Photography Exhibit in Starbucks | featured!

This is such an exciting post for me! I am beside myself! I was asked to exhibit some of my photography in the Greenville Boulevard Starbucks in Greenville, North Carolina for the next few months. I have never been featured in a solo exhibit, so I was beyond thrilled when I was chosen.

I have a rather eclectic style and I wanted to incorporate that in the exhibit. I have collected several frames from yard sales, thrift stores and antique stores and I have dreamed of creating a wall of photographs. This was the perfect opportunity! I also wanted to make sure to include some of my oval and ornate frames, which I love! I painted the frames with shades of white, gray and black. The monotone scheme for the frames gives the wide range of shapes and sizes a cohesive and modern look.

Below are a few of the frames before I painted them.

The manager at Starbucks also graciously allowed me to set out some of my business cards.

Thank you, Pamela from Starbucks, for giving me this opportunity. A BIG thank you to Nancy and Mackenzie for connecting me with Pamela and helping me set up the exhibit. And thank you to my wonderful clients who are so photogenic! You should pop over and check yourselves out!

Sarah & Christian | Wedding Day Photography | New Bern & Atlantic Beach

I love to look through Christian & Sarah’s wedding photography to see Sarah’s smile grow brighter and brighter. I hadn't seen Sarah since her bridal portraits session. The wedding day had finally arrived and now she could relax and enjoy all her finished plans. I met Christian for the first time that day because he came all the way from New Jersey to make Sarah his bride.

The wedding day started with rain, but this couple and their guests were so joyous and merry, the gloominess outside had no chance inside.  The ceremony was in New Bern, and then we traveled down to the Dunes Club in Atlantic Beach for a lovely evening reception. This wedding venue offers a classy and beautiful interior and a spectacular view. The clouds cleared by the time we arrived at the beach (woohoo!) so we headed down to the water with the bridal party. It was beautiful!

Nicole, my second shooter, Mackenzie, my assistant, and I got a special glimpse of Christian and Sarah’s affection for each other when we spent a few minutes with them alone on the beach. They are so in love and it’s stinking adorable! I absolutely love the series of shots when Sarah throws her arms around her husband – it was totally spur of the moment and real.

Oh yeah, and…Best. First. Dance. Ever. These two know how to get down and so did a lot of their guests. This reception was a total party and the groom had a special surprise for his bride. Sarah and the guests’ reactions were pretty entertaining.

Sarah, Christian and family, thank you for inviting us into your lives for this wedding day. We had an amazing time with all of you and pray God’s blessings over your future.

Nicole, once again, amazing work. I wish we could always be side by side with our cameras.

Mackenzie, you did a wonderful job and I could not have done it without you. You are becoming an excellent photographer!

Jon & Cait | All Dressed Up and Somewhere to go | Wedding Portraits

My little brother has found himself a pretty amazing lady to spend the rest of his life. They got hitched this June in Franklin, Tennessee, and our parents threw them a second wedding reception in our hometown of Canfield, Ohio at the end of last month. I documented the hometown reception and did a post-wedding portrait session with them. This is my version of “trash the dress,” and I call it “all dressed up.” Usually the couple has “nowhere to go,” but Jon & Cait’s shoot was a few hours before the reception, so they did. (Reception photos will be posted soon, and photos from the photo booth are here.)

If you’ve been following my blog since the beginning, you probably remember Jon & Cait (see them here). They may just be my favorite couple to photograph. We share a love for natural and airy photographs. Plus, they’re just so darn cute together. 

Jon and I are five years apart in age, and I have seen him grow from a little brother, who constantly picked on me, into a strong and courageous young man. I am positive he is a faithful and loving husband and Caitlin is made for him! When I met Caitlin, I immediately wanted to get to know her, not only because she was dating my brother, but because she introduced me to Bon Qui Qui. She constantly keeps us laughing and is a joy to be around.

Josiah, McG and I (baby in-tow) were all in the Franklin wedding, so I could not take my camera along. That was really hard! But I needed to experience their wedding with my own eyes, not my lens. I saw my brother as I walked down the aisle toward him in his last moments as a single man. I stifled my own tears when I saw his as they celebrated Christ’s covenant with communion.

They hired an amazing photographer (Jenn M. Photography), but I still had that yearning to mark the event myself. This session completely fulfilled my desire to capture their marriage.

Jon & Cait! Thank you so much for allowing me to share in this special time of life with you in so many ways. We were looking forward to your marriage from the day Jon was born! We are so blessed to have you in our family now, Caitlin. Love you guys!

Introducing the Photo Booth | Jon & Cait's Wedding

One of my favorite parts of any wedding reception is seeing guests come alive in celebration of the bride and groom. The dance floor is the best place to capture personality and expressions of guests, but the photo booth may prove to be a contender. When given silly props and encouraged by a photographer, people can really come out of their shells!

I am so excited to be able to offer the photo booth to all of my wedding clients. I recently was able to set up a photo booth for my brother and his new bride, Caitlin. We had some real characters! You can see more details about the photo booth here.

June Wrap Up & July Goals

June was a busy month! Wedding and portrait season was in full swing, we found out we are having a little boy in November, McG is going full throttle these days and my little brother got married! We made the trip to Franklin, Tennessee and all four of us were in the wedding. I did not bring my camera – on purpose. It was the first time in about four years my camera did not make it to a wedding! I loved it because I actually got to experience it firsthand, rather than through my lens.

July is going to be equally busy, if not more and I have a lot of projects ahead of me!

July 2011 Goals:

• Finish designing my new website!
• Update my web portfolio
• Unveil my new headshots by Simply Told Photography
• Start a menu plan
• Finish Radical Bible Study (must read for all Christians serious about their faith!)
• Finish edits for Spring weddings
• Dance the night away at my brother’s wedding – woohoo!
• Hang our family photos in our new house!
• Paint our living room (using low voc paint)
• Vaca at the beach
• Vaca in the mountains
• Get on a budget!

Summer 2011 Goals:

• Design and Decorate my office  (my handy husband is finishing the upstairs of our new house, which will contain my new office!)
• Finish Reason for God
• Order new sample albums and books
• Do a shoot with my Brownie Box Six-20
• Potty-train McG (yikes!)
  
• Paint McG’s new room
• Decorate the McG’s old room for the baby
• Organize personal files

 2011 Goals:

• Have a Baby!
• Sell our house in New Bern!
• Keep my inbox to 0
• Submit weddings and engagement shoots to my fave blogs, including Southern Weddings!
• Be completely organized (I can dream, can’t I?)