Sweet Life Photography

Abby at One.

I recently got the chance to photograph my -- ahem -- great-niece, Abby. Yes, I'm old enough to be a great aunt, but only because Frank's six years older than me (love you, sweetie) and he's the youngest of three. So I have nieces and nephews with kids of their own. I don't get to photograph many babies because I'm so busy with weddings, so it's always fun when I get the little ones in front of the camera. Before I show you Abby's latest photo shoot, here are a few from this summer, just so you can see how much she's changed.

Abby has the most scrumptious cheeks.

"Hey lady...take a picture, it'll last longer." Um...Ok!

If only baby fat was as precious when you get older.

So here she is at (approximately) seven months...

And now..Abby at one!

Abby started walking at nine months. Nine months, people! That's crazy-early! She hasn't slowed down since she found her feet. Getting her to sit for a while for pictures was a challenge, but you should never underestimate the entertainment value of a pine cone.

Ready to get moving again. Her smile just kills me. And don't you love those two little teeth? I mean really, how much cuteness can one kid reasonably claim? Share with the rest of us, girlfriend!

With her mom, my niece Wendy.

Maybe my favorite from the whole shoot. I love the expression of pure joy on her face. It's good to be one!

With Daddy, Wendy's husband Walt.

Slides are always grin-inducing.

Those cheeks are just too yummy!

One of the things about being married that I didn't expect was how much I would come to love the family I married into. I've always said I had the best in-laws a girl could wish for. It's been amazing and humbling to watch his five nieces and nephews that became suddenly mine with a simple "I do" grow into the loving, talented and interesting adults that they are.  Now they're marrying and starting families of their own, bringing still more joy into all our lives. I'm so glad I get to photograph the results!

Click here to see more from Abby's One Year session.

Carey's Bridal Portraits (featuring Zoe)

One of the best things about my job is that every bride, every couple, every wedding and every shoot is different. I am so rarely bored. It's so nice to get excited about going to work! Here's my first bridal session with two gorgeous females: Carey and Zoe, her adorable chihuahua. Don't you just love that she was relaxed enough about her dress to hold her dog??

Zoe works it for the camera in the shot on the right, then graces me with her smile in the shot on the left!

Zoe, ready for her close-up. Check her pretty pink rhinestone collar. Carey's bouquet is pretty sweet, too.

Ahh...puppy love!

Carey's mom was on hand to pooch-sit so that we could also get some more traditional poses. Just bee-you-tee-FULL!!!

 

A classic pose on the steps at Duke Gardens. Carey's dress was simply stunning. The sash detail was really pretty and different. I loved that she didn't wear a veil so that the sash wouldn't be hidden.

This shot makes me think of Cinderella.

My favorite. Carey, thanks for allowing me to photograph you in all your bridal gorgeousness! Give Zoe a belly-rub for me!

Michelle's Bridal Portraits

How I love, love, love the images from Michelle's bridal portrait session. Here's my favorite. I have a giant canvas of it in my new office.

I have to tell you the story behind this bridal session. To say Michelle is a Duke fan is to make an enormous understatement. She not only holds her undergraduate degree from Duke University, but just this Spring she also graduated from Duke's law school. She is crazy about Duke basketball, evidence of which you'll see later in this post. The term "Cameron Crazies" was invented just for Michelle.

(Ok, I made that part up, but they could have invented it just for her.)

Just thinking about how much work it must have been to finish law school, study for the bar exam and plan a wedding all at the same time makes my head explode. Michelle did have a secret weapon...her mom, Karen. Since Michelle was obviously busy this Spring I had more contact with Karen than I usually have with your typical mother-of-the-bride when it came to planning the engagement and bridal sessions. I soon learned that there is nothing "typical" about Karen. I'm pretty much convinced that she could arrange just about anything necessary to give her daughter the wedding of her dreams. This included having Michelle's bridal portrait made not just at Duke Gardens, but also on the Duke Chapel grounds and INSIDE Cameron Indoor Stadium. When Karen first told me that Michelle wanted to have her picture made in front of the chapel, I whipped out my handy-dandy copy of the Duke Chapel Rules and Regulations for Photographers to let her know that on page 670, paragraph three, subsection A, only brides getting married in the chapel may use the grounds for their bridal portraits. Appointments must be made, sometimes months in advance. I was pretty sure that if we showed up unannounced to shoot the session at the Chapel, we would quickly be surrounded by a Duke Swat Team and escorted off the premises. I would have my Duke Gardens permit revoked and Sweet Life Photography would go to the top of the list of photographers NOT allowed to work inside the chapel EVER again.

Of course, that's not what I said. It came out more like, "Umm, I don't think we can do that." (And I'm just kidding about the guidebook. It's only a few pages long and is actually very helpful.) Karen was quiet for a minute, then said, "Let me get back to you."

Karen, if you're reading this (and I know you are), I thought to myself, "Good luck, lady."

Naturally, she called me back a few hours later and said, "We're all set!"

I'm telling you, don't mess with Karen. I'm convinced she can do anything and frankly, I'm just a little bit scared of her.

Anyway...that's how I ended up being able to get this shot (Michelle's pick):

 I love the detail on these doors. Michelle's radiant smile is pretty killer too.

 

Of course, we had to shoot at least a few in the gardens.

Once the light was gone, it was time for the craziest, coolest part of the session...shooting inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. Turns out not only does someone at Duke owe Karen some favors (just kidding, Mom -- can I call you Mom?), but she knows Coach K. He gave the OK himself. Having never done many bridal portraits inside a gymnasium (and frankly, who has?), I was a little nervous about how it would go.  My worries were pointless since it turns out that my camera has declared its undying love for Michelle and refused to take a less-than-gorgeous picture of her. 

First stop, Krzyzewskiville...or however you say it. According to Michelle, she spent many a night camped out waiting to get her season basketball tickets.

Michelle wanted to try to get an image up in the stands. I loved the idea, so up we went. One thing you should know about the upper deck in Cameron Indoor: it's really not a good place to be with a wedding dress on. I'm convinced there was at least two inches of gunk on the floor. Ewww. But I love this shot!

 

A blue Cameron Crazies wig in her wedding gown? Seriously, I just love her.

 

 

One of the very best things about my job is that it is never, ever boring. Thanks Michelle (and Karen and Coach K) for one of the most original and fun bridal sessions ever.

 

Stay tuned for images from Michelle and Ryan's beautiful August wedding. At the rate I'm blogging it should be up in 2009.

(Just kidding, Karen!)

Yippee!

We have a new logo! This is something I've wanted for a while now and I'm thrilled to unveil it here on the blog. Drum-roll, please...

TA-DAA!

I never thought a logo could make me so giddy with happiness. I've been looking for a graphic designer for a while, but was totally overwhelmed by the process. Combine that with an almost total lack of time to interview designers and you have inertia...complete and total non-progress on one of my business goals for 2008 and 2009: all new print materials. Then Frank found 99designs, a website with the mission of connecting talented graphic designers with business owners like me who need something designed.  It was so amazingly simple: we submitted a design brief ("clean, simple, tagline included...NO CAMERA GRAPHICS!") and included one of my all-time favorite images as an example of our style -- the famous Heath Fearless Bridal Sunflower Shot!!!!

 

We paid a small set-up fee and determined a dollar amount as the "prize" that would be awarded to the winning design. Then we sat back and waited...but not for long. Within a few hours, the first logo design was submitted.  Even though I wasn't crazy about the first design (Hello, people: "No camera graphics" means NO CAMERA GRAPHICS!!!) it was so much fun to open up my inbox and see that more designs had been posted. I'm telling you, it was like Christmas there for a whole week.

As the contest owners, it was our job to rate the designs and give feedback to the designers. While there were lots of cool designs submitted, it was Jon Whelan's design that won us over. Jon says he included the birds to represent nature (since I love to shoot outdoors). There are two of them (there are two of us -- brilliant!) and most couples are just that: couples. (Mother-in-laws don't count.) More "two" significance. The boy bird is giving the girl bird a sunflower which relates back to the picture and just so happens to be my favorite flower. (Happy. Colorful. Simple. Need I say more?). The type was clean and modern, plus he worked in the tagline "Life is sweet...remember it well." He even gave us a more modern take on the lime green color I love so much. All in all, the clear winner!

Then came the tricky part: paying him.

You see, Jon is in South Africa. How cool is that?? Unfortunately, though, PayPal won't send funds to South Africa.  OK...so I tried MoneyBookers. More hassle: MoneyBookers won't take US dollars. So now I'm thinking I'm going to have to fly to Cape Town to pay Jon $300. I was willing to do it and was even thinking I could write it off as a business expense until Frank snipped off that particular wild hair. I think his exact words were: "Great idea, honey, right up until the point we get audited."

( It was worth a shot.)

Luckily, I found Alert Pay and was able to transfer the funds to Jon. It was definitely worth the hassle and I highly recommend him. He even sent me the design before he got paid so that we could make a deadline for our upcoming ad in Weddings magazine. How awesome is that?!? If you want his contact info, shoot me an email and I'll give it to you: Elizabeth@sweetlifephoto.com. Jon is working on the design for our new business cards and letterhead. I can't wait to see what he comes up with!

We'll be working the new logo into the blog and website in the days to come (oh, who am I kidding -- it'll be weeks). Until then, I need the help of my loyal blog readers: I want my birds to have names. Yep, that's right. I don't want them to be "Boy Bird" and "Girl Bird" forever. So I'm announcing a contest. Send me your ideas for names by December 1st either by leaving a comment or emailing me. I'll pick the three most original pairs of names and then we'll vote here on the blog for the best names. The winner will receive a free engagement or Fearless Bridal session. So c'mon people, put your thinking caps on and name my birds! (Does that sound weird?)

 

Erin and Matt: Married!

Someday soon, I won't begin a wedding post with the words: "I'm soooo behind on blogging."

Until that far-off day...

Erin and Matt were married on a beautiful Saturday in May (yes, I said May) at Duke Chapel. We're so lucky  to have such a beautiful location for weddings and worship in the Triangle area. I've been in few places that I can describe as awe-inspiring, but this place truly fits that description. I was drooling all over myself to be able to shoot here!

Erin started out the day with her bridesmaids getting ready in her suite at the Millennium Hotel in Durham. I always enjoy photographing the getting-ready process. It's just so girly and full of anticipation.

Erin warned me that her dad might be emotional, but I think he kept it together very well! I love this shot of him watching his little girl prepare for her wedding.

The end result. Erin, you looked absolutely stunning!

The process is much simpler for Matt. Tux, shoes, cuff-links, tie...but more on the tie later.

Erin's gorgeous bouquet came from Ninth Street Flowers.

 
Erin's cutie-patootie niece was the junior bridesmaid. Doesn't she have the most gorgeous hair? We were good buddies before the night was over.

Matt's dad Bruce was obsessed with his tie. He was worried that it was crooked and was determined his son was going to be spit-shined on his wedding day. Erin's dad Ralph got in on the action too.

Still not quite right. I think I saw that same expression on Daniel's face the last time I tried to fix his hair.

Hhmm. Looks fine to me! (But I will be the first to admit I could not tie Frank's tie if my life depended on it.)

Ladies...

And gentlemen...

Erin and Matt are...

MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 
After some quick formals, it was back over to the Millennium for a very elegant reception, complete with an amazing string quartet. The cake was from the always fabulous Lorie at Simply Cakes. I always get a major case of the happies when I find out the cake is one of Lorie's creations. They're always gorgeous and more importantly, they taste great! Don't you just love that bow? One of these days I'm going to call her and see if I can come hang out in her pastry kitchen. And maybe taste a little frosting, you know, just to be sure that it's up to the usual standards.

Ah, cake...every wedding photographer's reward for a long day on your feet! I'm always so sad if I'm working too hard to sneak just a little piece.

A heart-felt toast:

A bubbly finale to a beautiful day.

 

Congratulations, Erin and Matt...it was so awesome getting to know you and being a part of your wedding day. Stay warm up there in Michigan!

To see more from Erin and Matt's wedding, click here.

Happy Fall, Ya'll

Fall officially began on September 22. If you live here in Raleigh, NC  you know it hasn't much felt like Fall...until this weekend. I was halfway through Jaime and Brad's fabulous wedding Saturday at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart  when I realized that, for the first time in months, through all the late Spring and Summer weddings, I wasn't a hot mess. (Frank had to shoot in the balcony, where, he reports, it was a wee bit on the stuffy side.)

Anyway, it must be the cooler temperatures or all the beautiful colors and Fall-themed decor at the wedding that's got me thinking about my favorite season. Our groom on Saturday works for a wine distributor and was able to provide hundreds of wine corks that were featured in the table-top arrangements and used as place-card settings. One of the great advantages of having two photographers at your wedding and reception is that while Frank was covering all the craziness on the dance floor,  I was able to wander around the room photographing the special details. I found this one cork and loved the message stamped on its side.

It got me thinking about some of the things I love about Fall. Each one of them qualifies as a "simple pleasure": taking long walks with Pepper on cool, crisp mornings; pulling on a favorite comfy sweater; curling up by a fire to read a new Deborah Crombie mystery; cooking Chicken Noodle Soup for the kids again; smiling at the sight of pumpkins and mums and actually looking forward to a little yard work. Especially with all the gloom and doom in the news, its nice to be reminded that it's the simple pleasures in life that make me happy. Just thought I'd share, ya'll!

Michelle & Ryan: Engaged

Meet Michelle and Ryan, two of my favorite lawyers on the planet. We met at Fearrington Village in the Spring for their e:session. They love to shop at the Farmer's Market together for yummy things to cook. That is, they shop when they can take their eyes off each other.

I knew when I first met these two that I would love working with them. They are madly, deeply, truly crazy about each other. Basically I just have to point my camera in their general direction and good things happen. Of course it doesn't hurt that Fearrington is full of awesome spots to photograph.

Ryan is a guy with serious skills. The elusive heel click, for one.

Karate Kid - style Kung Fu:

He's got intricate dance moves (and makes Michelle laugh):

He's got the dip down.

And -- wait for it -- he serenades the love of his life with his guitar.  Sigh.

This guy can do cute:

 

And cuddly:

And, um...well, let's give these two some privacy, shall we?

Yep, the guy with the guitar usually gets the girl.  (So all you prospective grooms out there, if you have any hope of marrying a beautiful, smart defense lawyer, you would be wise to follow Ryan's lead and find a guitar teacher now.)

 

Maybe my favorite of the day.

 

Check back soon for Michelle's turn in the spotlight: her bridal portrait session, which was possibly my favorite ever (hint: Michelle's session included a stop at Cameron Indoor Stadium and features a blue Cameron Crazies wig). Until then, view the slide show from their e:session here.

Thanks for an awesome afternoon you guys!

Carey & Daryll: Engaged!

...actually, they're married already.

Carey and Daryll tied the knot in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Goldsboro on July 26 at Walnut Creek Country Club. But since I'm just a wee bit behind in my blogging courtesy of a fabulously successful Spring wedding season, in Elizabeth World, they're still counting down the days until the Big One.  Join me in my fantasy, won't you?

Back in April, we met up at Duke Gardens for what would be the first of two engagement sessions, thanks to a surprise thunderstorm. We'd only gotten about 15 minutes into the session when the sky opened up. Daryll is a true officer and a gentleman to boot, so as we huddled under a shelter hoping to wait out the storm, he very gallantly offered to shield my camera from the rain under his shirt. He's even sweeter with Carey.

Sometimes body language says it all:

Possible my favorite from Shoot #1:

It was June before our schedules meshed so that we could give the ol' E: session thing another shot (no pun intended). The couple decided to change up their outfits a bit and the bright orange, blue and green just kills in this picture.  I love it. Plus Carey's eyes are gorgeous.

Sometimes an image just cries out for a little processing fun, like this one. How awesome is the light? I didn't create it, just enhanced it with a little glow and popped the colors a bit. Tres, tres romantique!

I mean, really: how cute are they?

I love the look on Daryll's face in this one.

One of the things that's great about shooting in Duke Gardens in the variety of places to shoot. I'd never even seen this spot before this session and I thought I knew the gardens inside out. I love how sweet Carey and Daryll are together and I love, love, love the pretty light:

Check back soon for a post on Carey's bridal session, including the sweetest little dog in the world, Zoe. Meanwhile, enjoy the E: session slide show!

This one just makes me happy.

Here is a shot of Jefri from her bridal portrait session in  June. It makes me smile every time I look at it.

Jefri and Adam were married in August, so check back soon for more images of their beautiful, intimate wedding at Duke Gardens. Jefri, you have an amazing smile and I'm so glad I got to capture it!

Must be September 8th.

If Belgian waffles with strawberries and whipped cream are on the breakfast menu, it can only mean one thing:

It's our anniversary!

Some of you may know the sad story of our wedding cake. As in, we didn't have one. The cake I had dreamed about for months failed to materialize at our wedding, courtesy of a very unorganized pastry chef who lost our order one week after we finalized all the details and paid for the thing. I waltzed into my reception, only to be pulled aside by my mother who said, very gently, as if she were expecting a full-on freak-out: "Now, don't get upset."

I don't know about you, but whenever someone says to me "Now, don't get upset" my first reaction is to, well, get upset. Call me crazy, but there you go.

Anyway, long story short: we got married in the morning and had a brunch reception at one of my favorite NC venues, the Carolina Inn. Mom, god bless her, along with a quick-thinking bridesmaid, had the chef create a stack of Belgian waffles and decorated the faux-cake with strawberries and whipped cream. This is what we cut and fed each other much to the delight of our guests (and the immense relief of my Mom and Frank, who swears that's when he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had married the right person when I didn't throw the anticipated full-on freak-out over the missing cake).

We never say something "went wrong" at a wedding. Instead, the "thing" in question went "not as planned." Our "not as planned" resulted in a long-standing tradition: every year on our anniversary we go out for Belgian waffles. This year, Daniel got to come along because his school is closed for the day due to a power outage caused by Tropical Storm Hanna. He commemorated our anniversary tradition with these shots. This one is barely blog-sharp, but it's cute:

Happy Anniversary to us!

Kaitlin & Nick: Engaged!

Caution: If it's early and you're one of those cynical types who needs their coffee before confronting undeniable evidence of true love, major happiness and, let's face it, just outright adorable-ness: you might just want to back away from the computer right now and go get your caffeine fix.

(I know I had to.)

'Cause Kaitlin and Nick are engaged!

 I drove up to Virginia to do Kaitlin & Nick's e-session and to see their wedding venue with them, the beautiful Mill at Fine Creek in Powhatan. What a gorgeous place to get married. We're so excited for the wedding on September 13! (Imagine me yelling, "Road Trip!")

Kaitlin suggested we do their engagement session at Sunday Park in Midlothian and I'm so glad she did! I love a location that gives me lots of great options to shoot.  But let's face it -- I could have slapped them up against a concrete wall and the images would have been awesome, 'cause they are both so darn cute together. And fun. And happy. And did I mention adorable earlier??

 

How great is this: Kaitlin is an engineer who's going back to school to teach. I love that! Check out her eyelashes in this shot. It's not even that close-up and her lashes are still fierce.

Nick is also known as "Party in a Box." Not sure where the box part fits in, but he had us both laughing the entire time. Ladies -- always marry the one who can make you laugh.

I love this one. The light was so pretty and I pumped up the golden quality with the Flare Up: Golden action from Boutwell's TR2 action set.

There were so many great places to shoot, but sometimes all you need is a wall and two people in love.

Kaitlin and Nick both graduated from Virgina Tech (Nick's an engineer too) and that's where they met. So naturally, they had to change into their Tech shirts for the second half of the session.

 

Maybe my fave.

Kaitlin & Nick -- thanks for the awesome afternoon and the great Mexican food afterwards! See you soon...

To view their e-session slide show, click here.

Kristen and Austin: Married!

Everybody, meet Makayla. 

Makayla, meet everybody.

Some flower girls are made; others are born. Makayla was born to be a flower girl. It's in her girly DNA. And really, what's not to like?

You get to wear a little make-up and new jewelry:

Super-cute shoes -- with heels.

  

And the perfect bag to tie it all together.

 

Plus, the most popular girl in the room is your BFF.

Your new BFF is really a beautiful princess (in a sparkly dress):

There's a handsome prince:

 

And lots of pretty things (what girl doesn't love flowers?):

There  is a down-side to being a flower girl. You have to take pictures with boys.

 

And sometimes you have to give up your basket of flower petals in order to persuade one of the little stinkers to walk down the aisle. But what he doesn't know is you really wanted to carry the rings anyway. (It's best to let him think it was his idea.)

Boys. They just don't take this whole wedding thing seriously.

You have to be able to stand still a lot. 

And another thing: there's quite a bit of kissing. Ick.

But they don't seem to mind too much.

Did I mention the kissing?

The best thing about a wedding...the cake!

It does make people do funny things though.

After it was all over, we got to throw fluffy pink confetti at them!

Yep, being a flower girl rocks. And the best part:  the beautiful princess and the handsome prince get to live happily ever after. 

(View Kristen & Austin's slide show here.)

Ugh.

Meet the South Park version of me.

All work and no play makes Elizabeth a total wreck! I've been working practically non-stop to process and edit our recent weddings, engagements and bridal portrait sessions. See that pasty white skin? That's me without the benefit of summer sunshine. See the drool? That's what happens from spending more quality time with your computer than your kids! Notice the expanding waistline? That's what happens when you sit on your butt all day. Man, I'm ready for a break! So I'm off today to Silver Lake Water Park to bask in the sunshine, sip a Diet Coke on an innter-tube and to help my friend Susan throw her son Lucas a fabulous birthday party. Maybe I'll even get a little sunburned. I'll post some images soon...the minute I catch up!

(Thanks to my friend Regina Holder for the South Park link. To South Park-erize yourself, go to South Park Studio.)

Canvas Love

My dog Pepper is not the only person who gets excited when the UPS man drops off a package. This week I  was like a kid at Christmas when my friend in brown dropped off a big package from Simply Canvas. Here it is: a large (20x30) Gallery Wrap canvas of the sunflower photo from Lauren and Andrew's Fearless Bridal session.  I love it!!

Here's a close-up of the way the canvas wraps around the frame -- so cool!

 

Simply Canvas offers a huge range of sizes. There's even a frame that kind of "floats" around the edge for a framed look. These canvases are a great, modern way to show a favorite image from your wedding.  Another view:

Give me a call to find out how you can have one of these gorgeous canvases grace your own foyer. (Although it won't be of Lauren and Andrew. That would just be weird.)

Adria and Brian: Sneak Peek!

I am really blogging out of order here, so if you got married before June 7 and I haven't blogged your wedding yet (and you know who you are), never fear, I'm getting to it! I promise! I thought I'd post these few images from Adria and Brian's wedding just to get some fresh stuff out there. There will be more to come...

One of my new favorite "getting ready" shots:

Here's a shot of Adria and her sister and maid-of-honor, Alissa.  I love shots where sisters (and brothers, too) are looking into the camera. My eye immediately starts to look for family resemblances.

The reception was held at the gorgeous Treyburn Country Club in Durham, NC. The outside of the club has some beautiful spots for pictures. I love the way the branches are curving overhead in this one. I'm lucky they even agreed to be photographed outside...it was amazingly, scorchingly hot, as it can only be in North Carolina in the summer.

I thought Adria's dress was so pretty! As much as I think all my brides are gorgeous -- you all look so much more glamorous than I did back in the day -- I really liked the deep V neckline on her dress and the lace overlay. And it was lighter than your typical dress, so hopefully (maybe??) she was not too uncomfortable outside. I think they look both look great. Must be love! Check back soon for more from the big day. Congrats you two! In the meantime, you can view the slide show here.

Lauren and Andrew: Fearless!

I'm about to blow my whole "gonna keep these posts short in order to catch up" promise right out of the water. I'm so excited about these pictures and just couldn't narrow down the ones I wanted to share on the blog. Lauren and Andrew are just too gorgeous and too in love, not to mention one of my favorite couples ever, to cut it short. You may remember a few posts back my offer of a free "Fearless Bridal" session to the first three brides who responded. (The Fearless Bridal concept is less extreme than "trashing the dress.") Lauren was one of the first brides to call, much to my delight -- she is so much fun and so easy to photograph! On the day of the session, we met first in downtown Apex, just wandering around looking for great places to shoot. I found this wall in a back alley, really liked the blue and thought it would make a great background. Typically I try to stay out of back alleys, but sometimes it's worth it! :)

Lauren and Andrew had already done some location scouting for me, so next we headed to the Historic Society building to use the cool red caboose that sits next to the railroad tracks. Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers and I love to use them in sessions. I really like how they pop off the red of the caboose.

 

There was no way I could be so close to the railroad tracks and not make use of them, so we ventured out for some shots. After a bit, we heard the train whistle way off in the distance. The whistle kept getting closer and closer, but a by-passer assured us the train was still a way off, so I kept shooting. Soon we noticed people pulling up to the railroad crossing and getting out of their cars. Apparently, watching the train go by is a big night out in Apex! I fired off one last shot:

 

And then we saw this:

Did I mention I call this "Fearless Bridal"? Well, there's why.

Next to the railroad tracks, we found some great locations behind the businesses lining Main Street.

You can tell a lot about how comfortable someone is by what they're doing with their hands. And I love the hot pink nails!

Recipe for a cool image: Take a brick building with teal trim and burgundy railings (nicely run-down), lots of cool lines, add in great light bouncing up off the pavement and a couple of gorgeous newlyweds.  Don't forget the sunflowers. Love it!

 

Now for my favorite part of the shoot. Andrew found this awesome open field of green grass that was the perfect height. The field was slated to be plowed over in a few weeks to make way for a subdivision (if you live in Wake County, this will come as no surprise to you.) The light was perfect, soft and golden:

Check it out. I can never remember if this baby is an H1 or an H2. Somebody help me out. And yes, I caught a ride. Quite a different experience from my little Forrester.

The image below is one of my all-time favorites. Definitely in my top ten. Thank you, Lauren and Andrew!

Just a little sun-flare...

 

One of the sunflowers bit the dust, so we used it to show off the rings:

I use Doug Boutwell's Totally Rad Photoshop actions quite a bit when I'm processing and love the look they give to my images. Some of my favorites are "Antique Tone", "Technicolor Dream World" and "Warm It Up Kris." I used "Prettyizer" on the following image. Doug must have fun coming up with names for his actions.

 

The light was fading very quickly, but we were able to grab a few more shots before it was completely gone. I processed the great majority of the images in the field in color just because of all the variations in green, yellow and brown in the grass, but I also really like the monochromatic feel of the next one and the black and white below it.

 

Lauren was so patient with me while I worked on these images in between all the weddings, engagement sessions and bridal portraits I've done this Spring. Here's what she wrote when I sent her the link to the slide show:

"You HAVE to know I woke up, was 1/2 asleep, checked my email and literally bounced up and down when I got your email and made Andrew wake up an HOUR early (trust me, that's hard to do) to view the images with me! I am so excited!! I love them ALL! Awesome job!" Happily, she reports that her dress wasn't too dirty -- definitely not trashed. Mission accomplished.

To have the luxury of time -- which is what it takes to get images like this -- on the wedding day is rare. It's a good day if I get 10 minutes of 'couple time' between the ceremony and reception. Lauren, Andrew and I spent over two hours on this session. That's why I'm hoping more couples will consider a Fearless Bridal session after the wedding. Lauren said, "I was able to feel the excitement of wearing my wedding dress again but in a less paranoid sense. It was actually fun getting it a little dirty! The pictures capture our delight in being carefree and the love that we have for one another. It was so relaxed...I feel like it shows in our pictures. We were just us."

To see more images from Lauren and Andrew's Fearless Bridal session, click here.

Happy Birthday, Frank!

Today's is Frank's birthday! I won't tell you how old he is on the grounds that I might age myself by association, although he is several years older than I am. Six to be exact. When we were dating, I promised myself that if things didn't work out with him, I would only date older men from then on. He spoiled me for life.

Frank deserves so much sympathy...he works all week long for Oracle, then works for me just about every Saturday. Not only is he a fabulous photographer in his own right, he carries all my stuff. Reason enough to love him right there, not to mention all his other wonderful qualities. He has a great sense of the absurd, loves me even on bad hair days and is the best father for our children. Plus, he can fix just about anything, including my computer.

Tonight, we'll go to our favorite Greek restaurant in Raleigh, Taverna Agora, followed by presents, ice cream, a luscious Red Velvet cake from Blue Moon Bakery (if you're looking for a wedding cake, check them out -- so good!). It will be an early night, since we're shooting the fabulous wedding of Patricia and Jeff tomorrow at Highgrove.

Anyway, happy birthday to my best friend, my partner, my soulmate, my...everything. I love you.

Vision Dance

Some of you may remember Mariah from her fabulous wedding celebrating her marriage to Robert last November. Mariah contacted me recently to ask if I would consider donating some time to photograph her with her friends and business partners Amy and Angela for their website promoting their new passion: Vision Dance. These ladies formed Vision Dance to promote the love of dance on a community level by offering a weekend of dance classes for dancers of all ages. Proceeds from the weekend-long event go to benefit a great cause: the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Raleigh. Since Mariah was one of my favorite brides ever, it took me about three seconds to say yes. The ladies needed head shots for their website bios, plus some images of the three of them together just hanging out. So we met up a few weeks ago in downtown Raleigh for a really fun session, wandering around City Market and Moore Square, finding some really creative places to shoot. I'm loving urban shoots more and more. Here's a sample of what we got.

I kept calling Angela "Melissa" throughout the shoot. I hate it when I do that. Lucky for me, she was great about it. So I've decided her new name is Melissangela. I think it works. She has an amazing smile and the most awesome hair.

What you can't see because I've cropped this photo tight and converted it to black and white is that Angela is lying on the sidewalk in front of a trashcan. Downtown's got some trashcans with really cool graphics on them right now that made a really fun background when shot with a wide-open (1.6) aperture to make it go all blurry and soft. She was such a good sport about stretching out on the sidewalk!

Amy was one of Mariah's bridesmaids and it was great to hang out with her again. One of the things I love about digital is the ability to see what you've done and know if it's working. I knew when I saw her gray-blue shirt that she would look great posed against the white stucco and green doors of the Longview Center across from Moore Square. A few test shots later, we all got really excited when we saw this on the back of the camera:

If there's anyone out there is considering a remake of Heathers, I've got Amy's contact info...can you say Winona Ryder look-alike? Gorgeous!

My girl Mariah. This one's for you, Robert. All I can say is...smokin'!

 

After we got the head shots finished, we headed back to City Market to use what I call the Great Veggie Mural as a backdrop. I love pictures where people are laughing. Here's one of my new favorites.

A sweet shot of the three friends.

 
If you love to dance or know someone who does, please check out the Vision Dance website (www.visiondancenc.com) to see what these three talented, energetic and giving young women have planned for the weekend of August 16-17th. Classes in jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop (sign Kat up), musical theater and improvisational dance will be offered and led by some amazing and nationally-recognized choreographers. Proceeds will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Raleigh (for more info, visit the LLS website: www.lls.org). I'm hoping to be able to stop by that weekend and get some shots of the action, so stay tuned. Mariah, Amy and my friend Melissangela, it was a lot of fun! Thanks so much for asking me...you rock!

Adria and Brian: E-Session

I shot Adria and Brian's engagement session at Duke Gardens on a crisp, cool Friday morning in March. Seems like a long time ago, especially now that we're into the dog days of summer. The daffodils were in full bloom. I really like the soft colors in this shot and how how Adria's turquoise sweater and the yellow of the daffodils play off each other. The morning light was just right, too.

North Carolina has been in such a serious drought situation over the past year, so going into the Spring, I was really curious to see how the gardens would fare. Happily, it's still one of the prettiest places in the state. Something different is always in bloom from week to week. The week we shot, the different flowering trees were just amazing.

Adria was a trooper trekking all through the gardens in a skirt and heels. She looked so adorable. She told me Brian had requested specifically that they get a little dressed up for the session -- I love it! These two prove you don't have to dress alike for a session to look amazing! I was really into all the color and the warm light.

But of course, a classic black and white portrait is always in fashion.

Speaking of great light, how sweet is this one?

Adria and Brian were married in June, so stay tuned for the post from their gorgeous wedding and reception at Treyburn Country Club. You can view their slide show here.

Stephanie & Dave

Stephanie and Dave were married March 15, 2008 in Mount Olive, NC. (I jokingly refer to this as our first "destination wedding" of '08.)  I'm convinced some of the finest people you will ever meet live in Mount Olive. By the end of the night on Saturday I felt like one of the family. The festivities began Friday in the old sanctuary of Stephanie's church with a casual meal. Besides Stephanie, the other great love in Dave's life is his Jeep, so Stephanie paid tribute to it by having this awesome cake made for him.

I just loved working with Stephanie. She is so much fun and has a great sense of humor. She was not your typical bride: her satin gown featured a stunning red embroidered train that I'm sure the older folks in the church will not forget anytime soon! She joked that Dave, who's a mild-mannered (but very loveable) minister's son who wants to be a minister himself, was marrying his Delilah. Here's a shot of her applying her make-up on the big day.

 

I love this moment Frank caught of Dave and his mom before the ceremony.

 

What's a wedding without an adorable flower-girl and ring-bearer? These two are sister and brother -- can you tell? Only a sister could get away with this. I love her little hand on his chin!

Stephanie and Dave agreed to see each other before the ceremony so that we could do all the photos beforehand, allowing them to go straight to their reception immediately after the ceremony. When we photograph a bride and groom seeing each other for the first time before the ceremony, we send everyone else away so they can experience that moment in private -- well, as private as you can be with two photographers firing away. We couldn't go outside for these shots as much of the grounds were still under construction -- the church was so new you could practically smell the paint drying! Luckily, the building committee checked with Stephanie before they installed the carpet and pew cushions -- everything matched her red and black theme! :) This is my favorite of the shots we got of them seeing each other for the first time on their wedding day. I adore the look in Stephanie's eyes.

 

My favorite from the ceremony, which was performed by Dave's dad -- that's his hand covering theirs. So sweet.

A wedding party close-up that Frank grabbed while I had their attention. I de-saturated the reds a bit to focus on their expressions. Red can sometimes overwhelm an image. The red and black in the wedding was so modern -- and so Stephanie!

The wedding party had barely arrived at the reception before a torrential rain began. It continued on through a very fun night, preventing the newlyweds from having their bubble-send-off -- outside, anyway. When it was time to leave, everyone just pulled out their bubble wands while Stephanie and Dave danced the last dance of the evening. All the bubbles in the air made for really gorgeous images. This one is my favorite.

 
To see more of the wedding, you can view the slide show here. Stephanie and Dave, it was such a privilege to photograph your wedding. We'll come back to Mount Olive anytime, especially if you promise to feed us so well again!

News, Music Copyright Issues and other random stuff.

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned...it's been almost 4 weeks since my last post. We've been working like crazy for the past eight weeks on a marathon of Spring weddings. It's been a blast, but between emails, meetings, engagement sessions, bridal sessions, editing images, designing albums, lab and shipping runs and, oh yeah, shooting awesome weddings with amazing couples, there's just been no time to blog. We've got a two-week break until our next wedding, so I'm going to try really hard to catch up. To do that, I'm going limit my posts to a brief description of the wedding or engagement session and 3-5 (ouch!) of my favorite images. It's going to be tough, since generally speaking, I am a loud-mouth and don't really know when to shut up. But I'm going to try!

We've been working with ASCAP (the American Society of Composers and Performers) for a while now to renew the license (a fancy term for an agreement) that lets us use copyrighted music on our slide shows. Just like a photograph, a song is protected by copyright laws. Without paying a royalty and getting permission from the artist, we are not allowed to use the song in a slide show. Unfortunately, we've been unable to come up with a license that's affordable, flexible and doesn't require detailed record-keeping, like reporting how many times per month a particular slide show has been viewed and subsequently, how many times a particular song has been listened to. Since it really, really bothers me when my copyright is ignored, either when an image is screen-grabbed or scanned and reprinted on a home printer, I've decided that the only way we can continue to use music in our slide shows is to use royalty-free music. In the past, there's not been much for photographers to choose from when it comes to royalty-free music, but thankfully, that's changing, thanks to sites like Triple Scoop Music and Shawn Reeder Music. While I'd much rather be able to use a couple's favorite song or their first-dance song for the soundtrack to their slide show, it feels wrong to disregard the rights of the person who wrote and/or performs the music by using it without permission. You could argue that I'm promoting the artist and getting them additional exposure, but without a license, it's not OK to use their music. And it feels yucky to withhold from another artist the respect for copyrights that I demand for myself. So beginning today, we'll continue to create beautiful slide shows for our clients with music that supports the story we're telling through our images, it's just going to be with music you may not have heard before. Hopefully, you'll love the images so much it won't matter!

I'm excited to announce that Sweet Life is adding two new album lines this year: Graphistudios and Leather Craftsmen. Our sample albums are in the works and hopefully will be available before the August wedding show.

Random thought for the day: Sorry, baseball, but I've decided digital photography is our new national past-time. At every reception I've shot lately, I notice that when people aren't dancing, they're taking pictures of one another. I love it! I'm going to do a post soon just of pictures of people taking pictures of other people.

Since it doesn't feel like a post without a photo, here's one of me taken by my friend Rick Ward at Ann and Peter's wedding in late March. Unlike most photographs of myself, I actually like this one. I'm rocking the standard photographer's all-black look, complete with the crazy hair. And my camera brand preference is pretty clear, isn't it?

 

Holley + Justin: E-Session

Here's a little gorgeousness to start off your week. Holley and Justin met me at Duke Gardens for their e-session several weeks ago and I found myself thinking every time I looked through the camera: how lucky am I?? They made it so easy. I mean, how adorable can one couple be? Note: Typepad is having an issue with the way images are displayed, so these may look pixel-y (is that even a word?). Hopefully, they'll have it worked out soon...

 

The ring's the thing...

 

Duke continues to add to and improve the gardens. It seems every time I'm there, something new presents itself as a great spot for photos. I love this bench and the way it's surrounded by the larger plants and tree...it's like their own private garden. There's a quietness to this shot that I love.  Holley's smile says it all.

 

This shot features details of one of the new bridges installed in the gardens recently. It's so pretty...and steep. You almost have to haul yourself over it by hanging onto the handrail. But it makes a pretty backdrop for a sweet kiss. 

 

During my first meeting with the couple, as I was filling out their contract, Justin made sure that I spelled Holley's name right, not leaving out the "e". Such a simple thing, but full of love. Holley-with-an-e, he's a keeper! I can't wait for the wedding later this month!

To view their slide show, click here.
 

Lauren and Andrew: Fearless Bridal Sneak Peek

Last night I met Lauren and Andrew (see their wedding post below) for a Fearless Bridal session. If you're not familiar with the Fearless Bridal concept, it's basically a less extreme Trash the Dress session. We do it after the wedding so that we don't have to be so careful about keeping the dress clean, which allows the bride to relax and not worry so much about getting something on her dress before the big day. We got together in historic downtown Apex and had so much fun. I can't wait to do a more in-depth blog post about it, but I love this picture so much I wanted to get it up asap! Andrew found this great field which unfortunately will be totally destroyed soon to make way for -- what else in Wake County -- a new housing development. I'm so glad we got to use it before it's gone. The light was perfect, I had a gorgeous couple of newlyweds and no time pressure -- amazing!


  

Lauren and Andrew

Lauren and Andrew were married on March 8, 2008 in Jones Chapel at Meredith College. There are a ton of images to share, so I'll jump right in.

I knew I would love working with Lauren from the moment I met her at the engagement session last summer.  She's been so relaxed, fun, enthusiastic, easy to work with and up for anything! Of course, she's a Meredith girl like me. Here are a few of my favorites from her bridal portrait session.

I love the way you can see her engagement ring -- which is gorgeous --  in this one at the piano.

This image makes me think of all the girls who've been married at the Chapel and posed for their portrait on the front steps.

Here's the winning shot, the one that was chosen to be displayed at the reception. I love the bare toes and that smile is pure Lauren!

After our session at the chapel, we walked across the drive to the big field by the lake. I like this shot a lot -- Lauren is such a natural in front of the camera. I tinted this one because the grass was totally brown at this time of year!

Now back to Lauren on her wedding day with a few of her bridesmaids looking on.

Andrew, the handsome groom...

I love the sense of anticipation in this image. Frank did a really great job on this shoot. He was not feeling great that day, but he powered through and got some amazing images. I'm so proud...

Lauren chose pinks and greens for her wedding colors. Julie at  The Blossom Shop provided all the flowers, including Lauren's gorgeous bouquet. 

Check out Andrew's ring on the maid-of-honor's thumb. Those flowers were just amazing and I love the little green berries.

At one point when we were waiting in the bride's room for the wedding to start, I said to Lauren, "I just love your wedding! It's so..." and we both said "emotional!" at the same time. For a while there Lauren and her mom Cindy couldn't look at each other without tears.  As Cindy helped Lauren into her gown, the tears were flowing.

They pulled it together for some very sweet portraits. Out of all of them, this is my favorite.

Lauren's Dad and his wife Gail arrived soon after.  The look on their faces as they see her for the first time in her dress and veil is priceless.

Lauren and her dad.  Moments like this are why I love being a wedding photographer.

Katherine, Lauren's cousin and the maid-of-honor, helps out with the garter. I really enjoyed shooting in this room in the chapel -- I love those windows. What great light!

One of Lauren's favorite getting-ready shots. "Who knew feet could be so pretty?"

I guess I should give Andrew a little more space in this blog entry! Here he is with the getaway car, a very cool red Hummer.

Reading a letter from his soon-to-be wife before the ceremony.

Jones Chapel is such a gorgeous place to get married. The chapel has large arched windows that let in wonderful light. One of the most striking features of the chapel is the pipe organ, which you can see in this image of Andrew's mom being escorted to her seat before the ceremony started.

A few images from the ceremony.

After the wedding it was off to the Raleigh Sheraton for the reception. As the bride and groom were waiting to be announced, I grabbed this shot of the rings.

The couple being introduced.  Lauren's dress was so gorgeous -- I just love photographing a pick-up skirt. The way the folds of fabric catches the light is very satisfying for a photographer!

With friends and family looking on, Lauren and Andrew share their first dance as husband and wife.

There's a moment at every wedding where I get a little lump in my throat. Usually, it's during the father/daughter and mother/son dances.

The dances and a slide show of the couple growing up cranked up the emotion in the room all over again.

My favorite detail to shoot...the cake! It's the best wedding photog perk. Of course, cake every weekend is doing nothing for my figure. Lauren and Andrew's cake was made by Lorie at Simply Cakes in Apex.

Check out the painted-on details. A great wedding cake baker is a true artist. It was really good too!

This post is taking on mammoth proportions, so I'll wrap it up  with a few more of my favorite shots. Patrick Cooke of  PC Productions did a great job with the music at the reception. Kids can always be counted on for some fun dancing shots!

Andrew goes after the garter...

...mission accomplished!

One last dance and they're off to St. John.

Lauren and Andrew, it was an amazing day and so great to be a part of it. We loved working with you and can't wait for the Fearless Bridal shoot later this month! And just FYI, I still want a ride in that red Hummer.

View the wedding slide show here.

Update on Mom

Many thanks to all of you who have expressed concern for my mom while she is in the hospital. We're still waiting for a definitive diagnosis which is incredibly frustrating. I appreciate the patience of all my wonderful couples and their families while I struggle to care for her and run Sweet Life at the busiest time of the year.

Mom has always been there for me, so now I'd like to pay back some of the debt I owe her for all the love, care and attention she's given me over the years. Time for editing and processing will necessarily be briefer than I'd like it to be while I focus on her for the next few days. Please know that processing images, creating slide shows  and providing excellent customer service is a priority for us.  We're working hard to provide them to our clients with as little delay as possible. Any prayers and positive thoughts you can send our way are greatly appreciated!

All the best,

Elizabeth

Jen and Carl: Sneak Peak

Jen and Carl were married Saturday, April 12 at the Dail Center at NC State's Carter-Finley Stadium. I thought their departure was so cool I wanted to get this image up quickly in case anyone out there is looking for a unique idea: fun sticks! In keeping with the athletic setting and using the colors in their wedding, Jen and Carl provided their guests with the noisemakers to see them off into the world as husband and wife. What a fun way to end a great day. Stay tuned for more images from this wedding soon!

Jaime and Brad: E-Session

Jaime and Brad met when they were both working at The Blue Martini in downtown Raleigh. After Brad proposed, they walked together down Fayetteville Street, so when we began planning their e-session, the couple knew they wanted to incorporate an urban setting.  One of the most awesome things I did last October at Corey McNabb's  Rockstar Wedding Photography Workshop was a night-time engagement shoot  in downtown Asheville (on Halloween no less -- believe me, the freaks were out).   I would have never considered doing an e-session at night before the workshop, but I loved the results. It's truly amazing how much light you can find in an urban area at night. I mentioned it to Jaime and Brad and was excited when they loved the idea. We started at City Market at dusk and made use of some great purples and greens in a nearby mural.

More great art in City Market...the pig looks positively scandalized. I love a little glow on an image!

Brad has the whole heel-click move down. Wish I could do that.

I love this shot...they are sitting on the sidewalk leaning up against the door of a bar.  There was this beautiful light bouncing up on their faces from nothing more than a simple white concrete sidewalk. The light was really starting to fade, but somehow, it worked!

Re-creating the post-engagement stroll down Fayetteville Street...

A cool spotlight under an awning. I really like the expression on Jaime's face in this one and all the red and yellow light!

Probably my favorite of the night in front of Blue Flame Tattoo on Hillsborough Street. How cool is it that the bike just happened to be parked right where I needed it?

Jaime and Brad, thanks for being so adventurous and up for anything.  This was one of my favorite engagement sessions ever. It was a lot of fun to step outside the norm and do something different. I'm really looking forward to the wedding in October!

View the slide show here.

Moving Memories

We're moving to a new home on Monday, so I've been going through lots of stuff recently, including an unreasonable amount of boxes and things from the attic.  I'm re-aquainting myself with stuff I haven't laid eyes on in more than five years -- most of which I've not missed at all.  As I was going through a box marked "Memorabilia" I pulled a stack of old pictures from a manilla envelope and was horrified to come across an 8x10 of my aunt's bridal portrait. It's funny that in that same box, there was a wonderful old portrait of my in-laws, pre-husband, and an adorable portrait of Frank as a three-year-old boy. That picture, as you can see below, is torn and wrinkled, but I reserved my horror for the state of the bridal portrait -- not that it was in bad shape (it was remarkably well-preserved, much like the lady herself), just that it was stuffed in with all the others. I had this instant thought -- Oh my gosh, this should be in a frame! Protected! Displayed somewhere! I didn't have the same reaction to the other two photos although they are equally as important. There's just something about wedding pictures -- they are so precious. In our new home, I'm going to create a wall just for old family pictures, and if she will let me, reserve a place of honor for my aunt's portrait.

Think about us next week as we move...I keep hoping the moving elves will show up to pack for me, but so far, no luck. The office will be closed from Sunday, March 30 until Sunday, April 6. I'll be checking email, but only sporadically, so if you need to get in touch with me, please feel free to give me a call.

Meghan & Preston: March 1, 2008

Meghan and Preston were married on March 1 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church  in Cary, NC.  Meghan and I have something in common: we both love photography and bald guys! (OK, Frank, nearly bald. Plus, Preston surprised me by showing up at our pre-wedding meeting with hair on his head.) I shot Meghan and Preston's engagement session back in the Fall and never got around to blogging about it, so here's the link to view their slide show.

I loved Meghan's dress. I don't know how to describe the color but it was gorgeous and suited her perfectly.

 

I just love a pick-up skirt! It photographs so nicely. Here's another view of the dress that shows the embroidery on the bodice:

Meghan's mom and dad once owned a florist shop. Naturally, they created the beautiful flowers for the wedding. The flowers themselves came from the Flower Cupboard, then the bride's mom worked her magic.

St. Michael's has recently been renovated and the interior is lovely. It was refreshing to shoot in a church with yellow walls and blue carpet! Plus, it was obvious that someone had put a lot of thought into the lighting inside the church. It was perfect.  I love how the light is on Meghan's face as she listens to the words of the priest. He was one cool dude.

Mission accomplished! I love the feel of forward motion in this image.

We didn't have long inside the church, so after a few quick formals, the wedding party and immediate family headed over to Duke Gardens for photographs before the reception.  Here's a shot of the groom, his new wedding ring shining.

Preston with his mom. Moments like these are why I feel so lucky to have the job that I have.

One of my favorite things about Duke Gardens is the stone used throughout.  Here's a shot of Meghan by one of the two little stone houses on either side of the main terraces.  The gold and blue tones in the stone are so unusual, but so lovely and warm.  Frank will tell you that I drive him crazy at home insisting on symmetry in the way I hang pictures on the wall and arrange items on the mantel, but when it comes to photographs, I really love asymmetry, for things to be off-center.  I use the rule of thirds a lot, visually dividing an image into thirds using two horizontal lines and two vertical lines then placing the subject of the image at or near the intersection of any of the four resulting points.   I really like having the bride's face off-center in this image. Not only does it allow the beauty of the stone to shine, but her lovely features seem to pop right out of the image. I think Meghan made an absolutely stunning bride. By the way, her make-up was done by MAC in Nordstrom's at Southpoint.

A sweet moment between the newlyweds under the most perfect trees...

After pictures, we all headed over to Maggiano's  in Durham for the reception. What a fun place for a reception and a great place to photograph!

There was some incredibly enthusiastic dancing at Meghan and Preston's reception and I found myself grinning from ear-to-ear while I was working. How many people can say that they come home from their job and their face hurts from smiling so much? We are so lucky. Here's a shot of Preston getting in to the great music provided by Tracy Telenko fromBowtie Mobile DJ and Sound.  

Guess which song is playing in this shot.  "YMCA", maybe?

There were so many great moments from Meghan and Preston's reception that I could go on and on. Here's the slide show so you can check them out for yourself. Look for the shot of the guys standing around looking at the garter on the floor. They must think it's infected with smallpox...nobody is picking that thing up!

Meghan and Preston, we had such a blast photographing your wedding.  We wish you great love and happiness in future!

Great Wolf Lodge

Just to prove that I do have a life outside of wedding photography, I thought I'd blog about our trip in February to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia. My nephew and my son have birthdays in February one week apart. After a trip there back in the summer, my nephew decided he wanted to go back for his birthday instead of having a party. Since this amazing place has both an awesome in-door water park and a MagiQuest (if you have kids and you don't know what MagiQuest is, check out the site), it didn't take much convincing for Daniel to decide that's how he wanted to celebrate his 11th birthday.  Here are a few pics from the trip, starting with birthday cake at home.

There are enormous wolf sculptures out front that are meant to look like they'd been carved from rock. The kids (including the sisters of the birthday boys) had a blast climbing on them. They call this their "album cover" shot.

Kat digs in to a monstrous pastry called a "S'more" in the bakery by the waterpark. Funny, I don't remember s'mores weighing a pound.

Daniel on the fake surfing ride. He loved it, but didn't last long. The water is so powerful that it shoots right back up to the top where you get on the board in a split-second if you fall off.

Nate takes his turn. I think of Nate as "The Zen Master." He's always so calm and self-possessed, way beyond his years. He's really smart, too.  I love this picture -- it looks like we could be anywhere. Yeah, that's right, we went to Hawaii to celebrate President's Day. Didn't everyone?

Claire's favorite part of the park is a pool where you cross by holding onto a net and jumping onto these floating, but very slippery, lily-pad-type discs in the water. She was the best at it of all the kids.

Such a goofball.

Of course, Kat hates this picture. But I love how the water nearly matches her eyes.

These guys have been friends since they were babies and I'm looking forward to watching them grow up and celebrating their birthdays in even more adventurous ways!

First Wedding of 2008: Valerie and Lionel

Valerie and Lionel actually married some years ago in Las Vegas. Lucky for us, we got to be there when they renewed their vows. Couples like Valerie and Lionel, their friends and family (including their three handsome sons)  and celebrations like the one they threw in Durham on February 23rd are the reasons why I love my job! We had so much fun and there were lots of great moments to capture.

Valerie's wedding shoes were amazing! If you read this blog often, you know how I love to photograph wedding shoes. I know it's partly because I don't ever get to wear really awesome shoes anymore (there's no way I could work in heels). Yes, I'm living vicariously through my clients...sad but true! Talk about some fierce high heels...

Her dress was equally gorgeous. I loved all the embroidery and special details like the brooch at the waist.  When I photograph a dress, I like to try to make it look almost other-worldly...after all,  it's no ordinary dress. Hanging the dress in a window so that the light passes through it is one of my favorite ways to showcase it.

The amazing Theresa Edwards of A More Beautiful You (email: amorebeautifulu@yahoo.com) did Valerie's hair and make-up. (More on Theresa in a soon-to-follow post).  I'm a huge proponent of having your make-up done by a professional on your wedding day.  A good make-up artist knows how to highlight your features so that they really pop in photographs.  I thought Valerie was absolutely stunning.

Lionel is a dentist with a thriving practice in Durham.  A long-time resident, Lionel's a champion of the Bull City.  Lionel and his sons got dressed for the wedding at the Durham Marriott which is near a plaza featuring a huge bull sculpture, so Frank grabbed this shot of him before the limo arrived.

Before the ceremony, we all headed over to Duke Gardens for photographs. I love shooting at Duke Gardens and typically, anytime of the year you can find something blooming, but strict water restrictions because of the drought we're experiencing in North Carolina are really affecting the plant life. Luckily, the redbuds (at least, I think that's what they were) were blooming, so we were able to use those to add some color to the images. Before leaving the house, I'd asked Valerie if she thought Lionel was going to get her a new wedding ring. She responded, "You never know with Lionel -- he's always planning something!" Sure enough, he pulled me aside when she wasn't looking to show me a gorgeous new diamond. Here's a shot of her reaction when her husband got down on one knee to present it to her.

I was able to get a closer shot of all three rings at the church.

Valerie and Lionel have three sons who each played an important part in the ceremony. The youngest served as the ring bearer, while the middle son carried a special family bible. The oldest son had the privilege of escorting his mom.  I love this shot of Lionel as Valerie made her way down the aisle towards him...

...and the Nelson sons outside the church after the ceremony.

Back at the Durham Marriott, the guests were greeted by this cool ice sculpture featuring the iconic Love Story logo:

The first dance obviously involved some rehearsing and the couple pulled it off beautifully. Here's the bride, mid-twirl:

After dinner, many heart-felt toasts and the cutting of a delicious sweet-potato wedding cake, the party truly got underway. The reception is one of my favorite parts of the day to photograph.  DJ Jeff Simpson with Simpsound Productions did a great job as Master of Ceremonies and spin-master. Lionel picked out over 14 hours of music for the reception and it was all phenomenal. Frank loved it -- I caught him more than once out on the dance floor, camera in hand, dancing while shooting! You know you've got a good job when you can dance at work and no one says anything about it!

Another service Jeff provides is room lighting, which is such a nice touch. Since lavender was the color the couple chose for the wedding, he placed lavender up lights around the periphery of the room. I love how the light influenced the look and feel of the reception photos. Little touches like this can go a long way in making a wedding unique. I'm a big believer in the value of using a wedding planner as Valerie and Lionel did, choosing planner Tracy Adams of Adams and Events to take care of all the big items and small details that have to be crossed off the master list of wedding-related tasks. I wish more couples would budget for planners. I think there's a mistaken impression that planners are an extravagance or that only high-budget weddings need a planner. In fact, most planners have packages structured much like other wedding vendors so that you can tailor how much involvement they have in the planning of your wedding. Plus, they can be a great resource for money-saving ideas. Even just having someone around on the Day Of to make sure everything runs smoothly takes the weight off the bride and groom and any family members they may have "recruited" as the unofficial wedding planner. You and your family should be able to relax and enjoy every moment of the day. Hiring a wedding planner is such a smart use of a portion of your wedding-day budget and can be more affordable than you might think. (This ends the Wedding Planner endorsement portion of the blog post and Tracy, I expect my kick-back in the mail this week.)

OK, off my soap-box and back to Lionel and Valerie. Remember those fierce shoes with the killer stilettos earlier in the blog? Well, eventually, they had to go. Check out the comfy pair Valerie donned at the end of the night!

What a great way to begin a very busy wedding season. For more images, check out the slide show here. Valerie and Lionel, we wish you many, many more years of happiness!

 

Baby L-O-V-E

OK, it's Valentine's Day, so I thought I'd post some shots from my most recent Baby/Family Portrait Session, because I especially love the subjects of the images. They're two of the newest members of the extended Myers family: Jonathan, the son of my nephew Alan and his wife Carole and Abby, the almost-brand-new daughter of my niece Wendy and her husband Walt. Jonathan turned one this January, while Abby is a tender 10-weeks old. Here's Alan, Carole and Jonathan. I think the shape they make in this image is rather heart-like.

Abby has reflux, a common but miserable condition, for baby and parents alike.  Babies with reflux basically invented the sport of projectile vomiting. Daniel had reflux as a baby. If you know a family with a new baby who has reflux, stop whatever you're doing right now, run out and pick up dinner for them. While you're there, do one of the seemingly-endless loads of laundry lying around because Mom and Dad are always feeding the baby, holding him or her while they cry, mopping up "spit up" then beginning the whole process over again, day after day.  Luckily, most babies outgrow it around six months. It certainly hasn't affected baby Abby's adorable-ness (that's not a word, but somehow it fits).  If only adults could get away with hats like this. 

Jonathan's nursery is  decorated with a cute ocean theme highlighted by a wall-size, hand-painted mural. The colors made a nice soft backdrop for pictures.

When we did our shoot, Jonathan was just trying out the whole walking thing. He's pretty fast on his knees! Here he gets a little help from Mom and Dad (and shows that he's not the only one in the family that can rock a cute hat).

Dad's shoulders are another great way to get around.

Wide awake now...aren't babies' eyes amazing?

Whitney & TJ

This is going to be a marathon post, so sit back, grab a cocktail (or hot chocolate) and relax.  This was one of my favorite weddings of 2007 and I've got lots to share...

Whitney and TJ were married on December 22, 2007 at 111 Place  in Cary, NC.  I met Whitney and her mom Jan (my first VIP: Jan's the mayor of Morrisville) at the Bridal Show  back in August. Whitney is so adorable and has such a great personality, I knew I was going to just love working with her. Whitney was working on finishing her degree in Math at NC State and planning a wedding, all while being apart from TJ, who was stationed in the Air Force in California. He wasn't able to make it back to NC over Thanksgiving, which was when we hoped to do their engagement shoot, so I didn't get to meet him until the rehearsal dinner. I have a soft spot for servicemen and it ain't just the uniform...I think it's cause my nephew served in Iraq last year.  Here's TJ at the rehearsal.

On the morning of her wedding, I met Whitney, her sister and maid-of-honor Wynter and mom Jan at Salon Kroma  in Cary for her hair and make-up time.  It's so worthwhile to have a professional do your make-up for your wedding -- the pros know you need more make-up than you would usually wear to look great in photos and know how to apply it so you still look naturally beautiful.

After the salon and lunch, the ladies headed to 111 Place to get ready for the wedding. Whitney loves Chik-fil-A, so of course, there was a big ol' nugget tray in the room where she dressed. I should have gotten a shot of that, but I didn't, so Whitney's bridal shoes will have to do...one day I am going to do an album of just brides' shoes! Love the reflection of the shoes in the granite.

Even though it was late December and not much was in bloom, we were still able to get some beautiful images of Whitney in her dress out on the terrace of 111 Place. Give me some green trees in the background and I can make it work! Whitney's the third bride I've had in a row who chose red roses for her bouquet.  I never get tired of photographing roses. Whitney looked amazing!

Funny thing about the roses...Whitney and her mom ordered them from an on-line wholesaler. The week before the wedding, they still had not received confirmation of their order even after calling, emailing, faxing...you name it, anything to find out if the roses were actually being shipped in time.  Panicking a little, they began scouring the area with the help of her amazing wedding coordinator and aunt, Diane Cowan, for substitutes in case the others never materialized. The same day (Thursday before the wedding) they found a florist who could get the roses they needed for the wedding and reception decorating, guess what arrived...the roses from the Internet. So the whole place was just filled with red roses and absolutely gorgeous! Here's another shot of Whitney and her roses.

Whitney and TJ were great about giving me a list of specific photos they wanted. Here's one of their ceremony program.

I really love shooting in non-traditional venues. The freedom to move around and not be relegated to the back  is so gratifying. It also helps when the couple is so enthusiastic about their pictures that they say you can be "this close" (imagine Whitney miming holding a camera right beside her cheek). I try really hard not to be a distraction when I'm working. I find most guests are pretty familiar with the role of the photographer and quickly forget about me. I wish more churches realized that. Now I will get off my soapbox and continue on with the post. To illustrate, here's a shot of the kiss from the back of the venue:

and the same shot from the front. Which do you like better?

That's TJ's dad Steve beaming in the background. That's another cool thing about being up front: reaction shots of family and friends! Whitney told Wynter, Jan and Diane that she thought it would be so cool if the couple's first kiss could be under mistletoe, but couldn't figure out how to make it work. So, unbeknownst to the bride, the three put their heads together and came up with a plan to suspend a kissing ball of mistletoe on a rod and have Wynter bring it out at the last minute once the minister pronounced them husband and wife. How awesome is that?

The reception was held at 111 Place too, so we had a little more time to shoot couple photos since the bride and groom wouldn't have to travel to get to their party.  Here are two of my favorites.

One of my favorite area DJs, Ron K. Smith , did a great job with music for the reception. Here, Whitney and TJ kick off the festivities with their first dance.

The father/daughter dance was sweet and emotional. The day after Christmas, Whitney would be heading cross-country to make a home with TJ in California.  She's really close to her mom and sister, so needless to say, the tears were flowing. Although Jan does look a little happy...and she's looking at Wynter like, "You're next, kid and then I'm free -- free I tell you!" (Maybe that's just what I might be thinking after raising two daughters -- one might get the best of me yet.)

After a very spirited cake-cutting, the party really got started. And boy, what a party. When I got home that night, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much!

Whitney's dad did a great James "Kiss Myself - Huh!" Brown impression on the dance floor. Or maybe he just got caterer Greg Lewis's  bill! (It was worth it -- the food was fantastic.)

I love meeting the families of my clients. There were three sets of grandparents in attendance and all of them were so fun. Here's one grandmother, burning up the dance floor to "Come On (Ride the Train)!

TJ and friends in a less rowdy moment...

This post is getting really long, so I'll wrap it up with a few more shots. If you read this blog regularly, you know how I feel about the sparklers...oy vey, the sparklers! (I'll admit it is hard to beat them for drama.)

After the send-off, I followed the couple over to the The Umstead , this area's newest chi-chi hotel. I love this last shot made right before I called it a night...a very fun night!

Whitney and TJ, we enjoyed every minute of your wedding day. Thanks so much for letting us be a part of it!

View the slide show here.

 

Whitney & TJ Sneak Peak and What's UP!

It's been a while since my last post...things are hoppin' at SLP, to jump the gun on over-played Easter puns. I'm so eager to blog about Whitney and TJ's wedding.  It was one of my absolute favorites of 2007.  I thought January and February would be typically slow months in Wedding Photography Land, but I've been swamped. Plus, to add to the general craziness around here, we've decided to make an offer on a house, just 'cause my stress level wasn't high enough. Those of you who read the blog regularly send some good thoughts our way -- we're all really excited and will be kinda crushed if it doesn't all work out. I'm sooo ready for meeting space and this place has got it. I'll keep you "posted" (I may be tired, but the brain is still firing away.) In the meantime, here's a mini-preview of what's to come in the next few days!

Laura and Nick

Laura and Nick were married on December 8, 2007 at Trinity Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC.  Christmastime weddings are always beautiful, especially when the church is full of poinsettias. I love the way red and green pops in the images.  Interesting fact about poinsettias, though: they spit. That's right. Spit. As in white stuff on the back of the bride's dress. Laura was so relaxed, though (my favorite quality in a bride, right after organized). She was the picture of cool while her bridesmaids rushed to clean off her gown.  Here's one of my favorite shots of her:

Laura's white halter gown was gorgeous and involved...it took her mom about 20 minutes to completely lace her up.  I love shots of the getting-ready process, especially ones of the bridesmaids helping the bride to dress.  There's something about it that sums up visually the way women rely on each other through-out our lives.

I've always thought the guys have it so easy: all they have to do is put on a tux, which is just a slightly-more complicated suit.  However, Frank reports that the button covers always present a challenge. Here's a shot of Nick and all his groomsmen, post button-cover trauma.

   

I had a good time photographing Nick's little brother Walt.  One of the few kids at the wedding, he really burned up the dance floor at the reception and won first prize, in my book anyway, for cutest mini-adult.  It's obvious Walt approves of his big brother's choice in a bride. Here's a shot of Walt and Laura.  (Laura's gorgeous red rose bouquet came from Fallon's Flowers.) 

 

When I first met with Laura and Nick, she told me that she loved the steps of the church and wanted to make sure we got some photos there. One of the best things about getting married at Christmastime is that a lot of the decorating is already done for you. The church was beautiful inside and out. Here's the happy couple on their way to the reception...

...and showing off their shiny new rings!

The reception took place at the North Raleigh Hilton. Laura and Nick's first dance was to one of my all-time favorites, Etta James singing "At Last." So romantic...

The cake by Wedding Cakes By Jessica continued the poinsettia theme. If these flowers could spit, it would have been sugar-spit.  It was really, really good.

Laura and Nick were headed to Germany for their honeymoon, so the reception did not go until the wee hours of the morning. And instead of a frenzied sparkler exit, the couple chose a more relaxed send-off with bubbles, for which they will have my eternal gratitude.  Will the sparkler craze please just fade away??

A great couple, a fun day...Laura and Nick, thanks for letting us share it with you! We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness (and German beer).

You can view Laura and Nick's  slide show here.

Mariah and Robert

Mariah and Robert were married November 10, 2007 at St. Mark's United Methodist Church here in Raleigh. Working with this couple has been such a blast, not only because they are great people, but they really love photography. We had so much fun during their engagement session back in the Fall that I couldn't wait for the wedding day. Mariah incorporated so many special touches to make their wedding really personal. Her grandmother is from Puerto Rico and Mariah chose to wear her lovely lace mantilla as a veil. Mariah's hair was spectacular! I love these shots of her with the red rose tucked into all those curls.

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!

 

Christine and Brad: E-Session

Christine and Brad's e-session took place on a beautiful, if chilly, morning out at Duke Gardens. Usually I start my e-sessions at 8:00 a.m. in the hope of catching the last of the pretty morning light. The forecast called for temps in the 30's which is just not conducive to great outdoor images. Call me crazy. We pushed the time back to 10:00 a.m. I was a little concerned about dealing with strong sunlight, but lucky for me, I'd just returned from Corey McNabb's Rockstar Wedding Photography Workshop (or the McWorkshop as it's affectionately known) where the emphasis was on "extreme shooting" (more about the McWorkshop in a soon-to-appear post). I felt really good about utilizing the bright morning sun to get some cool shots. Turns out I shouldn't have worried at all, because these two are lit from within. I'm convinced I could have put them in a tool shed and gotten some great images! Two and a half hours later, we wrapped up what was one of my favorite e-sessions ever. After making use of many of the great locations in the gardens, we headed over to Christine's parents' place, a beautiful historic home near Duke's main campus. I'm looking forward to shooting Christine's bridal portrait there in the Spring and what I'm sure will be an amazing wedding in June. Check out a few of my favorite images below and view their slide show here.

I love this image. Yes, it's artsy-fartsy. But I'm allowed.

Cute pink shoes!  Christine has found her Prince Charming -- raise your hand if you think Brad looks like Britain's Prince Harry.

Loved how natural they were having their every move photographed for over two hours...

Maybe my favorite.

Thanks, guys, for an awesome shoot. Can't wait until June!

 

You Oughta Know

I have been fortunate to get to work with some really great wedding vendors.   When I come across someone who does an exceptional job, I like to let others know about them. So in that spirit, here are two people who recently really impressed me with their talent, energy and a great attitude on the big day.

Ron at Ron K. Smith Productions did an amazing job at Whitney and TJ's wedding on December 22 (watch for them on the blog soon). The music was incredible and he seamlessly guided the couple through all their reception events, from the first dance to the cake cutting, the bouquet and garter toss to the last dance. There's a reason he's one of the most highly-recommended wedding DJs in the area -- he's really great at what he does. Check out his website -- it's full of really useful info and planning tips. When I find myself dancing around as I'm photographing all the fun at the reception, I know that's one amazing DJ behind the mike! Ron's company also provides videography too.

Bonnie Boender is the talented floral designer behind the images below. She did all the flowers for Kristen and Matthew's  October wedding. Bonnie is one of those people that you just automatically feel comfortable with from the moment you meet her. She does it all -- from gorgeous bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres to table arrangements for the reception. She's dedicated to her brides and will go above and beyond to make them happy, whether it's looking for a hard-to-find flower or searching out the perfect ribbon. Bonnie takes on a limited number of weddings per year to give her clients top-notch service, so if you're looking for a florist, send her an email today: bjboender@earthlink.net.

Wanted: Fearless Brides!

If you're a bride, you've probably heard the phrase "Trash the Dress" and wondered what it was all about (after recovering from a mini-panic attack at the mere thought). It's a phenomenon right now in wedding photography of brides doing crazy things in their wedding dresses: jumping into a pool, mud-wrestling, letting a car run over the dress, rolling around on a black-sand beach...basically anything that shows you're not afraid of getting your dress dirty in the pursuit of a fabulous image. A friend of mine in Houston has adapted "Trash the Dress" into the much more positive-sounding "Fearless Bridal" movement. "I love the idea of a “Fearless Bridal” session," says Christine Tremoulet.  "I don’t want to trash dresses - that just sounds so negative. I just want to shoot without fear of getting it dirty! I’m hoping that there are other brides out there that love the idea as much as I do." ME TOO! So with Christine's permission, I'm nabbing her idea and offering free "Fearless Bridal" sessions to the first three brides who contact me. Here's how it will work:

Call me (919.389.7274) or send me an email (Elizabeth@sweetlifephoto.com) and let me know you're a fearless bride. If you've got a dress that fits and you're ready to do a relaxed, fun, envelope-pushing photo session in your gown and you're not afraid to get it a little dirty, we'll set up a 1-2 hour session with the goal of getting some amazing shots of you in your wedding gown. You know you want to wear it again anyway! And if your groom is willing to come in dark pants and a nice white shirt & tie, all the better! No need to do hair and make-up again -- in fact, if you wore your hair up for your wedding, let it down for the Fearless Bridal shoot. The emphasis is on relaxed, fun, sexy...fearless.

The value of the session is $300, but is FREE to the first three brides who contact me. You'll receive 2 8x10's or three 5x7's of your choice, a mini-online slideshow and all your digital files (if you're a Sweet Life Photo bride. Otherwise, the files are yours for purchase.) Plus you agree to let me plaster your gorgeous self all over my promo materials!

Here's Hadley, a fearless bride:

BTW, this is at your own risk. I promise I won't ask you to do anything that will permanently ruin your dress (on purpose). Mainly we'll be working without having to obsessively protect the dress. We may go to an edgy urban location or find the perfect open field with gorgeous afternoon light. Either way, we'll have some fun, you'll get to wear your dress again, and you just might end up with your favorite image yet. Call me soon!

   

My Favorite Picture...of 2008.

OK, so it's early days yet, but I have a new favorite picture:

I went to Greenville yesterday to photograph my niece Wendy and her husband Walt and his extended family. Walt's sister lives in Oklahoma and doesn't make it back to NC too often, so it was a chance for a family portrait that might not come again soon. The weather in Raleigh when I left was nice, so I didn't pay much attention to the forecast, which is never a smart move for an on-location photographer. Well, a ferocious cold-front swept through and by the time I'd made the 2-hour drive, it was cold and windy. We'd planned to do the photographs in an open field, but because of the weather, moved the family shots to an impromptu studio set up in the garage (which was getting great late afternoon light, believe it or not). Walt and Wendy have a new baby -- watch for shots of her soon -- and it was just too cold and too far from the house to take her out, but Walt's sister, niece and mom braved the weather and trooped through the fields to a spot where the light was beautiful. I really love this shot of three lovely generations!

I couldn't resist getting right to these images this morning! Here are a few more.

sweet mother and daughter shots...

There's nothing like late afternoon light.

I'll be posting more images from this shoot soon, including some of the new baby in a cradle made by her great-grandfather. Stay tuned!

The Wedding Show - January 5 & 6

If you're a bride-to-be, please plan to stop by Sweet Life Photography's booth at The Wedding Show on Saturday, January 5th and Sunday, January 6th in the Jim Graham Building at the N.C. State Fairgrounds. The show is a great way to preview over 150 Triangle bridal professionals in one afternoon!  Show hours are Saturday 9 am to 4 pm and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Come enjoy an afternoon of fashion shows, cake test-tasting (!) and the chance to win some great door prizes, all while possibly knocking-out a huge chunk of your wedding planning. Imagine hiring all your wedding vendors in one day!

We'll have some beautiful albums and books to look through, plus plenty of other images from recent weddings and engagement shoots on display. Drop by and say hello! Plus, we'll be giving away a free ZOOM tooth-whitening procedure from Dr. Jodi Foy, DDS. Dr. Foy is a fabulous Raleigh dentist who is also a client -- I've had the pleasure of photographing her son several times. We'll select one winner at random shortly before the show closes on Sunday, around 3:50 pm. As Dr. Foy says, "Even if you're not wearing white, your teeth should be!"

Hope to see you there!

Christmas Is...

...only 6 days away. I'm not ready yet!

...delicious. Thanks, Barbara, for the goodies! They are awesome. Here's a link to the recipe: Paula Deen's Toffee Bars.  Trust me, you wanna make this for Christmas.

...fattening, but who cares? It's Christmas! Bring on the sweets!

...bittersweet. I miss my grandaddy at this time of the year. He always wore a smokin' red sports coat with a holly-green wool vest on Christmas Day. I also miss my brother Marc and his wife Christy, many miles away in NYC.

...crazy-making. Anyone been to the mall in the last few days? Anyone tried to go to the mall and gave up when you couldn't get near the parking lot?

...irritating. Raise your hand if you think "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is the most annoying holiday song ever. If you're about to overdose on traditional Christmas music, try singer/songwriter Mindy Smith's "My Holiday." It's my new favorite Christmas album. And if you agree with me on "Twelve Days" check out The Twelve Days After Christmas. (Watch it on YouTube here. The video quality is awful, so minimize it and just listen.) The Vocal Ensemble group at Kat's school performed this song at their Holiday Concert and it brought down the house.

...a good excuse to be silly. Enjoy!

...exhausting. My "to do" list is obscene. When I get overwhelmed, I remember what my wise-beyond-his-years nephew asked in preschool, when faced with one too many Christmas crafts: "Is this really necessary?"

...a good time to remember what's important: my family, my friends, my amazing colleagues and photography mentors, and my wonderful clients. It's been such an overwhelming and fantastic year. THANK YOU!

Wishing you all the best this Christmas and peace, happiness, health and prosperity in 2008!

Ashley and Matt

Ashley and Matt's wedding was wide-open, flat-out amazing! These two ECU grads began dating in high school when Matt's mom invited Ashley along on a family outing...she must have had a second-sense about Ashley, because these two were obviously made for each other! And they certainly know how to have a good time. Even their rehearsal was fun! The dinner afterwards at Venero's Pizzeria's Monti Hall was fabulous. There were lots of great moments during the dinner -- singing Happy Birthday to Matt's Grandad, watching the couple's parents open gifts from the bride and groom, listening to several very heartfelt toasts. I think everyone, me included, got a little choked up when Matt announced he'd been offered a job with Caterpillar in Illinois. You could tell everyone was really happy for them, but so sad they'd be moving away. It's obvious that this couple is well-loved by all their friends and family.

The wedding day was a celebration from start to finish. The weather was beautiful and Ashley looked amazing in her gown. I'm not sure I can describe it adequately in words, so I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. The rest of the wedding party was elegant in black. Ashley let her bridesmaids choose their own dresses and each lady carried a different colored bouquet of roses from Jody at Annie V's in Clayton  that popped beautifully off the black. Matt and Ashley agreed to see each other before the wedding (but Ashley strictly specified, "No kissing pictures!") so that they could get to the reception as quickly as possible...with good reason! The couple chose the elegant Hinnant Family Vineyards for their reception site. What a fun party!  Matt's fraternity brothers from ECU were there contributing to the general mayhem and merriment. Colin from Island Sound kept everybody on their feet dancing right up until the stroke of midnight. I'm convinced that they would have stayed until the wee hours of the morning if they could have! The image below was the last dance of the evening. The couple had already changed into their street clothes in prep for leaving for the hotel but they were still grinning from ear-to-ear. Matt and Ashley, it was a blast -- thanks for letting Sweet Life Photography be a part of your wedding day! To check out their slideshow, click here.

Katrina and Kelvin: E-Session

Katrina and Kelvin met through an online dating service. They began getting to know each other exclusively on-line and then moved to talking on the phone for 2 to 3 weeks before finally meeting at Outback Steakhouse for their first date. Katrina says she still remembers every moment of that first date! Katrina has quickly become one of my favorite brides-to-be. She is such a genuinely sweet person and so well-suited to her job as a nurse at UNC Hospital. I originally met with Katrina and her sister (who I'm going to hire as my PR person -- she is my favorite cheerleader), so I hadn't had a chance to meet Kelvin until the morning of our engagement session. I'm pretty adamant about shooting in the morning -- I really like morning light and since I'm usually shooting in public locations, I don't like having to shoot "around" other people. You can have a perfect moment in amazing light, then have someone walk into the shot and it's so frustrating. Kelvin works nights and had worked the night before our shoot. He was pretty groggy when he and Katrina showed up at 8:30 a.m. for their shoot at JC Raulston Arboretum. I was a little concerned that I wasn't going to get any smiles from him, but he rallied quickly! Katrina and Kelvin are getting married on May 3, 2008, which is where I got the idea for the last image. To view their slideshow, click here.

Jackie and Brett

Jackie and Brett were married on October 7 at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill. I don't know what it is about the Carolina Inn, but whenever I am lucky enough to shoot there, inevitably, the images are some of my favorites. Maybe it's the gorgeous surroundings, from the elegant suites where the brides and grooms get ready, to the pretty outdoor courtyards where the ceremonies take place, to the elegant Old Well Room with its graphic black-and-white tiled floor. Maybe it's because that's where Frank and I got married over 17 years ago. Whatever magic happens there, I hope it keeps happening. I love Carolina Inn weddings!

When I photographed Jackie and Brett for their e-session, I remember looking at the images and thinking Jackie looked like she stepped out of a Kennedy family portrait. She has such lovely, classic features -- what they would call "patrician" up North. The dress she chose was actually called the Jackie Onassis! It was absolutely stunning on her, so obviously my Kennedy comparison was right on target. And of course, my blog readers will remember Brett as my Ashton Kutcher look-alike, so really, how could their wedding images be anything but gorgeous?!?

Looking at their ceremony pictures makes me wish I had that same freedom to move around during church ceremonies. I think it is so sad that most churches require wedding photographers to stay in the very back of the church. Now, I know there are some obnoxious wedding photographers out there who get way too close, but there's a way to capture the ceremony from different vantage points without being distracting and in-your-face. I love that Jackie and Brett's outdoor ceremony (and the couple themselves) gave me the freedom to get some angles that I don't usually get inside a church -- like shots of the couple's parents' faces as their grown-up children said their vows and formed a new family. To see what I mean, click here to view Jackie and Brett's slideshow. Now, I'll climb down off my soap-box...

We had to race to finish photography ahead of the quickly fading Fall light, then it was off to the reception in the Old Well Room. Frank got some amazing shots of the couple during their first dance and I love the images from the individual dances the couple had with their parents. There's always a moment in every wedding when I find myself getting all emotional and it's usually when the bride dances with her father and the groom with his mother. I don't know how that tradition began (I'm gonna Google it) but it never fails to make me go all mushy!

Kristen and Matthew

Kristen and Matthew were married at Apex Baptist Church on October 6. I loved the colors Kristen chose for their wedding. The bridesmaids wore chocolate brown and the flowers were a gorgeous combination of deep coral, peach and ivory -- perfect for a Fall wedding. Kristen told me when we got together for their engagement session that she'd always imagined herself in a princess-style dress -- big ball gown, big veil, etc -- but when she found this elegant beaded ivory sheath, she surprised herself by falling in love with it. It suited her perfectly. I'm so glad I can finally show off her bridal portraits! We were so fortunate to be able to shoot at the Matthews House, a gorgeous bed-and-breakfast in Cary. Click here to see the slideshow from Kristen's bridal portrait session. 

Matthew is the Youth Intern at Apex Baptist and you can tell that he is such a valued member of the ministry team and the church -- everyone loves him! It was awesome to capture a shot of his expression when he saw his beautiful bride heading down the aisle toward him. After the wedding, the couple raced outside beneath a shower of rose petals to the limo that would take them to the Crabtree Marriott for the reception. What a fun party! It's been a while since I've seen such enthusiastic dancing at an afternoon reception! Check out Kristen and Matthew's wedding slideshow here.  Working with this couple has been so great -- from their awesome chemistry during our engagement session right through all the smiles of their wedding day (Kristen even held it together when her hairdresser was over an hour late)!

Gratitude: My Top Ten List

10. The amazing, gorgeous Fall color we've had this year. After all the bad climate news, the drought, wildfires, earthquakes, etc., it's nice to see something beautiful from Mother Nature.

9. Nicole at Lux Salon and whatever it is that she uses on my hair to cover up the premature gray that makes me feel so old and blah. And another year's worth of great haircuts and conversation. Plus, the salon is next door to Starbucks.

8. Starbucks, especially a tall skim gingerbread latte with sugar-free syrup.

7. iTunes. Podcasts of This American Life, Studio 360 and Fresh Air. Yo Yo Ma. Listening to all of the above keeps me sane during long bouts of editing.

6. The many talented and generous photographers who've mentored me, listened to me, offered gentle critiques and helpful suggestions and encouraged my growth as a photographer in ways too numerous to count over the past year: Rick Ward, Beth Morris, and Regina Holder. I owe you big time! 

5. My dog, Pepper, who sits under my desk with her head in my lap to keep me company during long hours at the computer.

4. Canon cameras and lenses. Adobe's Lightroom software. The guys at Southeastern Camera in Raleigh who have helped me so much during this past year. Johnny taught me how to clean the sensor on my 5D. I still want him to do it, but at least I know how.

3. The amazing, wonderful, fantastic couples I've been privileged to shoot for over the past year. I wish you all the very best and long lives full of love and happiness!

2. Being able to do what I love for a living. It's a crazy, stressful, pressure-filled -- and the best job I've ever had. I truly would not want to do anything else.

1. My friends and family, the ones I work for, live for, love. You make it all worthwhile. Kat, a beautiful, smart, talented and loving 13-year-old -- I thought 13 was supposed to be awful, but you're terrific. Dan, the most loving son a mother could wish for. Caring, thoughtful, funny and wicked-smart. Frank, you're simply the best. None of it would mean anything without you.

"If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice." -- Meister Eckhart

Happy Thanksgiving!

Alison and Brent: E-Session

I've done nine -- count 'em --- nine engagement sessions in the past eight weeks (not to mention five weddings, two bridal portrait sessions and two family portrait sessions...aaack!!). That's enough to sap anybody's creativity, but what keeps me going are the great couples I get to work with. Sometimes when I'm afraid I can't come up with anything new to shoot, just watching the interaction between a couple can spark new ideas and rev up my energy. That's the way it was shooting Brent and Alison. What a super couple -- fun, easy-going and so into each other! Brent and Alison are planning a May wedding and I am confident it's going to be awesome! Click here to view their slideshow.

Stephanie and Dave: E-Session

I met Stephanie and Dave at the Bridal Show in August and was thrilled when they hired me on the spot to shoot their wedding. When we talked about where to do their e-session, Stephanie knew right away she wanted something urban. A city girl at heart, Stephanie suggested we shoot in downtown Raleigh around Fayetteville Street and City Market. I'd been eyeing a run-down lot with a falling-down building every time I drove to Kat's school, thinking what a great spot it would be for photos. Lucky for me, Stephanie and Dave were willing to give it a shot. This couple was so much fun to shoot! I'm thrilled to post their slideshow here. 

Occasionally, I'll send my mom and sister slideshow links to get their feedback. I love what my sister wrote about watching Stephanie and Dave's show:

When I look at this slideshow, it is so emotional...it gave me goosebumps.  Partly b/c I really connected with that background song and the couple looks soooo in love.  I felt like I was watching a music video of a love song.  It really evoked a sense of joyful happiness and honest love. I really got the impression that this is a couple who mutually love each other and have fun with each other. You captured it all. They had to be blown away by that video. Amazing!

Stephanie and Dave are plannning a March wedding, so check back then for more from this fantastic couple. I can't wait!

What I'm Up To

I'm so excited about heading to Asheville, NC on Sunday to attend a photography workshop with Corey McNabb. For a week, I'll be learning new photography techniques, new ways to streamline the editing process (which I'm really psyched about since I'm currently running about two weeks behind -- yikes), how to better promote Sweet Life Photography...just generally immersing myself in all things photographic. We'll be focusing on wedding photography and will have three live shoots, including shooting a bride and groom at the Biltmore House. I can't wait! The only down side is that I'll miss Halloween with my kids -- the first time I've ever missed a holiday with them. Thankfully, my mom will be coming to Raleigh for several days to hold down the fort while Frank is on the road. Nana is also pretty fierce with a camera, so I'll be entrusting her to capture some cute Halloween pics to post when I get back.

I had to submit a new headshot for the seminar...always a painful endeavor. I have such sympathy for my clients because I hate having my picture taken. I hope I am able to make the experience more enjoyable for you guys! Anyway, here's what Frank took and I came up with after some re-touching (you better believe I re-touch my own pics). I can't decide if it's Botox or Weight Watchers I'm most in need of...probably both!