Happy 2010!

Merry Christmas... and a happy new year! I hope Santa was good to everyone this year. I had a wonderful Christmas. My husband went overboard on gifts for me (per usual) but now that I'm over the guilt of it, I'm actually enjoying them. The best, by far, was a six month membership to Massage Envy. I usually get 1-2 massages a year. Now I get one every month! Woo hoo!

For all of you girlies who may have gotten a big ole diamond for Christmas... thanks for visiting! I hope you like my work. 2010 is booking up quickly, and I just wiped August off the calendar last week. This means January, May, July, and August are already filled. Outside of that I'm game :)

I have a wedding this Saturday for a couple whose groom may or may not be deployed for his third tour in Iraq at the end of January. I'm really excited for their wedding. We did a quickie engagemnet session in uptown earlier this week. Here are a few faves... and thanks for serving our amazing country, Dan!

Fa la la la la....

It's the time of year again... went up to the mountains with my family yesterday and picked out a tree. This is one of my favorite days of the year. Cut a tree, eat at a local restaurant, then shop Main St. in Blowing Rock. There was even a few inches of snow on the ground this year which our three year old thought was, of course, the best part!

So I haven't posted anything in almost a month... not because I'm lazy, but because I've been too busy! As you probably know, pictures make great Christmas gifts so naturally all of my clients have been ordering like crazy. On top of that I've had several portrait, engagement, and bridal sessions in the last month. To top it off, I've booked three more weddings for next year. Brides... book now! I am only accepting one wedding a month in 2010 so once they're gone, they're gone.

I made one exception to my rule and double booked for January. I've got a sweet bride who was planning on a June wedding, but her fiance is getting deployed to Iraq early so they're shooting for New Year's weekend. If you've followed my blogs you know I love our men and women in uniform... so much I give them an automatic 10% off right from the get go. I'm looking forward to capturing some great memories for this deserving couple.

Merry Christmas to all!

p.s. Here's a pic of my kitchen. Another reason I haven't blogged lately... discovered that the ice maker hose came loose weeks ago and has been secretly ruining our floor. Everything buckled on Thanksgiving day. We've had very loud fans blowing for a week straight (24/7) and will hopefully get a new floor laid this week along with new cabinetry to replace the damaged. Thank you homeowners' insurance!

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.

Dog Days of Autumn

I'm in power mode. I've edited four collections in the last week, and have only two weddings to edit before I can say I'm done for the year (minus two upcoming shoots, but I won't count that in my current workload just yet.) Woo hoo!

Amongst the babies and grown-ups, I had the opportunity to have my first canine shoot :) A sweet couple, Chris and Hannah, recently got a puppy named Henry. He was about 10 weeks old when we took this shoot and already around 70 pounds. He's on his way to at least twice that, so they wanted some images while he's still nice and "small." It was super fun though. I love dogs with all my heart, so this was especially fun!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my birthday. I LOVE October, and part of the reason is my birthday. Who doesn't love their birthday? I don't complain about getting older. I'm thankful for it, afterall, it's another year on our glorious Earth. I think of all of our soldiers whose families would give anything for just one more day, so how can I complain about a few more wrinkles here and there, ya know? Happy to be 32!

I flew to DC and back today for work. I literally take ONE business trip a year, and it happned to fall on my birthday. This I can complain about. I had to eat Subway in Dulles airport for dinner, but my manager took me to a really nice Italian restaurant for lunch so I guess that makes up for it :) As well, my wonderful husband awaited me at home with roses, a slice of carrot cake (my fave!) and some super fun presents.

I'm super happy, because for the first time in five years of business I've taken the fall OFF! My last wedding was September 26th, and I'm on hiatus from weddings until January. Don't get me wrong; I love shooting weddings. But I also love college football and hanging out with my family watching my girls grow, so I'm happy with my decision to say "no" to all the 2009 fall weddings. This doesn't mean the works stops. I still have two weddings, one engagement, one canine, and two baby sessions to edit, plus a few more portrait shoots coming up. Never ending, I tell ya!

Speaking of, both January and May are booked for 2010. I've been getting inundated with inquiries for all the other months, so book soon if you're interested! I only accept one wedding per month.

Here are some faves from my recently finished collection of Baby Grant, taken at about 6 weeks of age:

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.