Carla and Jamaal – Engagement Session
I met Carla and Jamaal at Duke Gardens for a morning engagement shoot, then we met back up in the afternoon at Second Empire Restaurant and Tavern which is where Jamaal popped the question to his beautiful bride-to-be. It was Jamaal's idea to re-create the proposal and have me shoot it. Let me just say it was truly one of the coolest experiences I've had as a wedding photographer. When I got together with the couple for their consultation, it was obvious that Jamaal was excited about the engagement shoot and asked then if we could re-create the proposal. It seems like a natural fit for an engagement shoot, but I'd never been asked to do it before. Jamaal is obviously a man of great ideas! I contacted Tracy Thorpe, Special Events Coordinator at Second Empire to ask if it would be OK for us to come in for a quick shoot before the restaurant opened for dinner. She graciously said yes -- so a huge "thank you" to Tracy! Second Empire is absolutely gorgeous and is known in the Triangle as the place for a romantic dinner -- what a perfect spot for a proposal. The restaurant also hosts special events like weddings and receptions, so definitely check them out if you're looking for something really special.
Carla and Jamaal met in college and actually went to the same church but it wasn't until she ran into him in the DMV that sparks flew. They plan to marry in early November and I feel so privileged to be their wedding photographer. Click here to view their slide show.
My Own Wedding Horror Story
Frank and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary this Saturday in the traditional way: Belgian waffles for breakfast. Of course, there's a story.
Shortly after making our grand entrance into the Old Well ballroom at the Carolina Inn on September 8, 1990, my mother pulled me aside. In the gentle tones one usually reserves for speaking to a cranky toddler, my mother said, "Now, don't get upset," (which I believe is a sure way to alert someone to to the fact that whatever follows is going to be highly upsetting) "but over there is where your cake should be."
Sure enough, the cake table was empty. No cake. Just a sad little cake topper, completely forlorn. My wedding cake was AWOL.
Just a week earlier, I'd met with the cake baker to pay her in full for my chocolate and strawberry confection, a picture of which I'd found in Southern Living a year prior and kept in my handy-dandy bride's planning notebook. We went over all the details again, including exactly what time the cake should be delivered. So imagine my surprise when just seven short days later -- NO CAKE.
It's one of those wedding-day nightmares that keep brides up at night. A vendor fails to deliver as promised and some element of the wedding day is compromised or ruined. (My poor mother -- I'm sure she hated to have to tell me my wedding cake was missing and had no idea how I would react to such potentially upsetting news, which might explain the riot gear).
Man, was I ever looking forward to that cake. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a freak for wedding cake. It may even be why I got into the wedding photography business. (I think I'll write it in to my contract: "Photographers must be fed wedding cake, preferably with lots of icing.") At that moment, though, I was just too happy to let someone else's screw-up
ruin my wedding day. Frank still says when my mother broke the news and I shrugged my shoulders in a "whatchagonnado" manner, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he "hit the jackpot." (He is happy to report that 17 years, two kids and two dogs later, I am still fairly laid-back.)
Anyway, back to the Belgian waffles. We had a morning wedding with a brunch following that included a Belgian waffle station. With the combined brain-power of a quick-thinking bridesmaid and my mother, a waffle wedding cake was quickly assembled, decorated with strawberries and lots of whipped cream. We cut it and fed it to each other as if it was the most delicious wedding cake ever created. Our photographer, the brilliant veteran Dean Craddock of Reidsville, NC, immortalized the waffle wedding cake in a manner befitting the most extravagant confection. On our wedding video, I'm ruefully laughing as I make my way back to my seat after the cutting ceremony saying, "Well, something had to go wrong."
Looking back 17 years later, it was a great moment. I tell this story to brides at consultations not to scare them or flaunt my own high-mindedness (believe me, that baker was terrified I was going to sue her when we got off the phone.) There's so much pressure on brides to plan the perfect wedding. You're told over and over again in big and small ways, "This is the most important day of your life and it has to be perfect." I couldn't disagree more! Whenever you have an event planned by human beings, error is going to be a part of the equation. It's unavoidable, but it doesn't have to ruin your day. Besides, there are going to be many "most important days." Sometimes, a "mistake" can turn into a tradition, the way the missing wedding cake has for us. Come September 8th, each and every year, you'll find us at a local IHOP having Belgian waffles and remembering what was just the first of the many most-important days that we have had together.
Come inside to see my vanity wedding cake picture.
Gone Taggin’
There's this internet/blog tag game going around among photographers where we "tag" each other on our blogs. The "tag-ee" must write down 8 random things our colleagues, friends and clients might not know about us, then tag someone else. I've been tagged by the fabulous Regina Holder, wedding photographer extra-ordinaire, so here goes, in no particular order:
1. My given name is Elizabeth, but growing up, I was called Beth by everyone. (And yes, my mom read Little Women and was a fan of the character of Beth. I was always a little horrified that she dies at the end of the story.) My sister's name is Rebecca, but she was called Becky. We're only 16 months apart in age and were known collectively as "Beth and Becky" and people were always getting us mixed up. Arriving at college to find "Elizabeth" on my dormitory door, I decided I would answer only to Elizabeth henceforth. So everyone pre-college still calls me Beth; everyone from college and afterwards knows me as Elizabeth. It was and sometimes still is confusing...I'm not sure I would do it again if given the chance. In what can only be seen as a karmic turn of events, my daughter Kathleen prefers to be called by her nickname Kat and glares at me whenever I mess up and call her by her "real" name in front of her friends.
2. I'm not a fan of romance novels, but I love Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I've read all the books in the series at least twice, which is no small feat, since they are huge books. The books started my love affair with all things Scottish, which is convenient, since I'm of Scots-Irish descent. Frank and I went to Scotland in 2001 on an amazing hiking trip. It is an incredible country and I can't wait to take Daniel and Kat one day (if only the dollar would gain some strength against the pound...).
3. I have an inappropriate crush on Daniel Radcliffe . (But only circa Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Before that, he was just a cute little kid. My, but he grew up fast.) See, I told you it was inappropriate, but there it is.
4. I don't like heights and I get a weird prickling sensation down the back of my legs whenever I see blood. I also hate hospitals.
5. My favorite thing to eat is grocery-store-bakery birthday cake (the ones with white butter-cream frosting), vanilla ice cream and a big glass of milk. My arteries love me.
6. I majored in English...which has nothing to do with photography. But it helps with the emails and blog posts and explains "henceforth" and "circa." (To all my English professors at Meredith College, my apologies for beginning a sentence with"but". And the way I use ellipses (...) and parentheses too much. College was a long time ago.)
7. My dad was a minister whose least favorite responsibility was performing weddings. As kids, my sister and brother and I knew to stay out of his way if he had a wedding coming up. His main complaints? How everything had to be perfect. How it took up his entire weekend. The mother of the bride. He still likes to call me and ask me if I've had any horrible mothers-of-the-bride to deal with. Luckily, I can honestly answer no.
8. I drove our huge old station wagon into a beach cottage when I was 16. In my defense, I'd only had my license for two weeks when my dad woke me up early one morning on vacation to go get milk because he was too lazy to go himself and was ready to put his little girl to work. I woke up the entire house when I crashed into one of the supports on my return. In my extended family I'm still known as the one who almost knocked down an entire house with her car. I don't think I will ever live it down.
Now it's your turn, Rick Ward. Have fun!
Family Portrait Month
In my work as a photographer, I've noticed that the easiest way to get someone to smile at me is to smile at them. It's amazing what a simple smile can do. Victor Borge said, "The shortest distance between two people is a smile." That's why Sweet Life Photography is very excited to join an elite group of photographers who are working together with the Professional Photographers of America Charities in promoting "Family Portrait Month." This national fund-raising effort will benefit Operation Smile, which treats children who suffer with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. For every session we schedule during the month of October, we will donate $50 to Operation Smile. Plus, we will donate a portion of all our sales during the month of October to Operation Smile.
Each year, this incredible organization of more than 5,000 volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists and specialized health-care professionals perform free reconstructive surgeries for children suffering with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. It costs only $240 to perform a life-changing cleft-lip operation. More than 100,000 children are born with a facial deformity each year in Operation Smile's 25 partner countries, including India, Cambodia, Russia, Nicaragua and Kenya. We hope you will join us in making this vital work possible!
October is shaping up to be an insanely busy month for me, so I am extending our participation in Family Portrait Month into November. Don't forget that the holiday season is right around the corner, so there's no better time for a family portrait! Call us at 919.389.7274 or send an email to Elizabeth@sweetlifephoto.com to schedule a session.
Agnieszka and Andrew
Agnieszka and Andrew were married on August 4, 2007 at Reedy Creek Baptist Church in Cary. I loved the unique look of their wedding -- it's not often I see shades of orange done so well in a wedding! It was truly refreshing. The bridesmaids' dresses were a lovely burnt orange and they carried hand-tied bouquets of orange gerbera daisies. Agnieszka designed and constructed her gorgeous bouquet herself -- I believe she could have a second career as a floral designer if she wished! I always enjoy meeting the bride and groom's family members. Andrew's mom was a big part of the planning since Agnieszka's parents, sister and brother-in-law live in Poland. I tried to learn some Polish in honor of Agnieszka's family, but only remembered how to say "hello" when I actually met them. I love the picture of Agnieszka with her mother shortly after the ceremony -- a lovely moment in the midst of all the activity.
Following the ceremony, the couple and I went to the J.C. Raulston Arboretum for a dedicated photo session, something that is a rare treat for me. I love that they set aside specific time after the ceremony for photos of the two of them. Of course, this was in the midst of our August heat wave. I think it was still at least 100 degrees at 6:30 p.m.! I was so worried the couple would pass out from heat exhaustion and I would have to explain to their waiting families and friends that they would be spending their wedding night in the hospital! Somehow, though, we survived and together created a lovely, intimate series of photographs.
The couple's reception at Raleigh's Capital City Club was a blast. It was especially fun to watch Agnieszka and her father dancing to one of his favorite Polish songs. I'm embarrassed to admit I always tear up a little bit when the bride and groom have their respective dances with their parents -- the bride with her dad and the groom with his mom. There's something a little sad about it and I guess I'm thinking forward to the time when I'll dance with Daniel and watch Kat dance with her Dad at their own receptions! Andrew and his mom danced to Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up" and watching them, I really had to blink back the tears.
The groomsmen at this wedding were a hoot -- I think they were enjoying escorting what had to be the loveliest group of bridesmaids we've ever photographed! Enjoy the photos at right and click here to view Agnieszka and Andrew's slide show.
