June 17, 2017 Wedding at Yesterday Spaces in Leicester, NC

After months of planning, our day started with a phone call from the coordinator, Michelle, asking about Cassady's thoughts on moving the ceremony from their carefully chosen outdoor spot to the more rustic dairy barn as clouds of doom rolled in. Rather than get upset, Cassady quickly decided to activate the contingency plans and move on, only stopping (without actually missing a beat) to joke that she was in Mexico relaxing instead of getting ready for the wedding when Michelle asked how things were going.

Downtown Asheville Wedding on June 3, 2017

Just as I said in their engagement post, I knew that photographing my friends' wedding would be extra emotional. From documenting the frenzied moments of preparation to capturing Clair and JJ's poignant first look (and struggling to keep it together myself) to photographing their sweet ceremony, there were more than a few times that I found myself shooting through tear-filled eyes. But these were, of course, happy tears as I got to watch one of my good friends from college marry this steadfast man of her dreams!

Clair + JJ's Arboretum Engagement

I've photographed weddings for colleagues and classmates but never before have I gotten to capture the love story of one of my good friends - until now, that is. When Clair first called me to ask if I would be her wedding photographer (Duh! I would love to!), I don't think I quite realized the enormity of getting to document the wedding experience of someone I know so well. After all, I had been there from the very start of the relationship, had talked with Clair about the two of them on countless runs (for those of you who don't know, Clair and I were teammates on the UNCA cross country and track teams) and had cheered from afar as they moved out west together for school. But as we started the engagement session and I got to witness their love, commitment and pure enjoyment of each other, I knew that this one would be extra special.

Jen and John's Mt. Tabor Elopement in Portland, OR

These two almost-weds had selected the crest of Mt. Tabor Park as the place to make their vows, so we grabbed what we needed for their ceremony and hiked up the numerous steps to the top, coming out into a grove of evergreen trees. Jen and John both practice mindfulness, so they wanted to begin their ceremony with a few minutes of silence as they readied themselves for marriage. Their unique idea was to set up a circle of flowers which they would each step into once they were ready to begin. In a stroke of genius, Jen had the idea to bring a hula hoop in order to create a perfect circle (this hula hoop also served a photographic purpose later in the shoot) so Jen, John and their two friends/witnesses set about selecting greenery and placing flowers from Costco around the hoop.

Jen and John's Portland Coffeeshop Engagement

"Some people follow their dreams. Others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission." This is the quotation that graced the back of our team t-shirts one year in high school and I've found it's applicable to a lot of things, especially business as I believe you really have to go after what you want. When I was planning my trip to Portland, OR last month, I knew I wanted to photograph a couple of engagement shoots and an elopement to use for my destination portfolio, so I sent out email upon email to local professionals hoping to find the right people to work with, and I did! As it happened, although he performs far more full weddings than elopements, Steve of A Beautiful Ceremony was officiating an elopement the very week I'd be there and as it was planned last minute, they did not have a photographer. Long story short because I'll be talking about the elopement later this week, they were delighted with the idea of actually having photos of their special moment and just as excited about the idea of getting some more casual engagement photos.

Savannah and Kevin || Wedding Album

I love getting to watch my clients open their wedding albums for the first time. I don't always get to - sometimes I have to ship them or my couples want to go through them by themselves to quietly savor the moment. But when I do get to be there, the reactions are priceless! And Savannah and Kevin were no different. They were blown away by just how big the 12 x 12 inch heirloom album is, especially the breathtaking their beautiful images look as full page spreads.

Savannah and Kevin's Fields of Blackberry Cove Wedding

Savannah and Kevin may not have had the most conventional wedding - they're not the most conventional couple - and I think that's awesome! During the planning process, I try to make sure my couples are planning the wedding that they want, the one they'll enjoy in both moment and memory and that suits their personalities. Savannah and Kevin's did just that.

Jillian and Matt's Biltmore Engagement

Thanks to the power of the internet, I got to work with this fabulous couple from Florida last November capturing their engagement. Actually, not only did I get to shoot their engagement session, but I got to document the very moment she said "yes!" Matt had emailed me a couple months previously saying that he was planning to propose to his girlfriend at the Biltmore Estate and would love to have some photos to remember the whirlwind event and as a lover of proposals, I jumped at the chance.

The Importance of Laughter

All the time I get the question "What is your favorite subject to photograph? For the first couple years of my career I would waffle between "Oh, I just really like photographing people" and "Well, I don't think I can choose - I love everything I shoot!" But that's not entirely accurate. I shoot everything from weddings to athletic events to product shoots to landscapes to maternity sessions professionally - sometimes all in the same week - but over and over again the shoots that I enjoy most and specifically the images I am happiest with are those that include laughter.

Jodie and Surain's Arboretum Wedding

Through our planning process, I knew Jodie and Surain were looking for simplicity in their day - to focus on their union and their new family. They were a perfect couple for me to work with because this gave me the freedom to focus on their emotions; their excitement at seeing each other in their fancy wedding outfits, their happy tears through the ceremony, their content smiles during portraits and their giddy excitement during the reception when the realization of their new life together had started to set in.

Janel and Corey's Fall Wedding

The name of the game with their wedding album was creating lots of full-page spreads to showcase their many beautiful portraits. The best part of these full-page images (aside from gorgeousness!) is they give me plenty of space to add in text, like the Bible verses Janel and Corey included dedicated to creating a happy marriage.

Goals for 2017

We're a week in to the new year so it's about the time that outrageous new year's resolutions have run their course and realistic goals begin to take shape. For me, I spent the week (when I wasn't working on clients' work) crunching last year's numbers, analyzing what worked and what didn't and especially journaling about the direction I would like my company to go. As this long term vision is starting to take root (I'll keep the details to myself for now, wouldn't want to spoil the fun!) I've narrowed down a few of my goals for 2017 to get me on my way:

The Rogers || Couple's Photo Album

As one of my favorite shoots of the fall, I've been meaning to sharing this album for a while, but wedding season certainly kept me busy. Now that I've got some time, here's a look at The Rogers' album from their couple's session around Waynesville.

The Rogers || Couple's Session in a Pumpkin Patch

I've said it before and I'll say it again: a man who gives his wife a photo shoot and album for her birthday is a man who knows what he's doing! I met Ashleigh at Kudzu Brands so I had actually photographed her before, but it was fun to do so in a more relaxed setting.

Kim and Matt || Wedding Photo Album

As I'd photographed for 12 hours on their big day, narrowing down the images to fit into 50 spreads was quite difficult (and luckily not my task as Kim picked out which images she liked best!) My goal was to weave together the images in a way that would showcase their vibrancy and attention to detail while highlighting the importance of family and this newly-combined family's love for each other.

Asheville, NC Wedding on November 25, 2016

The day after Thanksgiving, I got to witness Terri and Jodi promise their lives to each other. While I get to see this quite often, their genuine happiness to make their vows and the pure outpouring of love from their families and friends brought more than one tear to my eye.

Terri and Jodi || Botanical Gardens Engagement Session

After splashing around in the creek, we spent the rest of the shoot walking through the gardens (and avoiding the decidedly snippy annual flower market people), stopping sporadically when I found nice light to snap more happy photos. I'm fairly sure these two laughed the entire shoot and their merriment glows through all of their images. Tomorrow I get to document this loving couple making their vows to each other and I'm so excited to capture their happiness and love once again!

Katy and Mark's Crest Center Wedding

Through either ridiculously good luck or really smart branding I've somehow managed to shoot weddings exclusively for people with whom I feel sure I could be friends. Katy and Mark were certainly no exception and I was actually sad when leaving their wedding because I would more than likely not get to see them again as they live in New York City. They may sound strange to an outsider, but as a photographer (and a wedding shooter especially) you scrutinize people waiting for the most "them" moments - moments that will capture their essence and tell their story - so I felt like I knew the lovely pair incredibly well even though I'd only spent roughly 10 hours in their presence.