Imagine this: you wake up on the Monday morning of your wedding week. It’s finally here. The day you’ve been planning for for over a year is finally just a few days away. And so is a Hurricane. Hurricane Dorian specifically. And she appears to be heading straight for Charleston. This was Kristin and Michael’s reality. They were waking up to the news that Charleston would be being evacuated just five days before their wedding was supposed to take place. The stress the two of them were under is nothing I can imagine, but what happened next is what speaks to the kind of people these two are. In constant contact with Nicki, their amazing wizard of a wedding planner, the two decided with her that it would be best to push their wedding back to Sunday, allowing time for the city to recover from whatever damage the hurricane might bring. They remained calm. They remained graceful. And most of all they remained positive. And that positivity resulted in every single vendor being available to participate in their Sunday wedding, which in and of itself was a small miracle. All there was left to do was wait.
By the Grace of God Charleston dodged the Dorian bullet. With a few downed trees, some power outages, and little flooding, the Holy City ended up in a best case scenario position. As the week progressed it became clear that the wedding would go on as planned, just two days later. I think something that also speaks to the type of people Kristin and Michael are is the amount of guests who changed flights, hotel reservations, and other plans to be able to still attend. Almost every single one of their guests who were originally scheduled to attend did, which means Kristin and Michael are pretty darn loved. And honestly, it’s easy for me to see why. Kristin and Michael are kind, they are generous, they are funny, and they are loving. Of course they are loved in return.
I cannot express enough how beautiful their day turned out to be. The sun was shining over our beautiful city and from the beginning I just knew these were going to be some of my favorite photos. The details Kristin had chosen including her shoes, florals, dress, etc. were just IMPECCABLE. Add to that a gorgeous wedding party in beautiful gowns and dapper tuxes! Michael was looking as handsome as ever, but let’s be honest….. Kristin STOLE THE SHOW. She’s was jaw droppingly beautiful. Maybe that’s why when Michael saw her approaching in the church he couldn’t help but shed a tear. And neither could she. Watching the two of them tear up seeing each other from a distance was hands down my favorite moment of the day. In that moment time stood still. Later on in the day as we took their photos around Charleston my second favorite moment of the day happened. We were crossing the street and I looked behind the two of them and saw that against all odds Meeting Street was almost completely empty of cars. I asked the two of them if they’d be willing to do a dip and kiss in the middle of the street. And without hesitation, the two of them stopped in the middle of the street, dipped and kissed, and KILLED THE GAME. Hands down my favorite photo of the day. And perhaps my favorite wedding image ever. But more than that, they trusted me. Not only that I wasn’t going to get them killed by oncoming traffic, but trusted that my vision was worth it. And as an artist, there’s nothing better.
Kristin and Michael, I absolutely adore you two. The grace you showed in an unfortunate situation speaks to the type of people the two of you are. Individually I love both of you, but together, you are unstoppable. One day you’ll look back on the events of this week and laugh knowing that no matter what, nothing was going to stand in the way of the two of you from spending your lives together. Not even a Hurricane. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me be the one to tell the story of your day. September 8, 2019 is a day I will never forget.
Thank you to this amazing vendor team, who switched plans, came together, and made magic happen:
PLANNER: Nicki Paige Collection VENUE: Cannon Green CEREMONY: St. Patrick Catholic Church GETTING READY LOCATION: Mills House Windham Hotel MUSIC: Darby Events HAIR AND MAKEUP: Pampered and Pretty FLORALS: Pretty Petals of Charleston CAKE AND DESSERTS Swank Desserts TRANSPORTATION: Lowcountry Loop Trolley RENTALS: Ruths House Inc. BRIDE’S DRESS: Martina Liana
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