and carrots”…so I ‘borrowed’ April’s engagement ring and got creative:

April wore green heels on her wedding day. (I love fun wedding day shoes – if you can’t tell by now, haha!)

April was so fun to photograph! I ought to share a handful of her bridal portraits in a different post soon…she had one of my favorite bridal sessions all year!

Their wedding ceremony was at one of my favorite ceremonly locations here in Charleston – St. Luke’s Chapel! I just adore its architecture!

I barely had to prompt the guys to ham it up for the camera…they’re all naturals at that!

April and her bridesmaids!

The newly-announced Mr. and Mrs. Justin Buckingham!

They rented a trolley from Absolutely Charleston to take their guests to and from the Frances Marion Hotel. (It was such a great idea!)

I can tell you personally how great to work with Heidi is in the Absolutely Charleston wedding transportation office. She’s the best! (She rescued my tripod that I left on the trolly – oops!)

1920’s-Themed wedding at Riviera Theater in Downtown Charleston

November 18, 2008/in weddings/by admin

Joe and Madalyn through a 1920s-themed wedding at the Riviera Theater, and people dressed all out for it! The Riviera has some of the most interesting architecture and floor design in Charleston. The wedding can be held right in the theater-style seating. The front curtain can then open right up into one of the best ballrooms in Charleston. Click here to see their whole album.