Love, Time, and Sweet Moments

March 15, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

Love knows no time, it only knows how it feels, it relishes sweet moments while unfolding.

That’s probably the most elegant way I can describe a union that waits patiently for the right time. Tessa and Andrew are a beautiful representation of what love looks like when everything has been carefully crafted. Unlike love, timing is everything. Time is a measurement that is as strict as it is graceful.

Tessa and Andrew picked a lovely date to be wed at the Members Club at Grande Dunes, incorporating their love of golf, elegance, and family into a single venue. Friends and family flocked all the way from England to see the cherished couple’s first kiss, first dance, and first moments as husband and wife.

There’s more, I don’t know if there’s a way to properly describe the immersion without seeing it for yourself. The couple set aside a special song for the bride’s niece. Her niece was recently wed, but didn’t get to have her own first dance. Before the night was over, the young couple were invited to the floor to share a loving moment in front of family and friends too.

This was impactful – The love and consideration my bride and groom could have for the rest of their family and friends. It’s the same love that withstands the test of time, it sets the example for all to see. The support of their union is incredible. Between both sets of parents, over 100 years of marriage and good fortune wove around the room.

The icing on top would have to be where they went for their honeymoon – Disney World! Again, it is freshly renewing to think about this beautiful love, tempered with wisdom and patience, that still sings like the heart of a child.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Calvert, may all your dreams come true!

Wedding Hope, Faith, and Love

January 20, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

Gatsby Themed Wedding
“He smiled understandingly – much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced — or seemed to face — the whole eternal world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

While looking through Mallary and Travis’s wedding images, I pondered all that could be said of them and their wedding. I know that there is a gentle quietness of respect for all who choose to serve for their country and who marry and support that service. Thinking about Mallary’s bridal shoot, I began flipping through The Great Gatsby, wondering if Fitzgerald could spark my creativity, and then there it was – a quote that set the imagery for their wedding ceremony at The Cooper House.

When Travis told us to “rock on,” the other side of this strong couple came out to play. Avid Clemson and music fans, there wasn’t doubt they knew how to party, and the crowd threw down at Inlet Affairs in Murrells Inlet. At the same time, I enjoy thinking back about how simple the two wanted to keep the wedding details. Nothing is better than for a couple to focus on what truly matters, that the two of you are marrying each other. That is the sacred memory you’ll share forever.

As Mr. and Mrs. Haynie begin their future together, I have much admiration for them both and give them my best. There will be challenges, there will be beauty. There will be calmness and there will be spurts of energy.

My wish is that every time the two of you are close enough to touch, you rest against each others foreheads, remember your wedding to each other and feel all that matters – Hope, Faith, and Love.

Destination Wedding Photographer

January 19, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

What don’t I love about being a destination wedding photographer?

Their really is only one thing about being a destination wedding photographer that I don’t love – hauling lots of equipment through airports and hoping it arrives safely. But the rewards pay that off from the minute I check in.

There are plenty of reasons for couples to consider destination weddings: A mini vacation, family resorts and maybe beaches or mountains that you don’t live close to. Not only that, they can mean more exciting wedding pictures for the bride and groom! Who wouldn’t want that?

As a veteran photographer, I’m going to be honest and confess that I am guilty of shooting at designated spots that I know all wedding parties will love. I call them my “frequent flyer zones”. They are beautiful spots, have great available light and they always work! However, after 15+ years in this business, I can tell you from personal experience that I value new and inspiring locations that offer exciting challenges. Being a destination wedding photographer and traveling to a new location offers an opportunity to break out of the box, open your eyes to a fresh terrain, and tempt the visual senses. If you are one of our wedding couples planning your destination wedding, you have challenged us to work with this blank canvas and make it awesome. It’s thrilling and of course we accept!

One of the best things about being a destination wedding photographer is that when we get home, there’s a sense of newness to everything around us. Those frequent flyer zones? Well, all of the sudden we have a new set of eyes for those too. We find ourselves seeing everything “for the first time” again. Experiencing the magic of your wedding day makes its impact on us. We are able to serve you more dynamic and incredibly creative memories just because we’ve restored our mind, body and spirit. It drives the heart of every destination wedding photographer to guarantee you a successful wedding with photojournalistic and fine art images.

As water is the essence of the body and wisdom the essence of mind, then travel is the essence of spirit. To book your destination wedding with us please contact us via email – [email protected] – and we can make the travel arrangements!

St. Augustine, Florida

Norwich, England

New York, New York

Allahabad, India

Airlie Gardens, Wilmington, North Carolina

Montreal, Canada

Loveland, Colorado

Belin Methodist Church, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina

West Point, New York

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina

Winter Garden, Colorado

Dunes Club, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Wachesaw Plantation, Litchfield, South Carolina

Pawley’s Island, South Carolina

Give Away For 2017 – Vote for Your Favorite Couple!

January 4, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

This past year plays back like video film of my life, spotlighting some great friendships from my personal life blended with prosperous business growth. 2016 was a great year for us and I can not wait to tell our couples about this special give away to celebrate our success!

One of the biggest lessons that keeps being ingrained each year is: Quality comes from separating the person from the contract.

Each year I fall in love with my couples. To each of you, I want to let you know that I recognize your love in it’s many shapes and forms. Each year there seems to be a theme with my couples. This year yours would have to center around the quiet calmness that comes from deep intimacy. I have heard more heart felt speeches this year that rekindled and impacted me in such positive ways, and I think you all are amazing individuals.

So I want to say a special ‘Thank YOU’ and I want to pay it forward.

When you guys met me, I wanted to provide something for you that is so dear and special to me, something that goes beyond the business/client relationship. It’s called a ‘human experience’ and I have been creating more emphasis on building a friendship with my couples because I want it to be that personal. Getting personal allows me to get closer with confidence, to get to know who you are, and to be able to tell your story instead of only handing you pretty wedding images.

So let’s have some fun together to start off 2017.

As a token of appreciation, I want to offer a special give away to one of my remarkable wedding couples:

Abigail and Yosi

Melody and Nathan

Kerri and Jeff

Rin and Jeffry

Lisa and William

Yvonne and Brian

Megan and Adam

Lisa and Ryan

Brandon and Anna

Meredith and Mike

Annah and Joseph

Kelly and Scott

Christina and Nathan

Rachel and Alex

Tina and Scott

Mallary and Travis

Tessa and Andrew

Alison and Jamie

The rules are simple: the couple with the greatest number of voting comments on this post will receive a large 20×30 retouched fine art canvas delivered in time for Valentines Day. To all my readers, feel free to leave some love too because your are equally valued to me.

Every individual who comments will be entered into a separate give away for a $25 Amazon gift card. Share to Facebook and Instagram, Tweet about this post, and get creative with spreading the word!

I love a good laugh and I’ll be counting comments on ONLY this page’s comment section – one per person – until January 31st.

The Winner will be announced Wednesday, February 1st and will receive a personal Valentine’s Day gift for their newly wed year!

Everything isn’t about the perfect pose or the magazine-style shot. For me it’s about creating a memorable experience, one that my couples and clients will remember forever. I do this in hopes it will lavish a future that distinguishes between a photograph and a memory.

Rustic Romance at Devil’s Thumb Ranch

October 21, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

When you venture into Rachel’s and Alex’s world, you are met with so much love and acceptance. It’s hard for it not to be contagious. Their “Rustic Romance” bloomed for 13 years before they took the plunge to say I Do’s. It is my pleasure to call them dear friends and a part of my family.

Devils Thumb Ranch, Colorado – There’s no better place to have captured the union of these souls. Their rehearsal party was hilarious! The mic was opened to all the guests to choose a roast or toast to the couple, and we heard some pretty hilarious stories. From mischievous parties to heartfelt memories, the connecting theme was how the couple are “designed for each other” and it was clear they are a product of many lifetimes together. The wedding day was full of mountain sunshine, delightful scenery, wild horses, the most incredible night sky and a party that went on well passed my bedtime…

Why is ‘Rustic Romance’ the exact definition for this marriage?

Sure the wedding setting was in the countryside in a rural part of Colorado, but the definition holds so much more. Their romance is so grand yet, “made in simple fashion.” All aspects of their wedding and love for each other is in its purest form. College sweethearts, they met while sitting together at orientation. They had rings fashioned in simple elegance, attire simple in it’s beauty and presence. Their vows described their lives together even more than I can. They, “love each other enough to let them go if that was how they needed to grow,” and here they stood at their wedding day. After 13 years, they are simply inspiring.

As individuals, they uplift everyone around them. They encourage others to live life as vibrantly as they do. There’s a renewing sense of “all and everything” when you’re surrounded by this couple, their families, and friends. As I try to find the sentences that describe these moments best, words fail me. There no vocabulary that encompasses all that this was and will continue to be. One guest reminded me that the essence of this rustic romance might just be a moment when we all were close to God, all His wonders, and how beautiful it will always remain.

I wish the happiest of everything to one of the most beautiful couples I know. May the world show you every bit of love that you bestow to it.