Summer Mini Sessions Are Here!

Hey everyone! It's that time of year again... mini sessions are here! Has it been way too long since your kids had professional pictures taken? If so, this might be the answer for you. Mini sessions are great because they don't take much time, and the date, time, and location are set in advance. The results, however, are the same: great images!

So here's the DL:
When: Friday, June 11th
Where: Lion & Bear Park in Ardrey Neighborhood {Ballantyne}
Time: 30 minute slots from 9:00am - 7:00pm
Cost: $60 per session (this is a 40% discount from a regular, full-length session)
BONUS: 25% of all proceeds from session fee and orders goes to the Lift Up Ellie fund. {Ellie is an 8 year old Ardrey resident battling a rare form of cancer.}

What's included:

• Private, online gallery of proofs
• Less than two week turnaround
• Two 5x7s and one 8x10 of your choice
• Props will be on site, but feel free to bring your own "toys" too!

Check out the below postcards I've posted on Facebook for more details. Click on either to enlarge. Call or email today to claim your spot! Reservations are required, and the day will book up quickly!

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!

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/

Simple Wedding Packages Made Easy!

Hi girls and boys. If you're getting married in 2010 or 2011 you'll be happy to hear that I've recently revamped my offerings. I've lowered prices and made my packages more simple. Nothing bugs me more as a consumer to feel nickel and dimed, so I do my best to NOT do that to my customers.

In sticking with my theme of keeping it simple, I'm now offering two basic packages: one is called "Black" and the other is "White" (creative, huh?) Anyway, both include ample time to shoot your wedding and reception from the preparation shots through the bouquet toss. They also include online proofing, editing of all images, and $50-100 reprint credit (to put towards your print orders.) The "White" package also includes an engagement session and the disc of full resolution proofs! Of course, both of these are available a la carte if you choose to go that way as well. Easy as pie!

So I'm working on Jessica and Philip's proofs right now. They got married at the end of January on the day the entire city shut down due to snow and ice. (Remember that?) It was crazy cold and the streets were all abandoned, but the wedding went on! Way to power through, guys :) I'm glad I kept my 4-wheel-drive SUV afterall.

Here's my fave so far....

Bobcats vs. Cavs Game - Charlotte Photography

Last weekend I had a rare opportunity presented to me. A friend in the biz who is a professional sports photographer obtained a press pass for me to shoot the Bobcats game with him. We were playing the Cavs, so I couldn't say "no".

I've never been to a Bobcats game before, and if I ever go again, it will never live up to this. Once you've had fine wine, who wants PBR?!? What an amazing night... seriously one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life.

Sell out crowd, HUGE win by the Bobcats over the Cavs, got to see Shaq & LeBron, and last but not least I got my first taste of paparazzi as Nicky Hilton was in town to open the new nightclub, Butter.


LeBron during warmups


Shaq dunkin'


Nicky and her nightclub buddy. She doesn't like me taking her picture too much.


Superstars stunned to be losing :)


LeBron sinking one. Dude is TALL.

Audrey Turned One!

My sweet baby girl turned one on Friday. We had her big party on Saturday with 22 people at our house! It turned out so well. She was a little taken back, but plowed into her cake none the less. The theme was cupcakes, and I went all out!

Special thanks to Polka Dot Bake Shop in Park Road Shopping Center for supplying each of our families with cupcake party favors. Cloud 9 Photography and Polka Dot Bake Shop are both local Charlotte "Boilermaker-Owned" businesses!