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Ryan + Gretja: Anytime (& Bridals, Too!)

07-03-10

When neighbor-turned-friend Gretja mentioned awhile back that she’d like to think about doing a session with me, I was super excited! She wanted some good non-wedding attire photos of she and her husband, Ryan, as well as some shots in her fabulous wedding gown since she hadn’t been able to do them before her 2008 wedding! I LOVE this! ALL of this! Everyone should have some photos of themselves that they love, that they feel capture the essence of who they are, that make them feel beautiful and confident and fabulous! And it’s NEVER too late to get those bridals done! I’ve said it before and I will say it again – if you are going to spend the time and money and effort to find the PERFECT dress, you should have some photos in it that are all about you and the dress!!! And if, for whatever reason, you didn’t or couldn’t have them done before the wedding…it’s never too late!! But enough of my preaching…let’s get on to the photos!

Check out Ryan and Gretja’s slideshow here!

Ummm, coffee & old books? Two of my very favorite things in the entire world? YES, PLEASE!!
Maine, Wedding, Photographer, Parker and Otis, West Point of the Eno River, Durham, North Carolina
Parker & Otis, in Durham, is one of my favorite spots for coffee and a cupcake…check it out!

How cute are they?!?

I just HAD to play around with a little grit and texture on this one! I love it!
Maine, Wedding, Photographer, Parker and Otis, West Point of the Eno River, Durham, North Carolina

We headed over for some fun with the graffiti in Duke University’s Free Expression Tunnel…

And then to my favorite peeling green wall in downtown Durham!

Ryan is an awesome climber, so we had to grab a few shots of him “buildering”!
Maine, Wedding, Photographer, Parker and Otis, West Point of the Eno River, Durham, North Carolina
I love that exact time at dusk when the sky turns this rich shade of electric blue!!

For Part II of the session, we headed over to the West Point on the Eno River for a few more family shots with the fur-babies and to start the bridals! How awesome are Roxy & Boone, their matching shelter rescues?!?
Maine, Wedding, Photographer, Parker and Otis, West Point of the Eno River, Durham, North Carolina

The light was GORGEOUS!!!!

The babies!!!

Let the bridal portraits begin!!

With the backdrop at the Eno, we just HAD to do a few old-timey shots!

Gretja and I wrapped it up back at Parker & Otis…I just LOVE these shots against the metal wall! The texture!
Maine, Wedding, Photographer, Parker and Otis, West Point of the Eno River, Durham, North Carolina2

How fun are these!?!

Nothing like wrapping up on the train tracks!!

Thanks so much, you guys! This was SO fun! I can’t believe you guys are moving to Seattle! So exciting!!!

Leeanne: Bridal Portraits

05-16-10

Leeanne and David got married last night, so I can reveal Leeanne’s incredible bridal portrait session!! I’ve said it before and I will say it again and again…even if you are not from the south (where bridal portraits are a MUCH bigger tradition than up north!), consider doing one! It is such a perfect opportunity to do a trial run on your hair and make-up and you deserve to have some really amazing photos of yourself in what will likely be the single most fabulous item of clothing you will ever own. I know that everyone intends to get a few shots taken on their wedding day, but extra portraits are the first thing to get cut when the timeline starts to get crunched (which it always does!) and often the opportunity is forsaken in favor of spending time with your guests. So get them out of the way beforehand and you won’t have to worry about it!

But enough of me and my opinions! Let’s get onto the good stuff here!!

We began on UNC‘s campus by the Old Well…
Bridal, Portrait, Wedding, Photographer, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, UNC, Old Well

I just loved the big tree branches swooping in!

We headed over to the ceremony venue to take a few shots by the garden gate…I am in L-O-V-E with Leeane’s birdcage veil!!!

And then it was time to play with cupcakes at Sugarland Bakery, where Leeanne’s wedding cake was created! Yum!!
Bridal, Portrait, Wedding, Photographer, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, UNC, Sugarland Bakery
From the bakery we strolled on over to UNC’s gorgeous Coker Arboretum and Leeanne played around with some of the random bridal headwear that I have (I’m obsessed! Too bad I didn’t know about any of this fabulousness when I got married…now I’m trying to talk Justin into a do-over just so I can wear a new dress and something feather-related on my head!)…isn’t she the BEST model!?!?
Bridal, Portrait, Wedding, Photographer, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, UNC, Arboretum
These shots totally remind me of an Anthropologie catalog (I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I neurotically rip them up and glue the images all over my inspiration journal!)

This might be my favorite shot of the day…
Bridal, Portrait, Wedding, Photographer, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, UNC, Arboretum
…or maybe this one…I have a hard time choosing!!!

And then it was off to The Carolina Inn, where Leeanne and David held their rehearsal dinner! You know how I love dress & shoes shots!

I never get tired of that checkered floor!
Bridal, Portrait, Wedding, Photographer, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, UNC, The Carolina Inn

Congratulations, Leeanne and David!!! Have SO much fun in Mexico!!!

Ryan + Gretja: Anytime Sneak Peek

05-07-10

It’s amazing that we always think to have photos done for the big events, weddings, babies, etc, but forget that it’s our everyday that makes up the bulk of our lives. It’s the little day to day moments that weave the fabric of our marriages, our families, our lives. So you’d better believe that I got super excited when Ryan and Gretja contacted me to do some photos of them for no reason other than to have some great photos of who they are right now, together. We had SO much fun! Stay tuned for more!
Portrait, Photographer, Raleigh, Durham, North Carolina

Sneak Peek: Bridal Portraits

05-05-10

As always, the who, the where, and the when have to stay super-secret, but here’s just a glimpse of some of the awesomeness coming my way in the next few weeks!! Have I mentioned that I have the BEST clients?!
Bridal Portraits, UNC, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Melanie: Bridal Portraits

05-03-10

Melanie and Charles’s wedding in Laurinburg, NC was Saturday and it was GORGEOUS!! I can’t wait to start posting some of those shots!! But before I do that, I just HAVE to share some of Melanie’s bridal portraits! We had to keep them super-secret until the wedding, but now I can let fly! Woo hoo!

We started at the Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill. The old Italian decor was just too fun, between the columns and the checkered travertine tiled floor, it was perfect for the traditional style of bridals Melanie was looking for!
Bridal Portraits, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, The Siena Hotel
How insanely gorgeous is Melanie? I L-O-V-E her dress!!!

It was awesome that, even though Melanie really leaned toward traditional photos & poses, she was totally open to doing some more playful poses as well…we had so much fun!

The Siena’s concierge sits in a chair that is a replica of a renaissance Italian throne (they told us all about exactly whose throne it was a replica of, but I admit that I’ve forgotten!)…we just thought it was the coolest chair and even cooler was the fact that the guys working behind the front desk were more than willing to carry it around the lobby for us while we figured out where we wanted to play with it! Shout out to the Siena for having some rockin’ customer service- they were awesome all around!
Bridal Portraits, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, The Siena Hotel

After the Siena, we headed over to Durham to do some shots in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. Everything had JUST bloomed that week, so between the cherry blossoms and amazing tulips (my favorite!), it was a perfect setting for bridals!
Bridal Portraits, Durham, North Carolina, Duke Gardens

I think this might be my favorite shot from the entire session…she just looks so relaxed and happy! I love it!

At the end, Melanie thought it would be a good idea to practice tossing her bouquet…it was hilarious!

Thank you so much, Melanie and Elsie! The bridals were such a blast! Melanie, have fun in St. Lucia and I promise to have lots of wedding pictures for you when you get back!! 🙂

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