Anyway, as they were when I met them, Christy and JJ were bursting with joy and excitement on their wedding day.  They chose to see each other before their ceremony, which I’m glad they did because it allows me more time to capture their “glowy-ness” before the rush of the day sets in.

As an aside, many couples I talk to swear by keeping it traditional and not seeing each other until they walk down the aisle.  While I respect that tradition, even keeping it myself in my own wedding, seeing each other before the ceremony has many benefits and can even provide more of a “sacred” moment for the bride and groom away from the altar.  For starters, I try to make sure the couple is alone and uninterrupted when they first lay eyes on each other.  The opportunity for true emotion to flow is far more likely here in secret than it would be in front of a crowd of onlookers.  Secondly, there is the obvious benefit of additional time.  Taking more photos at the beginning of the day gives us more flexibility later.  And on your wedding day, flexibility in your timeline is a good thing.  Thirdly, when I get a flexible timeline, I am able to take the bride and groom to more locations, even off site to capture them in all their wedding day splendor.  Seriously ladies, how often will the love of your life be in a tux?  You’ve spent a lot of money on the way you both look…let’s make sure we protect that investment with more than a quick flurry of photos on the church steps after the ceremony!

Christy and JJ got ready at the fabulous Hotel Palomar in Washington, D.C.  The wedding ceremony and reception was held at the historic Dumbarton House.

Congrats Christy and JJ.  Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your lives.

Anyway, we’ve got lots of great sessions and weddings to blog and leading the way is Callie.  This property in Greensboro is just gorgeous and it served as the perfect backdrop for Callie’s “bridal”.   We wanted to do a bridal shoot but without the typical bridal look, ie, the stiff and inhibiting wedding dress.  I dunno, maybe I shouldn’t call it a bridal, but who is to say I can’t start something new?  Enjoy!

Anyway, Christy and Lou got married at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church in Columbus, Ohio.  It was a beautiful church, which was fitting because it was a beautiful wedding.  Christy was stunning and graceful and full of life on her big day…every time I raised my camera to take a photo of her she was either laughing at something or smiling big.  And of course, Lou was dashing in his tux while totally rocking out his white shoes.

Congrats Christy and Lou…thank you so much for letting me be a part of your special day!  :)

I’m totally excited for their wedding at MacGregor Downs Country Club in Cary this fall.  Congrats you guys!  See you in September!

Also, I want to mention a special thanks to the owners of the property and the beautiful truck.  Thank you!

There are many “photographers” out there who can take nice photos.  When the light is just right, the couple looks their best, the venue is just oozing style and class…it’s hard NOT to take a good photo.  But what happens when there are scheduling conflicts and church lady is kicking you out? Or the wedding planner is urging you to hurry up with taking those pictures so everyone can get to the reception in time?  What happens when a sunday school room in the back of some church where a bride is getting ready is plastered with hospital-green paint and posters of Noah with his animals on the Ark?  What about when it rains on the outdoor ceremony?  Can the photographer STILL perform in these scenarios?

The evening of Rachel and Jason’s e-session it called for rain.  We had their session scheduled months ago…and with my calendar booked solid and clients who have jobs and other commitments, “re-scheduling” is not easily done.  So what does a professional do?  We shoot anyway.  In fact, I embrace “random” conditions…I almost look forward to them, because they’ve always turned out to be some of my most favorite shoots.  Rain, hurricanes, snow, sub-zero temperatures…I love it all and it makes for some special moments with the couple that the “hobbyist” photographer would have plain missed because they don’t want to hurt their camera by shooting in the rain.  :)

Rachel and Jason are such a sweet couple.  They are both solid individuals who are very much in love…and into each other.  When the rain came they continued having their moments together and almost forgot that I was still their taking photos of them!

I’ve dubbed this shoot, the “Notebook” session, because what happened on this evening was straight out of a movie.  It was cloudy, overcast and lightly raining and I was miffed by the fact that I was getting neither a good hard rain to make a fun shoot out of or some yummy scrumptious evening light.  Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere it started raining harder…and then the sun started to break through in western sky.  I could hardly contain myself!  I’m sure while Rachel and Jason were out in the canoe they heard me muttering some crazy randomness while I was running around on the shore.  The experience was almost spiritual…Rachel and Jason were in the canoe, paddled out to the middle of the pond, the rain started and the sun broke though!  I mean, you just can’t plan stuff like that…and I thank God I was prepared and he enabled me to capture such an inspirational moment.

Congrats Rachel and Jason!  Can’t wait for your wedding!

Here was the magical moment…I kid you not, this image is straight out of camera.  No photoshop or color enhancements at all.

These photos speak for themselves, but if I must give a preface…Natalie is just beautiful and her husband Toby is a wonderful guy that can light up a room with his beaming smile and personality.  It was a hot day in Michigan for any Canadian, but since getting used to southern summers here in North Carolina, to me it was a cool, breezy day…lol.

Thank you Natalie and Toby for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your day…I wish you all the best!

and here I am with the Fifield’s…thanks to my assistant Jason for grabbing this shot!

Lucky me, I get to shoot them twice more…Bethany’s bridal session and then the wedding itself.

Congrats again you guys…you rock!

Dave and Stephanie are such an inspiring couple.  To be honest, I ‘ve never seen a guy so madly in love with his fiance.  Dave absolutely beamed whenever he was with Stephanie and it clearly shows in the images from their e-session.

Keep watching for a post from their wedding coming soon!

Congrats Dave and Stephanie!

I also have some other crazy-blow-your-mind-type sessions to post soon so stay tuned!

Direct mid-day sun is not an optimal lighting environment because, one, the light is coming almost straight down leaving unflattering shadows on faces, two, because it’s so bright it causes people to squint, and three, because the light is more neutral colored as opposed to the flattering warm colored light the evening sun provides.  However, one big advantage of shooting in mid-day sun as opposed to overcast skies is that you get directional light.  For the professional photographer this is always a good thing.  Directional light helps shape and form the subjects/objects upon which it falls and with the right balance between highlights and shadows you can really get some images that just “pop”.  That’s my little tip of the day for you budding photographers out there.  :)

Now, if you are a bride, of course it is ALWAYS preferred to have a nice sunny day for your wedding, and that’s exactly what Elle and Rich had for their beautiful, quaint little wedding at the Aquaduct in Chapel Hill.  Congrats you guys!