They circled back

Erica's bridal shoot at the South Carolina State House, April 2018

This post will give new meaning to the old adage that timing is everything.

Allow me to elaborate.

The same photographer worked with us for both Erica's wedding in 2018 and Audrey's wedding last week.

As part of the package both couples purchased, there was a pre-bridal photo shoot.

For Erica's in April of 2018, about a month before the wedding, Audrey helped her sister get dressed in her wedding gown at home, and drove her to downtown Columbia to the State House.

It is frequently the backdrop for many bride and bridal party shoots.

Audrey at the gate

But this time being her turn, Audrey didn't want to have her pre-bridal shoot at the State House.

She asked me what I thought about an alternate location and I suggested one.

But her shoot was to take place in early October, and just before the agreed-upon date, Hurricane Helene blew through.

Mike and Audrey went to the place we'd planned on for the shoot, and it was trashed with limbs and branches and so forth, and we were doubtful that it would be cleaned up by the following Thursday.

So I said, let's go to our old stand-by, the Governor's Mansion. Or as the district is called here in South Carolina's capital, Arsenal Hill.

The mansion sits far back behind wrought iron gates that front a quiet street.

Charlie and Audrey working at it

There is another set of wrought iron gates even grander than the ones at the entrance to the house, and I could imagine a long shot of those with Audrey in her wedding gown on a gorgeous fall day.

(In fact I had a clear picture in my mind of what Audrey's pre-bridal photo should look like, and it involved an iron gate. I planned to display it -- the picture, not the gate -- in the form of a large canvas at her wedding reception.)

Rather than Audrey get ready at home this time and Erica and I try to get her downtown in her massive wedding dress, Mike reserved a room for us at the Sheraton a few blocks from Arsenal Hill.

The hotel is an imposing property, occupying a historic building on Main Street that started out as a bank approximately a century ago.

So it was that Audrey, Erica, and I set out for downtown Columbia -- a fifteen-minute drive from my house -- with all of the bridal paraphernalia we could carry, plus a bouquet of fresh flowers from Audrey's florist, for the shoot.

We checked in and, per Mike's instructions, let the valet service park the car.

The Sheraton, downtown Columbia

With Mike's status as a frequent customer of the Marriott organization, he automatically was granted lounge access with his reservation.

By lounge I mean, not a bar but a room with refreshments that you get into using your room key card.

We three girls plundered that for snacks before getting down to the business of dressing Audrey in her wedding gown, veil and all.

Erica arranged her sister's hair after Audrey had done her own makeup. We were due to meet Charlie, the photographer, at five thirty.

Only, I looked at my phone just as we were finishing up, and it already WAS five thirty.

So Audrey texted Charlie to say, hold on, we're coming, and we hustled to the elevator and down to the lobby and out onto the street where we collected Erica's SUV and got the bride into the back.

Look at the splendor around you

Erica pulled expertly into rush hour traffic (minimal as ours is a small town, but still, it was between five thirty and six) and headed for Arsenal Hill.

Halfway there -- that is to say, two blocks from the hotel -- Audrey said: I forgot my flowers.

Oh dear.

Erica maneuvered back around to the front of the Sheraton, double parked, and activated her hazard lights. The ones on her car.

I gave her my key card and she ran inside. Our room was on the fourteenth floor.

Six or so minutes later she came back out. Without the flowers.

The key card does not open the door to the room, she said when she'd reached the car.

I gave her my second key card and jumped out of the car. I was right behind Erica as she ran back into the lobby and to the bank of elevators and pressed the UP button.

Historic trees, brick, and wrought iron

I went to the desk and implored the kind lady there to please please please give us keys that work for more than one entrance into the room. We had only checked in two hours before!

She apologized and gave me an additional key card, and by then Erica was back, having had success, and with the bouquet, we went back to Audrey waiting in the car.

We headed out again, and were a full half hour late for the shoot, but Charlie was waiting patiently, and the light was still excellent, so all was well.

Only, that massive elaborate wrought-iron gate in front of which I'd dreamed of a long shot of Audrey? It was mostly obscured by a police car parked there. More or less permanently, as there was no one in it.

We did get a few up-close shots of the bride but the ornate top of the gate was not visible as it disappeared when the cruiser was cropped out.

The street where the Governor's Mansion is situated is an entire block of historic brick and wrought iron, though, and Charlie began working on several poses of Audrey as we moved back down the street towards the gate that leads to the Mansion itself.

The mansion as backdrop

We reached that gate and Audrey posed in front of it for a few minutes. Just inside the gate is a lovely little security building that looks as though hobbits would live there.

A non-hobbit security guard emerged from the tiny structure and said without preamble: Y'all are going to have to move. The Governor and First Lady are leaving.

I had seen two black SUVs sitting in front of the mansion and now they made sense.

We all moved aside, and the gates opened, and sure enough, the two SUVs slowly rolled through. 

The second (or maybe it was the first) one stopped briefly at the end of the drive before turning into the street, and we could see someone waving at us from behind darkly tinted windows.

Erica put in a day's work with the dress

That would be The Honorable Henry Dargan McMaster, 117th Governor of South Carolina.

Then the two SUVs exited the drive and were gone.

I was disappointed that the Governor had not rolled down the window to congratulate Audrey.

But you can't have everything.

Or can you?

We circled back the way we had come, to find another ideal spot for some more shots of the bride.

Perhaps one full minute elapsed before it happened.

We pursued many verdant pathways

And what happened was, we heard a sound, looked up, and the two black SUVs had come back.

They had returned, then circled in the street and come to a stop at the curb not ten feet from the gate where they had moments before exited.

The window went down on the passenger side in the back.

An English bulldog (the First Dog of South Carolina, as it were -- name of Mac) jumped up and stuck his head out.

An elegant feminine hand grasped the strap just inside the window.

I never saw her face, but I clearly heard her quintessential Southern Belle voice. First Lady of South Carolina Peggy McMaster said: Would y'all like to take your pictures on the grounds?

The only pic I got of the Guv's SUV

Moonlight and magnolias all the way, if you get my drift. ALL the way from the Upstate to the Low Country and everything in between.

We gasped and chorused: Yes ma'am!

She responded with a gentle admonishment: All right but just don't go up on the porch!

We promised that we wouldn't. Governor McMaster had leaned forward and was waving to us from beside his wife. 

I think I was too stunned to even wave back. Love ya Guv'na!

The elegant hand receded and Mac the English bully disappeared. The window closed, the two black SUVs purred away from the curb, and again they were gone.

Then the gates opened and we were ushered inside by some surprised but cordial security guards.

We used every bit of the light

Charlie could not believe it. The rest of us could not believe it either. There was not another soul there and it was the golden hour for photography on a perfect weather day.

Right place, right time took on that extra-special meaning that it sometimes does.

Let me stop here and say, there are tours of the Governor's Mansion and its grounds several times a week. I know that, even though I have never been on one of them.

But to be there at that time of day, with no others around? It was like a dream.

Charlie and Audrey started working while Erica knocked herself out arranging her sister's dress over and over and over again.

I provided moral support and took most of the pictures in this post, with my cell phone.

As we walked further inside the property, we came to the Governor's private rose garden. A small but ornate garden gate, with a heart worked into its center, was closed.

The bride was happy

I peered through and saw that it led to their swimming pool, beside which stands an impressive pool house.

Charlie was clicking away and when Audrey struck a certain pose, I was pretty sure that it would produce THE photo that my heart was looking for.

Presently a security guard approached us and said that the Governor and First Lady were on their way back, and that we would have to leave.

By then the light was gone and we were sure that there was magic in Charlie's camera, just waiting for him to bring out in post-processing, in ways most dazzling.

Which is exactly what he did.

And like I had dreamed of, among all of the beautiful pictures he took on that crazy day, was the money shot. The one that became Audrey's official bridal portrait.

It was better than I could have imagined. Early the next week, I sent a print of it to Governor and Mrs. McMaster, with a heartfelt thank-you note for their kindness and generosity.

And here is that portrait:

The one. Click to embiggen.

Special thanks to Jo-Lin's Bridal & Formal Wear, Allure Bridals, the South Carolina Governor's Mansion, Governor and Mrs. Henry McMaster, and Charlie Mather of Charlie Mather Photography.

Next post, I'll tell you some things about the wedding and the festivities surrounding it, and share more pictures.

Meanwhile the newlyweds are honeymooning in London. The cities of Paris and Istanbul will see the soles of their shoes, and their smiling faces, before they return home on November 24th. Dagny is here with TG and me.

Tomorrow's local forecast is for rain, with cooler temperatures. Our plan is to wear sweaters and go to Cracker Barrel and sit beside a window -- but within view of the fireplace -- to eat pancakes, and then do some Christmas shopping in the store.

And that is all for now.

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Happy Wednesday

Comments

[Maryellen]

How thrilling! And if you had been on time you might not have had the connection with the Governor and wife. Things happen for a reason. Beautiful photos and a lovely bride!

[Ginny Hartzler]

Wow! I'm sure when his term is up, you will vote to reelect him! How thoughtful! All of the shots are gorgeous, and so is the dress. My favorite is the one where it says underneath,"Historic trees, brick, and wrought iron". The sun is just peeking through the trees in the background.

[Mari]

Oh my word! This is the best!
That photo on canvas was beautiful to see in person and hearing the story makes it even better.
This couldn't have happened to better people. :)

[AC]

What a story! A thrill for you folk.

[Jennifer]

@Maryellen ... It was a moment we will never forget and such a blessing! xoxo

@Ginny ... YES we love Governor McMaster! He is a good conservative governor and he's been so good for our state. And that photo you like is one of my favorites too! It was a beautiful day and a lovely time of day to take our pictures. xoxo

@Mari ... Did you get to see it? I didn't mean for it to be DARK in the lobby of the venue when everyone walked in! In my mind there was soft light and I don't know what happened. But if you saw it, I'm glad. It's going to be hung on the wall sometime soon! xoxo

@AC ... It was indeed! xoxo