Destination: Charleston!

We love Charleston! :)

I think that just about sums it up! We headed down to Charleston, SC to meet Lacie and David for the first part of their destination engagement session a few weeks ago. It was perfectly dreamy and everything we hoped it would be! Come explore some of our favorite Charleston spots with us!

We started our first morning with some honey drizzled ricotta toast and a vanilla latte (epically delicious!) at The Collective. If we lived closer, this would definitely be a regular spot for us! After breakfast we headed downtown to get lost exploring the beautiful historic neighborhoods!

Can I just sit on this bench forever?

You know how much we love finding amazing local food on our trips! We consumed our fair share of she crab soup and shrimp & grits! :)

We went on the classic horse and carriage ride around Charleston, and it was amazing! Funny fact: the city tells each carriage which route they’re allowed to go. They use this old fashioned bingo system! Our route took us along battery park and through some of our favorite parts of the historic neighborhoods. We used Carolina Polo and Carriage Co!

The bingo route system!

After our carriage ride, we stopped in Battery Park to cool off in the shade! This place is so special to us! We stopped through Charleston for a couple hours on our honeymoon almost 8 years ago. I remember exactly how it felt standing here next to Joel on our first official day as a married couple. What a special moment to be back there!

The very first selfie we took as husband and wife was in this park! I just remember that it was soooo hot that August day, so we didn’t stay long before getting in the car and heading down to our destination in Florida. Since that day, we’ve had it on our bucket list to come back to Charleston and take more time to explore! So we did – and here is a selfie in the same place almost 8 years later! :)

Because when you find the great light, you take a selfie!! ;)

After a few hours of exploring, we stopped by Black Tap Coffee for a #jacoffeeadventures and some air conditioning! This little spot was so perfect. The coffee was delicious (#jacoffeefavorites, for sure!), and the modern decor was our perfect balance after exploring all those historic neighborhoods! If you’re in Charleston and like coffee, definitely stop by and chill for a few minutes.

After a most perfect coffee break, we did some location scouting for Lacie and David’s engagement session later that weekend! Of course, at least one of us had to model to test the light… :)

Then off for some more exploring! We seriously can’t get enough of these historic southern cities!!

And I would be totally lose without my faithful tour guide. I scout out all the places we should visit, and Joel gets us there! It’s a win-win for us! :)

Saturday morning was a new morning for adventure! We started at The Daily with coffee, tahini toast, and a bacon and onion jam breakfast sandwich. So yummy!

After breakfast, we headed out to Folly Beach, SC to explore and sink our toes in the sand!

My “it’s bright out here” squinty laugh cracks me up every time!! :)

We hiked (by hiked, I mean we walked down a half mile paved path..) out to a beach near the Morris Island lighthouse.

After our adventure out to Folly Beach, we headed back into Charleston in time to catch lunch at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market! We had food truck biscuits and food truck tacos. Delicious. :) We hung out for a few minutes to listen to this guy sing! Loooved him!

After our Farmer’s Market lunch, we headed out to explore a little bit more of the city, of course!

I can’t even tell you house much I want a porch like that on my house!

And perhaps I could descend down from that porch into this garden… ;)

We found the cutest little cupcake shop called Sugar! We sat in a little garden to eat our cupcakes. Could it get any better??

Then it was back to exploring and a little coffee shop cool down break until it was time to meet Lacie and David for their dreamy downtown Charleston engagement session!!

On our way to church Sunday morning, we stopped near the coast to see Ft Sumter. We found a cute little hidden beach while we were there! We stopped to take a few pictures of the famous Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge for my little brother. He’s a civil engineer and loves everything with bridges, so I was a good big sister and grabbed some shots! :)

And after a Sunday enjoying church and some extra rest, we headed over to Savannah for Monday’s Part 2 of Lacie and David’s engagement session weekend! (You can see their Savannah engagement session blog here!)

Check out Lacie and David’s Charleston engagement session blog post here! :)

Charleston had so many things to love: historic neighborhoods, gorgeous gardens, epic coffee, delicious food, horse and carriage rides, and special memories. We can’t wait to get back there again! :)

*hugs*

Amber