Friendship and a Photography Gift!

January 22, 2016 by Carl Kerridge

2015

Plays back like video film, spotlighting highlights in my friendship, personal life, and business growth. I can honestly say that we hit all of our goals last year, and I learned more about myself and the breath of my business than in any of the past 15 years in business. Becoming the Regional Director for South Carolina’s Professional Photographers of American has also added it’s charm, stressing the importance of staying inspired and recognizing the need to grow with a community of photographers.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is the quality that comes from separating the person from the contract.

I want to talk, for just a minute, to all the lovely couple’s I had the pleasure to document this year. You have been inspirational to me. I want to let you know that I recognize your love in it’s many shapes and forms and that I see it’s most important element is friendship. Friendship is the foundation for hope and gratitude, it unlocks the door allowing for a deeper and more human connection. You were the greatest of friends to each other, that’s how you impacted me. If there was a theme for 2015, for you guys it would be rain…and the good omen it brings.

Every couple I met, I saw you and your stories of triumph, even against the odds. You would be able to hold it down even if it was in the midst of a hurricane. In your happiness, you all reminded me how grateful I am to have found my partner and how deeply rooted our friendship is at our love’s core.

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 2016. As a token of appreciation, I want to offer a special give away to my remarkable couples:

The couple with the greatest number of voting comments on this post will receive a stunning retouched 16×20 print for their first year as newlyweds. In addition, any couple that has over 50 votes will receive a $50 gift certificate to our A La Carte menu items. To all my readers, feel free to leave some love too because your are equally valued to me.

Tay and Roosevelt

Sarah and Davis

Wendy and Joe

Kathy and Alan

Hillary and Adam

Allison and Roddy

Mary and Stoney

Amanda and Cash

Emily and Joey

Stefani and Justin

Michelle and Patrick

Every individual who comments will be entered into a separate giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card. Share to Facebook, 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 February 11th.

The Winner will be announced Friday, February 12th!

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.

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.

Wedding Photojournalism meets Homemade Love in Mount Pleasant, SC

April 3, 2014 by Carl Kerridge

You know it’s going to be a great wedding when you walk up to the house and the bride is outside finishing the decorations and the groom is inside cooking three different kinds of BBQ. Not to mention that pretty much the ENTIRE wedding experience was handcrafted by the bride and her family and friends. This was one of the most colorful and creative weddings I have had the pleasure to be a part of, an open book for unique wedding photo ideas. Oh, and when your wife and son are also invited to the wedding because your wife is friends with the brides sister – extra, extra bonus.

My bride Megan told me that she tallied up close to 400 hours in putting together the decorations and details for the wedding. I am sure some of her unique ideas will wow and inspire you as you look through my favorite images from the day. Her stylish wedding dress? Sorry, ladies – you won’t find this one in the bridal boutiques. She had her mother and grandmothers dresses taken apart and then put back together again – her gown being the epitome of “something borrowed.”

The setting was intimate. A rented beach house where the family stayed for the whole week across the street from the ocean just outside of Charleston, SC. Megan and Phillip asked everyone in attendance to wear white and beige – which made the colorful world she created for their big day stand out even more. From me her only request was to capture the color, and fun in a photojournalistic wedding style and not worry about your typical beach wedding photos.

I hope you enjoy these fun shots from the day as much as I enjoyed being a part of the whole experience. I thrive on creativity so when I have the chance to be around creative people – it is fuel for my fire!

Be sure to scroll all the way to the end to see “My Favorite Shot” of the day and also links to the amazing vendors that helped make Megan and Phillips day so special.

Shot of the day

I myself am a yogi so when my bride added to her contract notes that she wanted to incorporate a yoga pose I said “Absolutely”. Here’s she’s on top of the hot tub cover as it was the only area with clear space.

Photos – Carl Kerridge Photography
Dress – Brooke Priddy, Ship-to-shore
Flowers – http://www.gardeniafloral.com
Hair & Makeup – Pink Dot Beauty Bar
Cupcakes –Sugar Bakery
Catering – Phillip Couture (groom) & James Benyshek (best man) – Culinary Extraordinaires at Large!
Paper Mayhem – Megan Munday (bride) – Currently recovering from paper projecting overload.