We live in freedom in this country, thanks to our great military. As I post this blog, I am currently reminding myself on how my life is so blessed, where I get to do what I am very passionate about, that is why about 8 months ago, I attended a bridal show in HHI, and was approached by Nicole and her to be mother in law, in giving me the honor to photograph a military wedding at Rose Hill Mansion. I knew it was a special time for them and has a historian for that one day, I had to create some amazing images. I first met Sam, when they came down to Charleston Sc, and immediately expressed my gratitude for his service, I then proceeded to photograph their engagement session, which was a blast, then 6 months later the big day came and with Sam & Nicole, the bridal party, and over 180 guests, it was a magical day & night.
Here from the bride is how this day became so special:
Sam and I met on a golf course about 6 years ago in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was playing in a golf league, and you guessed it, I was a cart girl! It was pretty much love at first sight for the both of us. We both knew this was a different feeling when we started getting to know one another. Our relationship was tested when Sam joined the NAVY shortly thereafter, so we were forced into a long distance relationship wondering which road this would lead us down. Many argue that long distance relationships don’t work out, but for Sam and I, it had the opposite effect. We were forced to truly get to know one another through phone conversations, e-mails, and letters. This strong bond is what led us to our big day in October! When he proposed, there was no doubt in my mind that we had a wonderful journey ahead of us.
Sam and I currently live in Florida but I am from Michigan and Sam is from Hilton Head Island. We chose to have the wedding in Hilton Head for many reasons. Most importantly, the weather is much nicer there in October than it is in Michigan! We wanted to have an outdoor wedding so we hunted through many venues along the beaches and mossy trees. We ended up falling in love with the Rose Hill Mansion in Bluffton just outside of Hilton Head. The venue is absolutely stunning and it put a unique twist on this type of event. Sam was also featured in a Jon Mellencamp video when he was about 8, and the video was shot at the Rose Hill Mansion too. This fact solidified the idea of getting married in front of the white plantation house.
Sam was deployed for much of the planning and I decided to play wedding planner myself to cut down on costs. With this being my first wedding, I had no idea where to start. Fortunately, there was a bridal show in Bluffton last winter. My mother-in-law took me to the show in hopes to find some perfect vendors for our big day. There were all sorts of florists, photographers, caterers, and everything else I didn’t even know I needed. To me, though, the photographer was the most important part of the wedding I needed to get taken care of. This was the sole thing that would document and help us remember one of the most important days in our lives. We knew we need to find a photographer who had an artistic touch and stood out over the others. Although there were many great photographers at the bridal show, it was clear that one photographer stood out above the rest. Michel’s pictures were stunning, to say the least! The second I saw his photographs, I knew he was a different type of photographer. He had a way of putting a different spin on an ordinary picture to make it even more special and extraordinary. After conversing with many vendors, my mother-in-law and I both agreed that Michel Berda was the one we had to have documented our big day. Now that the wedding is over, it is clear that we made the best choice for our photographer.
My flowers from Mums the Word were just what I wanted. I wanted something simple yet I didn’t know anything about flowers or names or what “exactly” I wanted per to say. After speaking with Julie about our needs, she went with it and delivered perfect flowers for our big day. We also used Bonzie Cakes for our wedding cake. She had many choices for flavors and fillings. She was able to create different flavors in each layer to accompany the different tastes. Each layer was absolutely delicious too! We also used Reilley’s Grill and Bar for our catering. They were very professional and easy to work with, and we had compliments on our food from everyone! The choices were vast and Chef was very organized and definitely knew what he was doing. We had a beef, chicken, shrimp, salad, potato, vegetable, pasta, and roll. There was plenty of food to accompany all desires.
Our big day was a huge success! I have never seen so many people dancing at one time. We are so grateful we have all of this documented through over 400 pictures! This was the perfect evening to send us off to the beginning of our new life together.
Wedding Vendors:
King Street Photo Weddings, Photographer, Michel Berda:
Rose Hill Plantation, Hilton Head Island SC. Ceremony,Reception:
Amazing Rentals:
Reilley’s grill & bar, Catering:
Wedding Dress- from David’s Bridal:
Mums the Word-Julie, Hilton Head Island, SC, Florist:
Bonzie Cake:
Holly Brown from Ross Brown Entertainment DJ:
