Jaycie & Brooks | A Beaufort Engagement Session
It’s been on my bucket list for a while to photograph a Beaufort engagement session. And this summer, it happened! I am finally at that age where it’s not my friends who are getting married, but it’s my friends’ children who are getting married! (Does that make me old?) One of my first friend-babies was Jaycie, and not only was she the firstborn of some of my best friends, but she lived in my house for the first few months of her life! Her mom and dad were moving to my town and needed a place to stay until they could find their own place, and I was off working at SummerSalt (a summer camp sponsored by the SC Baptist Convention), so they stayed in my townhouse for a month or two and house/cat-sat for me. And now that baby is old enough to be graduated from high school, graduated from college, working, and engaged! When she asked me to photograph her wedding, I couldn’t have been more thrilled!
Jaycie and Brooks live in Charleston, which is a few hours between us, so I offered to meet them for a Beaufort engagement session while my family was on our summer vacation to Fripp Island. And oh, how I have wanted to shoot a portrait session in Beaufort! The live oaks with Spanish moss, downtown Waterfront Park, and historic homes and buildings make a stunning backdrop for photos! I actually grew up in Beaufort and spent my early years wandering through the downtown area with my family and classmates, so it holds such special memories for me…I told Jaycie and Brooks that I wish I had known how blessed I was to live there when I did; I was definitely spoiled by the beauty of nature living on the Lowcountry coast. Now when I go back, it’s like going home. I don’t even mind the smell of pluff mud.
My amazing second shooter Blakely Fowler also lives in Beaufort (I photographed his wife Jordan’s bridal portraits out on St. Helena’s Island two summers ago and their Hallowedding a year and a half ago at the Marine Corps base in Beaufort), so he met us and led us around to some of his favorite spots, capturing some behind-the-scenes footage for me (Thank you, Blakely! You know how awful I am at doing that!). He introduced me to Whitehall Park, a beautiful spot along the river with huge, beautiful oak trees. We had so much fun wandering around and making beautiful portraits of this precious couple! Jaycie and Brooks are just adorable together…I texted her mom not long after her session that I definitely approved of this young man! He treats her with such care, and they both seem so comfortable together. Blakely even remarked, “I’m not sure what ‘it’ is, but you two definitely have ‘it!’”
We began the session wandering down Bay Street, across to The Lewis Reeve Sams House (currently for sale!) and Steven Elliot Park with the cannon across from Woods Memorial Bridge. Then we headed back through Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, and finally, we headed across the bridge and ended the evening at sunset amongst the oaks and along the Beaufort River at Whitehall Park. It was a bit breezy (par for the course along the coast), but thankfully, it wasn’t a million degrees! It was a beautiful evening for an epic Lowcountry sunset engagement with a gorgeous couple…what photographer could ask for more?
