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After shooting Megan and Chad's engagement session back in February, I couldn't wait for their October wedding in Charleston. If you get to spend any time at all with Megan and Chad, you'll quickly see how comfortable they are with one another and how natural their relationship feels. They are so right for each other that it seems inevitable that the universe would have brought them together.
Their downtown wedding was small and filled with personal touches. I was surprised to learn that the tradition of the bride having "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," concludes with "and a sixpence in her shoe." Who knew? Megan, that's who. Depending on the culture, the coin can represent good luck in marriage, prosperity, or generosity. As Megan put the finishing touch on her outfit by placing the coin, the Clemson Tigers were about to go into overtime against North Carolina State. She knew Chad and his groomsmen were watching the football game and she worried that if the game went on too long, they would be delayed in arriving at the venue.
Little did she know that the football game was not Chad's primary concern of the moment. Chad (a personal trainer) had realized that he had been lifting a bit too vigorously since purchasing his wedding suit. His proportions had changed so much that he was afraid of "Hulking out" of his jacket. It was with much determination that he carefully limited his range of motion for the rest of the afternoon, until the jacket could come off after the ceremony. He was impressively restrained.
Later on, rather that coordinate a complex exit, the couple simply said their goodbyes to friends and family and walked off quietly into the night, the first Saturday night of the rest of their lives together. Congratulations to the happy couple!
First Dance Song: Carry You by Dispatch
Father/Daughter Dance Song: My Girl by the Temptations
Mother/Son Dance Song: Days Like This by Van Morrison
Megan's Occupation: Research Specialist at MUSC
Chad's Occupation: Personal Trainer and Lifeguard
How They Met: Worked together in Wilmington, NC
Interesting Facts: We were together for 6 years before getting married!
Honeymoon location(s): Curacao
Vendor Credits:
Venue - Upstairs at Midtown
Officiant – Rev. Clarence Derrick, grandfather of the bride
Band/DJ – Mike Root
Florist – Charleston Florist
Cake/Dessert Bakery – Charleston Cakes, Etc.
Caterer – King Street Hospitality Group
Hair/Makeup – Krystal Hill at Vski Salon
Coordinator – Stuart with KSHG
On Tuesday, October 4th, South Carolina governor Nikki Haley stated that a complete evacuation of the state's coast would take place beginning the following day. Hurricane Matthew would soon be bearing down on Charleston and The Gadsen House, the site of Hannah and Wyatt's wedding. Downtown Charleston is notorious for flooding during large storms and unusually high tides. The projected record-breaking storm surge made it seem unlikely that the Sunday evening wedding would take place as planned.
After some consideration, Hannah and Wyatt made the difficult decision to move their ceremony and reception to Summerville, SC, twenty-five miles north of Charleston and presumably out of the flood zone. Wedding number two: planned.
As the hours turned into days, it became clear that the storm would not spare Summerville. So, for a third time, Hannah and Wyatt needed to plan a wedding. They settled on Magnolia Manor B&B in the small town of Westminster, SC, five hours upstate and out of the path of Hurricane Matthew. With a lot of help from their families, they moved their flowers and their food (pre-made by the caterer), and began figuring out logistics for this third (and final) location.
And... they totally pulled it off. Despite it being a near-nightmare scenario for a typical bride and groom, it is absolutely a testament to Hannah and Wyatt's down to earth attitude that they were completely relaxed throughout their wedding day. Not only that, they had a blast! Their wedding was filled with personal and unique details, like Wyatt's cufflinks depicting Christopher Gadsen's (remember the Gadsen House?) 1775 design for the "Don't Tread on Me" motto flag. After planning not one, not two, but THREE weddings, no couple deserved a honeymoon more than these two.
Congratulations and best wishes to Hannah and Wyatt!
First Dance Song: "Dream a Little Dream of Me,"
Hannah’s Occupation: Master's student in Marine Biology
Wyatt’s Occupation: Teaching Fellow at Georgetown Law School
How You Met: at a skating rink in high school! They went to each other's senior proms and remained friends through college. It wasn't until after college, while Hannah was dating someone else, that Wyatt told her he liked her. It took Hannah a year and a half to move back to Nashville to be with him.
Interesting Facts About Hannah and Wyatt: their wedding was cancelled due to a hurricane...
Honeymoon location(s): road trip on Southern Coast of Iceland, then to Bergen, Norway, Oslo, Norway, Stockholm, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark.
Vendor Credits:
Officiant – Pastor W. Bryan Bellotte
Band – The Great Society Band
Florist – Carolina Floral Creations
Cake/Dessert Bakery – Publix
Caterer – Salthouse Catering
Hair/Makeup – Wendy.... I'll have to track down this information
Coordinator – Jessica Cruz (for Gadsden and Summerville weddings), Hannah's mother and sister for the Westminster wedding!
White Point Garden in Charleston, SC.
Ancient live oaks create dappled light. At the perfect time of day, sunbeams shoot into the gazebo and bounce around, making it glow from the inside. And from almost any point in the park, you have views of gorgeous antebellum mansions AND Charleston Harbor. A backdrop like that could make just about anyone look good...
But then you get two of the handsomest fellows you've ever seen (this is true), invite their beautiful families and friends, and include their adorable Boston terrier Pearl and you have one stunner of a wedding. We're talking about a nearly overwhelming amount of good-lookingness. I was lucky enough to photograph Chris and Shawn's intimate ceremony on August 6, 2016. The weather was perfect, the music was perfectly suited to Chris and Shawn's vibe, and the hordes of Pokemon Go players seemed to be inexplicably and mercifully absent.
Sorry, Pokemon Go players (not sorry).
Chris is a marine biologist and Shawn is an occupational therapist. They are soft spoken, intelligent, wonderful people and they just could not wait to marry each other. From the looks on their faces as they read their personalized vows, to the unbelievable release of joy at the moment their marriage was made official, it was clear to everyone present how much Chris and Shawn love each other and how much they had been looking forward to this day.
Is this a good time to mention that the infamous "Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet" was hanged in White Point Garden in 1718?
No? Another time then.
