amy h.

Myra and Jacob

2012-02-05T15:32:00.003-05:00

After taking maternity pictures for Pete and Rebecca, I was pretty stoked to take pictures of their newborn twins, Myra and Jacob. These two kiddos are a handful (as I imagine any twins are!), but they are a cute handful.

These first pictures are of Pete and Rebecca first holding Jacob and Myra together, and then each (dad and then mom) holding both the kiddos. Both Jacob and Myra look so peaceful in the first picture, then Myra is giving her dad a "what do you think you're doing?" look, and then I love the tangle of legs when Rebecca is holding both of them.

I liked each of these complementary pictures of Rebecca holding Jacob and Pete holding Myra. You can see in their faces how much they adore these two little guys.

To give the kids some time on their own, here's Pete holding Jacob and Rebecca holding Myra. Myra was starting to wake up while Jacob was still in his milk coma. :)

After Myra started to get sleepy again, we took some pictures of them in a basket together. This first one is Jacob solo holding onto Pete's wedding ring and then we've got Jacob and Myra hanging out together catchin' some snooze time.

The last pics we took were of Jacob and Myra each in these cocoon wraps I have. This was my first time using them, so Pete, Rebecca, and I had some laughs trying to keep the wriggling kids inside the fabric cocoons! haha Here we have Jacob in the blue and Myra in the pink.

Cali

2012-02-05T14:06:00.003-05:00

I've been taking pictures of Cali for a few years now and it's so much fun to see her throughout the year, goof around with her taking pictures, and see how much she's grown each time I see her!

Cali and I met up (with her mom, Eileen) at Fletcher Park for some pictures and had a blast playing in the grass, chasing bugs in the flower beds, and then finishing our afternoon on the swings.

Here are some pics from our afternoon. :) These first couple are of Cali in her beautiful sun dress. She's a bit of a tomboy at heart, so it's fun when she decides to dress up for her pictures.

I snapped this quick pic of Cali as she was goofing off for Eileen's camera and I loved the picture. You can tell how much of a fun kid she is and how much she loves laughing for her mom.

Cali was a bumble bee for Halloween this year, so we snapped a few pictures of her in the grass with her costume on. She had some fun with the see through layers of her costume!

I usually like to close out our afternoons together by having some fun in the playground. Whether it's digging in the dirt, riding the bouncy animals, or the swings, Cali is fearless!

the Quinn family

2012-01-24T12:49:00.000-05:00

Ah, the Quinn family. I've probably said this in previous posts, but I love the Quinns. Kendal and Lisa are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet and their two girls, Regan and Brynna are cute as a button.

We met up to take some pictures together at Joyner Park in Wake Forest. It was a new spot I hadn't been to before, but Lisa had found it and thought the old buildings and grassed areas under the big mature trees would be a good place for pictures and I totally agree.

Here is the Quinn foursome by one of the restored barns at the park. This was taken towards the end of the day, so Regan was getting a big tired...but Brynna was all about having some fun with Kendal.

Regan had some fun exploring another one of the buildings, peaking through doorways and windows.

While Regan was exploring some of the buildings, we had a fun time getting some pics of Brynna enjoying herself on the grass and hanging out with Lisa.

We couldn't leave the park without getting a fun picture of the two sisters together. Here's a prey sweet one of Regan helping Brynna give some smiles. :)

the Hunt family

2011-11-18T17:34:00.001-05:00

I've been friends with Bill and Julia for almost 10 years and I've watched them grow from newly weds into the parents of three fantastic little boys. I was so excited to be able to take pictures of them on a bright Saturday morning at Walnut Street Park near their home in Cary.

These first few pictures are of all five of them together, goofing around on the grass.

Here is a fun series of Bill with each of his boys and then Julia with each of the kiddos. Little Bill, Joseph, and Charlie crack me up. :)

These next couple pictures are Bill and Joseph pretending to be lions, roaring in the tall grass. These are two fun, imaginative little boys!

I love this last picture of Joseph walking through the tall grass.

Steve & Shannon

2011-11-10T12:07:00.000-05:00

It's been such a fun experience to hear Steve and Shannon's plans for their wedding next April. And when Steve and Shannon asked me to take some engagement pictures for them, I jumped at the chance. I always love it when couples want engagement pictures because it's a fun chance to unwind and goof off together before the big day. :)

We met up in the warehouse district and Nash Square in downtown Raleigh and had some fun on a warm afternoon together. Here are just a handful of pics. They're wedding is going to be such a blast. I can't wait for it!

the Jackson family

2011-11-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

Each time Amanda calls me asking me to take pictures for her family, I love it. Amanda and Mike are so great together and they're amazing parents. I love getting to be a part of their family for the afternoon and it's a treat watching their family grow through the years. :)

This time, we met up at Laurel Hills Park in Raleigh to take some pictures of Mike, Amanda, and Bryce (and Amanda's pregnant belly). I always like taking pictures of kiddos goofing around on the playground with their parents, so we got some fun pics of Bryce haming it up on the swings.

After we had some family time together, I pulled Amanda and Mike aside so we could get some good pictures of Amanda and her belly with soon to be Myla inside.

Amanda & Kyle

2011-11-08T10:53:00.000-05:00

When Amanda and Kyle asked Amaree and I to photograph their wedding, we were excited to travel to Charlotte, NC for their wedding at the Victorian Villa Bed and Breakfast. The weather was spectacular and the wedding celebration was such a great time.

Amanda poured her heart into every detail for the wedding, so some of my favorite pictures are of the small details of the day. Here are some great pics of the wedding rings with Amanda's family bible.

Amanda's dress was gorgeous and we found a nice spot outside to hang it with the bridesmaids' dresses.

The wedding ceremony was at the gazebo facing Lake Wylie and even though it was a little warm that day, I don't think we could have asked for better weather.

Amanda and her bridesmaids had parasols that Amaree and I thought were adorable so we couldn't resist taking some pictures of the girls with them.

Here are just a couple highlights from the wedding ceremony. Amanda had a very graceful entrance down the stairs from the villa down to the gazebo. The gazebo and Lake Wylie gave us a perfect backdrop for the ceremony.

These next two pictures are my favorite ones of Kyle and Amanda. The first, right after the ceremony and the second is during their first dance together, still relishing the freshness of being husband and wife. :)

Here are some more great details of the day. Amanda had pinwheels, coloring books, and crayons for the youngsters to play with during the reception. And the topper on the wedding cake? When viewing it from behind, the bride was grabbing the groom's butt! haha

Pete & Rebecca

2011-11-07T10:27:00.001-05:00

When I found out Pete and Rebecca were having twins (a boy and a girl), I couldn't wait to take their maternity pictures. They're such a cute couple and I know they'll be amazing parents.

Here are my favorite pics from their maternity session at Fletcher Park in Raleigh. I especially love that Pete and Rebecca had so much fun during our portrait session and Pete was even willing to hide behind Rebecca's tummy for a few of the pics. :)

Jessica & Brian

2011-11-05T09:35:00.000-04:00

Jessica and Brian are amazing. Big fans of the Durham area, the three of us met up at Duke Gardens to take some pictures together and had such a fun time. :) We laughed, we goofed around, we smelled flowers, we hid behind walls, and even gave each other piggy back rides. It was a great afternoon.

Take a sneak peak through my favorite pics from our portrait session!

the Boone family

2011-11-03T12:22:00.000-04:00

Michelle and Matt are the proud parents of beautiful little Piper. I'm always excited to take newborn portraits and Piper was no exception. She did so well for her pictures, it was tough putting the camera down!

This sleepy girl was completely content in her mom and dad's arms. :)

I love her expression in this one. She's just chillin'...sittin' back in Matt's arms..not too concerned about anything. haha

After a quick wardrobe change I snapped this first picture of Piper in her dress. I like to imagine she's about to do a dance for us. Next, was a great picture of the three of them together sitting on the front portch of their amazing house.

And those cute little feet!

the Kelly family

2011-11-02T17:41:00.000-04:00

I've been friends with Kevin and Lori for several years and I was thrilled when they asked me to take pictures of their family. Phoebe and James are their super adorable kiddos and we had a fun time at Walnut Street Park together in Cary.

Here are some fun pictures I snapped of all four of them together. Phoebe and James look so cute having fun with their mom and dad. :)

This is my favorite picture of Kevin and Lori. They are such great people.

James had a pretty good time staring me down in front of the camera. :)

Phoebe is a super energetic girl, I was surprised she actually laid down for a few minutes here with James. This big sister definitely loves her little brother.

Phoebe had a blast on the swings with Kevin giving her big pushes to keep her going higher and higher!

This picture definitely helps capture Phoebe's thrill and excitement. Kevin was holding her up and she was standing high with her hands in the air. This girl shows no fear!

the Tonelli family

2011-03-20T18:41:00.010-04:00

The Tonellis and I have been neighbors in the Longview neighborhood for a couple years and they are so much fun to hang out with. I was super excited when they asked me to take some family pictures for them and we decided that Fletcher Park would be a great place to take pictures with their 1-year old son, Miles.

I think Miles was a bit sleepy for our afternoon with the camera, so he didn't want to show off his smile too much for me. We still got some great pictures of the family and I've got my favorites shown below for you.

Miles enjoyed sitting up on Chris's shoulders and then he had even more fun just walking hand in hand with Allison and Chris. He's all about having fun with mom and dad. :)

These next couple I love. I snapped these close ups as Miles was sitting on his wagon waiting to be taken down the hill to the swing set. I took them in color, but changed them to black and white and love love love them. :)

The swings. Miles was a bit contemplative of the swings at first, but soon let loose and even gave out a couple cheerful screams for us as he was having such a blast with Chris and Allison pushing him in the swing.

Chris's parents, sister, and brother-in-law also joined us for our afternoon at Fletcher Park. Here are a couple quick pictures I grabbed of Miles playing with his Aunt Heather.

These next three are my favorites of Chris and Allison together with Miles. I couldn't pick just one, so you get to see all three.

...okay, you got me. I think this last one is my favorite. :)

the White family

2011-02-28T21:27:00.011-05:00

This fall, I met up with the White family for what I knew would be an awesome afternoon. Each time we meet up, I have a blast with them and I hope they enjoy their time with me just as much. :)

Last year, we took pictures at Pullen Park and this year, Shelly and Kevin wanted to switch things up a bit so we met at the warehouse district in downtown Raleigh.

This first group of pictures is of Kevin and Shelly with their kids Courtney, Zack, and Kaylee. This doorway was a great spot for the five of them. They're all about having fun with the camera, so we had to take some goofy pics. :) And you might notice two new faces in the third frame. This is Brittany and Emily, friends of the family who fit right in!

Here's a great picture of Zack with his two sisters.

These next pictures are in an alley I found and I loved that at the end the alley, there was a little tree, randomly growing out of a crack in the pavement. It was such a great spot for pictures.

This year, a couple friends joined in the portrait session. This is Courtney with her friend Brittany and Zack with Emily.

Here's a great picture of Kevin and Shelly together in front of the alley tree together followed by my favorite pictures of Courtney, Zack, and Kaylee.

Before finishing up, we walked along the railroad tracks and I snapped a few frames. It was a fun afteroon! Until next time, Shelly!

the Jackson family

2010-12-09T19:39:00.005-05:00

Amanda, Mike, and Bryce met up with me a little bit ago for some pictures at Fred Fletcher Park in Raleigh. We had such a fun afternoon together taking pictures.

I took some newborn pictures of Bryce last winter and I was so excited to hear that Amanda and Mike wanted to meet up again for pictures this year!

These pictures are definitely my favorites from our afternoon together. I think you might be able to see that Bryce was a little tired in the first few pictures after just waking up from a nap, but by the end of our afternoon, he was definitely full of smiles and laughs for us. :)

We switched things up and took some pictures of Mike, Amanda, and Bryce all together, some of just Amanda and Bryce, and then some of just Mike and Bryce.

Here are my favorite pictures of Amanda with Bryce. I probably say this a lot, but this is one cute kid! :)

We took Bryce up to the Borden Building so he could take a peek through the windows. He loved being able to stand up on his own and hold onto the window sill all by himself!

Now it's time for pictures of Mike and Bryce! They're so much fun together. :)

I love this grove of trees behind Mike, Amanda, and Bryce with the bright orange leaves. This is a great picture of Mike and Amanda with Bryce. I love Bryce's smile in this one. :)

I know you can't see Amanda or Mike's face in this picture, but I like how teeny Bryce looks compared to their tall legs and you can tell Bryce is having so much fun walking hand in hand with his mom and dad!

I'll close us out with some awesome pictures of just Amanda and Mike. :)

the Chesney family

2010-11-20T17:44:00.008-05:00

The Chesney family is an awesome family. We met up at Walnut Street Park in Cary for some pictures together earlier this month and had such a fabulous time. Joining three generations was an adventure and as we said our goodbyes that afternoon, I knew we were coming away with some great moments captured on my camera. :)

Here's our line up of the family. We've got Kevin, Phil, Ethan, Shannon & Gus, Lewis, little Mollee, Sharron, and Merilee. This first picture is a great one of the whole fam together followed by a silly-face portrait. :) I love families that can be goofy together.

Here are some great pictures of Shannon, Kevin, and their awesome dog, Gus. I'm pleased to report that Gus did extremely well for his portraits with the fam. :) Shannon and Kevin weren't half bad themselves! haha

Merilee and Phil wanted some pictures with their little ones, Mollee and Ethan. We had some fun times on the lawn together and got some great pictures of their family and then also some fun ones of just Mollee and Ethan together. I loved how Mollee and Ethan started playing with the big leaves Merilee found.

These next two pictures are really great of Sharron and Lewis and then with their grankids joining together for some picture fun.

After we finished with the family portraits out in the grass, we took Mollee and Ethan over to the playground to have some fun, and hopefully I could capture some fun moments on my camera.

These first couple are Mollee climbing up this cable structure -- haha...I'm sure it's probably got some sort of an actual name...but I don't know what it is! :)

She was a climbing animal because she made it up to the top in just a few short minutes!

Ethan had a great time on the swings. The bucket swings were already occupied, but he didn't hesitate to jump on one of these swings! Way to go, Ethan!

I asked Mollee if I could take a more close up picture of her and she was great. When I showed it to her on my camera's preview screen, she said she didn't like it because her body wasn't in the picture...but I love this one. :) I'm a big fan of close up pictures.

These last few of Ethan and Mollee are from them playing on the slide together. They started sliding individually, but then they teamed up and Mollee would go down the slide holding Ethan in her lap. It was so adorable. You can really tell how much they like each other and how much they enjoy playing together.

the Hodgson family

2010-11-15T17:27:00.006-05:00

I was pretty excited when Courtney and Brad told me they'd like me to take some family portraits again for them this year. Because we've been friends for so long, it's always a treat to meet up and take pictures together. :)

Another reason why this year's family portraits were a treat is that Courtney is pregnant with their second child! Little Caed has just a couple more months before he has a little sister in the house. :)

Last year we met up in September to take pictures of Courtney, Brad, and their little boy Caed and we had a blast at Fletcher Park near downtown.

This year, we waited a little longer to get some great fall color on the trees and met up in November at the farmstead and pecan grove in Historic Oak View County Park. It was my first time at the park and is now a great one to add to my list of great parks for pictures!

Here are a handful of pictures from our afternoon together. This first group of pictures is from the gazebo and the front steps of the main house at the park. It was great capturing pictures of Brad, Courtney, and Caed all having fun together.

This next group is some adorable pictures of Brad and Caed and then Courtney and Caed. We decided that Courtney's best pictures are when she's acting like a complete goofball with Caed. haha :)

These next two are cute ones with Caed giving his mommy a kiss on her nose and then her cheek. I love how Courtney turned her head to glance over at me in the second picture.

These next pictures are great ones of Courtney, Brad, and Caed together. This first one definitely one of my favorite pictures from the day.

I like the length in the picture because Brad is so tall already and Caed just adds to his height. And I love how Brad's looking at me, while Caed and Courtney are stealing a smile at each other. I also love Courtney's belly in the picture. While she's pretty far along in her pregnancy, her belly seems to be hidden in a lot of the pictures we took because she's either holding Caed or he's sitting in front of her.

I'll close us out with some awesome pictures of just Caed. He's got such great blue eyes!

Brittany & Eddie

2010-11-11T16:33:00.005-05:00

Brittany and Eddie grew up in historic Beaufort on the coast of North Carolina and Amaree and I were absolutely thrilled to come to Beaufort for their wedding. Their wedding day was on a crisp fall day with beautiful bright Carolina blue skies. :)

All of the wedding day festivities were in downtown Beaufort, which made it such a wonderful day seeing the town. St. Paul's Episcopal Church is Eddie's family church and it dates back to 1857. The church (inside and out) was absolutely breathtaking.

Before heading to the reception at Eddie's grandfather's house on Front Street facing the water front, we took some pictures of the newly married couple together. These next few pictures are just outside St. Paul's Church, as well as sitting on one of the pews inside.

The reception was a fabulous evening at Eddie's grandfather's house on the water front. It is an amazing house and I think describing it as a house is a bit of an under statement! I heard that Eddie's grandmother used to love throwing parties at the house, so it was great to have his grandfather host their wedding reception!

Brittany and Eddie's first dance together was beautiful to watch. You could really see how happy they each were to swirl around in each others arms in front of all their family and friends. :)

The wedding cake was classic and looked so beautiful up on the porch of Eddie's grandfather's house. Even as the lights dimmed throughout the night, the cake looked amazing.

Amaree and I always wonder what's going to happen when the bride and groom cut the wedding cake. Will they play nice when feeding pieces to each other, or will they smear wedding cake all over each other?

We had our guesses about Brittany and Eddie and when it came time to cut the cake, they definitely had a fun time smearing it all over each others' faces!

The reception was a massive dance party the whole night through, largely in part to the awesome cover songs being played by tHE.DESIGN! It was amazing how packed the dance floor was throughout the evening and members of the band would jump down and mix in with the wedding guests...it was great!

Here are some pictures of each of the members of tHE.DESIGN.

I always love sparklers. Brittany and Eddie's sparklers were such a perfect way for their wedding guests to send them off to their honeymoon. Here is a fun picture of the happy couple making their way through the line of sparklers!

the Spencer family

2010-10-31T18:21:00.004-04:00

Stuart and Miranda's little girl, Audrey, is such a cutie. I think she looks a lot like Stuart. :)

I met up with Miranda and Stuart last fall for some maternity portraits at Walnut Street Park in Cary, and this year, they wanted to take some family pictures together at the same park. I thought it was a fabulous idea and we had a such a fun afternoon together.

This picture is certainly one of my favorites. I love how Audrey is clasping her hands and laughing and Stuart's making a big smile to encourage Audrey, and Miranda's glance towards me behind the camera is absolutely perfect. Excellent job guys!

These next few pictures are some really cute ones of the whole fam together.

I've known Stuart since our college days at NC State, so I couldn't resist posting this one. I think Audrey is pointing towards a little cow stuffed animal Miranda and I were playing peek-a-boo with and Stuart's face is absolutely hilarious! The funny faces we make to energize and entertain our kids are priceless.
I know Stuart and Miranda aren't looking at the camera, but I always love these pictures with the parents looking at or playing with their children, and not focusing on me. This one is super awesome because of Audrey's slick little grin up towards me. :)

You know you've got a good mom on hand when she brings along a planter for her daughter to play in. Miranda said Audrey pulls out this planter all the time and loves climbing around in it, so she brought it along for our portraits. Just as mom predicted, Audrey definitely had some fun inside the planter!

This final picture is a great one to close out the post with. Audrey + Mom and Dad all giving great smiles for the camera. :)

the Linke family

2010-10-19T18:51:00.008-04:00

I met up with the Linke family at Crowder Park in Apex earlier this month and we had a great afternoon taking pictures together. :)

This is my fourth year taking pictures for Lauren and Andreas and their adorable youngin's...but of course, this is only year two with little Miles. Alaina is turning into a pro now as her 4th year in front of my camera and each year she does such a great job for her pictures.

It's so much fun getting to see the Linkes each autumn and watching the kids already start to grow up!

These first pictures are my favorites of the whole family together. Miles is enjoying his new found freedom of walking, so he didn't want to stay together much for group pictures with the family! haha...I thought these were super cute. Friends of mine joke around that I stick my tongue out when my picture is taken (to be funny, of course) so I thought it just seemed right to post this first picture. :)

These next pictures were adorable pictures of just Miles and Alaina. Miles is already lookin' like a stud on the baseball field. :)

I like to mix it up and get pictures of Alaina and Miles each with Lauren and Andreas. These are my favorites of that series. It's so funny how Miles and Andreas have the same expression on their faces in their picture together.

After playing on the ball field, we made our way to the playground and enjoyed some time on the slides. Miles and Alaina had a blast!

We finished our afternoon with some pictures of just Lauren and Andreas together. This first one is my favorite of the parents snuggling in close. :)

And you know how I love taking pictures of goofing around. Lauren and Andreas were very willing to goof around themselves with their strike-a-pose! Such a classic. :)

Erica and John

2010-06-14T18:22:00.008-04:00

Erica has been a friend of mine for many years. We were friends before I got married and she was gracious enough to sing at my own wedding five years ago. When she asked me if Amaree and I could photograph her wedding, I didn't hesitate to say yes!

Erica and John's wedding was a wonderful afternoon in St. Mark's Chapel at Historic Mordecai Park near downtown Raleigh. They planned an intimate ceremony with close family and friends. It really was a fabulous day and Amaree and I had so much fun taking pictures throughout the afternoon.

These first pictures are my favorites of Erica before the ceremony. The type of veil she is wearing is called a bird cage and one of her sisters fastened the flower to it. The combination of Erica's dress, jewelery, and veil were absolutely breathtaking!

This was a quick picture I took of John before he walked down the aisle of the chapel. I really like his expression in this picture because you can tell how genuinely happy he was at that moment.

Inside St. Mark's Chapel, it was very intimate. Everything was simple, yet classic. The worn wooden floors and wooden pews gave a warmness to the chapel that allowed all of us to feel welcome and all a part of the ceremony.

Here's a goofy picture of the wedding party. I always love these pictures. I even make my family do goofy pictures like this each year! :) I think Erica's pose is particularly hilarious...of all the goofy pictures I've taken, I think she's the first one ever to flick her nose! hahahaha

These next few pictures are of Erica and John together. They were gracious enough to give Amaree and I several minutes together before they left Mordecai Park. They are such an adorable couple, we got some great pictures of them together.

Erica and John's honeymoon was riding their motorcycle through the Blue Ridge Mountains. To kick start their ride, they left Mordecai Park on the motorcycle together. These last few pictures are of them as they left the park for their dinner reception on Glenwood South.

If you'd like to check out the rest of Erica and John's pictures you can log in to see them on Pictage.

Samantha and Jason

2010-06-05T18:44:00.007-04:00

Samantha and Jason's wedding was truly a spectacular day and was so much fun for Amaree and I to photograph. Everything from the location, to the live band, to the hand made ceramics, and even including the family dog, created a glorious wedding day for Sam and Jason.

There are two things I'll always remember about Sam and Jason's wedding: the hand made ceramics and hula hoops! :)

Amaree and I arrived at The Cotton Room before the wedding party and got a sneak peak at the seating cards for dinner. We were amazed to see that Sam had individually made small bowls for each guest to hold their name card! These were also the wedding favors for each guest to take home. Amaree and I both love ceramics and spent a lot of time gazing at Sam's ceramics because each bowl was crafted with different shapes, carvings, and glazes! Every bowl was absolutely beautiful!

Sam also made dozens of wonderful vases that were scattered all throughout The Cotton Room. Here are just a a couple of them.

The ceremony was at The Cotton Room and it was such a great space for the wedding. Here are just a couple pictures from the ceremony. The Cotton Room has this great combination of historic and industrial feel to it. The soft fabrics of the wedding complimented it perfectly.

In this first picture, you can see a few more of Sam's vases in front of the wedding guests and the chuppah. For the last two pictures, I loved these as black and white and I love Sam and Jason's smiles in the last one.

I had a fun time taking pictures of Sam and Jason together. They enjoyed goofing off in some of them, so we've got a good mix of nice pictures and silly pictures of them together. I don't know about you, but I'm always a little more partial to the silly pictures. :)

Yes, and their dog joined us for a picture! She was a very good girl. :)

Here are a couple more pictures of The Cotton Room after it transformed from the ceremony into the reception. Amaree and I were just so in love with that space, I wanted to show you a couple more pictures of it!

Sam and Jason had a fabulous band play throughout the evening for their reception, The Lasting Happiness. Amaree got a lot of really great pictures of the band, so you should check her blog to see her pictures. :) Here's one of my favorite pictures of Sam and Jason during their first dance.

Remember when I mentioned hula hooping earlier? One of the evening's highlights was Sam hula hoopin' in her wedding dress! After Sam showed her hula hoopin' skills to everyone, the rest of us joined in the fun! There were a bunch of hula hoops goin' around, so it was a blast to see everyone trying out the hula hoops...even Amaree and me!

If you'd like to check out the rest of Sam and Jason's pictures, you can log in to see them on Pictage.

Little Cali

2010-05-15T12:06:00.006-04:00

Cali sure is growing up fast! She just turned 2 last fall and she's an amazingly adventurous little girl. I took some pictures of Cali last September at her house in Wake Forest and this time I met up with Cali and her mom & dad at Fred Fletcher Park in Raleigh. We had a fun afternoon exploring the park and playing on the swing set!

These first few pictures are of Cali just after we arrived at the park and she was checkin' things out. You'll see that her energy continued to build and build throughout the afternoon!

There's a wheelchair ramp at the Borden Building in the park and if you run up and down the ramp, you can get some great sound affects (as Cali quickly found out). Cali loves climbing on things and going up and down steps and ramps, so she had a blast playing on the wheelchair ramp!

I took this quick picture of Cali as we were walking over to the swing set. I love the way she's looking up at me and her hair blowing in the warm breeze.

As I walked with Cali over to the swing set, her mom told me it was her first time swinging! Knowing how Cali likes to climb things and she has essentially no fear, I knew right away she would love swinging...and I was right. She was thrilled and loved having her dad push her up into the air!

I was walking back up to the car with Cali and her parents. Cali went back up to the Borden Building and took a peak inside the front window. It was a really cute picture, so I couldn't resist. :)

the White family

2009-12-10T17:31:00.003-05:00

I met up with the White family a couple weeks ago for some portraits before Christmas. We had a blast together at Pullen Park. We spent some time together walking around the park and stopped to take pictures along the way at various little spots that looked cool!

It was a great afternoon and Shelly, Kevin, Zack, Courtney, and Kaylee were so great to take pictures of. My camera loved each and every one of them and I've picked out a few of my favorites to share with you.

Shelly and Kevin were all about trying to take impromptu pictures, silly pictures, and pictures that are simply non traditional. It was pretty cool getting creative with them. :)

This picture of the family in front of a footer for a walking bridge is my favorite of all of them together. I love the old wall behind them with the different colors and stains and I adore how everyone stood for this picture in different poses. They did this all on their own with no coaching from me! They're naturals! :)

These next three are my favorites of Zack, Courtney, and Kaylee by themselves.

This one is my favorite of all because, well, Kevin and Shelly look fantastic. I also love Zack, Courtney, and Kaylee goofing off in the background. This totally shows off their fun loving personalities in a subtle way!

These last two pictures are really great photos of the whole fam, and I've got one as color and one as black and white. I couldn't decide which one I liked more, so I thought I'd share them both with you!

the Enzor family

2009-12-05T07:58:00.004-05:00

I'd like you to meet the Enzor family: Jennifer, Matt, and little one-year-old Brayden. We met at one of my favorite parks in Raleigh earlier this fall to take some family pictures.

Pullen Park is such a fun park to go to and is a fantastic place for families. They've got two playground areas, a train, a carousel, a pond with paddle boats, and lot of great grassed areas surrounded by mature trees.

Brayden had a great time at the playground. His bright smile was adorable as he played on the bouncy four-wheeler and the swings.

After the playground, we spent some time playing together in the grass. It was such a treat to take their pictures together. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

the Esbaugh family

2009-11-28T15:36:00.007-05:00

I met up with Brigid, Adam, and little Delany earlier this month at the Walnut Street Park in Cary. I like to call this park the modern one because it's fairly new and I can only describe the playground equipment there as modern. It's really cool and I bet the equipment would even be fun for me to climb around on, and I'm nearly 30! haha :)

It is a fun little park though, so after I took Lauren's family picture there, Brigid was up for meeting at the same park. These are some of my favorite pictures from our afternoon at the park together.

After we had our time out on the lawn together, we walked over to the playground to have some fun with Delany. She really had fun with the balance beam and after trying it a few times holding hands with mom and dad, she was adventurous enough to try it out on her own! She did such a great job! :)

It's amazing to me how much everyone loves swinging, and I'm not just talking about the youngsters. We all know how much we like swinging, feeling the rush of air on our cheeks, the breeze blowing our hair... These last few pictures are of Delany, having those smiles and laughs on the swing.

Karina and Russ

2009-11-03T20:01:00.004-05:00

Karina and Russell were married earlier this fall in Chapel Hill. Amaree and I were honored enough to take pictures for Karina and Russ on their big day. They got married in Chapel of the Cross, right on Franklin Street, and it is a gorgeous church building. Amaree took some really great pictures of the Chapel, so you'll have to check in with her blog to see when she posts those for you to see online. :)

This first picture I have for you below is Karina and her bride's maids helping her fluff out the crinoline under her dress. I just really liked Karina's smile in this picture, her hands on her waist, and the girls fluffing up her dress. It came together real nicely in this frame.

It was a bit rainy on Karina and Russ's wedding day, so we couldn't go out into the gardens near the Chapel, but there was this spectacular passage outside lined on each side by stone archways. It was a fabulous spot to take pictures!

Here is a cute picture of Karina and her dad walking to the front door of the Chapel as he's sheltering her with the umbrella. Amaree and I love wedding day moments with umbrellas. :)

Here are just a handful of really great pictures from the wedding ceremony. I love the excitement in their faces as Karina and Russ are walking back down the aisle together.

Karina and Russ's wedding ceremony was at Russ's parents' house in Chapel Hill. Amaree and I are fans of modern architecture, so we had a great time taking pictures of their fabulous house! Their parents had a tent in the back yard sheltering everyone from the showers that evening. It was a really great night and it was such a great location that the rain didn't put a damper the evening.

I'll close us out with some great moments of Karina and Russ dancing the night away and then Karina's first dance with her dad.

the Linke family

2009-10-25T15:52:00.006-04:00

I've been taking pictures of the Linke family for three years now, and it's so much fun to watch their family grow and be able to take pictures along the way. Lauren, thank you so much for coming back to me each year! :)

These are pictures of Lauren and Andreas and they're beautiful little kiddos, Alaina and Miles. Alaina was just about a year old when we I first took pictures of the Linkes and now she's around three! She's grown so much since I first took her picture two years ago. :) Little Miles is 7 months old and is such a cutie pie with his bright blue eyes and even though he had some eczema around his mouth, he's still a cutie pie.

I was playing around with something a little new this time and created a slideshow, below the slideshow, I've got my favorite pictures from our afternoon together. Let me know if you like the slideshow! :)

These are the first few pictures of the family together. I usually like the pictures with everyone goofing around better and I love the look on Alaina's face as she's peeking around Lauren's shoulder as everyone's laying on the grass together.

During family portraits, I try to take a variety of pictures of the whole family together and then some individual frames with each parent. Here are some adorable pictures of the kids each with mommy and daddy.

Alaina and Miles had a blast playing on the swings together at the park. I really like the cute picture of Miles down on the grass and then the one following with Alaina helping show Miles a leaf in the grass. Lauren and Andy, your kids are gonna be rock stars! :)

Miranda and Stuart

2009-10-08T19:04:00.005-04:00

In just a few short weeks, Miranda and Stuart will have their first child. A little girl. I met up with the soon-to-be mom and dad earlier this month to take a maternity portrait while Miranda was in her last few weeks of pregnancy. It was a beautiful afternoon with beautiful weather and all the pictures turned out wonderfully.

The first few pictures we took were of Stuart and Miranda's hands reaching across her belly. These pictures are always fun to do and I think it's fun to look back on these to see what your belly looked like just before having a baby.

These next few pictures were in different spots in the park. I really like pictures of couples looking at each other instead of at the camera. There's something about how a couple looks at each other in the eye that has a certain draw for me.

We couldn't resist playing around on the playground equipment. We wanted to take it a little easy with Miranda, but Stuart was more adventurous for me...and I'm all about adding some adventure in the mix. :)

I really love these last couple pictures of Miranda. She's so beautiful in these and she looks so happy. I can't wait to meet her little girl!

Caed, Courtney, and Brad

2009-09-27T16:16:00.006-04:00

I've been friends with Courtney and Brad since Courtney was a freshmen at NC State and I was a sophomore, oh, so many years ago. :) It's been really great to see how our friendship has grown over the past 10 years.

Last year, Courtney and Brad had a little boy and named him Caedmon. We call him Caed. :)

I met up with Courtney, Brad, and Caed a few weeks ago to take some family pictures after Caed had turned 1. He is such a cute little guy and has gorgeous blue eyes and bright blond hair that sticks up in all directions. So cute.

The fearlessness on this little guy shows. He's also got a little scrape on his lip from a tumble he took a couple days before the pictures, but it's all good.

These first two pictures are of Caed after he's finished riding on his plastic John Deere. He's a true North Carolina man, he is.

I absolutely love this picture I got of Courtney and Caed. He's looking to the side (probably at Daddy), and he's got all of his trust in Mommy holding him up as he walks around without any doubt that she'll continue to be there for him. And Courtney looks like she couldn't be happier, walking around with her little man.

And yes, Courtney giving Caed a kiss on the cheek. Can't get any better than that. :)

These next few pictures are of Courtney, Brad, and Caed all goofing around together on the grass. These playful pictures together are always some of my favorites. :)

The proud papa and his son. Caed is lovin' his time with Daddy.

These last few pictures are from the swing set we found at the park. Caed was all about that swing. He loved it! I especially love this first picture of his eyes poking up above the bucket seat of the swing and then the last one with him laughing and Courtney smiling just behind him.

Jemissa & Zack

2009-09-20T11:51:00.010-04:00

Jemissa and Zack got married earlier this summer and had such a fun day together. I've known Zack and Jemissa for a couple years now as we go to the same church in Raleigh and I also took some engagement pictures for them earlier in June. It's always fun to photograph weddings for friends of mine. :) Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

This first group of pictures are the goofy pictures from when Zack was taking pictures with his groom's men and Jemissa was taking pictures with her bride's maids before the ceremony. Of course, we took more normal pictures than these, but these silly ones usually end up being my favorite ones, so here are a few that I picked out for you. They should bring a smile to your face. :)

We took a lot of pictures of Jemissa in her beautiful dress, and this one is my favorite.

This time, Toni-lyn joined me to photograph Jemissa and Zack's wedding because Amaree wasn't available. Amaree and her husband, Ben, are also friends with Zack and Jemissa and they were already planning to do the music for Zack and Jemissa before they asked me to photograph their wedding. Amaree played the violin and Ben played the guitar during the ceremony and also throughout the entire reception. They played some really great cover songs during the reception and here are a few pictures of them playing during the ceremony.

Here are some of my favorite moments from the ceremony. Jemissa looking over her shoulder at all the guests. Zack with a huge grin on his face as they exchange vows. Zack and Jemissa taking communion together. And, of course, their kiss.

Here are some cute pictures of Zack and Jemissa together after the ceremony.

Zack and Jemissa had their reception at NC State's University Club. Here is their first dance, which was adorable to watch.

Instead of a multi-teared wedding cake, they had a plethora of cakes for their guests. It was such a great treat to have so many different cakes for the guests to choose from and here are just a couple from their selection!

Zack and Jemissa received toasts from Jemissa's sister, Zack's dad, and our friends Jason and Diana. Jason and Diana gave a really great toast because they were each close friends with Zack and Jemissa and then Jason and Diana also got to watch Zack and Jemissa's relationship grow into the marriage it has become. Here are just a couple pictures from Jason and Diana's toast at the end of the evening.

And here are a few final pictures of Zack and Jemissa as they make their way out of the University Club and start their new adventure together!

Cali turns 2!

2009-09-07T19:27:00.003-04:00

This is little Cali, I was able to meet up with Cali and her mom, Eileen, a few weeks ago to take some pictures of Cali just after she had turned two years old. I took some pictures of Cali this spring and she's already grown so much!

Here are a handful of my favorite pictures from my morning at Cali's house with her family. Cali and her parents moved here from California within the past year. Can you guess what Cali's name is short for? :)

Cali was having fun playing peek-a-boo from behind the tree with me and Eileen.

Cali loooooves her mama! Look at these two having fun together. :)

I thought this last one was really cute. Cali likes to pretend make mashed potatoes, but the funny thing is that she gets to play with a real mixer (not plugged in, of course) and real potatoes in a real bowl!

jill & daniel

2009-08-28T17:35:00.008-04:00

These are pictures from Jill and Daniel's wedding earlier this summer in Coats. Amaree and I had a great time with Jill and Daniel throughout the day and especially during the reception. They had such a great crowd dancing the night away and it was a blast to be there taking pictures of all the excitement!

These first three pictures are during the wedding ceremony. I love how you can see Daniel at the end of the aisle looking towards Jill walking up with her dad and Jill looks so happy as she's walking back down the aisle with Daniel just after the ceremony finished.

I always love doing these big, goofy group pictures. Maybe it's because these were my favorite pictures from my own wedding, or maybe I like the contrast of everyone looking silly while dressed in such formal clothes. :)

These are my three favorite pictures of Jill and Daniel. I don't want to say boring stuff like the lighting was really good...but it was! Jill and Daniel were also a bit non traditional. We did just about all of their group pictures and pictures of the two of them before the ceremony, but they held out and didn't kiss in any of the pictures until after the ceremony.

Signing the picture mat has become pretty popular the last few years. I'm a pretty big fan of it myself!

These pictures during the reception show how much energy was in that ballroom. The dance floor was full just about the entire night and everyone was having so much fun! The second picture is Daniel's mom rockin' out with her air guitar!

I couldn't resist taking this picture. They looked so adorable together.

And now, it's time for Daniel to throw Jill's garter belt! Can you guess who caught it?

I think this is my favorite picture from the whole day. Jill and Daniel leaving their reception. I just love everything in this picture!

Regan turns 1!

2009-08-22T11:26:00.002-04:00

This is Regan. She's the daughter of my good friends, Kendal and Lisa. I took some belly pics for Lisa last summer and merged them into a film strip that I showed you in this earlier post.

I met up with Kendal, Lisa, and Regan earlier this summer and took some really cute pictures of the three of them for Lisa's first birthday.

I really liked how this one turned out, even though it's a bit over exposed. I really liked the blue in Regan's eyes.

We did a few pictures of Regan in her birthday hat and they were just adorable.

We were in Pullen Park playing on the different playground areas for toddlers. We took Regan over to the swing set and while she was a little hesitant at first, she was all smiles after she got used to being in the swing. Even though she isn't smiling in this one, I really liked it of Regan and Lisa together.

Kendal wanted to stop and show Regan the water fountain. I think she wanted to just play around in the water first, before realizing you're supposed to drink it!

These next three are just some really nice ones of Regan. She's such a cute kid. I can't wait to see her grow up. :)

If you're ever taking pictures of a kids around Regan's age, you'll always get one of these pictures. This particular instance was pretty funny. Regan pulled the elastic string for her hat that's wrapped around her chin...she pulled it a good ways away from her chin and then let go. Can you envision what happened next? Snap! It snapped back on her face! The poor thing didn't know what was coming!

I'll finish us up with a cute picture of the happy family together.

Chesley & Josh are married!

2009-08-14T17:28:00.005-04:00

Chesley and Josh got married earlier this summer, and oh, it was a long time comin'. They've known each other since middle school and Josh knew he was going to marry Chesley soon after they first met! Can you believe it? You would if you met them! :) They have such an adorable story and it was great to be part of their day.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the beginning of the day as the girls and guys got ready at the church.

I thought this first picture of Josh with all the bride's maids was really cute. I love the way they all leaned into him.

I'm a big fan of these overview pictures during the ceremony where you can see the guests...it gives a nice feel as if you're part of the ceremony. This picture is during their unity candle ceremony.

The ring bearer, Jamie, is the son of one of the bride's maids, Chasity. He loved smiling for the camera and he was just adorable. How can you not smile at this kid? :)

I saw this six pack of home made oil lamps as one of the wedding gifts. Isn't this awesome? This is probably one of the coolest, original gifts I've seen. :)

Here is Jamie's sister, Reagan. She was the flower girl and she had such a great day of it. She was smiling for the camera left and right. I think she felt like a princess all day!

These next few pictures are fun. The first is my favorite picture of Chesley & Josh's first dance and the next one is Chesley with all of her bride's maids doing what she called the dance evolution. They did all sorts of dance moves from different song clips merged together. It was a great dance and we all had a great time watchin' them. :)

This is a really sweet picture of Chesley and her granpa. They had such a close, intimate connection and her granpa was so sweet to watch during the ceremony because you could tell he loves her soooo much.

Chesley & Josh

2009-08-05T17:09:00.004-04:00

Chesley was one of Myra's bride's maids when she married John in November 2007 and I was Myra's wedding photographer. :) I was thrilled when Chesley asked me to photograph her own wedding this summer!

I met up with Chesley and Josh last summer and photographed their engagement portraits. We had a great time in Four Oaks taking these pictures and here are my favorites. I'll have their wedding pictures posted soon!

Chesley had a lot of great ideas for their pictures. I credit the next three pictures all to her. :)

I've wanted to take pictures of a couple in a field together for a long time...and as we were driving around Four Oaks we drove past several different fields. Chesley and Josh were up for my idea and I was excited to finally be able to take my field pictures!

We pulled over on the site of the road and climbed into the field to take the pictures. It was really great and I love how the pictures turned out.

Zack & Jemissa

2009-07-24T09:18:00.005-04:00

Zack and Jemissa are friends with Jon and me and when they asked me to photograph their wedding, I was so excited! I'm sure I've said this before, but it's always a special treat to photograph my friends' weddings. :)

I met up with Zack and Jemissa a couple weeks ago to photograph some engagement portraits for them. It was a really hot afternoon, typical of our wonderful North Carolina, but Zack and Jemissa were troopers and did such a great job given how warm it was that day and they looked fabulous in their pictures.

We decided to meet up in Fred Fletcher Park first and then we moved to Moore Square downtown. We started off at a swing set and got some really cute pictures of the two of them goofing around on the playground.

Not everyone is into the "kissy" pictures, but I always like to get at least one. :) This one was my favorite of Zack and Jemissa. I love how Zack enveloped his arms around Jemissa.

I hadn't really taken any close up pictures before, so I wanted to try this out. My sister-in-law actually did a picture similar to this with her daughter (my cute little niece) and I thought it looked cool, so I wanted to try it out with Zack and Jemissa. What do you think?

This is when we switched things up and went to Moore Square for a different scene for our pictures. Zack is pretty much a goofball who is always trying to find some fun in everything. I had some really hilarious pictures of him picking Jemissa up like this, and this picture was my favorite. I think this was Zack's favorite picture of the day. :)

I like doing pictures where the couple kind of blends in with the background when we're in areas like this. I call these my "urban" style of pictures.

As our final spot for the day, Zack and Jemissa hopped up onto the newspaper stands in front of one of the restaurants at Moore Square. It was a really great afternoon, taking pictures of Zack and Jemissa. Check back in on the blog and I'll post their wedding pictures soon!

Ryan & Jenessa

2009-07-13T18:14:00.005-04:00

Ryan and Jenessa's wedding was so much fun to photograph. It's always a little more special to photograph a friend's wedding. Ryan is really good friends with my husband as they are both graduate students at NC State...well, Ryan has since graduated, but he's still working there now. :)

We got some really beautiful pictures of Jenessa for her portrait, so I wanted to have some nice pictures of Ryan on the wedding day. This one is one of my favorites.

Ryan and Jenessa were a little non-traditional on their wedding day. They wanted to take their pictures together before the wedding ceremony so they could enjoy the cocktail hour with their wedding guests. This wooden bridge was the place they chose as their meeting spot. It was such a pretty little spot in the woods. They were so cute together when they first caught a glimpse of each other.

Jenessa wore beautiful bright blue shoes to match the hint of blue in her dress. Jenessa's is going to be a veterinarian and is at the NC State Vet School. She has a bunch of girls she's gotten to be really close friends with at the Vet School and they all signed the bottom of her shoes. It was such a cool idea!

There is a spot at Duke Gardens called the Zigzag Bridge. Ryan wanted to take the groom's men to this spot to take some fun pictures together. This is their "Captain Morgan" pose....it was pretty hilarious getting them to pose for this. My husband, Jon, was one of the groom's men. He's the really cute one, the second from the left. :)

The wedding ceremony was in the Angle Amphitheater at Duke Gardens. It was such an awesome location for a wedding. There was a pond just behind where the wedding party was standing with a waterfall feeding into it. Throughout the ceremony, a bullfrog was singing along and a duck came up and was waddling behind the bride's maids. It made for some fun entertainment during the ceremony!

I'm not always able to capture the moment of when the wedding license is signed, but I love taking these photographs. Here is Jenessa's maid of honor signing in as a witness.

The wedding rings are always fun to try and photograph. These are sitting on top of the piano in the reception hall.

One of the reasons why Ryan and Jenessa chose Duke Gardens as their wedding location was the reception hall inside the Doris Duke Center. The ceiling is absolutely gorgeous with all the wooden beams and natural light streaming through.

The wedding cake is a fun story. I recommended Lynn's Traditions to Jenessa because Lynn did my wedding cake for me when Jon and I got married in 2005. It was fun to see Lynn at Ryan and Jenessa's wedding since she made my wedding cake as well!

This is my favorite picture of Ryan and Jenessa's first dance together. You can tell how they are absolutely enveloped in each other at this moment.

After Ryan and Jenessa had enough alone time on the dance floor, they welcomed the wedding party out to join them.

jenessa

2009-06-27T14:44:00.004-04:00

Jenessa wanted to do her bridal portrait at Duke Gardens, the same place she'd be marrying Ryan just a couple short weeks later over Memorial Day weekend. It was a really warm, sunny afternoon and Jenessa's mom was there to help with the pictures. She did a really great job helping. :)

This first picture in in the auditorium where the wedding ceremony would be. It was absolutely gorgeous!

I think the camera loved Jenessa. :) So many of her pictures turned out incredible.

This wooden bridge was just down the path from where the wedding would be in the gardens. Ryan and Jenessa planned to meet each other at this bridge and see each other for the first time before the ceremony at this spot with their family and friends with them. It was such a cool idea and the bridge was a wonderful place for it.

This was one of our last photo spots within the gardens before we finished up. I thought it would be such fun picture to have Jenessa barefoot, dangling her shoes over the edge of this little creek.

This was one of the last pictures of Jenessa's bridal portrait. Again, the camera just loves this girl. What else can I say? :)

the Gregorys

2009-06-18T17:52:00.005-04:00

Meet Will, Amy, and their cute 1-year old puppy, Roxy. Is she still a puppy if she's a year old? I think so. :) We had some fun at Fred Fletcher Park and took some family pictures for Amy and Will to celebrate their two year anniversary.

Fred Fletcher Park is really gorgeous in June. There are so many flowers in bloom and the gardens are so pretty up by the Borden Building.

I'm probably more of a cat person than a dog person, but I couldn't help but take some cute pictures of Roxy. She had so much energy, I don't even know how I managed to catch these pictures of her! ..maybe she was starting to get tired. :)

This one was my favorite picture of Amy with Roxy. I think Roxy really enjoyed playing around in the park all afternoon.

These last two pictures were ideas that Amy wanted to do and they turned out really great! We definitely had some fun trying to get the sun in just the right spot. :)

Lisa's belly

2009-06-16T16:56:00.003-04:00

This is Lisa's belly. Lisa had a beautiful little girl, Regan, last summer and we took a series of belly pictures before Regan came along. :)

We're planning to do a family portrait with Lisa, Kendal (Lisa's husband), and Regan later this month so you can check back in on the blog later to see pictures of Regan outside Lisa's belly!

I had a little fun with these pictures and merged them together to look like a film strip. Pretty cool, eh?

Mandy's new baby

2009-06-13T06:51:00.004-04:00

I took some maternity portraits for Mandy about 2 years ago, when she was pregnant with their first. They had a little boy and named him Brayden. He is definitely a very cute kid. :) Now they are pregnant with their second little boy.

When I did Mandy's first maternity portrait, she wanted to do a series of funny pictures with her husband, Daniel. They turned out really great and she wanted to do that again. :) Here is a compilation of some of those funny pictures in series. They turned out pretty cool.

little Luc

2009-06-07T10:49:00.009-04:00

This is Luc. He was born just a few short weeks ago and his mom and dad asked me to take pictures of him while he was still a cute, teeny little newborn.

He was such a cutie pie and you will think this first picture is hilarious. Yes, the first picture I took of him, he actually started peeing while Amber was holding him. He's already perfected the arch so that none of it even got on him (and we promptly cleaned it up off the floor). :)

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures of Luc.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. This picture is very similar to the first one in this post, only this time I played with the color of Luc's pacifier. I can't decide which one I like better so I wanted to show you both. :)

I thought this picture of Amber holding Luc's feet was really cute.

lost time

2009-06-07T10:42:00.003-04:00

I definitely haven't been diligent about posting new pictures and fun happenings on this blog. I get so consumed with each project that I just immediately move on to the next project because I'm so excited to start playing with more pictures that I forget to post them on the blog! :)

I'm hoping to get better at posting blogs more regularly this summer, so bear with me and hope that I can keep up with all the fun!

Kendell & Bryan

2008-11-24T19:07:00.015-05:00

These are some fun pictures from Kendell and Bryan's wedding in downtown Wilmington in October. Amaree and I spent the weekend in Wilmington and had such a fun time with Kendell and Bryan and all of their family and friends.

Kendell enjoyed some time at the hair salon getting a wonderful do for the big day.

The groom's men and bride's maids each dressed at the church. We all had a few laughs together as everyone was getting ready.

Bryan and his groom's men were a pretty fun bunch. After we took some pictures in front of the church, we went a few blocks down towards the water front.

It was a cold and rainy day and while the groom's men were nice and warm in their suits, the girls had to brave it out in the cold. We did have a good time with the weather in this picture, though!

The church had such a beautiful balcony with wonderfully detailed folding seats. Amaree and I couldn't resist taking some pictures of Kendell up here before the wedding ceremony.

The wedding ceremony was so heartfelt. The minister is actually Bryan's cousin, so it was great to see such an intimate connection between the minister and the bride & groom. I also loved the architecture within the church!

Ah, yes, here are the newlyweds!

Kendell and Bryan looked great together on the dance floor at the Bellamy Mansion. They were having so much fun together, and everyone was all about some dancing that night...the dance floor was packed the whole night through!

I'll finish us with the cake. It was gorgeous...almost hard to see it get eaten!

rings

2008-11-13T21:00:00.007-05:00

Jon and I just got back from spending a few days in the mountains near Boone. We stayed at a fantastic bed and breakfast in Valle Crucis that had a log cabin feel to it. Here are just a couple pictures I took during our mini-holiday. I got the urge to take some fun pictures of our wedding rings...

As I uncorked a bottle of wine, I accidentally split the cork in two, but thought the two halves could make for a cool picture.

We visited Linville Falls and took this quick picture of Jon as he was waiting for me to use the timer on my camera to take a picture of both of us just before we snacked on some sandwiches for lunch.

Hwa and Elaine

2008-11-10T21:38:00.017-05:00

Hwa and I have been friends for nearly 10 years, and when he asked me to photograph his wedding, I couldn't wait for his wedding date to get here! Elaine is such an incredible girl and she and Hwa make such a fun and wonderful couple. I love hanging out with them every chance I get. Below are some pictures from their wedding at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill.

As NCSU grads, my friends and I tried not to hold it against Hwa that the wedding ceremony and reception were at the Carolina Inn, not to mention that light blue was one of the wedding colors. :)

As a Chinese tradition, Hwa and Elaine had a tea ceremony for each of their families the morning of the wedding ceremony.

First, Hwa and Elaine served tea to all of the elders in Elaine's family. Then, they went to Hwa's house and served tea to all of the elders in Hwa's family.

All throughout the day, and especially during the tea ceremony, family and friends gave Hwa and Elaine gifts within these small red envelopes. Each red envelope had the same Chinese writing on them, which translates to mean double luck, as a good wish for the bride and groom.

Hwa and his groom's men were a real fun bunch to play around with all day.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day. Hwa and Elaine had such a wonderful ceremony. Elaine looks so graceful and Hwa looks like the strong and supportive husband I know he will be.

I love this close up picture of Hwa and Elaine's hands with his tux and her bouquet.

I had a little fun with Hwa and Elaine before the reception to capture this moment.

Hwa and Elaine looked like they were actually floating on the dance floor together after they were introduced to their guests at the reception.

Just before the end of the evening, as all the guests were starting to leave, I got this adorable picture of Hwa and Elaine, sweet on each other, in the hallway of the Carolina Inn.

hey there

2008-11-07T10:27:00.001-05:00

Amaree thought it would be fun for each of us to start a blog where we could post sneek peaks into photos we're working on for clients. I thought it would be a fun idea to try out and I hope I'll keep up with it!

I'll post some pictures soon to show you a few projects I finished up within the past couple of weeks. :)