The Pugh Wedding at the Columbia Conference Center

If you haven't been keeping up with your subscription to the The Pugh Press, Teshieka and Derrek had an exceptional wedding at the Columbia Conference Center on October 1st. My team and I were lucky enough to be providing photography and videography, and this wedding really left an impression on me! These two have a genuine connection and a chemistry that showed through my entire experience of getting to know them.

I met Teshieka at a bridal show in Columbia and was happy she chose us for her big day. We did their engagement portraits at the Governor's Mansion gardens. And I was happy she selected the Columbia Museum of Art for her bridal portraits. That was my first time shooting there, and we made some fantastic images. Teshieka brought SO much personality to her bridals!

We started the day off with make-up by Lifted by Lady K and hair by Creme de la Creme Hair Gallery at a hotel suite near the wedding venue. The girls had fun hanging out all morning, and we met up with the guys at the venue. This bridal party was gigantic, with 36 total, possibly the largest I've photographed yet! All of the guests were given a very unique wedding itinerary: a "newspaper" called The Pugh Press, with great stories about the couple, a who's who, and the plans for the evening. I loved this idea! It featured several of our engagement portraits. They also printed a 30 x 44 Canvas of an engagement portrait and had guests sign it. I can imagine that will be a priceless keepsake to hang on the wall.

Symone Lakes from Suite14a in Atlanta was the wedding planner / coordinator and I see why she is so highly respected in her field! Not only was the venue completely stunning, she kept things running very smoothly, which had to be difficult considering the size of this bridal party and the 300+ guest in attendance. The catering provided by Columbia Conference Center was delightful, and I was impressed with the quality and the large selection of food items. I loved the floral arrangements provided from By Design Holiday & Events and the cakes made by Bonnie Brunt. The level of detail that went into the grooms cake shaped like a fresh pair of gold sneakers was nothing short of awesome - and the wedding cake had multiple layers of different types. DJ Perfect provided the music and kept the party hype all night!

There was one moment at the wedding that I will never forget. Teshieka and Derrek's entrance into the reception literally gave me chills and an adrenaline rush like I've never gotten from a wedding. The entire bridal party was introduced and the audience was amped up as each couple being introduced had their own fun entrance. Then when it was time for the newlyweds to be introduced, they switched to Jay Z's "PSA" and the intro immediately got my blood pumping. The whole crowd started going crazy and we all sang the lyrics along with the couple as they danced down the aisle. It was so fun for us all to share that moment and feeling.

There were fantastic speeches and fraternity/sorority singing, dancing, and stepping. I got some really cool shots of some groomsmen getting giant air. I can only imagine what an honor it feels like to be sang to by all of your sorority sisters and fraternity brothers, as has been done for generations before. I love traditions like these, and they gave us some awesome images.

This blog post ran longer than expected, but it's just because this wedding was full of emotional moments and great memories. I'll always remember this wedding, and I'm excited to re-live it with the wedding video in the coming months. Thanks so much for letting us be a part of your day, and congratulations on a perfect wedding!

Thanks for reading! I'm Trevor Mercer, a wedding photographer from Columbia, SC. I've been photographing weddings for over 10 years, and as a second-generation wedding photographer, I literally grew up in the business. I'm now providing wedding photography and videography for weddings in my state and well beyond, and I'm a 2016 & 2017 winner in the Knot's Best of Weddings. I decided to start a blog and share everything I've learned about weddings through the years, and I hope it helps make your wedding planning a little easier. Please subscribe, share, and comment with your input or questions! See everything about me at www.TrevorMercer.com

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