Richard Bell Photography Blog

Click here to see the wedding album!

Jesse and Liza were married at St. John’s Lutheran Church–a historic beauty nestled in a hard-to-find alley in downtown Charleston.  The group had a great time and we had lots of opportunity for some creative portraiture.

Liza is a DELIGHT. The best man, Brian, captured it in his toast, that this bride is the happiest and kindest person he knows.  Jesse hit it big on this one.

Three Lions Club on Daniel Island is quite a find!  The venue provides several different adjoining rooms with posh furnishing where guests could gather and have conversation, but the flow and dancing happened very organically.  Good choice!

This wedding was a particular pleasure to be a part of, as Jesse and Liza and I went to High School together.  So it was great seeing some of my old friends and classmates.

The album is now posted!  Click below to see the entire wedding album!

Rebekah and Korey’s wedding, at Summerall Chapel and the Citadel Beach House is now posted on our site!

We had the pleasure of photographing Rebekah and Korey’s military ceremony at Summerall Chapel.  This was a happy first for the studio in that, while Korey is a distinguished Marine, he is not an alumni of the Citadel — but Rebekah is attending Grad school there.  Summerall is of course one of our very favorite church settings in Charleston for photography, and the Citadel Beach House is one of the nicest (and well lit) venues that provide for both a beach reception and a large, in-door reception hall.

This classic couple was surrounded so many happy friends and family.  You could tell that their parents were so proud.  I love being around that sort of thing.

Stay tuned for the Full album to be posted later this week!

Summerall Chapel has some of the most elaborate stained glass in all of Charleston.

I think Korey is most proud of this one.

Check out the studio’s first wedding album design of 2009:

Click here to view:

Photographed by Valerie Schooling in Greenville, SC

Also, it’s the last week of the caption contest, so please keep ‘em coming!

You can submit your caption by commenting on the below image on our studio Facebook page. (We know it’s in profile pics as well as the “staff” photo album and either place is fine!)

Here’s the photo to refresh your creative juices:

Winner to be announced February 2nd!

There will be prizes, people!

                          :0)

Last Saturday, I (Valerie) had the privilege of traveling to Greenville, SC for Elizabeth and Skip’s wedding at Mary’s at Falls Cottage (by Falls Park on the Reedy River). Just let me say…what a BEAUTIFUL place for me to enjoy my first wedding of 2009! I met Elizabeth and Skip at Renee & Derek’s wedding that I shot back in the beginning of October.

Elizabeth is an absolutely gorgeous bride. She was so much fun to photograph! I told her when I was a little girl, I played with Barbie dolls…now as an adult, I play with brides. (Joking. Sort of.)  There were SO many fun shots from this wedding, it made choosing my favorites for this blog really tough!

I love the challenge shooting at new locations, especially places as beautiful as Falls Park. Just wow.

I love this shot of Elizabeth! That is Mary’s Restaurant in the background.

And here’s Skip, the handsome groom!

I loved the lighting of the fountains and was excited to get a reflection shot of Skip and his groomsmen:

The harpist, Erin Knight (www.musicbyerin.com) was so sweet to let me sneak in this shot right after the ceremony! She is a really talented harpist (and she travels all over the Carolinas for weddings if you’re looking for good harp music, hint-hint!)

My second photographer was so much fun to shoot with that day….. Everyone, let me introduce my mom, Thoma Schooling!
This was her first time shooting a wedding with me, and she really and truly did a great job!
I am so blessed to have her as my mom and close friend (and that day, 8 hours in the car traveling buddy = AMEN!)

Inside Mary’s, on the stairs…

Right outside Mary’s, overlooking Falls Park on the Reedy River….under a really perfectly placed spotlight:

The ambient lighting of the  park at night was nearly ideal…I had so much fun taking night portraits of  the newlyweds!

One last kiss after the sparkler leave, with Mary’s in the background:

I am currently working on their album and will post it in the next week, so stay tuned!

- Valerie

April + Justin, married at last!

After much planning and anticipation, April & Justin’s wedding was wonderful! They have been such a fun-loving couple to work with! 

Their rehearsal dinner was on a harbor cruise on the newly launched Spirit of the Lowcountry from SpiritLine Cruises. It is such a beautiful boat and was perfect for the occasion! (Nathan and I had the privilege of photographing the launch party for the Spirit of the Lowcountry about a month ago!)

In April’s Dad’s rehearsal dinner toast, he referenced Forrest Gump, saying that April and Justin “are like peas and carrots”…so I ‘borrowed’ April’s engagement ring and got creative:

April wore green heels on her wedding day. (I love fun wedding day shoes – if you can’t tell by now, haha!)

April was so fun to photograph! I ought to share a handful of her bridal portraits in a different post soon…she had one of my favorite bridal sessions all year!

Their wedding ceremony was at one of my favorite ceremonly locations here in Charleston – St. Luke’s Chapel! I just adore its architecture!

I barely had to prompt the guys to ham it up for the camera…they’re all naturals at that!

April and her bridesmaids!

The newly-announced Mr. and Mrs. Justin Buckingham!

They rented a trolley from Absolutely Charleston to take their guests to and from the Frances Marion Hotel. (It was such a great idea!) 

I can tell you personally how great to work with Heidi is in the Absolutely Charleston wedding transportation office. She’s the best! (She rescued my tripod that I left on the trolly – oops!)