I am, hands down and without a doubt, a beach girl. When we started planning our family’s beach trip this year to Hilton Head, South Carolina, I was immediately inspired to do a bridal portrait session at sunrise. This isn’t a scene I have the opportunity to shoot very often in Charlotte. I wanted to take advantage of the neutral beach colors to create a really natural, organic bridal portrait shoot.

My dad is great with florals and design, so I had him make me a bouquet that was a little more wild and loosely put together. I knew I wanted lots of greenery to help keep the natural and organic feel. I had ordered lavender hand dyed ribbon from Honeysilks & Co. The purple in that really led me to bring in some brighter pops of purple in the bouquet. Have y’all heard of a rose lily?! Cause I never had, but I’m now obsessed with them! I haven’t seen a lot of bouquets with these, so it was fun to incorporate something different.

Why do a styled shoot?

I think shoots like this are so important because you are absolutely free to create whatever it is you can think of. Client expectations aren’t dictating what you have to produce. As much as I love doing that, there’s something to be said for coming up with your own creative shoot and just shooting for yourself. I had so much fun with my sister in law the morning of this shoot. Even though it was so early in the morning, it was 100% worth it. I probably could have kept shooting her all day (except for the beaches get crowded thing). If you’re a creative, I challenge you to just get out and create for yourself every once in a while. It is so refreshing to take a step and create something just for yourself. I think it’s especially important during the busy season!

Sidenote: if y’all have never been to Hilton Head, South Carolina- GO! It was beautiful and relaxing. And, if you’re a photographer, the neutrals and hanging moss make everything a literal dream. (insert all the praise hand emojis)

bridal portraits in hilton head island