Monday, April 26, 2010

Hannah & Chris - Tybee Island, Georgia Wedding Photography

This past weekend I got the opportunity to take a mini vacation to Savannah, GA to photograph Chris and Hannah's wedding on Tybee Island. I've been in the Carolinas for four years now and still haven't made it to Savannah, so this was the perfect excuse to make a weekend of it!

My husband and I loaded up the Jeep, took the top down, dropped our girls off at their grandparents, and hit the road mid-Friday. It was a beautiful day, and the drive down couldn't be more fun. We arrived in Savannah around 5pm and were in Tybee not long after.

Like most Charlotteans, we do the "beach thing" every summer. Thus far, we've been sticking to Emerald Isle, NC. I have been on the hunt though for a beach home (let me clarify, a place to call "home" that our girls can grow up having great memories of, not an actual house...LOL). Let me tell you... Tybee is in the running! What a quaint, quiet, yet historical little gem this is. Tybee is totally walkable, and is very bicycle friendly. We enjoyed living the Margaritaville lifestyle Friday night at Fannie's on the Beach before calling it a night.

Saturday came, and so did the rain. We were tourists in Savannah the first half of the day. We drove around a lot, and I recognized sites from one of my favorite shows, "Ruby", (on the Style network) before settling down on River Street. Loved, loved, loved walking around down there and around Bay St. upstairs. The whole time I kept wishing I lived there because there are so many cool, old backdrops that would be great for photos.

So on to the wedding. WOW. Some people just have the "it" factor, and Hannah is one of them. The girl just knows what's classy, modern, and simple all at the same time. She and Chris' family rented an amazing estate directly on the beach which would  be the location of both the wedding and reception. An intimate affair, only 26 guests were present (all but two of whom were family.) I was so honored to be chosen to capture their special day. I was literally the only vendor there, as they did everything else themselves (decor, food, music... you name it.) Everything was so beautiful; I've had a really hard time narrowing down my favorites, so this will be a lengthy blog post.

Minus the whole "rain" thing (which forced the beach wedding to relocate to the back porch of the home) the ceremony couldn't have gone better. We did have a major accident afterwards involving a collapsed deck (that wasn't a typo..a collapsed deck). Luckily, no one was seriously injured, and after the shock wore off and nerves settled back down, a wonderful evening was enjoyed by all.

Jim (my husband and default hired assistant for the night) and I were so humbled to be a part of Chris and Hannah's special day. I've been in this business for almost six years now, and hands down, this was one of my most favorite weddings yet. Congratulations, Hannah & Chris!

Jessica & Philip - Charlotte Wedding Photography

Jessica and Philip were married during the "blizzard of 2010". This is also known as the 1/2 inch snow and ice storm that Charlotte experienced the weekend of January 29th. Now, while everyone else was cleaning out Harris Teeter of Diet Coke, bread, and DiGiorno pizzas (priorities, people) I was busy thinking "hmm, how will this wedding happen?"

Well, the answer to that was "without a hitch!" I live way down south and this wedding was way up north. Luckily, my husband believes in always owning at least one four-wheel-drive vehicle (we are midwesterners) so my travels were pretty easy. I left a little early, but ultimately made it there with only a few skids here and there :) The roads were empty, which was pretty cool. Even cooler, on the way home I got the chance to shoot the skyline in complete emptiness. The city was dead, and it couldn't have been more beautiful (see below.)

Here are some of my faves from Jessica and Philip's wedding. No dampered spirits here! They had a great time, redirected their mountain honeymoon to an uptown swanky hotel, and had a ball! Congrats to you both!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

New Site Launched!

I'm so excited that my new site has finally launched! There are tons of new images on the site, and they are bigger than before. You can see every little detail! Let me know what you think. I hope you love it as much as I do! {Mary}

http://www.cloud9photography.com/