I met Greg and Kay almost two years ago.  They are the owners of My Vintage Wear in downtown Fort Mill.  Their shop is one of my favorites to frequent in this area.  Kay has authentic vintage clothing for all sizes that are dated back to the 20’s then forward to the 80’s. They also carry a lot of fun little trinkets from the 40’s through the 60’s like toys, cameras, record players, hair dryers, irons/ironing boards.  Other treasures you will find are a samll collection of antique furniture as well as 60’s styled furniture.  They relocated their business to our little downtown area from Clover, SC about the same time I opened my studio in downtown Fort Mill.  Greg & Kay were married late summer this year at the Islander Inn located in Ocean Isle Beach NC. It was a small intimate wedding on the beach followed by a small reception at Sharkeys Waterfront Restaurant

Here are some of my favorite images from their special day:

Adam and Heather’s story began when they met through a mutual friend Phillip.  Heather sent Adam a Myspace message and they have been inseparable since! That was June of 2009. Adam proposed on his birthday November 1, 2011.  Heather came home from school to all the lights off in the house; rose petals leading to the living room and found a note that was on the sofa that said push play. Heather picked up the remote control and did as the note said and a slideshow of all of their pictures since they met came on the television screen playing to the song “Because you love me” by Celine Dion. When it was over Heather said she wiped tears from her face and Adam popped up from behind the kitchen counter.  He walked over and asked are you crying yet!? Heather said yes.  Adam then said “well you’re really about to cry” and he got down on one knee! Heather said at that point, she started crying even harder and just wrapped her arms around him.   Nine months later they were married at the beautiful Brakefield at Riverwalk.  Heather chose pink for her color scheme.  She said it is her favorite color.

A special thanks to the following vendors who made Heather and Adam’s special day so beautiful.  Carol at Brakefield at Riverwalk; the amazing Allan with Crown Alley Films; Johnny at Johnny B’s Limo service; Rev. Rebecca A. Nagy; Kirkland’s Katering in Rock Hill SC; DJ Retro Mike with Rave Productions; Florist Debbie at the Harris Teeter on Audrey Kell; Cake designer Cindy Decker; Makeup artist Rachel Jones of Fringe Salon; and Hair stylist Erin Ryan of Salon College’.

Pettis & Christina were married in Rock Hill, SC at the beautiful Brakfield at Riverwalk.   Pettis & Christina’s story started back in high school when they met through mutual friends.  They dated for 8 years before Pettis proposed to Christina at Concord Mills.  They had gone to the mall to get an iPad. Christina said they were near a jewelry store and she suggested that they look at rings.  To her surprise, Pettis said “sure” which shocked Christina.  They looked and she saw one she really liked but Christina said she was not expecting anything beyond that.  They left that store and as they started walking around, they approached Reeds and Pettis suggested they look there.  Christina said she found a ring she did not want to take off of her finger.  She loved it so much! Christina had a friend shopping with them and they left the store to go to Best Buy so that the salesperson named Tip could convince Pettis to get the ring.  Christina said when she reached Best Buy, she felt so nauseous thinking that Pettis may actually get the ring.  She said her stomach was in knots.  Pettis showed up at Best Buy with a Reeds bag and stated that the salesman gave him his card and some jewelry cleaner. Pettis told Christina he had to stop back in the store before they left the mall.  They got to Reeds and Christina said she was looking for the ring in the case.  She turned around to find Pettis was on one knee and stated  “Will you marry me Boogah”!

Pettis and Christina were engaged for 1 1/2 years.  Christina decided on the colors Pink and Green because it was her Sorority colors.  They decided to get married at The Brakefield at Riverwalk because they loved the vision that Carol, the owner of the venue had and it resembled a castle which was the look Christina was wanting.

A special thanks and shout out to all the wonderful vendors that made Pettis and Christina’s wedding a beautiful even and smooth running day.  Carol Goodwin at the Brakefield at Riverwalk, Aprils Floral Expressions, Catering by Sandra Lee at Heaven Sent Catering, Ice Sculpture from Ice by PreMo, Toby Kirkwood of DJ Krazy T, Day of planner Ria Palmer with Golden Affairs,  Cake Designer Takesha Silver at Silver Sweets, Videographer Laurin Wilson with Images of Power, Hair by Joni Tyson of Styles by Joni, Make up by Jennie Brown of Face by J makeup Artistry, and Tuxedo Rentals from A Lasting Impression.

Jeff and Kamaria’s story began when they met at Wet Willies in Charlotte NC. Jeff stopped Kamaria as she was walking to the ladies room, and told her that she was the most beautiful person in the building that night. After a small conversation, they exchanged phone numbers. A few telephone conversations followed over a one month period and Jeff finally convinced Kamaria to go out on a date. They had sushi at the Red Bowl for lunch as their first date. Kamaria said that first date literally never ended. What was supposed to be just a lunch date led to a day at the park with Kamaria’s daughter, which led them to dinner, and then a night out with a group of Kamaria’s friends.

7 weeks after their first date, Jeff proposed! The proposal took place at the University Place Boardwalk. Kamaria said they were walking across the bridge and Jeff was being playful and silly as usual, when he suddenly dropped to one knee. The engagement lasted a short 13 months. Neither Kamaria or Jeff are from Charlotte, yet they met in Charlotte so they decided to have the wedding feature the feel of the city they met in. This would be their “destination wedding” since their families are from different states. Jeff and Kamaria wanted their out of town guests to experience the “Queen City” that they met and fell in love in.

When the couple began to think of what a “dream wedding” meant to them, they  could only imagine good food, good cocktails, good music, and tons of fun. With that in mind, an uptown wedding was a sure fit for Jeff & Kamaria. They visited several venues and easily agreed that the rooftop of the Holiday Inn would be a good fit and great experience for their friends and family. Jeff and Kamaria loved the idea of the venue because it allowed them to have an outdoor ceremony with the city skyline as their backdrop. The colors of the wedding weren’t really planned. Kamaria knew with their “city” theme, she wanted her brides maids to have “party” dresses. Kamaria found the platinum party dresses at a local department store and knew they would be perfect for their wedding theme. Kamaria said she felt the platinum color was elegant, classic and timeless so she said she had to go with it. Tiffany blue is a hot color this season and it looked great with the dresses. Kamaria figured it would be good as an accent color. Kamaria said that everything just seemed to come together after that. The venue was perfect for the ceremony and reception, the decor was a great match, the cake which was from “Wow Factor Cakes” was amazing, the food was delicious, the drinks, music, and everyone dancing the night away under the stars made their event the wedding of their dreams and was a Queen City night to remember.

I want to give a special thanks to all of the following vendors who made Jeff & Kamaria’s dream wedding perfect:  Rachel Kafsky at The Holiday Inn, Center City; John McKinstry, their minister; the Caterer Caffe Siena; Ann at Wow Factor Cakes; the Florist Tropical Images; the DJ of DJ Streets; and Monica Ramsey who provided hair and makeup.

Here are some images from Jeff and Kamaria’s wedding day.  They decided they wanted to do a “first look” before the wedding so they could use the City of Charlotte as our playground for some amazing images!

Marc & Jennifer were married at Providence Country Club in Charlotte, NC on June 23, 2012.  Their story began 2 and 1/2 years ago. They met on a dating site called Plenty of Fish.  After dating for 1 and 1/2 years, Marc proposed to Jennifer while they were visiting Marc’s home town in upstate New York on top of White Face Mountain.  Their engagement lasted 1 year.  They chose Providence Country Club for their wedding and reception because they wanted to get married out side and it had a beautiful outdoor area that provided the perfect back drop to their wedding day. Jennifer chose purple for the theme of their wedding because it was her favorite color and she chose a butterfly design for her cake, Jennifer said she loves butterflies.  Marc and Jennifer went to Hilton Head Island for their honeymoon.

I want to give a big thank you to the following wedding vendors that made Marc & Jennifer’s wedding day run smoothly, look beautiful and an all around amazing day!  It was a great team effort.  Dorianne Bellamy of Providence Country Club, Rev. Rebecca A. Nagy of Weddings from the Heart, Dayna of Carolina Cake Artistry, Chris Ernest, DJ at AAA Entertainment and The Flower Boutique

Here are some of my favorite images from Marc and Jennifer’s Wedding Day:

Daryl & Lavanetta had their wedding in Charlotte, NC at Central Church of God on April 14th, 2012.  Daryl & Lavanetta met through a mutual couple on a blind date. They dated 1 year and 7 months before Daryl proposed.  He asked Lavanetta to marry him at Maggiano’s Restaurant in Charlotte NC.  Their engagement lasted 1 year and 4 months.  Lavanetta decided on pink for her brides maids dresses and her flowers because it is her favorite color.  She chose a black and white color scheme for the reception decor because she loved the elegance of that color combination.  Daryl & Lavanetta decided to have their ceremony and reception at Central Church of God because it is their home church and the location and beauty of the church was spectacular which also influenced their decided to have the wedding there.  They also wanted the convenience for their guests to not travel to a reception hall after the ceremony. Central Church of God had a very beautiful reception/banquet hall.

Here are some of my favorite images from their day:

Special thanks to the following vendors that helped make Daryl & Lavanetta’s day run smoothly and made everything so beautiful:

Delectables by Holly – Caterer

Cakes & Bakes, LLC – Wedding Cake

Royal Rides – Rolls Royce rental

Images of Power – Videographer

Central Church of God – Ceremony and Reception Location

Mecklenburg Bridal – Brides Attire

The Men’s Warehouse – Grooms Attire

Chelish Moore Flowers – Florist

Brides Hair – Cushauna Hendrix

Brides Makeup – Donna Taylor

Johnathan & Thera where married on May 7th, 2012. They held the wedding ceremony at Rawlinson Road Baptist Church in Rock Hill and the reception was at Meadow Lakes II Club House Details of their story coming soon but for now, here are some of my favorite images from their wedding day.

Slide show from Johnathan & Thera’s Wedding:

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Once upon a time……two people met at Strike City located in the EpiCentre in uptown Charlotte, NC during a mutual friends birthday party.  Patrick and Lisa hit it off and proceeded to date for a year and a half before Patrick popped the question.  Patrick and Lisa had been visiting their families up north.  Lisa did not realize that Patrick had asked her father’s permission while Lisa was sleeping in one morning.  Patrick stayed in New York a few extra days shopping for Lisa’s ring.  On August 16th, Patrick drove 11 hours and wanted to take Lisa on a date.  Lisa thought that was crazy!  They went to Strike City, the place they had first met, for a drink and then went to have sushi, Lisa’s favorite food, at Esno which is also located in EpiCenter  in uptown Charlotte.  At the end of dinner, Patrick looked at Lisa and said “Do you want to make me happy?” Confused, Lisa said “Of course I want to make you happy”  Patrick got down on one knee and asked Lisa “Then will you be my wife”  Obviously, Lisa’s response was a big YES!  Lisa & Patrick were engaged for 8 very short months.  Lisa wanted a spring wedding.

Lisa changed her mind a few times about the theme of her wedding as far as colors and style  until finally, a friend told her J.crew has pretty bridesmaid dresses.  Lisa went online and fell in love with the color of the dresses she chose.  After that, it was easy to pair her flowers of choice – Orchids,  with a black and white damask pattern for a classy, modern look for her decor at the reception. Lisa and Patrick decided to get married in the beautiful St. Mark’s Catholic Church where they had become members before becoming engaged.  They loved their church.  Lisa said that was the easiest decision they made for their wedding. They knew they wanted their reception in uptown Charlotte because many of their friends and extended family had not seen the city yet.  Patrick and Lisa said the city is so beautiful!  Lisa had been to a Christmas event at Founders Hall and thought it had such a grand feeling.  Lisa went online and found out that you can rent the location for weddings.  Patrick and Lisa drove down so he could see Founders Hall and they both fell in love with the venue. They knew they wanted the biggest party of their lives there.  They hired Split Second Sound to DJ the event.  These guys really know how to get a party going and the images from the reception reflect that!

Patrick and Lisa had a tough time picking their favorite image from their day.  Lisa said “It’s too hard to pick just one!” Lisa and Patrick said all of the images are their favorite.  They decided on the below image being their favorite because they felt it was very romantic.  It shows Lake Norman in the background, which is one of their favorite spots.  The weather was crazy the day of their wedding, it was extremely windy and they feel lucky to have gotten this shot with the hard conditions.

Here are some of my favorite images from Patrick and Lisa’s wedding, they are right, it is nearly impossible to pick your favorite.  Theirs happens to also be my favorite image of the day as well!

Ronnie & Pamela were married April 7th, 2011 at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens.  When I received a phone call from Pamela about photographing their wedding, I was very excited and nervous when she told me her soon to be husband Ronnie was a WWE Wrestler named R-Truth.  They were a wonderful couple to work with and I am very honored they chose me as their wedding photographer.   After meeting them, I felt completely at ease.  Their wedding was at the beautiful Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens.