So I had the pleasure of meeting Derek and his family here in Charleston for a tour that was setup for them by the Jack and Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation. On this particular day they started off with an informative carriage tour from Palmetto Carriage Works in downtown Charleston. Then we headed over to White Point Gardens (The Battery as we local folks call it) for some fun family portraits under the big oak trees. After that we strolled down Rainbow Row and through various cobblestone streets. Derek and his family are from North Dakota so the heat and humidity in August was a little bit of adjustment for them but they did great and had a fun time. Towards the end of our photo shoot, they ended up at the Nathaniel Russell House for a home tour setup by my friends at the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. I had a wonderful time meeting the family and showing them a quick tour of my lovely city.

Be sure to view their slideshow below!

So Andrew and I had been working on a plan for his girlfriend Alexis and the surprise proposal that he wanted to do for her. Now this was really cool because he had private Chef Shay McDonald come in and fix a fabulous meal. Except the story was that it was for his parents who then had a last minute situation that they had to attend and rush out of the house! No need to waste delicious food, so Andrew said that he and Alexis should stay and eat. My part was to show up and act like I was taking pics of the food and setup for a magazine that the chef was going to be in. So while I’m going around taking pics of the food and setups, Alexis didn’t really have any idea of what was coming up. Andrew then surprised her by going down on one knee and asking her to marry him which totally caught her off guard! haha! She lit up and had one of the best reactions ever! One of the funniest things that I heard her say which was directed to me when she said “and he was taking so many pictures of all of the food….” 🙂 After the surprise, the entire family came up to surprise her for what everyone else was in on. I’m so glad that everything worked out so well! Since we were already on Folly Beach, I just had to take the two of them down to the Morris Island Lighthouse for a beautiful sunset to cap off the evening! Congratulations to the two of you!!

Be sure to view their slideshow below along with other quick pics!!

That moment that you realize the photographer is not there to just shoot images of the food, but instead your surprise proposal……..