Charleston, SC Wedding Feature with Jamie and Jordan

Jamie and Jordan

Elegant island wedding steeped in Southern charm, long-time long-distance lovers celebrating the start of forever.

A little bit about them:

Jamie and Jordan met when they were in college, and have been growing together ever since. They now share a house, a love of the arts, and an adorable dog Olive who, of course, was involved in their ceremony. They tied the knot last October on Johns Island at sunset and celebrated with an epic reception into the night.

What we did:

Jamie and Jordan wanted photography to be seamlessly integrated into their day, which was first and foremost a celebration of their love. It was really important to Jamie that she do a combined first look with her dad and brother. A lot of the wedding party was family, and Jamie and Jordan wanted to celebrate those relatives who have been such a big part of their story. 

This meant four-legged family members, too! Jamie brought her dog, Olive, along for the entire day and we made sure to grab tons of shots with her as well.

We did tons of family portraits after the ceremony with loved ones, then made good use of our gorgeous location and took some photos of the happy couple down by the dock before we lost the last of the light. Then, after working up a sweat on the dancefloor, the newlyweds stole away for some steamier couples portraits to make sure we got the most out of our day together. Jamie is a photographer himself and took their engagement photos, so they wanted to have plenty of flicks to remember their day by.

What they said:

“We wanted to see the genuine love and joy that is felt on a wedding day coming through in our photos. We wanted someone with personality and passion for their art. We loved the small private moments we shared together. Walking away from our ceremony after just being pronounced husband and wife, helping me change into my reception dress, trying our cake together, and staying by each other’s sides while burning up the dance floor. I also adored the pictures of our dog, Olive, during the ceremony. The picture where Jordan is saying his vows and we are all looking back at her as she lies on the ground staring at us is so precious! This was a unique moment to us and our wedding. 

Sydney has a genuine passion and love for what she does and that shines through in her photographs. When we have attended other weddings, sometimes it feels like the photographer is a very separate entity than guests and the couple. Their presence is more business like than anything. We truly felt cared for and she felt like a friend at our wedding whose goal was to capture our special memories.

It was a magical night, and Sydney certainly made it stress-free! We have huge families, but I appreciated the way Sydney helped plan our family pictures prior to our big day. It helped us map and plan out each picture, and I would not have thought of it without her!”

Notes from Sydney: 

Jamie’s wedding was not the first time I got to meet her, and I’m so glad we got to spend more time together because she is absolutely lovely. Jamie and I did her bridals in a studio, and she brought Olive the Martini Weenie along with her, of course! It was fun to have a little session with just her, and to meet and celebrate her early.

While I didn’t have to travel for Jamie’s bridals because we live near each other, the Spellars’ big day was a different story. Traveling is something that I love to be able to do with my clients. Jamie is from the upstate, and Jordan was long-distance in the northeast, so they had lots of options for wedding venues. However, they chose Charleston and this venue particularly because of the water view and getting ready areas within the Island House.

I absolutely loved the unique details of this venue. Everything had a different texture to it, and it made the photos extra special. As I was walking around, I found myself standing on gorgeous, vintage blue tile. We did flat lay shots here, and they’re some of my favorites. The hallways and staircase leading out of the front of the house were surrounded by wallpaper with carvings in it that also added depth to any photos we took there. And, thanks to the coastal location, we were, of course, able to incorporate the sea as well.

Jamie and Jordan timed their ceremony for sunset (great choice), which meant family photos afterwards were during blue hour. While I wouldn’t recommend it for everyone and those with a huge family photo list, it was something new and beautiful! The sky was an amazing shade of purple, and allowed me to test my limits on lighting. A more intimate crowd that truly had so much love for each other made sure we made the most of every second of the day, including as it got a little darker outside.

Speaking of getting darker, this reception truly went all night long, so we busted out the direct flash to give this celebration the look that Jamie really wanted. This was truly a magical night and a beautiful couple, and I enjoyed every minute of their love story I had the pleasure of witnessing.