Christmas in july with cara & martin

exactly 12 hours after i became someone's "fiance" last weekend, i put my photographer hat back on and headed over to cara's place to begin shooting the most unique wedding i've done to date. you'd think i'd be a wreck that day, and on the inside maybe i was, but it turned out that my mind was in wedding overdrive, and my eye was ready for every special moment it could find.

i met cara and martin back in january, and when i heard that their july wedding would have a Christmas theme, i couldn't wait to join the party. after a hilarious trip to wrightsville beach with the couple for their engagement shoot (see "back to the beach," posted in may) and an afternoon of bridal portraits in pullen park with cara (where she found no shame in changing into her wedding gown in the middle of the parking lot), i knew this would be a wedding to remember.

these are a few of my favorite moments:

tip #1 for a successful wedding day - don't forget to eat. cara checked that off her list with a little mickey d's.

tip #2 - get the groom to the church on time.

tip #3 - say a little prayer.

you can't have a Christmas wedding without poinsettias.

here comes santa claus!

tip #28 - don't forget to take a break with dad.

and finally, remember that as soon as you get to the end of that line, the wedding ends - time for life to begin. from what i hear, that's the best part.

congratulations to mr. and mrs. haley!!!

joining the brides-to-be!

forgive me for the long post - this one's pretty important.

can this be real? i've spent so much time with brides-to-be over the last year that it's been hard not to think about the possibility that i might get to actually be one someday...still, not wanting to jinx it, i've done a pretty good job at keeping my mouth shut and my mind on everyone else's weddings! well guess what - it's MY turn. :)

i met alan a little over 6 years ago at hanes mall in greensboro. neither of us remember many details. i was 17 and spending a week with girls from all across the state to prepare for the north carolina junior miss program. one of those girls happened to be from roxboro and as she and i quickly realized that we had more small town north carolina in our blood than concern for our fitness routine, we became inseperable. on a quick break from rehearsals and interviews, the girls hit the mall. half the town of roxboro had already arrived to watch their very own junior miss - stacey - hit the stage that night, and alan was right there to cheer her on...with an airhorn. airhorns are now banned from the junior miss program.

over the next few years of college i made countless trips to roxboro with stacey to visit her hometown. alan never failed to show up when i was around. after years of playing hard-to-get, it finally hit me like a ton of bricks that i had no choice - he was "it." one year ago yesterday, july 20, 2007, alan and i ended up at the same concert in raleigh. brad paisley. that's where i told him that i quit. and i did...i quit pretending that he was not absolutely made for me - cut-off sleeves, pick-up truck, and all.

we had no choice but to celebrate our anniversary at the brad paisley concert. because this time around i'm a wedding photographer, and would be working cara & martin's big day (photos coming soon) on saturday during the raleigh show, we headed to charlotte friday night.

i'm a smart girl, and i expected that something would happen sooner or later. still, i believed him when he couldn't eat much at dinner because "the food was too spicy and that energy drink made him feel funny." when he rushed me to get to the concert waaay before it started, i considered the possibility, but convinced myself that those backstage passes that he picked up (courtesy of mr. andy griffith, brad paisley's hero and a frequent customer at my family's butcher shop in nags head) were the one and only reason he was so worked up.

the concert was just as awesome as it was last year. when brad sang about how "it's time to put a ring on the finger i'm wrapped around" followed directly by my favorite - everything, and NOTHING happened, every suspicion i had disappeared and i knew i'd be waiting for another day.

after the show, we lined up with 68 other fans at the backstage gate for the meet and greet. since i knew where the passes came from, i recognized the initials "ag" on the bottom corner of our passes. the guard noticed those initials too and asked us to step to the side, we would be going in to meet brad last...after the crowd was gone. 20 minutes later, we were standing face to face with brad paisley (who knew the plan all along). after a little small talk and a quick photo, alan proceeded to stutter through our story. before i knew it he was on his knee, my brain stopped working, and thank GOODNESS that photographer kept snapping.

visit the tour blog at http://www.bradpaisley.com/ for their (much shorter) version of the night. this photo is courtesy of the tour blog.

thanks mr. griffith and mr. paisley for helping to make this the most special night of our lives. now we just need to know if brad wants to sing at the ceremony or the reception. :)

my biggest fan...busted

when someone new discovers that i'm a photographer, a series of questions usually follows: what kind of camera do you have? did you go to school for that? who's your favorite photographer? what's your favorite photograph of all time?

i usually tell them that i work with a canon, i took a few classes, and then rattle off a list of some of the greats - annie leibovitz, sally mann, etc. it's that last question that i usually can't answer. it's like someone asking about my favorite song. it depends on the day. my mind might jump from bon jovi to joss stone to george strait to chris brown in a span of 15 seconds.

maybe it's selfish, but today, this is my favorite photograph of all time.

i grew up lucky enough to have an awesome family behind me in everything that i did (or attempted to do). a little more than a year ago when i called home to say "i'm quitting my job and i'm going to be a photographer," my daddy said "if this is what you want to do, then do it. i'm behind you."

last weekend when every head in the room was turned on the most important woman of the day, one man was looking right back at the camera. there was all kinds of love in the room that day.

thanks daddy for believing. you're sitting in the back of the church next time!

mr. & mrs. mann

i love shooting weddings for obvious reasons - the creative plans coming together, the decorations, the dress, the families grinning through the stress of the day. still through it all, i love the little moments the most. these are the parts of the day that we don't expect, couldn't plan if we tried, and couldn't fake for a thing in the world.

i photographed my first true family wedding last weekend - my cousin brent was lucky enough to land this beautiful bride, shannon. it's very different to work in a room (or yard) full of family and friends than it is to work for a couple who sees me simply as their wedding photographer. i look at the groom and can't help but think of g.i. joes and rough games of backyard football. i love it just the same.

here are some of my favorite moments from shannon and brent's day.

what do most grooms do before their wedding? i found this one working in the back of his chicken house. these are his other women. :)

miss natalie forgot to put on her flower girl dress before she peaked out of the church door.

the last few minutes of unmarried life.

wheeeere's the flower girl?

now THIS doesn't happen at every wedding. poor brent. who needs birdseed when you've got rope, a waterhose, flour, molasses, and chocolate syrup?

freedom ridin'

in keeping with last weekend's excitement factor, this one was no less enticing. that's right, yesterday you could have found me (and my camera) on the back of this very harley with mr. grady - a veteran and member of rolling thunder, an organization dedicated to the support veterans and prisoners of war.

an enthusiastic heap of bikers turned out to support our troops for the annual uso freedom ride and i was lucky enough to be part of that too. even chewey couldn't resist the wind in his hair!

a special thanks to the uso for the important work that you do. as they say, "until every one comes home," may God bless each and every soldier.

a DAY in the life

not long ago a normal work day for me began at 8:30 and ended after 5. i'd get up from my desk, leave the office, and come back the next day to do it all again. it was a good life, but when it comes to interesting excitement, this life knocks that one out of the park.

last saturday i began my workday in on my favorite campus in chapel hill at 8 a.m. with heather and chase. this pretty pretty couple will be married on january 31st and i guarantee that it will be as sweet and as much fun as they are. love you two!

at 10 a.m. i headed over to hasentree, an luxury development just off of highway 98 in raleigh, to capture the grand opening of the family activity center. residents gathered at the pool for a full day of activities, music, and food to celebrate their surroundings and socialize. i documented their entire day until 5 p.m. did i mention it was 102 degrees?

"by the way," i was told, "we'll have a helicoptor here for you at 3:30 for you to take some aerial photographs of the community." no sweat.

when my watch hit 5, i hit a shower (thank goodness for the locker room in the hasentree fac!) because at 6, i was scheduled to be energized and smell nice with a camera in hand at the north carolina education ball.

benefitting our state's school children through communities in schools of north carolina, this is one of my favorite yearly charity events in the triangle. the evening took place at the progress energy center for performing arts. it began with a progressive dinner and silent auction, followed by a live auction, (a false fire alarm...oops), and some incredible performances by the perfect mix of local students and professional entertainers including tina fabrique, brandi massey, michelle jennings, scott pearson and more. i had a front row seat for the show that made me love my line of work even more - even at the end of such a long day!

mr. & mrs. thiebaud

once upon a time a northern college girl went on spring break. on the ride from ohio to the obx she probably laughed with her girlfriends, kicked back, relaxed, and prepared to let loose. she had no idea that somewhere among the sand that week she would meet a boy...and that the ride home would be very different.

a couple of long distance years and too many plane tickets later, that boy dropped to his knee at this very spot and asked her to be his wife.

i headed to medina, ohio on memorial day weekend (with my good sport of a riding buddy in tow - thanks grandma!) to document one of the most FUN weddings i've ever witnessed. this couple had me laughing and crying behind the camera as they shook off their nerves, made a vow, smiled for me, and partied like rockstars 'til the night was over.

congratulations allison and kristien, and thank you for allowing me to be a part of your crazy beautiful wonderfully unforgettable day!