Brittany and Clay: Sneak Peek
Congrats to Brittany and Clay, married yesterday at Highgrove in Fuquay-Varina. Although it was unseasonably hot, it was a beautiful wedding and the bridal party rocked the wide-open reception late into the night. Brittany told me to photograph "anything and everything" and I happily obliged, since it seemed like everytime I turned around there was yet another adorable detail in this black, white and lavender polka-dot themed wedding. I can't wait to post more images,
but until then, here's a favorite.
Kendall & Jeremy: Sneak Peek
Congratulations to Kendall & Jeremy, who were married Saturday in a beautiful ceremony at Edenton St. United Methodist Church here in Raleigh. The couple is on their way to South Africa for a honeymoon safari...I tried to stow away but was discovered. Have fun, you two!
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Michelle & Ryan: Married! (Part I)
Michelle and Ryan were married on a gorgeous Saturday in downtown Salisbury, NC. How can I possibly sum up the fabulousness that is this couple? The cursor is blinking at me, waiting for inspiration to strike...and yet, here I sit, trying to summon the words to describe them, what a beautiful relationship they share and how wonderful and sweet their wedding day was. Now I'm all verklempt, so maybe I should just get right to the images.
One pair of killer heels wouldn't be enough for this day, so Michelle chose two! Whatever you do, DON'T describe the pair on the left as anything but Duke blue. It was the closest this Cameron Crazies bride could get. (Many of you will remember Michelle's Duke-themed bridal portrait session, complete with shots from Cameron Indoor Stadium. Not only is Michelle a Duke grad, but she received her law degree from Duke as well. To say she is a fan is a slight understatement.)
One of my favorite parts of the day...prettifying in the salon with all the girls. I loved Michelle's hair. It was a low, unconstructed mass of curls with the prettiest hair jewelry to set it all off.
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Listening to Ryan's gift...an iPod loaded with lawyer jokes.
Simply beautiful.
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Michelle and her mom Karen share a bond any mother and daughter would be lucky to have, so much so that Michelle asked Karen to be her Matron of Honor. I love this sweet moment between the two of them.
Ryan = RIOT. In case you missed his antics at the couple's engagement session at Fearrington Village, check out the slide show here. Frank said he laughed so hard photographing Ryan and his groomsmen that he was never more thankful for the anti-vibration technology in the camera lens.
You clean up nice, Ryan.
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The shots of Ryan and the groomsmen were shot across the street from the Meroney Theater in downtown Salisbury's historic district. The theater has been renovated and has a beautiful upstairs space for special events. One of my favorite details is the marquee -- complete with good wishes for the bride and groom.
Time to get married...
The church was huge. Thank goodness for long lenses. I do love a nice wide-angle shot, too!
Classic Ryan and Michelle.
More tomorrow from the reception...stay tuned! (If you just can't wait, you can see their slide show here.)
Lauren
This week I had the pleasure of shooting some headshots for Lauren. If you follow Pixel Dust regularly, she'll look familiar. Frank and I were fortunate to shoot Lauren's wedding to Andrew last March at Meredith College. Then we did an absolutely amazing Fearless Bridal session last May. Lauren and Andrew grace our business cards, our bridal show literature, a giant canvas in the studio, plus the "Lauren" necklace is named after her. She has referred so many clients to Sweet Life, I really should put her on the payroll!
Besides being a marketing whiz, a Sweet Life cheerleader and a good friend, Lauren just took on the roll of blogger/columnist for the Charlotte Observer's Carolina Bride online. Each week, you can read her column on life as newlyweds called, appropriately enough, The Journey Ahead. She'll be covering everything from how to adjust to life after the rush and excitement of the wedding is over to not freaking out your new husband with over-zealous decorating. I've read a few of her columns already and they're fantastic. The first column went live today on the Carolina Bride site -- which is a fantastic resource if you're planning a wedding -- and I just know everybody's going to fall in love with her! Here are a few of my favorite shots from our very quick lunch-time shoot.
Doesn't she have the most gorgeous eyes?!?
Yep, that's a dumpster in the background...
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I thought it was important for Lauren to appear friendly and approachable...like someone you'd love to sit down with for a long girl-to-girl chat. Which she is, of course!
This one is my favorite.
Lauren, thanks for everything and good luck with the column!
Southern Bridal Show & Expo this Sunday
You've got the ring...now what? That's the question posed at www.foreverbridal.net, the home of Forever Bridal, one of the best resources for brides getting married in the Triangle and beyond. Dominick and his team put on the best bridal shows in the Southeast. Sunday marks the second show planned for this year, the Southern Bridal Show & Expo. We'll be there, of course, along with literally hundreds of other vendors who can help you have a simply amazing wedding. Come and see us! We'll have lots of images to view, plus albums, coffee table books and other keepsakes to oooh and aaah over, like this gorgeous necklace from Kimbra Designs featuring Lauren and Andrew, one of my favorite couples ever!
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You can register to win your own "Lauren" necklace (featuring a favorite photo of your own, of course!). In addition, any bride who books their wedding with Sweet Life before June 1 gets a Lauren necklace of their very own as our way of saying "Thanks!" I'm so excited to be offering Kimbra's line of beautiful photo jewelry in the studio this year. It's one of my finds from WPPI and I can't wait to get all my samples in to wear and show off in the studio!
The show is this Sunday, April 19th from 12 pm to 5 pm in the Jim Graham Building at the NC State Fairgrounds. You can find directions and tons more information on the Forever Bridal site. We hope to see you there!
Pixel Dust goes bridal!
As in, here in no particular order are some of my favorite bridal portraits. Some are very recent; others go back a ways. All of them are beautiful young women who will forever have a place in my heart!
Let's start with Christine...such a classic beauty. We did her bridal portrait at her parents' home in Durham. It was such a pleasure to shoot there -- beautiful rooms, great light and a magnificent staircase!
Oh my goodness...this is my favorite. I know it's not a true bridal portrait, but I love everything about it: the warmth, the veil and hair jewelry, her perfect posture and how you can see the dress whittle away to her tiny, tiny waist. Don't you just know by looking at the picture that when this woman turns around, she's going to be stunning?
Maybe it's the air of mystery that I like so much.
Meet Melissa, a September bride, which meant we were shooting this in the gardens in mid-August. At one point I thought we were all -- me, my photo assistant (Kat), Melissa's step-mom and aunt, not to mention the bride in the dress -- just going to fall out from the heat. I think it was simply that I had a beautiful bride to photograph that helped me keep it together. But, OMG, it was HOT.
I love this portrait so much...I didn't even have to twist her arm too hard to get her to step down on those rocks with her gown mere inches from the water. But see what taking a risk gets you? Pure awesomeness!
Melissa, you are SO the sweetest Southern Belle.
Siobhan, such style, such grace. She and Mario were married at the Longview Center in September. I was so sad to hear that the Longview is closing...I love, love, LOVE those stained-glass windows.
Lindsey held it together even when caught out deep in Duke Gardens when a very tricky rainshower blew up. We thought it would just be one of those little light showers; holy moly, were we ever wrong. We huddled with Lindsey under the wisteria-covered arboretum with nothing but a sheet around her and under her to try to keep the dress dry while we waited for the storm to pass. The dress did get wet, but it was just fine on wedding day. Since the rain shower cut us short at Duke, we took some additional time for fun shots on the wedding day. Here are two favorites:
Back to Duke Gardens and Jefri. She's so tiny and adorable and gorgeous, I just want to squish her! I just loved shooting her wedding to Adam at the gardens in August.
Here's Andrea, another stunning brunette. I just love it when brides leave their hair down. It's such a soft and romantic look.
Kristina married Wesley in December in a wintry-themed wedding: blue and silver were the colors she chose for her wedding. I thought these little blue flowers in her bouquet were so cute!
Patricia, in the bride's room at Highgrove. So gorgeous!
And finally, Kimberly. Her mom told me that when she saw her bridal portraits online for the first time, she didn't believe it was really her because she'd never seen herself looking so glamorous. I thought she was absolutely beautiful!
