Meet Katy and AJ, they're expecting!
I've got to say, AJ is about the cutest husband I've come across in a long time. He planned Katy's babymoon and maternity session as a complete surprise. She didn't even know where she was going until they got on their connecting flight out of Missouri. I think they're actually perfect for each other in that sense, because I know I'd be going nuts trying to figure it out, but she was totally just along for the ride and totally trusted his judgement on it all. And I must say, he did an amazing job!
Because I knew this was a surprise session I wanted to plan ahead for wardrobe. I knew Katy may not have necessarily planned to have an assortment of dresses on hand for her stay so thankfully for them, I have about the biggest Client Closet Wardrobe for maternity in all of Charleston! I decided to bring along some of my own pieces I thought would work well, and white is always a great choice. We started with what Katy came in, a beautiful coral long dress that worked really well with Rainbow Row where we started their session. Now, we started around 8:30am which is still good for actual Rainbow Row shots, but truth is, I actually really like the houses on Elliott Street much better with the morning light as you can see and compare above and below. They have a great pop of color just like the actual Rainbow Row, beautiful back lighting and shadows from the trees and the best part - NO CARS!
This circuit of East Bay, Elliott and Tradd Street are my MOST popular spots for Charleston session and great for both morning and evening sessions. The lighting is great and there is so much color and variety in these spots. For the very pregnant or young kids this short walk is also a good benefit. Below you'll see the first dress we put Katy in from my Client Closet Wardrobe, this dress is the Katya from Baltic Born. I love this dress for it's spring flair of being a shorter style but still flowy to fit a variety of sizes. This dress in my closet is actually a Large but Katy probably could have even fit a Small or Medium. It was a tad big, but we tightened where we could and I used liquify to bring in the spots she needed a little more shape in post editing.
Charleston Wisteria in full bloom!
The next dress I decided to bring for Katy was my White Athena by Chicaboo. This is one of my most requested dresses in white, and I thought a little fit and flare couldn't hurt. As it turns out it was absolutely perfect for her shape and for the wisteria blooming here in Charleston at the time. Purple is such a hard color to pair with, I knew white was going to be the best option. If you haven't figured it out yet, a babymoon or visit in general to Charleston in the month of March is THE VERY BEST CHOICE. We have so much blooming as March is basically Charleston's un-official spring season. We have everything from the azaleas, camellias, to the wisteria blooming once right after another so when I drove past the wisteria a few days before AJ and Katy's session I absolutely knew we had to make sure we worked this spot into their session route.
Right next to the wall of magical wisteria is this spot which worked great for Katy's second dress she brought, a sage green dress with a little flow and classic off the shoulder look. At this point it had already been about a full hour of us shooting and this was the perfect way for us to end the session. From here they could head off to their lunch plans and exploring a little more of the city. I loved chatting with them about the local food scenes both where they live in St. Louis Missouri and here in Charleston. I'd love to visit their town sometime because I'm already hooked on all the breweries they told me about!
Thank you, and best wishes AJ and Katy!