January Promotion - {free proof disc}

First off, congratulations to all of you brides and grooms to be who got engaged over the holidays! What an exciting year for you. I wanted to share with everyone that I am running a promotion through January 31. If you book my services and choose my platinum package, I will throw in the high resolution disc of proofs absolutely free! {In seven+ years of shooting weddings I've never done this.} Get it while the getting's hot!

October Wedding at Birkdale

I just finished editing my FINAL wedding collection for 2011. I couldn't be more excited! They turned out great, and the venue couldn't be better. I've shot at Birkdale countless times and never get sick of it. If you brides are looking for an awesome venue, you'd better run (don't walk) to BGC to get on their schedule. They fill up fast!

Congrats Scott and Stefanie!

Angela and Sean - June 4

I am a self-admitted slacker blogger. I guess that's what three kiddos will do to you (and a full time job!) None the less, I'm loving my side gig shooting all these beautiful couples. I recently finished up Angela and Sean's wedding collection. Their weddings was in early June uptown in Freedom Hall. It was tres beau, and Angela did a great job with all of the decorations and atmosphere. We had a really good time outside at Trade and Tryon as well. Such a laid back, in love couple... love it when they just ignore me and be themselves. That makes for the best images!

Here are a few to share. You can see more on my Facebook page :) Happy viewing.

Hurry Up and Wait

It's 5:00am. I'm up due to either late pregnancy insomnia, the fact my entire team is getting outsourced in the next few weeks, or the shower of pollen on North Carolina that is making my sinuses hurt so much in the middle of the night. It's OK though. I'm finally catching up on my Google Reader. I have so many favorite blogs I love to read, and I've been neglecting them for several weeks now. Most are DIY design blogs. My dream job would be to repaint/refinish old furniture for a living... who knows?! Maybe I can do it after maternity leave (re: #2 on my list of insomnia possibilities). It's all good... whatever will be will be; I'm not overly worried.

I spent a good amount of time last night working on Katie and Will's wedding collection. They got married a month ago in Chapel Hill. While I'm really anxious for our baby boy to get here, I really need to finish their collection before he does; btw, he's due two weeks from today! Anyway, I'm in the middle of the ceremony right now, but just LOVED these pictures of the flower girl. How sweet is she?

So many kids are just NOT excited to be in a wedding. She's the exception!

Can't you just see the sense of excitement and importance on her face?!? Love it!

28 Days

Not Netflix... not rehab... I'm due 28 days from now. I couldn't be more excited! Maybe he'll come early although I really like the idea of an April baby, so March can just take it slow with me.

On another note, I just posted the album layout I designed for Matt and Gillian (September 4 wedding) on Facebook. It's a 10x10 album, hence the square images. I really like it, and I used a new program to design it which cut my design time by at least 50% and gave me a lot more creative flexibility... something this lady needs these days!

Next up is editing. I shot a super fun wedding in Chapel Hill two weeks ago that I need to edit, then I'll be heading on to editing last week's bridal shoot. We captured the bridal shoot it in two very odd locations: a fire station and a retirement home :) I thought I'd seen it all, but these were firsts for me! Both locations turned out great though. I can't wait to share images. The most exciting part was the fire station got a call while we were shooting. It literally took between 8-12 seconds for the truck/firemen to be gone. I've nevre seen anything so fast in my life. I was very impressed and am now even more thankful for our firemen, policemen and others who put their lives on the line daily to protect ours. So cool!

 

Judy & Joel: A Wake Forest Wedding

Some couples I just fall in love with... you other photogs know what I'm talking about. Some people just touch your soul, and you can see right away that they are the "real deal". Judy and Joel are two of those people. Both are so sweet, kind, and easy going. They are a photographer's dream!

I met them last fall when we did their engagement session at Jetton Park in Cornelius. It was so easy to capture their love for one another. They are/were both graduate students at Wake Forest, which is where they held their wedding this past May. While it did rain for a little while, the sun peeked out just in time for our campus pictures so I was really excited about that (I mean, Wake IS a beautiful place, people!)

I totally went overboard with their proofs. I love them all, but the B&W ones especially caught my eye this time around. Here are a few of my faves...

Oh! One more thing before my faves... Another all-time-favorite couple, Scott & Beth (Saratoga Springs wedding June 2008) just had their first baby in January {I love it when that happens!} They contacted me to start taking shots of their sweet Caitlin. We accomplished that in the same location as their engagement photos. {How fun is it to do side-by-side comparisons in a double frame?} As soon as I edit them, I'll post them (hopefully in the next two weeks.) Yay for Mary's favorite couples!!!

The Dress

I just really like this shot. Not sure why.

Moments after the "first sight" which happened impromptu and totally my fault....

Going to the par-tay in Reynolds Hall at WFU

Joel looks so tough in this picture. Actually, he's a soft-spoken teddy bear believe it or not!

"Hello, may I please speak to my husband?!?"

Getting ready... Judy's dress had two pockets on the sides. How cool is that!

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!

Congrats Jennifer & Dan! Charlotte Wedding 2010

Wasting no time, I jumped right back into shooting weddings this past Saturday on January 2nd. It was the coldest day of the winter yet, but that didn't stop anything! My brave bride and groom even wanted to do some outside shots, so I pulled on the wool coat and said "sure!" The wedding was at an Episcopalian church uptown followed by a GORGEOUS reception at the Havana Social Club in Cornelius. This was a new venue for me, but one I hope to shoot at again. Brides... check it out. It's a beautiful venue full of windows and a really nice coordinator with a fun accent :)

Here are some faves from our chilly day...

@ the church

exiting after the ceremony

Jetton Rd - Cornelius

Jetton Park

Church & 5th St. - Uptown

2010 is Booking Quickly!

First and foremost, say a quick prayer of thankfulness for all of the men and women who proudly serve the greatest country in the world. We are forever indebted to them...

Hi guys and gals, brides and grooms... I hope you're having a great Fall and are deep in the swing of planning your weddings! I'm getting lots of requests right now, so I guess this is the last big push before the Christmas engagement wave hits in January. I just booked July earlier today. Another month bites the dust!

I've just finished up a few collections from two weddings and an engagement. This weekend I've got a baby shoot, then next weekend I'm shooting my final session of the year - a bridal portrait at Latta Plantation. I'm so excited to be nearing the end of my workload. It's been a wonderful year, and I'm thankful for all the business, but I'm ready to relax and enjoy the holidays :)

Here are some faves for your viewing pleasure:

Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden

Chillin' at T-Bones before the reception

Mr. & Mrs!

Love this pic... that boy wants to DIVE in. Mom's finger says it all.

My Wake Forest couple: shot at Jetton Park

Love me some leaves! This is why I love fall.

Editing my heart out...

The finish line is near... ok, not really, but I tell myself that to keep the motivation up. Just returned from a long weekend in Jamaica with my wonderful hubby. It was gorgeous... beautiful beaches, great snorkeling, fresh seafood... take me back! No, really, four nights away from my kiddos was about all I could stand. Isn't it sad? You try so hard to have an adult-only getaway once a year then end up missing your kids so much you can't wait to get home and hug them!

So anyway, I'm still editing my heart out. Almost done with Lauren and Jesse's wedding, then moving on to my July brides. Here's a little collage I put together for Lauren in the meantime.



I have been up to my ears in portrait sessions, and it's not stopping anytime soon. In the next week I have one engagement, two baby sessions, and one "new dog" session...LOL! I also have a mountain wedding at the end of the month before hanging up my camera for the year. I love photography, but I'm happy with my decision to take the fall off this year and simply enjoy my favorite season without having to run to a wedding every Saturday or cram up my weekends with portrait sessions. It gets crazy, y'all! Plus, I'm ready to watch some college football this year. Boiler Up!


Here's some Jamaica for you: Couples Swept Away