We are Charleston wedding photographers who photograph weddings all over the world. This one only took a short road trip north, one state up in North Carolina, for a couple we’ve been waiting to photograph for years!
The Way-Way-Back Story
It feels like we’ve been watching Hannah grow up through small, yet significant, snippets of her life. Until now, my strongest memory of her was seeing her overcome with emotion at her brother Nick and Elyse’s wedding at the Wequassett Resort in Cape Cod – more than a decade ago! She was only 18 at the time. It was so special to see the bond between brother and sister.
Six years later, she was a guest at Jessica and Ray’s Healdsburg CA wedding at Trentadue Winery. It was at that wedding that we saw her with a boyfriend, a cute guy named Mike, who was glued to her side. And then three years after that, we received the best email asking if we could photograph their wedding! And somewhere in the midst of all of that, we watched as Nick and Elyse’s stuffed bagel ball company “Bantam Bagels” was funded on Shark Tank, brought to the market and sold all over the country (including at Starbucks). The company was then bought out in 2018. Hannah was director of operations at Bantam. So, needless to say, she was on a wild ride for many years working alongside her brother, and Elyse, and other family members. We couldn’t be more proud of these guys!
Chestnut Ridge Wedding
Hannah and Mike’s wedding at Chestnut Ridge, near Asheville, North Carolina, took place 11 years after we first met Hannah. It was such a fun weekend of reconnecting with friends and past clients, and meeting Hannah and Mike’s crew, who are hilarious, kind and wonderful. When a group says at the beginning of the day that it’s gonna get crazy on the dance floor, I always know it’s 50/50 whether that will actually happen. But for THIS wedding, I guess they never had a doubt. I believe it was five hours straight of high-energy dancing. There was so much to photograph, and it was all so much fun. We loved seeing the pure joy on Hannah’s face. She really never left the dance floor. She laughed later about this, saying she didn’t even know where the bar was. Apparently her friends delivered her drinks to her all night.
The Conclusion
At the end of the night, when it was time for the sparkler exit, Hannah buttoned Mike’s shirt back up, laughing the whole time (it had been unbuttoned and hung around his waist, while his undershirt was ripped into a V-neck – it was that kind of a party). After downing some water, they walked out to a shower of sparks and cheers from the people they love most. It was truly the perfect ending to a perfect wedding weekend.
The next night was New Year’s Eve. I know they had a little New Year’s Eve party with whoever was still in town. And we had our own little New Year’s Eve party with our friends who had rented a cabin with us for the week. We even had Roxy with us. It felt awesome to be with friends and family, reflecting on the past year and looking forward to what’s next. And it felt really gratifying seeing Hannah and Mike through this next big milestone of their lives. We’ll be watching from afar and awaiting news of all the great things still ahead for this couple who have already accomplished so much at barely 30 years old. And hopefully we’ll see them at a few more weddings! I get the feeling they and their friends aren’t out of their T-shirt-ripping days quite yet.
