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

Bring on the Fall!

Summer's been so busy, I'm ready for fall! I know I've been a slacker in posting, but I took a week of vacation (woo hoo!) and had wedding after wedding this summer. Since my last post I shot a gorgeous wedding at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Other than that, my head has been to the grindstone getting weddings edited and albums designed. A photographer's work is never done...

So I'm trying really hard to edit the three weddings I currently have outstanding before I go to Negril, Jamaica with my wonderful hubby. We celebrate our anniversary every year (this is our 7th) with a trip to an adult-only all-inclusive. We try to go somewhere new, and this resort came highly recommended. I'll let you know my personal thoughts afterwards. I will miss my girls like crazy, but cannot wait to just sit on a white beach, sip some rum punch, and read pointless novels like Pat Conroy's new "South of Broad" uninterrupted. Please pray for the hurricanes to stay away! We've always lucked out.

Emily & Brian - Charlotte Whitewater Wedding

This past weekend I got to shoot a wedding at one my favorite Charlotte destinations... the US Whitewater Center! If you've never been, you really should give it a try. My husband and I have been hiking with our dogs and kids for a few years now out at the Whitewater Center. He's gone rafting with BoA, but my company's legal department didn't think it would be such a great idea (hey, we tried.)

Anyway, Emily and Brian are very adventurous people so the location fit them perfectly. You couldn't have asked for better weather, either. I was dreading a high-noon, outdoor, Carolina July wedding for the longest time, but it actually turned out to be the best of the summer! Cool breezes, sunny, highs only in the 80's... who could ask for more? The only part I didn't like were the swarms (and I mean SWARMS) of yellowjackets all over the place by the water. I've been here so many times and never saw a single yellowjacket, so be on the lookout. Those suckers are literally 2" long. I read in the paper today a well-known, local businessman was stung by one Saturday morning and sadly died! Anyway, I digress...

... the wedding was great! You can tell this is a very laid back, carefree couple who will have few moments of drama in their decades to come. They just let things roll off their back most of the time and laugh at everything else. I wish I could have stayed longer to witness Emily ziplining and rafting in her wedding dress (no joke.)

I caught this image of Brian before the wedding waiting for Emily to come out for the "first look". He was so relaxed!

I took this just seconds after Brian and Emily saw eachother for the first time

This is one of my favorites... chillaxin on the adirondacks.

Drew & Matthew - Charlotte Babies

In the past week I had the fun opportunity of capturing two cute Ballantyne kiddos, both recently turning one year old. I'm so flattered that their parents chose me to photograph this awesome milestone. I've been capturing Baby Drew since he was just a week old, actually. I was thumbing through some of my older shots of him from last year which just reminded me how FAST these sweet babies grow up. Having two beautiful daughters of my own (ages 3 and 5 months), I've learned first hand how quickly they change from squirmy, wrinkled newborns into fat babies full of personality!

This was my first time shooting Matthew, and he made my job very easy. He's very relaxed and easy going, and doesn't move around too much. He's very easy to make laugh and enjoys simple things like bubbles and playing peek-a-boo with his Mama. Speaking of his Mama, he's her identical twin as a baby. It's almost scary how identical they look! I wish I had a picture of her as a newborn to show you. You'd die!

My advice to any new parents out there: have your baby photographed all year long (newborn, 3 mo, 6 mo, 12 mo.) You will never get this time back and they change so much... it's worth every penny. I don't care who you go to, just have it done! You won't regret it.

This is my favorite of Matthew

I just want to SQUEEZE those thighs!

So innocent and pure

When Matthew gets excited, he gets excited!

Drew's playful side coming out. He is a silly boy.

Look ma... no hands!

I wish I were this flexible.

Drew LOVES his wagon!

Jesse + Lauren - Mooresville Wedding

This past weekend was Lauren and Jesse's wedding in Mooresville followed by a super fun reception at Birkdale Country Club. I'll admit that I've been looking forward to their wedding all year! They are a totally care free, fun-loving couple that I knew would throw a killer wedding. They didn't disappoint. Lauren was all over all the little details (lime green and hot pink!) and didn't miss a beat. So fun!

So some of you know I had our most recent daughter just four months ago. I guess I'm still hormonal because I could not keep it together at this wedding! The minute Lauren's Dad saw her his floodgates opened, followed by Lauren's, followed by mine. I'm sitting there thinking "I hardly know these people, and I'm crying" but what's a girl to do? Usually the processional gets me, but this was the first time I cried while my bride was getting ready. I really am pathetic!

So as you can tell from the pics a great time was had by all. These are the kinds of weddings where I sometimes want to just toss the camera and join everyone on the dance floor. What a great time!

Ok, kids, I'm off to the beach. Happy 4th of July!

This is Lauren's signature expression!

Straight outta a magazine...

Jesse's so excited to see his bride!

Bubbles on exit

Mooresville ARP Church. Too darn cute.

Birkdale CC. Love me some pink parisols.

It was a sauna outside, but the tables sure were cute!

Just one of their many favors: personalized golf balls. Tee it up!

Dancing to "Jesse's Girl". Could they really NOT play this classic 80's hit? I think not!

Amanda + Lyndon - Charlotte Wedding

June has been my busiest month this year (surprise, surprise!) Since my last blog I've done one engagement and two weddings. All were fun; all were hot.

Especially hot was Amanda and Lyndon's wedding at Belk Chapel in Myers Park. The A/C was out in the church on a day where my car thermometer read 97! They were troopers and survived magnificently. Lyndon is an Air Force man (check out those Dress A's) so I knew he'd have no problem surviving, albeit even if it was H-O-T hot. Amanda deserves a Congressional Medal for withstanding the heat in her super big dress. She did great! This girl never complains about anything. I've spent a lot of time with her between engagement, bridal portraits, and the actual wedding. She has a great disposition and is simply a joy to be around. Lyndon lucked out! You know the old saying "Happy Wife, Happy Life".

Despite the heat, Amanda and Lyndon had a gorgeous wedding followed by a very classy reception at Maggiano's. It was very swanky and quite the party for a Sunday wedding if I do say so myself. Guests cut the rug all night long! We had a lot of fun. I haven't started editing yet, but here are a few favorites I've pulled out from the hundreds of files I have to go through.

Congrats Amanda and Lyndon! Enjoy this new chapter of your life in Charleston :)

Amanda before the wedding

Check out these cuties coming down the aisle

Just married!

So thankful to be out of the hot church!

Queens University has some killer photo ops. I love this one.

This was my excuse to eat some dessert first :) Who doesn't love Jelly Bellies?

I love the look on Amanda's face

All of the Academy cadets paying homage to "Top Gun"

Pete + Emma - Scranton Wedding

Ok, that is a complete lie, but I did get to travel to Scranton, PA this weekend for our good buddy Pete's wedding. (Jim and Pete got their MBAs together at Purdue in 2006.) Pete is from the "Electric City" also known as Scranton, Pennsylvania which most people know is the setting for "The Office" of which my husband and I are huge fans.

We were really excited for Pete's wedding. It's been a long time coming and we planned on going from the get-go. It just so happened that down the road they asked me to be their photographer, so of course I said yes. Normally I say "no" because if there's one wedding you don't want to screw up, it's a friend's wedding, right? It adds pressure and makes me nervous, but I knew Pete was such a nice, easy going guy that neither he nor Emma would make me uptight on D-Day (no pun intended.)

Scranton is a fun little city that reminded us a lot of Lafayette/West Lafayette. We quickly found the PA Paper Mill which many of you will recognize from the opening of The Office each week. As well, Saturday kicked off Scranton's weekly bus tours of all the famous locales depicted on the show. CFO David Wallace was in town for the first tour, but we had a wedding to go to and it was sold out anyway. ...Focus, Mary.... priorities!

Anyway, back to weddings. Pete and Emma's was awesome! They are both Catholic and got married in a beautiful old church that Emma's attended her whole life. We then hopped on the party bus, took a few pics at Marywood College, and then headed back to her parents' house to hang out before the reception.... which was out of this world by the way. It was held at the Scranton Cultural Center which is like a 100 year old historic building / performance hall. It was absolutely stunning. It reminded me a lot of the castle wedding I shot in Italy last fall. A-mazing. The food was also to die for and in massive quantities. They had seriously 10+ different cakes for dessert. Yum.

We are so happy for you, Pete and Emma! Have fun in St. Lucia! See you at homecoming (wink, wink... Oct 3rd.... Boiler Up!)