Myrtle Beach Just Cizlin’

June 23, 2017 by Carl Kerridge

Abu Doggie totally approves! We had a rainbow reception and the weather in Myrtle Beach was Just Cizlin’!

Cass was stunning as she waited to put on, or should I say glue on, her wedding dress! Her momma beamed with pride when she turned towards her.

Our bride and groom were wed at St. Michael’s Catholic Church first outside of Myrtle Beach. The Priest was energetic and purposeful as he reminded us, we choose to continue loving our partner everyday with a selection of “4” letter words. He revived our hope for the future’s lows and its beautiful highs.

Our couple rivals even the best romance novels. Cass and Mark are a real life love story. This dynamic duo were partners in crime long before Team Cizler was shouted in Myrtle Beach, but what brought them to the Grand Strand?

Myrtle Beach is where Mark first said, “I love you,” to his Alabama Belle.

Look how Mark sneaked one more kiss before their grand entrance and first dance performance. Perfect 10!

I want you to feel all the emotion that wrapped around the couple for their wedding day. Friends and family flew and drove hours to attend their union. This wasn’t just another friend’s wedding in Myrtle Beach. The Cizlers’ wedding guests are a part of the roots that support them in everything they do. It was evident in every heartfelt speak, every invitation to dance, and every laugh they shared. Everyone is family.

My friends, I can’t wait to see you again. Your wedding moved me. You have everything you need in life, so I hope you prosper and explore the world. Oh, and let’s not forget…

“War Eagles and Go Cowboys!”

Hair and Makeup: Salon & Spa 18 – Wing Wong

Cake and cupcakes: Croissants Bistro and Bakery – Heather Cameron

Flowers and Draping: Elegant and Classy Events – Sommer Sholtes

DJ: Myrtle Beach DJs – Chris James

Reception Venue & Catering: DoubleTree by Hilton

Photography: Carl Kerridge Photography

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.

Vendors:

Location & Catering : Devil’s Thumb Ranch

Event Planner: Jolene Greenbaum Peterson

Music: Syndicate Band

Florists: Fawns Leap

Hair/Makeup: Bre Ortola Morris & Tina Merli from Alchemy Face Bar

Wedding Dress & Shoes: Anna Be Store & Badgley Mischka

Wachesaw Plantation Wedding

September 14, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

I’d almost forgotten just how beautiful Wachesaw Plantation is… it’s breath taking.

It’s one of Myrtle Beaches hidden gems for weddings. The Wachesaw Plantation with it’s huge Live Oak trees that drape shade for visitors, with Kimbel’s Restaurant sitting quietly to the side ready to host an event. The scent of the Waccamaw River plays at your nose as the moss dances in the wind.

I’ve known the groom, Scott, for quite some time now. I was thrilled and eager to tease him that I’d seen his bride all dressed up before him. We shot her bridal portraits earlier this summer and with her permission created an image that had to be timed perfectly. Arriving right before low tide when the sand bars were showing, we scooted down the river bank to photograph Kelly at the water’s edge. It was a stunning portrait right beside the river, framed with Cypress tree knots and roots that would normally be underwater. Setting up the canvas portrait on their wedding day, I made a few people promise me they wouldn’t let him peek at the framed art piece. He desired all the emotions of the first look and she was breath taking too. As she walked across the lawn in the classic and form fitting dress from Little White Dress Scott choked up as he saw his wife. The ceremony was lovely and picturesque set beneath the spanish moss of the live oaks and we were all thankful for the light breeze on a warm summers day as they exchanged their vows and rings. Their marriage was celebrated with a symbolic kiss, then it was time to switch gears.

Though lovey-dovey was in the air, our couple was ready to boogie! Scott and Kelly couldn’t wait to finish with traditional wedding portraits. Entering the reception banquet, everyone knew what time it was and everyone intended to dance until their hearts were content. Little Harper, Scott’s 5 year old daughter ran around, smiling, and dancing with Scott and Kelly all evening. With the reception ending at 11:00, I laughed as everyone piled in cars. They were heading down to Murrells Inlet to continue the festivities and good times.

There is a beauty in the surrender this couple gifts each other. I know Scott will always hold his wife by his heart, under his arm, and with gentle hands. Kelly will always do likewise.

Congrats guys, completely love your calm and crazy and all its charm!