Jen & Wes' Wedding in Clearwater Beach, FL

Since moving from sunny Florida to the mountains of South Carolina, it's not often that we get to do a beach wedding anymore, so it's always exciting when one comes along. Jen and Wes gave us one such opportunity recently. Though their original plans of having the ceremony on the beach fell through, we still got to go to the beach for some awesome sunset shots, so we were thrilled. And where they ended up having the ceremony, the historic Bellevue Biltmore hotel, had a lot of neat architecture and charm so between that and the beach, we had so much variety we were in photo heaven! Aside from the fact that they are a really fun couple, the whole day was like a reunion with Jen's family since we shot her sister Kelli's wedding last year. Everyone made us feel so welcome and like part of the family.

The reception was held at one of Jen and Wes' favorite restaurants, Tucson's. And once again, Jen's Martha-Stewart-eat-your-heart-out Aunt Patty, with help from the fam, did an amazing job decorating both the restaurant and ceremony site. We're almost sad that Jen doesn't have any other siblings so we can be a part of another O'neal shindig! Oh well, there's always babies, which Kelli has already got a jump on (see her first bundle of joy a few posts down). But feel free to take your time with that Jen and Wes. Look at us, we're pushing 6 years of wedded bliss and the closest we've come to a little one is a cat that acts like a dog! ;)

Be sure to check out a different kind of slideshow below.







































Now's the part of the post where we usually show a cool slideshow of some of our favorites from the day. Well we're going to try something different this time. As most of our clients know, we specialize in custom-designed albums to really showcase all the beauty and fun of a couple's wedding day. That's why we thought instead of just a bunch of our favorite images in a slideshow, we'd show their album design so people can get a feel for what we do.

Jen & Wes,


BIG thanks again to you and all your family and friends for making us feel so welcome and having us at your most awesome beach wedding! We can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of all the images.


Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Kristen & Steve's Engagement Portraits

First of all, HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone! We wish you all safe and bountiful trick or treating. And no, there is no cure for a sugar-induced hangover :(

While in Florida we were able to catch up with our good friend Kristen from High School who just recently got engaged to a really great guy named Steve! So naturally while we were there we did a little engagement shoot. We went to a local beach park and had a lot of fun with them. Our sense of humor is very similar so there were lots of laughs. The outtakes alone almost brought us to tears from laughing so hard. All in all it was a "great success"!

We are so happy and honored that Kristen and Steve wanted us to be a part of their wedding day, not only to be in the wedding but to photograph it as well. How do you pull that off you ask? Easy enough. Emily gets to be a bridesmaid and slack off while I get to work my tuchus off covering the whole day! But at least they promised to save me a sliver of cake. Just kidding. Emily will help out whenever she can and I am thrilled to do it for our wonderful friends.

















We're not sure what they were talking about but it definitely shows their sense of humor. And we just think its pretty darn funny!


Awww the sweetness.





Kristen & Steve,

Congratulations again on your engagement and your beautiful new house! We are so excited for you both and can't wait to celebrate with you in February. Until then, bang bang skeet skeet Vanilla-face!


Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Karla & Drew's Wedding

Before we left for Florida, we had the pleasure of photographing Karla and Drew's multicultural wedding at the Hilton in Greenville. He is Scottish and she is Puerto Rican and they incorporated a few neat traditions from each heritage. For one, Drew was sporting a rockin' kilt which is a detail shot fest! It may sound weird but shoes alone from this wedding were a hoot to shoot! Check out these favs and the slideshow at the end to really see what we mean.



How cool is this?! Converse All-Stars in your wedding colors and your new last name embroidered on the side. And yes these were the brides shoes! So punk-rock.














Karla's dad is such a fun guy that loves his daughter incredibly. His first look at her was priceless.


Drew and family surprised Karla by having their adorable little dog be the ringbearer. Just look at that face!


The Hilton is a great backdrop for some moody portraits.





Nothing like a lil' booty squeeze during your first dance. Way to go Drew!









Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Call back the search parties, We're Alive!

After 2500 miles, 4 states and a few Caribbean islands we've made it back home safe and sound. The whole trip was packed with fun stuff including a couple bridal shoots, a family portrait session (see previous post), an engagement shoot for one of our dear friends (Yay Kristen), a destination wedding (Yay Jen & Wes) and even a cruise vacation for us (Yay us!). We weren't even back in town three days before we headed to Boone, NC for another destination wedding (Yay Wendy & Chris). Going from sunny hot Florida to cloudy, chilly Boone was quite a shock but the beautiful Fall colors up there more than made up for it.

Now that we are back, the first order of business is to announce that we have chosen the winners for our Free Boudoir session contest! We are keeping the names of the three lucky ladies a secret just in case their significant others are reading this. We want to make it a surprise for these three really lucky guys! So if you haven't been notified by us then unfortunately you did not win. Thank you so much to all the ladies that sent us your wonderful stories. We wish we could have picked all of you. But you never know, there may be another chance for you to enter and win in the future. You'll just have to keep checking this blog to see! ;) We are extremely excited about this new, fun and sexy type of portrait session.

Now it's time to get back to work so that we can catch up on blogging about all the awesome shoots and stuff we've been up to as well as some cool new things we've got coming up. Very exciting! Needless to say you better stay tuned. As a matter of fact, just so you don't miss a thing, go ahead and subscribe to our blog by clicking over on the top right. That way you'll be the first to know when there's a new post. Like we said, you never know when we might have another contest for some free stuff! (who doesn't like free stuff?!)


Bye for now,

Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Introducing baby Zoee!

While we're down here in sunny (read: hot!) Florida for a destination wedding, we caught up with one of our favorite couples, Kelli and Matt, who just had their first baby! Lil' Zoee is just two months old and as adorable as can be. We had so much fun with Kelli and Matt throughout their engagement and wedding that we told them we had to be their personal photographers for life.

Since they live near Clearwater beach, we thought what better time for Zoee's first trip to the beach than a family portrait session. Afterwards, we went back to their place for some more "lifestyle" portraits in Zoee's "Princess Pink" nursery.

Be sure to check out the slideshow at the bottom for more utter cuteness!





She knows she's adorable. Look at that face!





No sleep for this wiggle worm. She is so active (and strong) for a two month old.





Only babies can make spit bubbles look downright cute!






Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Contest - Free Boudoir Session!

Are you looking for the perfect gift to surprise your man? We are now offering boudoir sessions to brides or anyone else interested in wowing their significant other with a sexy, personal gift. The session is catered to your comfort level, which can be in your man's dress shirt or sports jersey, your favorite piece of lingerie or whatever makes you feel ultra sexy. In a relaxed environment we can bring out your inner diva and create images that look like they belong on the cover of Maxim magazine. From your session we can create beautiful custom albums, prints and wall portraits.

Now for the Free part: we'll be giving away a free boudoir session to three lucky ladies! Just email us at info@kismetphotography.net and tell us why you would love to surprise your man with a gift he'll never forget. Please include a full-body picture of yourself, in clothing just to clarify ;). We'll be picking three winners on October 20th so be sure to get your entry in before then!

All sessions will take place in a swanky hotel room in Greenville on Sunday, November 2nd, so you must be available that day. To make you look and feel extra sexy, we will also be providing a professional make-up artist to give you that sultry sizzle.

So don't wait, send us your story and picture by October 20th and you could have the best gift your man has ever received...just in time for Christmas!


Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Katie & Matt's Engagement Portraits

We met up with Katie & Matt at Clemson, their alma mater, for their engagement portraits. The four of us hit up so many cool spots including the Tillman Hall area, the football stadium, and the botanical gardens. Even though we have shot at Clemson many times before, we found some new places that sparked our creativity. Katie and Matt were great in front of the camera and we had a lot of fun. Here's just a sampling of the funness.


























Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography

Robin & Scott's Engagement Portraits

Robin and Scott came up from Columbia and met us at Robin's parent's house for their engagement portraits. Their backyard was like a park! There was so much greenery and lots of neat places to shoot. Not to mention that Robin grew up playing in it so it was really special to her.





Seriously, how many people have a mini-vineyard in their backyard?





Robin works with the South Carolina Philharmonic and plays classical bass. Scott on the other hand is a rocker whose had his own band and recorded work for other rockers. Opposites really do attract...and we had to capture that.







Robin & Scott,

You guys were a laugh a minute and we had fun "playing" in your backyard. It's always refreshing to shoot somewhere new and get the creative juices flowing. Thanks to you and your parents for your wonderful hospitality and we can't wait to see what fun and laughs your wedding day brings.


Curtis & Emily
Kismet Photography