While planning a destination wedding from Western New York, few vendors were more important to us to be able to capture our special Charleston day, than our choice in photographer. Our love was there, so the decor and other details were extras. However, we really wanted great photos captured to be able to frame, give to our loved ones as gifts and have those special moments to look back on with our future children. 
We chose to divide and conquer when we weren't finding that one photographer that seemed to fit our vision. We both made inquiries separately during our lunch breaks in the same week and were going to come together to go over our findings that weekend. It was then that Charlie put two and two together after we had inquired about the same date and venue. He set up a Skype consultation, and we had a great conversation with both Charlie and Valarie. They left us with "we look forward to hearing from you after you talk it over."  After we hung up, we knew we had to book this husband and wife team. The biggest draw we had to them was that they were both so personable. We wanted our wedding to be laid back, but we also wanted to get to know our vendors before the big day, so that we, as well as our family and bridal party felt more comfortable. Shortly after our conversation, we booked them for our engagement session, bridal and then wedding. 

If you want to be able to look back at your day through eloquent keepsakes that evoke amazing flashbacks of your special day through your photos, you need to book Charlie and Valarie! Capturing so many different important moments was very meaningful to us. Also, having a photographer with a fun-loving and relaxed personality, yet also direct (to stick with a tight schedule) was on our checklist. Having our engagement photos captured with Charlie was a great chance for him to be able to get us in front of the camera, pose us so our pictures were natural looking and also have us get to know each other better. 
We wanted a photographer that would deliver incredible snapshots of our dream wedding. What we didn't expect to come out of this with was newfound friends! By booking Charlie and Valarie, you're getting just that: a team that prepares you for the engagement shoot, bridal shoot, detail shots, helps you with day-of timeline prep, makes you laugh and feel comfortable and most of all, a couple that really wants to know you prior to wedding day so that they can really help make your big day the best it can be!

Charlie thought of so many small details that really made an impact on our wedding experience and made the entire celebration even more fun! He got along well with all of our vendors and all of our loved ones. We have so much more we could say about how positive our experience was, but in summary, we can assure anyone looking for an amazing photography package --- book this husband and wife team! We look forward to sharing future moments with them and will definitely look to book when traveling and vacationing in our future! 

Planning a surprise engagement for my girlfriend at the time, as anyone can imagine, was extremely nerve wracking! Not to mention, I was planning all of this to happen in Charleston while I live in NJ. Charlie went out of his way to scope out possible locations for me at different times of the day, and set my mind at ease. My, now fiance, had no idea what was coming, and the outcome could not have been any better. Charlie was a pleasure to work with and the final product (photos) could not have come out better: the quality, his knowledge of different locations, natural lighting at different times of the day, beautiful backdrops, etc. If you are reading this, DO NOT LOOK ELSEWHERE. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!

Charlie was absolutely incredible and accommodating! He worked so hard so I could pull off the best proposal! He even called businesses for me, and went out of his way to help me in a city that I had never been to before. The pictures turned out perfectly, and we got them back in a reasonable time! He was responsive and all-in-all, it was a great experience. I recommend him to anyone looking to capture their proposal!

Charlie captured the very best moments of the very best day of our lives! He felt like family and absolutely everyone and I mean EVERYONE who came in contact with him and his camera lens that day adored him! He captures genuine happiness and knows how to make sure you look your best doing it. :-) Even got my husband crying happy tears. Haha! We love Charlie and Valarie! Can’t recommend enough. Amazing work! We will cherish these photos forever.

If there's one thing to take away from this review, its: YOU MUST BOOK CHARLIE FOR YOUR WEDDING! And here's why... Where to begin! Charlie + Val were the absolute best. Planning a semi-destination wedding in Charleston from NYC can be slightly overwhelming..especially when it comes to choosing your vendors. Minutes after reaching out to Charlie, he called me. He & Val from our initial conversation were just so easy to talk to, helpful and informative- we immediately hit it off and clicked. I had already loved Charlie's style of photography so it was an added bonus that he was also super cool. We first met Charlie & Val for our engagement session almost 7 months before our wedding. Charlie was so energetic, goofy (Which you want from your photographer!) and open to any and all feedback in terms of locations, poses we felt comfortable with, etc. He didn't make us feel rushed, in fact, convinced us to continue our session in DT Charleston to capture golden hour, which we are so happy we did! Our engagement photos came out incredible! In the months after that leading up to our wedding, Charlie was SO easy to coordinate with - he's extremely responsive, always checking in to see how we were doing, and always asking what he could help us with. Fast forward to the wedding day- Charlie showed up practically before my bridesmaids (!) He had even purchased props for the detail photos that matched our color scheme. (Um what!!) Charlie came into our getting ready room with the biggest smile on his face -- so positive, energetic and PUMPED for our big day. He seriously made me feel like the most special bride in the world and his #1 priority for the day. It even rained here and there leading up to the wedding, but all Charlie could say was how perfect it was and reassured me. It could have been a hurricane and Charlie would tell you everything was going to be ok. Charlie was a true professional. He stuck to our timeline and kept us moving and really ran the show. Speaking from experience - trust me when I say your photographer is the most important vendor decision you will make. You will be with he/she the ENTIRE day. At times I even felt like Charlie was my wedding planner - he went ABOVE & BEYOND to make sure I was always taken care of and had everything I needed. I could literally go on and on about Charlie. He was truly the best and we are so thankful to have found him! THANK YOU CHARLIE (and Val!!)

Charlie is probably the best decision we have made for our wedding! His photos are breathtaking! He is a great photographer and so fun. His personality is great and he gets along with everyone! Our wedding guests are still talking about how wonderful he is! Charlie did our engagement photos and our wedding photos! We will definitely be sticking with him as long as we can for any other professional photos! Choose Charlie if you want a great and fun photographer!

Charlie and Val were PHENOMENAL to work with! They captured our engagement so perfectly and were so sweet and fun to be around! Charlie is creative and makes sure you look your best in each frame he captures! I seriously can’t say enough great things about them! It started to rain during our session, and Charlie was so sweet to get up early the next day to meet us to ensure we had the session of our dreams.. I could go on and on about how fantastic they are.. If you’re looking for the most incredible photos— you’ve found the right guy!

I highly recommend Charlie and Valarie!! They are very professional, yet so incredibly fun to be around!! They made us feel at ease right away since this was our first time getting professional photos. They made us look flawless despite the heat index of 110 degrees! All our photos turned out better than we could have imagined! You will not find a better photographer in Charleston!!
-Megan and Andrew

My fiancé and I are from Pittsburgh but wanted to get our engagement photos when we were vacationing in Charleston/Folly. An instagram search led to Charlie, and we are so thankful that it did. Saying that Charlie went above and beyond for us doesn’t cut it. My fiancé and I found ourselves saying “really? He’s going to do that for us?” several times throughout working with him.

We were torn between getting photos with the beautiful architecture in Charleston or on the beach at Folly. Charlie’s solution: “Let’s do both!” The first day we were scheduled for pictures the forecast was showing torrential downpours, and I was panicked, but Charlie quickly eased my mind by providing alternatives, and ultimately assuring me that we’d get the shots no matter what it took. His positivity was contagious. His outlook on a rainy day: “I’ve always wanted to do a rainy day shoot! Your pictures would look so cute with my clear umbrella!”

You know when you were younger and a photographer would say something silly to make you laugh? Charlie has mastered that for adults too. He knows just what to say to get you to smile, giggle or belly laugh for those adorable, natural photos.
At the beginning of the shoot, he explains some key phrases for the poses so that throughout the process things are moving quickly and smoothly.

He brought along his super sweet wife, Valarie, for our first shoot, who came with helping hands bearing hair spray & hair tools. There is no length she won’t go to help Charlie & his clients get the best photos. She helps hold branches in the frames, makes sure your hair is placed, and they literally stood on either side of a vehicle and acted as human body shields so we could change into a second outfit.

Not only were Charlie & Valarie welcoming to us, they were extremely kind toward our family who wanted to come along and watch, and even snapped a few photos of them for us.

We got more beautiful photos than we ever imagined, and made new friends that we never expected to. If you’re reading this before making a decision to use Charlie Martin Photography, I wholeheartedly recommend that you do. You won’t be disappointed!

I can't say enough wonderful things about Charlie Martin Photography! I hired him to photograph my bachelorette weekend in Charleston/Isle of Palms, and he was so responsive throughout the whole process. He made the day SO FUN and relaxing, and he was able to capture everything I wanted for the weekend. I am SO happy I decided to get the bachelorette weekend photographed with Charlie (and Valerie) as I will have these memories and photos with all of my best girlfriends (and bridesman) forever. I hope to hire Charlie again for more photography in the future. FIVE STARS!!