Lumos Studio

South Carolina Wedding Photography Blog
Weddings

Lauren: Bridal

I’m fairly certain that we’ve never included military hardware in a bridal shoot. Today we remedy that.

Lauren started off her bridal shoot at our place with some shots on a simple gray background.

Lauren strikes a coy pose

Lauren blows a kiss

Lauren looks shy

One of the wonderful things about photographing Lauren, though, is that the shots didn’t stay simple for long.

Lauren in her cowboy hat

After breaking out the cowboy hat, Lauren showed off her United States Air Force garter. (If I were single I would have actually tried to catch this one.)

The Air Force garter

We didn’t stay in one place for too long on this shoot, though. Next we headed over to the South Carolina State House where we took this shot on the gorgeous marble floor.  (Doesn’t her dress look like something Marilyn Monroe might have worn?)

Lauren on the floor at the South Carolina State House

By this point, we’d been shooting for a couple of hours, so we thought Lauren deserved a break.

Lauren chills in her cowboy boots

Don’t you love the boots? You’d think that would be enough, wouldn’t you?
Not Lauren!

Lauren with combat boots and F-16

Why settle for just cowboy boots in your bridal shoot when you can also also have combat boots? (Answer: no reason at all.)

Lauren, you see, served for several years in the Air Force Reserve as a bomb loader or, as she affectionately called the position, a “load toad”. I’d love to show you tons and tons of pictures of Lauren with the F-16, but frankly, the guys at McEntire Joint National Guard Base scared me silly that I’d accidentally post something that gave away national secrets. (You might note that this F-16 has no weapons whatsoever on it.) The bicycles (they’re actually tricycles) in the background are apparently not weaponized…yet.

Despite my fear of being whisked away by armed men in a camouflage jeep, here’s one more picture of the beautiful bride and one serious flying machine.

Lauren, F-16, American Flag

Sherrod and Jeremy’s Wedding: Rain, the TARDIS, and Velociraptors

You’re essentially bound to think that the title of this post is misleading (though the presence of the TARDIS could explain why velociraptors showed up), but I assure you everything I have promised will make an appearance. Frankly, with stuff that cool, it’s kind of odd that I’m starting the post with a picture of a chalk board, but it says “welcome”, so at least it’s a good start thematically.

Welcome

Sherrod and Jeremy got married Saturday at The River Road & Jasmine Houses and Gardens in Columbia near Lake Murray. This wedding was wonderfully whimsical and filled with joyful, fun people. Let’s start with the flowers. Roses? No. Daisies? No. How about maps?

Bouquet made of maps

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No, this is not the velociraptor I promised, but it’s a darn fine impression.

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Ah, now we’re really getting somewhere! No doubt all the Doctor Who fans will recognize this police call/ring box. (Frankly, when I opened it, I was a bit surprised it wasn’t bigger on the inside. Still, it fit the rings and that’s what’s important.)

Dr Who Ring Box

The whole day we labored under the threat of rain, but it was still holding out as the girls and guys started getting ready.

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The Groom

3 vert bridesmaids(Did I mention that everybody was a lot of fun?)

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The guys

Just as the ceremony was about to begin, a sprinkling of rain began to fall, but it did nothing to dampen anyone’s mood. Besides, isn’t rain on your wedding day supposed to be good luck?

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The bride and her father

Rainy wedding

Sherrod and Jeremy wrote their own vows, which were lovely and touching.

The bride crying

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By the end of the ceremony, everyone was slightly soggy, but ready to party!

Hello, ladies...

The lovely and delicious cake was provided by The Cake Professor. But…what’s that on top of the cake?

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Yes, it’s a velociraptor bride and groom. In fact, the bride is even wearing a tiny engagement ring, which is absolutely lovely, but sometimes gets in the way when she’s tearing into her prey. How great is her veil, though?!

Velociraptor Wedding Cake Toppers

Rawr!

Rawr

So there were some toasts…

Toasts

…some dancing…

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..and finally just some time to hang out and look gorgeous.

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Jasmine House Wedding in Columbia“There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive… wormhole refractors… You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.” -The Doctor

Columbia Wedding Photography - Jasmine and River Road house

Departure

Congratulations, Sherrod and Jeremy! We had a blast with you, your family, and friends! We hope you’re having a great honeymoon and wish you a journey full of adventure and, most of all, love.

Andy and Caroline’s Winnsboro Wedding

Caroline and Andy were married last Saturday in Winnsboro and we were delighted to celebrate their day with them.

Now, it’s important to get this out of the way: Andy and Caroline are Clemson alumni and big Clemson fans. How big? Just wait…you’ll see. As graduates of USC, though, Wendy and I only feel it’s right to warn our fellow gamecocks that if you’re not comfortable with overt displays of tiger pride, you may want to turn back now. If you do, though, you’ll miss out on a beautiful wedding (and a couple of adorable pups, too).

Clemson class rings on the wedding day(Don’t say I didn’t warn you)

Wedding rings - Columbia SC - CityArt

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Groom's shoes

These may be the best socks I’ve seen at a wedding:

Andy of many colors

Bride getting ready

Andy and his dad

Here’s Caroline and her dad sharing a moment before everybody leaves for the church.

A moment between the bride and her father before the weddingI did promise cute pups, didn’t I?

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He looks happy, but inside he’s really bummed about the church’s no-dogs-as-groomsmen policy.

Wedding dogs

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Caroline made Andy a book in which she listed the many reasons she’s marrying him.

Andy with Caroline's gift

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Andy looking suave

Groomsmen in seersucker

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Caroline and Grace

Andy seeing Caroline for the first time

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Check the groomsmen’s socks and the bridesmaids’ shoes. How great is that?

The bridal party had colorful shoes and socks

From the ceremony, we headed back to Columbia for the reception at CityArt.

First Dance

Wedding cake

Bouquets

There was a caricaturist who made amazing likenesses of the guests (and the bride and groom). But, who’s that standing behind Andy and Caroline? That’s a lot of orange for a wedding…

Characatures!

The Clemson tiger came to the wedding!

Yes, the Clemson tiger showed up at the wedding. (School loyalty aside, he seemed like a very cool guy and an excellent dancer.)

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(Yes, I said an excellent dancer.)

Big thanks to Summerdaze Dance and Show Band for keeping the party going!

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Dancing at CityArt

But the night eventually had to draw to a close, and we bid Caroline and Andy adieu as they set off on their new life together.

Andy+Caroline-660Congratulations, guys!

Hans + Lou – Columbia Wedding

Maybe you remember Hans and Lou, the couple sweeter than Pi? Well, they’ve moved on from engaged to the real deal–they’re married! Here are a few of our favorite images from their wedding at Trenholm Road United Methodist Church and their reception at Rockbridge Club.

We couldn’t have asked for a much more beautiful day.

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Hans was ruggedly handsome, as usual.

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This was a lovely detail I’d never seen before. Lou made her ring bearer’s pillow from her mother’s wedding dress. What a beautiful way to honor her parents’ marriage in her own wedding!

Ring bearer pillow made from mother's wedding dress Click here to read more.

Rachel and Adam’s Island House Wedding

Rachel and Adam had a beautiful fall-themed wedding at The Island House on Johns Island and Wendy and I were lucky enough to get to photograph it for them.

We had a hard time narrowing this wedding down to our favorite photos and while we think the beautiful couple and the amazing wedding they put together is reason enough to scroll all the way through, there’s a special, awesome surprise for USC fans at the end. Clemson fans, there’s also a lot of purple in the wedding, so, there’s that for ya’.

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Here’s the lovely bride…

Rachel getting ready

Rachel getting into her dress

…and her handsome groom.

Adam

See the notes Rachel and Adam are writing? Keep those in mind. They appear later.
(That’s called foreshadowing.)

 

Rachel Click here to read more.

Wedding at St. Thomas More: Andrea and Chavous

We have a great couple for you today!

Chavous and Andrea were married at St. Thomas More Catholic Chapel at the University of South Carolina. Chavous and I have known each other for quite a while and our overlapping passions for computers, college radio, photography, and philosophy mean that when we get together we usually wind up talking for quite a while. Not on the wedding day, though–he had more pressing matters to attend to.

Beautiful bride at her wedding in Columbia, SC

(If you were marrying her you’d be focused on that, too.)

Unfortunately, Chavous was in such a hurry to marry Andrea that he sliced the crap out of himself shaving. He was literally holding a handkerchief to his lip between every formal photo we did leading up to the ceremony. Of course, you can’t see the wound here because I’m such an amazing photographer. (*Cough* * Cough* Photoshop *Cough*)

The groom

Injuries aside, the wedding was lovely, with beautiful details as you can see in Wendy’s photo of Andrea’s garter.

Garter

…and the lovely bride herself.

Beautiful bride getting married at St Thomas More Chapel

Flower girl at a wedding

Wedding at St Thomas More Chapel at USC

After the ceremony, the party moved over to the Chickawa Outdoor Center at Saluda River Club where there was eating…

Cute little girl at wedding

…dancing…

Bride and groom dancing at the Saluda River Club

…kissing… Bride and groom kissing at their wedding at the Saluda River Club

(Okay, mostly by the bride and groom.)

Bride spinning at the Sauda River Club in SCThere was even time for a little spinning, and some lovingly looking into one another’s eyes.

Bride and groom at Saluda River Club

(…’cause that’s what you do.)