Elegant Wedding on the Inlet

July 29, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

The Brown-Boy married the Howard-Girl in this family-oriented, classic and elegant wedding in Murrells Inlet.

Both sides of this family are super sweet people and welcomed us like family. The bride and groom choose a private residence facing Murrells Inlet to say their vows and even with large wind gusts, the beauty of the day was unparalleled.

Our bride, Annah, is the cousin of one my former brides and that’s how she became acquainted with my work. When we were going over details of her upcoming wedding day, I realized that I knew part of their guest list. Matter of fact, there were quite a few familiar faces I enjoyed reconnecting with! That’s the real beauty of having an established business, building relationships and getting great referrals from past clients who trust and love your work.

One of the most notable parts of the wedding day were the children. It is truly amazing to witness how the children were incorporated into the wedding day, this family was close! in fact their entire “Bridal Party” was made up of siblings and their kids. The girls were adorable in their flower crowns and the boys looked sharp in their tailored tan suites. These tender touches stayed in the atmosphere all night from the first dance through to the sparkler exit.

Annah and Joseph epitomize southern elegance and charm. One of the memorable moments of the wedding day was when Annah walked down the aisle. Joseph’s reaction took me by surprise. His emotions at seeing his bride was nothing short of tear-jerking. I saw them after their honeymoon (at the Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman, Seven Mile Beach – Yes this is important info!) and my assistant asked how they liked being newly weds? Annah just looked up at Joseph and her eyes said it all. We all laughed and joked. I know that they both are still in a blessed state of bliss that only true love brings. Congratulations to my awesome love-birds, and until next time!

Vendors:

Hair/Makeup: Vanity Salon

Elegant Wedding Dress: Charlotte Jones (Center Stage)

Suites: BLACK by Vera Wang (Jos A Bank)

Wedding Planner: Debi Hamilton

Officiant: Dr. Wayne Brown

Catering: The Original Benjamin’s

Video: Joe Courrier

Cake: Incredible Edibles Bakery

Florists: Gale Richardson

Entertainment: Matt Jones

Live Painter: April Bensch

Violinist: Seth G.

Steel Drums: Carmen with “Surfside Groove”

Southern Wedding Style: Bury the Bourbon

June 24, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

Driving over the border, it’s no wonder why brides love to have a southern wedding. In South Carolina, the license plate says it all,

“Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places.”

Paired with some of the most sentimental and superstitious traditions, it’s no wonder why southern wedding traditions are growing more popular across the nation. What better way to theme a wedding than to have it be about the closeness of friends and family, and just having a good ol’ time.

Originally being floated over the marsh to it’s current resting place, the boys got dressed and ready at Liberty Lodge under Gus’s supervision. Down the road our girls got ready near the “Tiki Hut,” laughing and giggling away. The icing on the cake was seeing the lovely bride don a beautiful flower crown, then bringing out two more to match her little flower girls.

One of my favorite wedding traditions is to bury a bottle of Bourbon. The bride and groom venture out to their wedding ceremony site and bury the bottle a month before they say, “I do.” Superstition has it that doing so will help ward off rain on the wedding day. And THAT, is just what Mel and Nat did.

The past year, we’ve experienced a few rainy weddings and even a hurricane during a wedding. I checked the weather constantly the entire week before, worried we’d get rained out of their outdoor ceremony site – a privately owned location nestled between Hwy 17 and the beach dunes of Litchfield Beach, SC. As fate would have it, the clouds cleared and we had blue skies for this happy couple!

The most popular southern wedding days are framed by a landscape backdrop full of history, bridal portraits, sweet treats, and soul food. We did sunset bridal portraits against the old motel and pine trees, there was a table full of sweet treats and Southern Way Catering definitely whipped up some good olde country cooking. I believe a little more soul was added to the mix as Tru Sol Band sang and gave everyone dancing fever for the couple’s wedding reception.

Now that’s what I call a true southern wedding, full of class and style. Mel and Nat, we are so happy for you and have you in our thoughts. We wish you enough of everything for the wonderful and loving future ahead of you!

Hair and Makeup: Eli Raley

Officiant: Rev. Barry Stopfel

Cake: Pawley’s Island Bakery

Florist: Carolina Charm

Music: Tru Sol Band

Catering: Southern Way Catering

Coordinator: Events on the Half Shell

Successful Wedding: 10 Confessions

April 1, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

So it starts, lovers are engaged, family are planning the day, and you are romanticizing about new amazing adventures made for two. But what does it really take to plan a successful wedding?

We here, at Carl Kerridge Photography, are starting a series of basic tips and information to help plan and answer questions on how to have a successful wedding! No, we don’t have all the answers, but we’re willing to help jump start your research, encourage your uniqueness, and provide entertainment along the way.

To kick off our collection, we got in touch with some of our lovely brides from the past wedding season and interviewed them for their confessions leading up to a successful wedding day and the aftermath. We did this for fun so if you just recently got engaged, have been engaged, or thinking about your future wedding, we wish you the biggest of congratulations and invite you to check out the interview below!!

Does spending time with each other’s family add more value to the marriage?

[BRIDES]: “In our case, yes…It really brought us all so close…Making time for each other’s family adds value because we really enjoy their company…Fortunately he fit right in with not only my family, but my friends too. It was like he was meant to be there all along.”

How long should the “wait” period be after the engagement? What shaped your opinion of this?

[BRIDES]: “An engagement is the impetus to getting married. I guess it depends on the couple. Looking back we waited a bit longer than I think most people do. We had more time to make decisions without feeling rushed, we had more time to save up some money. That helped us plan a ‘successful wedding’. We had little trouble booking our venue, photographer, and band. It gave us plenty of time to get our honeymoon planned and paid for too.”

How did you know you were ready to get married?

[BRIDES]: “I was ready to NOT be his girlfriend anymore lol. Joking aside, the same vision for a future together is really important. It wasn’t a question of ‘should we get married?’ just ‘when do we want to do it?’ Our whole relationship we’ve taken slow and moved along at our own pace – that worked for us. We always knew we wanted to get married, but weren’t in any hurry since we knew this was forever, whether we had the paperwork or not.”

How did you get everything planned just the way you wanted it?

[BRIDES]: “Decide ahead of time what type of wedding you both want. Stick to the plan you both decide on, especially when it comes to cost and quality. My tip for a successful wedding, keep notes. I wrote everything down. I think it also helps to try to concentrate on one thing at a time. There are apps that are great planning tools too. They’ll give you deadlines on when things should be done and a checklist to keep you on track. Such a lifesaver! Trust is huge when picking vendors. We opened ourselves up to a connection with these people and then trusted them to do right by us no matter what and it worked out fine. Lastly, keeping those lines of communication open kept us sane. If we thought of a question we forgot to ask, we just emailed whoever we needed to and got the answers we needed.”

How did you handle anything that stressed you out?

[BRIDES]: “A certain degree of stress is going to be inevitable, but we kept in mind that this is going to be a celebration and fun filled event – for us and our guests. If it was something for the wedding day and it was causing me stress, there were times I just eliminated it from the plan. My husband is very chill so talking to him was a huge help. Another trick is to talk to friends that have already gotten married. Again, communicating with everyone we were working with was a huge stress reliever and key to a successful wedding. Getting the answers I needed right from the source and knowing we were on the same page kept me level headed.”

How did you determine your guest list, vendors, and location?

[BRIDES]: “Write down everyone you want to invite. Then go back over the list and do a method of “elimination,” if you end up with too many people. Someone is always going to be hurt that they weren’t invited, but we all have a budget. Pick a location where you have experienced the most wonderful food, times, and fond memories. Friend-referrals and people we knew were how we chose a lot of our venders. At the end of the day, we invited and hired the people we knew we wanted to share that day with. Who you share the experience and memories with is equally important for a successful wedding.”

Does the relationship actually change after you get married? How is it different in general?

[BRIDES]: “Honestly, our relationship hasn’t changed at all. If anything, it’s more exciting now. I love to call him my husband when he calls me his wife. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been, but marriage was such an easy step for us that our relationship hasn’t changed, it’s just grown. We are moving in the same direction we always were, but now we are moving as a married couple, which is nice.”

Do you get to a point where you stop discovering things about each other and it gets boring?

[BRIDES]: “Not yet. People in relationships in general, tend to become complacent with one another. I think this is a comfort and we must assure one another that we are just that instead of feeling insecure. Talking is the big winner! We were friends first and are best friends always so that keeps things in perspective. Keep doing things for one another, take action, and don’t forget to surprise.”

Being with someone forever you’re bound to have arguments, how do you learn to not hold a grudge?

[BRIDES]: “If we fight, we give each other some space until one of us breaks, then we talk it out, agree to disagree and move on with our life. The best way to prevent a grudge from forming for us, is to not let things stew too long. Always remember that you fell in love with the person because of who they are, so stop trying to change them.”

You’re two separate people, how do you learn to balance your likes with your partners so neither of you have to give up on your personal interest?

[BRIDES]: “We’ve always had separate interest.This is something you should look for in a person prior to marrying them, so that when you are together it does not become an issue – it’s already understood. It’s important to be receptive and keep an open mind. Although we do like a lot of the same things, we are pretty open about each other’s interest that we don’t always share [like 90’s hip hop music]. If somethings isn’t working for us, we don’t push it, but also don’t discount it until we’ve at least given it a chance.”

If you had to do it all over again, would you do anything differently? Why or why not?

[BRIDES]: “Looking back, I don’t think I would have put so much pressure on the guest list. I also would have taken a minute during the reception to stop and look around. Someone told me before the wedding that this was the best advice they had been given before they got married. Stop and look around. Stand somewhere out of sight and look out on your wedding. Take it all in. Notice how much fun everyone is having – eating, drinking, dancing, catching up with old friends and family; all to celebrate you guys. I really wish I had done that but found myself so immersed in what was going on around me that I truly forgot to step back for a minute. It was great advice and if I could go back, I would have made time for it.”

Pop quiz! You have this best friend who you adore and she changes her mind about everything when it comes to her jewelry. Her partner just came to get advice from you about the ring, he’s going to propose in the next few days. You know this needs to be perfect for her, so how would you help the groom-to-be pick out the most meaningful ring?

[BRIDES]: “I’d find some way to be browsing jewelry either online or in magazines and ask for her input. I would tell him to listen to his gut instinct. If you love someone and you know it’s right then the perfect ring will present itself. Look with your heart and trust your gut. In the event that your gut fails you, keep your ears open…always. Girls have a tendency to voice their preferences when it comes to things they really want. Last resort, I’d tell him she’s the girl you take to go ring shopping. Take a drive, give two dozen roses and make it romantic. Ask the question before you get to the jewelry store, then take her in to go ring shopping.”

If there’s more you would like to know about having a successful wedding or other info you want us to research and include in future sections of this series, drop a comment below!

We also encourage you to check our Wedding Day Packages and please don’t hesitate to let us know if we can help with your photography needs

The Lucky Yoyo and Rabbit’s Foot

December 10, 2015 by Carl Kerridge

When it comes to connection and this new couple, I am lucky and…

I have Mrs. Cheryl Saito to thank for our introduction. She’s a local wedding coordinator whom I’ve collaborated with and created professional photography for in the past, including her oldest daughters wedding. After introducing me to Amanda and Cash, the couple decided to book their photographer a year in advance. To all new couples out there, I highly recommend this for two reasons. One, you guarantee you get the photographer of your choice and two, you have time to develop a relationship with your photographer – something I am lucky to have time for with many of my couples.

Our first meeting was at Abuelo’s and I quickly found out that we had more in common than I could imagine, we had all worked in the restaurant/service industry, liked margaritas, and had the same taste in music. They wanted to put most of their investments into making their wedding fun. Their most important aspects were the photography and having a live band. Talk about lucky, when I heard Tru Sol Band was their choice, it was just meant to be!

We put together a customized package, and Amanda created a Pinterest board to show me her tastes and style. Having plenty of time to discuss all of their ideas and working with them for Engagement photo’s made it super easy to work with them and it allowed me to gain their confidence in my style and professionalism.

Amanda and Cash were initially shy when it came to the camera, believe it or not, I had the pleasure of shooting their first professional portraits together. I couldn’t believe it was their first time! They were so nervous about what to expect, but as we walked through the session, in downtown Conway, they started to blossom out of their uneasiness. By the end they were joking, having a good time and they were noticeably more relaxed.

Then the wedding rolled around, it was so fluid that the day couldn’t have gone any better. We already knew one another, they were comfortable with me, and we all just moved together through their sacred day. It was lovely capturing a traditional Greek Wedding ceremony at The Breakers Resort. The reception? Total party animals! The groom became the party stopper with the wicked dance moves. Where oh where did that shy guy go!. The bride was beautiful and having a blast, and the brother….well the boy was the comedian, that’s for sure!

The most memorable part of their celebration was the line of communication and connection. The father of the bride hit every heartstring in the room, mine included. His toast wasn’t designed as a tissue moment, but everyone was crying as he told the story of him and his wife’s first date. He symbolized how special he thought this new union was going to be. “How special he knew his wife is, and how he felt the same way about Cash being the same person for his daughter.” The he presented the new couple the most unexpected gifts, the very same gifts he exchanged with is wife so many years ago – A wooden yo-yo and a rabbit’s foot.

Lucky tokens handed down from the past to the future. It was a coming together of a new family, a new future, and I was lucky enough to bear witness to the intangible emotional presence amongst us. If there was anything at all that connected human to human, it was there in that room. At that moment and for a split second, all there ever was, was love.

Young love: Wedding at the Train Depot

November 21, 2015 by Carl Kerridge

As a photographer along the Grand Strand, I thoroughly enjoyed this once in a lifetime wedding at the Historic Myrtle Beach Train Depot. The train depot is cherished in the hearts of many locals. It began as a transport hub, bringing families to the coast. Through its journey, the depot was always a part of travelers’ memories. It’s restoration was its own love story, one that blossomed with patience, determination, and everlasting merriment. As the City of Myrtle Beach would say, it is an, “active link to the city’s past and a focal point of its future.”

Speaking about past and future, I personally knew Roosevelt before his nuptials. He supported me and my wife’s venture in to charity work under Global Awareness Project. I was not surprised when the train depot’s timeless history spoke to our sweethearts wedding plans too. The couple mixed the vintage style of the Train Depot with a multi-cultural guest list and used the area’s natural attractions and landscape to personify the wedding theme of “Endless love.”

The beauty and innocence of young love is a powerful emotion – it can leave you speechless and with very wet handkerchiefs. There’s something about when a bride lets a tear slip during her vows, it has its own volume in silence. Those tears of joy became contagious.

Don’t think this crew doesn’t know how to party, though! I saw friends doing impressions for song lyrics, female friends hoisting the groom in his photo, and “cheers” springing up in regular intervals. Tempered with laughter, the reception showered us with sass, class, and attitude!

As I relive the day, I just want to say, “Cheers with happiness and longevity to this beautiful union.”

If you would like to see more and learn about Carl Kerridge Photography, please visit my Website or find me on Facebook. Want to know my favorite photo from the day? Well of course, I’d save the best for last.