My Favorite Moment + My First Video Blog Post

**EDIT** - video post below is now working....sorry about that! :)

I woke up later then planned this morning and thought for sure the whole day was going to be a bomber - how's that for pessimism? Sure enough, my bad attitude didn't do me any favors as I trudged myself out the door for a walk (I recently found out I have high cholesterol, so am trying to get on the healthy train) and then back inside 40 minutes later for a shower. Honestly, I just wanted to crawl back into bed and stay there until Geoff got home.

However, after walking out of my two hour lunch at Phat Burrito (probably not great for the cholesterol, I know this) with my friend, Candice, I decided the day wasn't so bad after all. And from there, when I decided to actually choose my attitude for the rest of the day, it miraculously got better and better.

After returning home and checking my mailbox, I found a very sweet surprise, to which I declared to myself that I officially have the kindest and most thoughtful clients ever. Included with a gift certificate to the restaurant Bonterra was this note:

"Tim and I (as well as our families and friends!) just want to thank you one more time for all of the awesome memories you've provided of our wedding. We truly couldn't be any happier. Please accept this small token of our appreciation. I know how busy your lives are these days, so please enjoy a quiet, romantic dinner with each other on the two of us whenever you get a free moment. Take care and hope to see you soon! - Anna and Tim"

Seriously, they made my entire week. There's no better feeling in this business then knowing the people we work with are happy with their experience with Geoff and I as their photographers. Thank you again, Anna and Tim!

After Geoff came home from work we headed out for a spontaneous date. One of my all time favorite things to do with him is go to The Fresh Market for a dixie cup full of free sample coffee (with perhaps a bit of candy). I know it sounds ridiculous, but whatever...it's special to us. So we actually hit up The Fresh Market BEFORE heading next door for dinner at Red Rocks Cafe. Geez, I'm name dropping a lot of restaurants tonight!

My favorite moment of the day was walking arm and arm out to the car from dinner - snuggling up to Geoff and realizing how much in love with him I am. :)))

And finally, should you still be reading this crazy long post, you are welcome to check out my very first video blog post that I made today showcasing Mary and Niall's wedding album - hopefully I don't sound like too much of a doofus. And goodnight!



Check out Mary and Niall's wedding HERE!

Real Change Campaign

Sorry for the slack blog post, but I'm swamped with work right now. I'm sitting here wondering how in the world I will get everything done, as my to-do list is incredible. Sigh.

Anyway, a new series at Elevation started this past Sunday - "The Real Change Campaign"...check out the bumper that Geoff did for it (I think this is my new favorite song, by the way).

Lee Ann and Miguel: Engaged!

Originally, even though Lee Ann was getting married down in Florida, she had contacted me asking if I would shoot her engagement pictures in her hometown of Charlotte. As it turns out, she and Miguel are moving up to Charlotte and are now getting married here, so I get to shoot their wedding as well!

They wanted a lot of color and patterns for their shoot, so we decided to meet them in South End and then go exploring for new spots....to which we found a bunch!

Much Needed

June 15th, 2004. I had been in the car by myself for 14 hours. 14 hours is a really big deal considering I used to be out-of-my-mind-crazy-talking-to-myself at the four hour mark when driving from my southern California college to my northern California hometown. Despite the amount of boring alone time, the trip wasn’t TOO bad. I killed time talking to friends and family on my cell phone and stopped for frequent snickers/butterfinger blizzard treats at the Dairy Queen. Actually, one of those blizzards ended up on my passenger side sun visor when it splashed up after hitting a pothole in the road…and ashamedly, I never cleaned it off…so, I am reminded of that trip anytime I look up to the right in my car.

Back to the point.

FINALLY, after what seemed like two very long eternities, I pulled into the city I would be calling home for the next three months of my life. Being in this new city wasn’t part of my initial plan. I had desperately wanted my summer internship to be at a school with a large southern football team. But somehow…for some reason….I ended up at my 2nd choice…..an art school.

As I-16 ended straight into Savannah, Georgia, I had not one clue that the people I would meet there (especially ONE person in particular) would change my life forever.

…………………………………….

I love being in Savannah. Every time we are back for visit, I am put back in the moment of that summer – and it just makes me feel SO happy inside. I was glad to be able to spend a weekend there with our friends – Jon, Lauren, David and Lara. Our primary purpose in being there was to shoot Jon and Lauren’s engagement pictures, (which by the by, are ADORABLE) but a lot of our time was spent eating, drinking coffee and laughing. For now, here’s a bunch of shots from our weekend….us being us. ☺

The girls.

The guys.

We had some time to kill while Jon and Lauren switched outfits in between in shoot - so I made Geoff model while I played with my 50mm lens. And I'm sorry, but how flipping hot is my husband???? Ummmmm....yeah.

I handed over the camera to Jon to take a few of Geoff and I - we have hardly any pictures of us together!

LOVE this.

When God Shows Up

First, an apology. I haven't a good excuse for why I haven't blogged in five days. But I promise to be better next week. :)

Tonight was interesting. In a not-so-fun sort of way.

After dropping Ellen off at doggy day-care for the weekend, we jumped on the road (way later then planned as typical) and began our four hour trip to Savannah, Georgia. We have been looking forward to this trip for a long time - not only do we get to get away for a couple of days, but we are shooting Jon and Lauren's engagement pictures tomorrow afternoon!

Anyway, about three hours into the trip we decided to make a quick stop for a stretch, a gas fill-up and a treat. Soon after getting off of the off-ramp, Geoff realized we were going the wrong way and went to do a u-turn into a Super 8 motel parking lot. Because it was POURING down rain, he couldn't see very well and actually plowed our car into a ditch....to which we became stuck.

No sooner did we ask the motel lady for the yellow pages to call a tow truck that a woman stuck her head in from outside and asked us if the car in the ditch was ours. Turns out her and her husband were driving by in their 4 wheel drive jeep to see us - and they also happened to have a set of TOW ROPES. Seriously???!!!

I know to a lot of people this might seem like a very convenient coincidence. However, to me...it just further proves God's existence and the very REAL role He plays in our lives. He knows what we need and when we need it. I've found it SO easy to get caught up in the everyday busyness of life (and for me - the busyness of starting a business) that it takes me further and further away from where I need to be in my faith. The more I get caught up in all things life, the less I FEEL God working in my life. I mean, I know He's always there, but sometimes it's hard to actually feel and see Him. After our little accident, I looked over at Geoff and declared, "that was SO God.....no question about it."

So yeah...the jeep pulled us out and we drove off with a semi-busted bumper and a strange sounding horn. BUT - Geoff and I are both okay and we saved a lot of time and money thanks to our jeep friends. :)

Here's a sneak peek of the engagement session I was working on during the car trip. Full post coming soon. :)

Random Thoughts and Sneak Peek

It's been a crazy busy weekend, so I'm glad to finally be sitting on the couch with my fleece blanket relaxing for a bit before we go to bed. For the past few weeks we haven't been getting to sleep until after 2am - I don't know why I ever thought it was going to slow down somewhat this fall....I feel like it has been even busier then the spring/summer was. Anyway, I think for tonight we're going to try to skip the editing, the designing, the emailing.......and just turn in early. If you are waiting for a response to an email you wrote, I promise I will get to you tomorrow!

I'm especially loving this evening because of some special treats we got from our friends Candice and Daniel. They just got back from a week in California and they brought us back my FAVORITE chocolate on earth - See's candy. I'm so excited for these two - while they were in CA, they had a photo shoot with Jasmine Star and her husband JD! Check out their sneak peek HERE!

Yesterday we shot a wedding for an incredibly sweet couple - Laura and Joe. It was a great day - besides the fact that my shins are now killing me from running up and down Tryon in my new shoes - I'm aching! And p.s. - this is one of my favorite bride/groom shots of all time!

Anna and Tim: Married - Belk Chapel

Yup - that's right...two wedding posts in one week! I'm DETERMINED to get caught up on my blogging - I'm almost there. :)

Two weeks after shooting Reida and Brandon's wedding, we were back at Belk Chapel to shoot the wedding of Anna and Tim. It was a fun little challenge to get shots that were different from the last.

I just can't get over how very gorgeous those eyes are!

Her jewelry and mantilla veil were simply stunning

Anna got her dress from the Lily Rose in Cornelius.

Even though we had gotten a bunch of shots at Anna's bridal portrait, I couldn't resist taking advantage of this sky blue wall in her bedroom....

....or of this shot in the trolley!

And here's Tim!

Don't you love the bold colors in her bouquet? All flowers were done by Deborah Bell - wait until you see all of the reception flowers!

The plum bridesmaids dresses were FAB.

We certainly had some beautiful light to work with after the ceremony for their portraits.

The reception was at one of my favorite locations - the Mint Museum of Craft and Design.

The cake was done by Hansel and Gretal Bakery. And let me tell you - it was DANG good.

Love these monogram chocolate favors.

The food was done by Something Classic Catering.

Deborah Bell does SUCH AMAZING WORK! The lighting also added an incredibly dramatic feel to the space.

Congrats Anna and Tim!