It been a few years since I had a wedding at the Carriage House at Magnolia Plantation in Charleston, SC. It was great to be back for the wedding of Taylor and James on September 12, 2020. The Carriage House is a beautiful venue surrounded by live oak trees on the Ashley River. The ceremony area is setup on a huge lawn facing the Ashley River and in front of a huge old oak tree covered in moss. It’s also a short walk to the main gardens area, with lots of fantastic locations for photos. When I arrived, I met up with Jayme from Brand Bars and Events, who was doing the wedding planning and operating the open bars. This was my first time working with them and they were great, she has already recommended another wedding to me which I really appreciate!
My wife was assisting me as a second photographer on this wedding. She focused on taking pictures with James and his groomsmen while I focused on Taylor and her bridesmaids. The white bridge in Magnolia Plantation, which is a popular spot for wedding pictures, sadly was under repair and we couldn’t use it. However, there is a very pretty red bridge, right near the conservatory, that is a great backdrop for pictures as well. I hopped on the golf cart with the bridesmaids, to go to the bridge, for some pictures before the ceremony. I really loved the emotional first look pictures between Taylor and her father you can check out below.
The wedding ceremony on the lawn beside the Carriage House, in front of the huge live oak trees, turned out beautiful. We had to deal with some tricky lighting with the sun peeking in and out behind the clouds. Thankfully, during the vows and ring exchange, we did get a bit of shade. I took an amazing panorama of the ceremony that really shows off the location and oak trees. A trick I use, is to turn my camera vertical, when shooting the panorama. This allows me to create a standard landscape image, that is actually made out of multiple portrait image slices combined together. This way I can take an ultra-wide angle shot, as well capture more detail and give the picture a unique look.
After the ceremony, we couldn’t find the golf cart driver, so we just walked over to the red bridge for some pictures with the entire bridal party together. I then let the bridal party go back to the reception, while I took some pictures with the bride and groom. I got some great pictures of them on the red bridge, overlooking the pond, and surrounded by the moss-covered oaks. We then walked over to the gazebo and around parts of the gardens for more pictures. I wanted to take them to some other locations in Magnolia Plantation, such as the bamboo forest. Since we didn’t have transportation and we were limited on time, we couldn’t travel too far. We still got a lot of great pictures in the time we had available.
The dance floor for the reception was outside, on the patio behind the Carriage House. We still had some sunset for the first dance and father/mother dances. Later in the evening, this was a fun party group with an open bar, so we had lots of great dancing. I think James had one of my favorite removals of the wedding garter ever, her really got wild with it. After the last dance of the evening, they left Magnolia Plantation with a sparker exit. If you are planning a wedding at the Carriage House in Magnolia Plantation please let me know, I would be happy to give you more information! I hope you enjoy the pictures below.
