Franzi and Martin seamlessly blend fine art, fashion, and photojournalism to capture every moment of your special day

A Charleston Yacht Club Wedding

Charleston wedding

Honored to be the wedding photographers

Penny and Doug’s Charleston Yacht Club wedding is the perfect example for how wonderful and valuable friendships in the wedding industry can be.

Close to the end of last year my friend Dennis’ wife Irina reached out to me asking if I could shoot a wedding on February 2, 2020. Now keep in mind, Dennis is a wedding photographer himself.

Turns out that Penny is a really good friend of them and Dennis would much rather attend as a wedding guest. Well, and I don’t blame him at all. If I had to choose attending a wedding with or without my camera in my hand… Haha, don’t get me wrong I love my job!! My point is, I felt so honored that I was Dennis’ first choice when referring a photographer to Penny. I was the one he would trust to shoot a friends’ wedding! For me that’s huge.

Little did I know that he was totally right when thinking I might be a good fit. When I met Penny the first time, we clicked immediately. It felt like she was filling the room with her happiness and joy.

We talked and laughed and jumped from one topic to the next one like super excited kids, never finishing what we had started talking about in the first place. She told me how she met Doug and while she remembered her eyes were glowing. I could tell, this girl was head over heels and her wedding day couldn’t get here fast enough.

The day of the Charleston Yacht Club Wedding

Their wedding day was filled with emotions, laughter and music! But the moment that touched me the most was the mother-son dance. As soon as Penny and her dad Jack left the dance floor, Louis Armstrong’s ‘what a wonderful world’ came on. Boy, this song always touches me! Doug’s mom Janie got up and covered her face. Tears were running down her cheek when she made her way up to the front. And let me tell you, there wasn’t a dry eye during this dance.  I loved seeing Penny, her mom and dad standing right next to the dance floor, admiring those two with smiles on their faces. Doug later told me that this was his mom’s absolute favorite song and she had no idea that he chose it for their dance. Isn’t that the most thoughtful and cute surprise ever?

Highlighting the beautiful dresses

Let’s take a moment to talk about, how stunning the entire brial party looked that day. The bride’s elegant wedding dresses echo so beautifully with bridesmaids’ navy blue bridesmaid dresses and best men’s classic black suits, creating a harmonious vibe. If you are looking for equally pleasant bridesmaid gowns, you may turn to Azazie, just like what Penny and Doug’s chose.

Azazie is the leading DTC e-tailer for direct-to-consumer, high-quality bridesmaid dresses at affordable prices. With 200+ bridal gowns and 400+ bridal party dresses in over 80 colors,  Azazie is committed to body-positive fashion, offering all dresses from size 0-30, cut and sewn to order like expensive bespoke designs. It’s a bridesmaid dresses vendor you can count on. 

The day after the Yacht club wedding

Penny reached out me, thanking me with those words: ‘You and Martin felt like part of the family and I’m so honored to have both of you to capture this special day!!’ Wow! Let this sink in for a minute. I would lie if I said this didn’t melt my heart. Being valued as part of the family and not only a vendor is such a wonderful feeling and definitely another reason why I love what I do so much more.

Thank you, Penny and thank you Doug for trusting me and Martin and for being such wonderful and sweet people!


To all the fellow wedding vendors – Thank you so much for being a part of this wedding day! We loved working with you. We sincerely appreciate everyone involved and all the effort put in to make this day special.


Franzi Annika Photography | Charleston Wedding Photographers