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

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

Seriously. Fastest wedding ever!

I love that John couldn't resist giving his bride a kiss, even in the middle of formals with storms bearing down on us!

Then it was off to start one heckuva celebration.

John's brother and best man, Dan, gave a great toast.

What a party! I can't remember such enthusiastic dancing in a loooonnnng time.

The night ended with everyone gathered around the bride and groom singing, "New York, New York."

Jennifer and John, when we left your party, our faces hurt from smiling so much. You are so lucky to have such a great group of family and friends! We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!

Venue & Catering: Devil's Ridge Golf Club, Holly Springs, NC

Officiant: Rev. Ervene Boyd

Flowers: A Ming Rose

Cake: Sweet Memories Bakery

DJ: Joe Bunn DJ Company

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!

"Getting Ready" is one of my favorite parts of the wedding day to document. Shots like this one, with all the bridesmaids gathered around, each one working on some aspect of the process, make me think of all the brides throughout history who've had their close female family and friends around to help them prepare for this day. Back in the days of "Ladies' maids" I guess it wasn't such a big deal -- the simple act of getting dressed in the morning was a pretty elaborate process that required the help of at least one other person. Now that we can just throw on jeans and a T-shirt -- well, it makes the act of getting into what is most likely the single most elaborate dress we'll ever wear even more monumental. Couldn't this same shot (with minor allowances for fashion) have been taken 50, 100 or 200 years ago? I love, love, LOVE that beautiful window light!

The end result. Isn't she simply stunning?

The guys have it easier...although Frank reports that the button covers flummox at least one of them every time. Here's Brent, working on the tie. Granted, I've never had to tie a tie in my life...so who am I to pass judgement?

A shot of Brent and then one of all the guys...pretty darn spiffy, if you ask me.

One quick note about all the black and white images in this post: Alison and Brent's wedding was so classic and elegant. All day I kept thinking that it could have taken place in any era -- the gown, the tuxes, the details, the setting -- it was just timeless. There was something about so many of their images that just screamed "Convert me to B&W!!!" I don't have a fixed plan or set rules about which images to convert to black and white. There's no percentage of total images delivered that have to be in black and white. It's true that I prefer the documentary images to be in black and white (many wedding photographers call this photo-journalism. I call it documentary because that's what I'm doing -- documenting the details, sights and emotions of the wedding day.) Most of the time it's just a feeling I get about a particular image...maybe it's the composition, maybe it's the ratio of highlight areas to shadow areas, maybe there's just a weird color cast that I don't like in the original (that happens with digital images sometimes). Whatever it is, it's one of the things I like best about shooting digital: having the choice to convert an image to Black and White when I feel like it!

Alison and the ladies, waiting for the word to head down to the lower gardens for the ceremony to begin.

Oh my gosh, how I love a long veil. Such drama!

Alison doesn't know this (at least I think she doesn't) but right before she and her dad began the walk down the steps to the fish pond, a mother mouse and several mouse babies ran right across the pathway. I'm pretty sure her dad spotted them, too -- we exchanged a quick look of surprise (or was it horror?) followed by a shared understanding that we shouldn't react at all. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised -- it was Spring after all and we were in a garden. Still...not something you expect to see right before the bride begins her walk down the aisle!

The energy from their combined smiles as they met at the altar could have powered a small village for the day.

 
A detail shot of the sand ceremony. In case you've been hiding out under a rock (or crash weddings nearly every weekend), the sand ceremony is quickly gaining ground on the unity candle as the perfect way to symbolize the act of hitching your life to someone else's for all eternity.  (Although I do wonder what happens the first time you move house -- how do you keep  the sand from getting jostled all around and losing that pretty pattern?) Still, I love it and it makes a lot of sense for an outdoor ceremony -- no worries about the wind snuffing out the candles.

Tah Dah! Alison and Brent are MARRIED!!!

With every wedding, I try to have at least one shot of the bride and groom that is completely classic...if someone found the image 300 years from today, they wouldn't know when it had been taken. They'd just see two people in fancy clothes and in LOVE.

Some details from the reception at the Washington Duke.

First dance as husband and wife!

I think of this shot as Part II of the first image. :)

Jason, the best man, was a riot. Here he is giving the toast. I think this was right before he told Brent to take Alison's hand and cover it with his own. He then solemnly pronounced: "This is the last time in your married life that you will ever have the upper hand."

Action...

...reaction.

I have a 20x30 canvas of this in my office -- it's one of my all-time favorites.

Ken Holmes with Joe Bunn DJ Company did a great job with the tunes. Can't you tell?

A white tent under the mid-day sun...perfect light for portraits!

Last shot of a perfectly wonderful day. Thanks to Alison (for always being happy and relaxed) and Brent (for putting up with all the pictures.) We wish you both a long, long life full of love and happiness!

Mariah brought her christening gown with her on the wedding day to be photographed with her wedding gown. I loved the sweet little details on the dress and grabbed an opportunity to photograph it with her grandmother's lace mantilla.

Another grandmother's New Testament and Robert's ring, plus a shot of the dress:

Mariah's bridesmaids were so fun!  Here's a shot of all the ladies:

And the guys were a hoot:

Mariah had always dreamed of a candlelight ceremony. The church had recently installed new light fixtures but not dimmers, so when the overhead lights went out, they went OUT. I panicked a little, but luckily, our Canon cameras came through. Canon cameras are the best for low-light situations and one of the main reasons I prefer them over Nikon for weddings. (This ends the product placement portion of the blog post!) I always ask my couples to pause at the end of the aisle for a quick kiss, like this:

(Mariah's gorgeous bouquet came from Kelly Odom.)

After formals, it was off to the reception at Sister's Garden, a Raleigh tradition that is a great place for receptions. Typically, I stay after the formal photos to work with the bride and groom a bit while Frank takes off for the reception site to start photographing details and get room shots. I always stick my car keys in the back pocket of my camera bag. Frank grabbed the bag and took off for Sister's, not knowing he also had my car keys. Fortunately, I was able to grab a ride in the limo with the newlyweds, the best man and maid of honor and caught one of my favorite shots of 2007:

DJ Kent Bloms with Joe Bunn DJ Company did a fantastic job keeping people on their feet for what was a really fun night. The couple's first dance kicked everything off:

I just love it when I catch the groom in a sweet moment! I have to say Robert is one of the nicest people I've ever met. It wasn't long before Michael Jackson's perennial favorite "Thriller" got everyone out of their seats:

Mariah is a dance instructor (hip-hop is her specialty -- go, Mariah), so the dancing at the reception was, at the risk of sounding really uncool, "off the hook." Here's K., showing some flare:

A shot of the yummy wedding cake from Edible Art. The bow on the cake was a copy of the bow on Mariah's dress:

The sparkler departure craze continues, which keeps us on our toes! It's a tough shot to get, but when you do, it's golden:

Check out the flip-flops -- a bride's most useful accessory on her wedding day! Congratulations, Mariah and Robert...we wish you both a lifetime of love and happiness!