Bay 7 Wedding :: Emily and Doug

Congratulations to Emily and Doug, who were married August 6 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Durham. The couple met while students at Duke and spent many happy hours in Duke Gardens, so when thinking about locations for their First Look, the gardens were a natural choice. Mother Nature played coy with us though; heavy rains during the morning were filling my head with alarming visions of muddy wedding gowns, but the rains tapered off as we got closer to the appointed hour. After a few phone calls, the couple decided they wanted to meet in the gardens, muddy paths or no. I'm so glad they did!

 

 

One of the benefits of doing a First Look is the chance to get all your formal shots done before the wedding. This was important to Emily and Doug and their parents because they wanted to have a receiving line. Usually, I freak out a little when a receiving line is mentioned for the simple reason that our time between the wedding and reception is often very brief and receiving lines can eat up a chunk of time. I tell all our couples that the Big Clock in my head starts ticking as soon as they kiss and head up the aisle! But the couple made sure we had plenty of time for the receiving line and a few family shots that couldn't be made prior to the ceremony. And I have to admit, I do like the emotion that comes with all those congratulatory hugs and hand-shakes.

 

 

Emily wore Doug's mother's veil. I love it.

 

 

Bay 7 in the American Tobacco Historic District in Durham is a fantastic venue. Great light, exposed beams and brick and check that metal wall by the stairs. Such a great space! Beautiful floral design by Tre Bella and a classic wedding cake by Cinda's Creative Cakes provided elegant touches.

 

 

My favorite shot of the night.

 

 

I just have to brag on Frank for a moment. He is THE MAN when it comes to capturing the bouquet toss. Check it out!

 

 

You know the mighty Joe Bunn kept the crowd happy and on their feet all evening long.

 

 

Enjoy a few more favorites from the wedding day in the couple's slide show. Emily and Doug, we had such a great time photographing your wedding.

Thanks for letting us be a part of your day!

 

 

 

Church: St. Paul's Lutheran Church

Reception: Bay 7

Floral Design: Tre Bella

Cake: Cinda's Creative Cakes

DJ/Entertainment: Joe Bunn, Bunn DJ Company

 

Aug 24, 2011 | Wedding Photography | 3 Comments »

Prestonwood Country Club :: LaToya and Bryon: Part II

And now, as promised, Part II of LaToya and Byron's gorgeous July wedding!

 

For those of you just starting to plan your weddings, here's a tidbit of info to digest: it takes about 200 hours to plan a wedding. That's right: 200 hundred hours. That's five full-time work weeks. If you don't have five full-time work weeks to spare, how on earth are you going to plan a wedding without losing your mind? Easy. Hire a professional wedding planner. With incredibly busy schedules as professional basketball players who spend a good part of the year out of the country, LaToya and Byron knew they would need help to pull off the wedding of their dreams. So they turned to wedding planner extraordinaire Tracy Adams of Adams and Events in Cary. You've heard of some weddings compared to a runaway train? Well, Tracy was the engine that held all the separate "cars" of this wedding together so that it stayed on track.

 

 

Floral Design: Greg Warren Flowers

Lighting: Rick Bryda, Total Production Services

Entertainment: Greg Ramsey, Joe Bunn DJ Company

Venue and Catering: Prestonwood Country Club

Cakes and Candy Bar: Cinda's Creative Cakes

Hair and Make-Up: Theresa Williams

 

 

 

 

LaToya and Byron make a stylish grand entrance into their reception.

 

 

Crazy cool cake: check.

I've never see such a reaction to a cake before and it earned every single "ooh" and "aah". There was a parade of guests up the grand staircase to take pictures of it prior to the cake cutting. This was one instance where I think everyone hated for it to be cut! (Compare the two bottom images. The one on the right was shot before Rick with Total Production Services worked his magic with some dramatic red up-lighting. Perfectly fine, but what a difference the lighting makes!)

 

 

The surprise groom's cake, a replica of his Carolina-blue Buick.

 

 

LaToya and Byron are blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support from family and friends. There was a lot of love in the room!

I especially like these shots from the Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dances.

 

 

Tar Heels on hand! Byron with friends and teammates, past and present. Many of LaToya's teammates from the LA Sparks traveled to celebrate with her as well. And how priceless is the look on the flower girl's face? She looks ready for bed, but look out: she got her groove on shortly after this picture was taken. Maybe she was just tired of having a camera in her face!

 

 

LaToya's maid of honor Christina gave the sweetest toast. The two have been friends for a long time...long enough for Christina to have seen quite a few of LaToya's boyfriends come and go. She was describing how she knew Byron was the right one for her best friend when she said something about how many guys LaToya had knocking on her door in high school. Byron turned to LaToya and did a mock-serious "I've got my eyes on you" move while her mom and dad were in stitches.

 

 

One bouquet and garter toss later, it was time to dance!

 

 

To close out this blog post, I leave you with a shot of LaToya and Byron posing with their cardboard twins (a 7-foot cut-out specially made from one of their engagement session pics). If you'd like to see more Photobooth mayhem, check out their album on the Sweet Life Photo Facebook page (just "Like" to be able to view the images and leave comments). We had such a great time photographing this wedding! LaToya and Bryon, we wish you a future of "nothing but net". Thanks for everything!

 

 

 

 

Aug 18, 2011 | Wedding Photography | 3 Comments »

Brier Creek Country Club :: Lauren and Bryan are married!

If you find yourself craving hand-squeezed lemonade or an ice-cold lime rickey after feasting on this blog post, you're not alone -- and it's not just the 100+ temperatures! It's the fresh, modern, delicious combination of lemon yellow and lime green that transformed Brier Creek Country club for Lauren and Bryan's June wedding. Feast your eyes on some of the gorgeous details!

 

 

Lauren and Bryan have been together a long time, so the excitement was running high before the ceremony. Lauren's bridesmaids were so much fun. They kept me laughing the whole time!

 

 

Brier Creek's Jasmine Court has to be one of my favorite outdoor ceremony venues in the area. It's sited beautifully and just check out the magic that floral designer Greg Warren worked on the arbor. Wedding coordinator extraordinaire Tracy Adams worked her own brand of magic, making sure everything flowed like melted butter in the warm summer sunshine!

 

 

A few stolen moments alone...with me. :)

 

 

Lauren and Bryan kicked off their fabulous reception with a very stylish first dance!

 

 

This fun crowd didn't need any encouragement to get busy on the dance floor! While Frank was shooting the enthusiastic action, I happened to look outside and see an interesting sky taking shape. I love summer thunderstorms at weddings, provided they happen long after we need to be outside taking pictures, of course! The dramatic skies that grace us afterward create great photo opportunities. Thankfully, the couple was willing to sneak off for a few shots on the golf course!

 

 

To see more images from Lauren and Bryan's wedding, check out their slide show below:

 

 

The following fabulous vendors helped to make Lauren and Bryan's wedding a huge success:

 

Event Coordination and Planning: Tracy Adams, Adams and Events

Venue: Brier Creek Country Club

Floral Design: Greg Warren Flowers

DJ/Entertainment: Ron K. Smith Productions

Cake Artist: Cinda's Creative Cakes

 

Jul 25, 2011 | Wedding Photography | Leave A Comment »

Heather and Jason :: Church of the Good Shepherd and NC Museum of History

Confession time:  I have a major case of Writer's Block. I just don't know what to say to describe Heather and Jason and our experience working with them throughout the year and a half leading up to their December 4, 2010 wedding. I could say I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves, but that wouldn't be enough. We met the couple at the August 2009 wedding show and they booked us for their wedding photography shortly thereafter. Yep, they booked us almost a year and a half before their wedding. That in itself speaks to the level of connection that we felt with them and, I'm guessing, they with us. We just clicked right away. We got to know them over the course of 4 mini-engagement sessions, one each in Fall (at the fair), Winter (downtown with Christmas lights), Spring (on UNC's campus, where Heather graduated) and Summer (at NC State, Jason's alma mater). I wish I had the time to do multiple mini-sessions with all of our couples rather than just one. Over the course of that time spent together, I came to have such affection for them and appreciation for their devotion and love for each other. Plus, we had so much fun! But because I'm rather behind on blogging weddings, I'm going to focus on their December 4 ceremony and reception for now. The Four Seasons post will come soon, I promise!

 

If you follow Pixel Dust regularly, you'll have guessed by now that I don't blog our weddings in consecutive order. Being an artist, I guess I have to feel inspired before I blog each wedding and my levels of inspiration are affected by many things, but none more than the workload in the studio. Blogging takes a back seat to editing, designing, fulfilling orders and taking good care of our clients. We're so fortunate to be busy. This is such a tough time in the photographic industry that I thank my lucky stars every day that we get to do what we do. But that's a post for another day. On to Heather and Jason's fabulous wedding!

 

I met Heather in her suite at the Sheraton in downtown Raleigh (love them -- what a fantastic staff!). The day was cold and dreary, with snow in the forecast, threatening to derail our plans for the First Look and fun shots downtown. But the mood in the room was nothing but celebratory, especially with Heather's Tarheels trouncing the Kentucky Wildcats in basketball. I love this shot of Heather's mom and her bridesmaids cheering on their team while Heather gets her make-up done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just love photographing a bride getting into her gown, surrounded by her best girlfriends, her mom, her aunt...there's something really sweet about it.

 

 

 

The process was a bit simpler down in the boys' room.

 

 

 

 

 

Heather's dad was waiting for her downstairs right when she stepped off the elevator.

 

 

 

While Heather and Jason were getting ready, it started to snow. This meant a major reconfiguring of plans for the First Look and pre-wedding portraits,

but that's the nature of weddings: things don't always go as planned. It's good to have a Plan B. Ours was having the couple see each other upstairs

at the NC Museum of History, overlooking the expansive space where their reception would later be held.

 

Even wet snow can't dampen Heather's excitement!

 

 

 

Jason, waiting with Heather's bouquet.

 

 

 

Heather, rounding the corner and seeing Jason for the First Time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heather, you're beautiful!

 

 

 

Downtown Raleigh is blessed with a handful of old historic churches that are absolutely stunning inside and The Church of the Good Shepherd is no exception.

Heather serves on the Wedding Guild and helps out with directing weddings at the church. This was our first time shooting at the church and

it couldn't have gone better. While the snow/sleet came down outside, it was warm, cozy and beautiful inside the church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The moments immediately following the ceremony are inevitably some of my favorites of the entire day. Everyone is so happy and there's always

lots of hugging, high-five-ing and happy tears.

 

 

 

 

 

The stairs leading up to the balcony gave me a great vantage point for a casual portrait of the wedding party and both

sets of parents. This is the one I'd have framed and hanging in my house!

 

 

 

Time to celebrate! Jason and Heather's wedding was centered around the great state of North Carolina, so it made sense that the reception was held

at one of our favorite venues, the North Carolina Museum of History. There are so many reasons we love shooting here, from the sweeping staircase, shiny marble

columns (great to bounce light off), the replica of the Wright Brothers' plane (even better to bounce light off), to the friendly, professional staff.

And at Christmastime, there's a soaring, beautifully decorated tree that I couldn't even begin to guess the height of. Definitely a great place for a reception!

 

I love the couple's enthusiasm as they make their grand entrance!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love, love, love this shot of Heather's mom Jackie watching the Father/Daughter dance.

 

 

 

I tell my daughter that you can learn a lot about a guy by the way he treats his mother. Jason loves his mom, Brenda. Jason, my friend: you're the best.

And you made me cry!

 

 

 

The couple put tons of time and effort into the details of their wedding day, much of it hand-made. Here are some of my faves. The gorgeous floral design

is by the genius that is Lyn Graves of Fresh Affairs. All of the stationery, including save-the-dates, invitations, place cards and menu cards were

hand-made by the couple. What else would this North Carolina-loving couple give their guests but oak trees, ready for planting.

(Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks.) I loved it!

 

 

 

The cake was crafted by Cinda's Creative Cakes. It tasted as fabulous as it looked!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Favorite dancing shot of the year, coming right up. (Courtesy of the talents of DJ extraordinaire, Joe Bunn.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family and friends gather around during the last dance.

 

 

 

For their departure, the couple gave their guests miniature North Carolina flags. Even though it had stopped snowing, it was still extremely cold and slippery

outside, so the guests formed a tunnel on the dance floor for Heather and Jason to race through.

 

 

 

 

Suddenly, there's a lump in my throat and my writer's block has returned. So I'll just say Heather and Jason: thanks. And normally, I don't recommend rushing

to have kids, but hurry up, willya? I miss you already.

 

Venues: Church of the Good Shepherd and North Carolina Museum of History

Catering: Premiere Catering

Floral Design: Fresh Affairs

DJ: Joe Bunn

Cake: Cinda's Creative Cakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jan 17, 2011 | Wedding Photography | 4 Comments »

Gaby & Andrew: Part II

 

As promised, more photos from Gaby & Andrew's beautiful wedding day on August 15! Their fabulous reception took place at one of the most elegant venues in the Triangle area and my personal favorite, the Carolina Inn. I always try to step outside for a few exterior shots once the sun has set, but it's not fully dark yet -- that's when you get that beautiful deep blue in the sky.

 

 

 

Some details from the reception, helmed by the always-wonderful Tracy Adams of Adams and Events. (Seriously, call her -- she makes wedding-related stress disappear.)

 

 

 

The couple's grand entrance into the Old Well Ballroom -- there were so many flashes going off, this must be what it's like to be Brangelina.

 

 

 

 

 

The first dance. Gaby's just the right height so that when she looks up at Andrew, her face is at the perfect angle. Just one of those things photographers notice -- and love.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exquisitely-detailed, scrumptious cake from Cinda's Creative Cakes. The inspiration: champagne bubbles!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew's brother Jeffrey kicks off the toasts, while Andrew's mom and dad proudly look on.

 

 

 

 

 

Rather than toss her bouqet, Gaby presented it to her cousin and maid-of-honor, Emily. Gaby gave a wonderfully warm speech about how much Emily means to her. There's always a moment at every wedding where I get a little misty-eyed -- this was it.

 

 

 

 

I love this shot of Gaby's dance with her dad. I've been asked before how I make decisions about which photographs to leave as captured (in color) and which ones to convert to black and white. The answer is both technical and mysterious -- sometimes the color in a photo is perfect and enhances the subject matter, as in the photo below. I love how the colors in the background seem to surround Gaby and her dad.

 

 

 

But in this shot, up close -- I love how deleting the color and going with classic black and white helps to focus on their expressions.

 

 

 

Andrew takes a turn with his mom.

 

 

 

 

 

And then Gaby takes the floor for a spin with her stepfather, Arnold.

 

 

 

 

 

Later, Gaby danced with her mom, Marianne. Love it!

 

 

 

Everyone was having fun. This fine gentleman looks like he can't believe his luck!

 

 

 

Oh how I love to photograph guests having fun at a wedding. Nothing's worse than framing up the perfect shot of a guest having a ball --

then they notice me and turn their back! FAIL!

The talented DJ responsible for keeping everyone on their feet having fun? Mel Manning from Joe Bunn DJ Company.

 

 

 

 

 

But best of all were Andrew and Gaby, thoroughly enjoying themselves. It's too bad Gaby's so unexpressive. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gaby and Andrew met at one of Chapel Hill's most famous nightspots (I won't call it a bar) He's Not Here -- so naturally, the couple gave out cups with the distinctive logo.

 

 

 

Mayhem ensued. Just what was in those cups?

 

 

 

Weddings are also family reunions of a sort, so I'm always happy to take time out from the festivities to capture relaxed group shots like this one

of grandparents and grandchildren. These pictures are so important to get when everyone's together.

 

 

 

All too soon, it was time to call it a night. Last dance.

 

 

 

Off to Paris!

 

 

 

Gaby and Andrew -- words fail me. Thank you for being so wonderful to work with and giving us so much loveliness to photograph! We wish you everthing wonderful and a long life, with plenty of time for rocking on the porch together!

 

Oct 30, 2009 | Wedding Photography | 1 Comment »