destination photographer – A whole new life

Sitting down to write this now and I just feel an overwhelming feeling of “stuck” but not in a bad connotation kind of way, not like writers block or in hesitance – but in a wonderful and grateful and a “I cannot believe this is my actual life; I found the thing that ignites my soul in every way and I get to do this all the time for amazing couples – even states away from me. WOW, God you have been so, so good to me and I am so grateful!!!” kind of way… Maybe a better choice of words would have been “pause” instead of “stuck”Ahah.

Backstory, Alison was actually a high school classmate of mine before she was a client; we had one class together that I recall, which was journalism but she moved away from citrus county to South Carolina to pursue teaching after high school and that was how she met Wilson! To know them, is to love them. They are such a sweet and utterly adorable couple. They emanate their happiness between each other and it’s contagious! It was such a joy getting to be there with them and I couldn’t picture better people to travel to and serve. Everything I asked of them they were happy to do, even scrambling into every position in a small car known to man haha, and they extended so much kindness towards me like I was an honored guest or something for coming a long way. I would have traveled anywhere they needed though! 😉

I remember the day she reached out to me to see if I would even go to South Carolina and without missing a beat it was an “ABSOLUTELY! Where and when?”

It has always been my dream to photograph, since I was 16 – I just love photography and seeing the reactions of the people I get to do it for – I just didn’t know how or what for a while, but second to photographing – the next closest has always been to travel; to see and experience places I wouldn’t have ever gotten to see otherwise – and when those two dreams or passions coincide it’s like I can literally FEEL how much the Lord loves me because it’s everything I have ever wanted and he knows the desires of my heart.

This wedding was in one word. “Stunning.” Everything about it radiated beauty. I was fascinated with this venue and asked the owner all about it. One, because I love old things and two because I am absolutely obsessed with look of the old brick in this building (I’m currently decorating my fireplace room the exact same way) The venue used to be an actual working cotton press mill built in 1904, the roof was taken off and replaced and the walls were the only thing standing, they used to drive trucks right through the middle of it on dirt! Such a cool, historic place to get married – The windows, the old brick, the hardwood floors, the really nice outside cocktail space all just so gorgeous. Alison and Wilson could not have picked a prettier place to get married!!

Everything went so smoothly, and perfectly according to plan except for the last event on the list, the grand exit to the get away car. It had started to rain and sweet Alison said of course I’m not going to make everyone stand out in the rain to send us off so the wedding coordinating team and I tried to devise a plan to set it up inside. This would not have been possible with sparklers BUT thankfully Alison and Wilson had already thought of a unique spin on this and had dried petals for guests to throw on them anyway. At the last second the rain turned into a soft, light mist and we had just the break we needed to do it outside like we had planned all along. It was so, so, so awesome!!

Also can I just say that South Carolina has some of the best food I have ever tasted. The BEST burger, the BEST cupcake of all time, the BEST pizza. It was all wonderful and I’m such a foodie – 5 stars!

Here are some sneak peeks that I pulled from first, and vendors are all located at the bottom! Thank you for reading ❤

Be blessed,

Taylor

A thousand thank you’s from the bottom of my heart!! ❤ ❤ ❤

Venue | The Cotton Press

Wedding Planner | Emily Galloway

Catering | Blue Marlin Signature Catering

Bakery | Twisted Whisk

Invitation | Owlery54

Dress | Madison James, New York Bride and Groom

Tux | Black Tux

DJ | Lake Murray DJ

Hair | Lauren Pryor

Make up | Liz Yturria

Oh man…THIS WEDDING YA’LL!! This was a special one to me – It was special and closer to my heart for a few reasons; For one, it was my first destination wedding I’ve ever shot! I had gone to Massachusetts to photograph my cousin’s wedding in 2018 but I don’t feel like I can count that because we’re related lol – just doesn’t carry the same kind of weight in my mind. For two, it was the first time I have ever been to North Carolina and my first time in a loooong time going up north during peak “fall season.” The beauty in North Carolina is absolutely unmatched. I spent almost all of my driving time from the airport to my hotel just gawking at the beautiful rolling hills filled with cows or goats, the vibrant golds, oranges and reds in all the trees and saying “wow!” at literally every house on every plot of land because they were all just stunning. It was incredible and not a for sale sign in sight might I add.

However, the biggest and most impactful reason – number three, the bride and groom is a couple I literally have grown up with as a photographer. They have stuck by me through pricing structure increases, editing changes and somehow when they could have picked anyone to be their photographer in North Carolina for their destination wedding – they chose me. Because they agreed it just wasn’t going to feel right with anyone else… and I’m still just so shook when I play that through my mind. How did I get so blessed to find people that view what I do as THAT important; GOD that’s how! Can I get an AMEN! Lol

By the grace of God, I got in contact with Vanessa around Christmas time 3 years ago. I remember she said she was new to the area and I think she found me on google – had three dogs and a boyfriend and wanted to get some cute family pictures done to make Christmas cards. What a blessing picking up that phone call became. She is in every way a woman I aspire to be like. She has the sweetest heart, the most contagious happiness that just pours out of her, the love she has for her family members AND Travis’s would make your heart melt and just her aura as a person is purely magnetic…like I feel privileged to know this girl – Wow, I just fangirled the heck out of Vanessa haha, Travis I think you are just as exceptional, and Vanessa is very blessed to have you in her life. Really though, they are that wonderful and thoughtful and I am so overjoyed for both of them because really Travis and Vanessa together as husband and wife makes all the sense in the world, they are absolutely amazing, kind and generous souls who deserve each other in every way and their love for each other just beams out of them. Furthermore, I hope they do rethink that “I can’t have kids, my dog’s are allergic.” thing because the world needs more people like Travis and Vanessa in it!! Lolol

Some of my favorite moments were the first look with dad and the epic 3 or 4 course dance routine they put together, Vanessa’s grandmother dancing at the reception and watching Travis’s reaction to Vanessa walking down the aisle.

The wedding itself was absolutely beautiful, every key aspect of it was perfect – the way it was decorated inside with all the lights and chandeliers, the loving little touches of their engagement photos on all the tables as centerpieces, the hot cocoa bar with all the fixings on a charcuterie board they really thought of every little thing… the location of Fussell Farms sits right in front of mountains so the ceremony scenery outside was just more gorgeous than you can even imagine. It was just a dream destination for a wedding and I say that lovingly, and not to boast because it has always been my dream to travel and to photograph – I don’t want anyone to read this and feel less than or overshadowed I wouldn’t ever want to make someone feel that way. However, everyone has dream jobs and ideal places they would love to visit someday and I just so happened to actually live one of mine out and I thank the Lord so much for it. I got to see the mountains, breathe the northern air again – I got to experience shooting a wedding in a brand new place with, people I just adore! Enjoy these sneak peeks and check out the vendors at the bottom – this was one for the books!