Having never photographed at either Hayes Barton Baptist Church or the Stockroom before, I started my day a little early to setup lights and survey the church before the festivities got underway.  Mandy was getting ready at the Marriott City Center in downtown Raleigh, so it was a quick trip from their to both the Church and wedding reception.  There are so many different aspects of the wedding that I love but, honestly, being around while the bride is getting ready is definitely at the top.  It’s a great “quiet” time (well, most of the time it’s quiet) where I get to chat with the bride, her friends and family.  It really helps set the tone of the rest of the day and, as was the case for Mandy, just lends to the building excitement for the big day!

We headed over to the ceremony location where Mandy was getting dressed and I must say, it was a really great location!  I literally got to pick where the Mandy got dressed (of course I picked the prettiest room) with the best light.  Mandy & Cary decided to see each other before the ceremony and, yet another first for me, was having the bride give “bunny ears” to the groom before he turned around, LOL.  We got all the formal groups shot before the ceremony and, after we wrapped up, we all got a chance to kick back for a minute before the ceremony.  Hayes Barton church, having grown up in Raleigh, holds a special place in my heart as they’ve been broadcasting church services from there for quite some time.  Not to mention that many, many highly visible figures and politicians attend or hold services here.  So to shoot Mandy & Cary’s wedding was definitely a very cool treat for me.

After the ceremony, we headed down to the Stockroom in downtown where a live band, a huge assortment of delicious pies and cakes from Katrina at Sugarland were waiting for us.  While I will not incriminate myself, I can truthfully say WOW, the blackberry pie was amazing.    Surrounded by their close friends and family, Mandy and Cary came into the Stockroom (which has antique plank wood floors and exposed brick walls) and got right into their first dance.  After they and their parents danced, a great menu was presented (and subsequently decimated – it was that good) and a few emotional and funny toasts were shared, it was game on!  The band got the party started and the singer was in the middle of the dance floor keeping the party going.  Seriously, it was one of the most lively dance floors I have seen this year.

As we decided to head into the reception immediately following the wedding, we waited to do our couples portraits at night in and around downtown.  Unfortunately, the humidity was so overbearing that within 20 seconds of walking outside, my lenses completely fogged.  20 minutes later, they were still fogged so we stayed inside.  Call it divine intervention or just inspiration, but I think we made the right choice.  I hope you agree!

Mandy & Cary – thank you both for your overwhelming graciousness, hospitality and, well, just being so much fun to work with!  Here is a short sampling of their photos!

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The idea behind the shoot was a couple of outfit changes and capture both portraits of her in a more “idealistic” setting like a park with a definite urban feel and also capture a more urban and dramatic fashion inspired side of her.  Of course, I love shooting in downtown Raleigh and we decided on  a location I had not yet been – the firefighters memorial park.  It’s a very cool location with a gorgeous mix of huge trees and architectural elements like sidewalks, walls and statues.

We ended up shooting for over 2½ hours and probably could of gone for longer but I think the lack of food was getting to everyone.  So shortly after dusk we called it an evening but, of course, we had some really gorgeous graduation photos to show for it.  I’ve got a small collection of photos we captured from her session below.  I hope you enjoy!

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We started very close to Fayetteville St using  a cool walkway with some newly blooming trees in the background.  We moved down towards Moore Square as they also brought their 4 legged family member with them and we needed so grass time.  I don’t do a lot of pet photography but I’ve had a shot in mind for some time that I wanted to do, and this was a great opportunity.  After a friend picked up their dog, we kept strolling around the downtown Raleigh area hitting a few familiar places but also discovering quite a few new ones that, frankly, I got really excited about.  For me, I follow the light instead of the place.

We also headed up to the Stockroom, where their wedding reception will be, and got some impromptu shots.  When we came outside, the sun had set and we finished off the evening with some very cool twilight photography that really shows off how gorgeous the downtown area, and my couple, are when put together.  As always, here are a few shots from their session!  I hope you enjoy!

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We started off their wedding day at the Crabtree Valley Marriott, where Cindy and Adam were in two different suites getting ready.  Ginger Mullins, a vary talented Hair & Makeup artist in Raleigh, and my wife, was doing Cindy’s wedding hair and airbrushed her makeup to make her even more radiant.  While Cindy was preparing, Adam and the guys were in their room playing with a toy helicopter so much that, when I got there, it was on a charger (for the 2nd time I believe).  That is one thing I really love about weddings, such stark contrast from the bride’s room to the grooms.

We headed over to Sacred Heart for the wedding ceremony.  I can honestly say, Sacred Heart is one of the most gorgeous wedding locations in the area and the staff is so accommodating and pleasant to work with that is really is a pleasure to shoot weddings here.  The ceremony had a great couple of moments, one being a family relative was brought up to perform part of it.  I didn’t verify but the feeling I got was this was unscripted and, judging by the prompting, no one knew about it before hand.

After the ceremony, we headed down to Fayetteville St to shoot a few wedding day photos with the bride, groom and bridal party.  That’s really the great thing about a downtown Raleigh wedding, all of the locations you can walk to in such a short period of time.  After the wedding portrait photo session, we headed back to the Crabtree Valley Marriott for their wedding reception.

One common theme I had picked up on throughout the evening was how great all of Adam’s and Cindy’s friends are.  I could definitely see how close everyone at the wedding was and I got to experience a few of the inside jokes – from Justin Bieber cd’s as wedding gifts to a little Karaoke voice mail.  After the parent dances and cake cutting, the dance floor blew up (Thanks to Mitch from Joe Bunn DJ) and, as the night wore on, I saw, for the first time, a, well, “forced” garter toss. Cindy had decided she didn’t want to toss the garter and, well, her friends decided otherwise, so they dragged her out on the floor (again, great friends) to do it.

I want to send my sincerest Thank You to Cindy, Adam, their families and friends for your gracious hospitality and open your family to me on their wedding day.  It was a real honor to capture such a special day for everyone.  Of course, here are a few photos. 

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We started out on Fayetteville St and, well, as usual, just walked around working in different areas that I felt made matched his personality and he was comfortable in.  Bryan let me have free reign on wherever I wanted to put him so, well, we went to quite a few cool places in my opinion.

We shot until dark and, well, shot a little more as well.  We had a great session and both his parents and I were really happy with how everything turned out.  As always, here are a few pictures from the day!

By this time we had quite a few great shots so we started to have a little fun.  Bryan is an athlete and is about 6’3″ so I thought lighting him like an MMA fighter would be fun.

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As they weren’t as familiar with downtown Raleigh, they very gladly let me guide them around to different areas from Fayetteville St. to Moore Square, and quite a few places in between.  As I’ve said many times before, I really enjoy working in this fashion, especially to get their engagement photos,  as it lets me follow the light and takes me to some pretty cool places.

Ashley & David wanted to mix it up a bit by both getting shots that reminded them of Savannah as well as more urban and edgy.  So, to coin a new photography term, “deep-south Metropolitan” is the end result – which I loved!  I want to thank both Ashley & David for letting me lead them around Raleigh for a few hours and trusting in me to, A – not get them lost,  B – to get some beautiful engagrment photos and, C – to get a really diverse feeling for their session – which I could NOT have done without their upmost faith and trust.  Thank you thank you thank you!!

Now, of course, on to a few of their spectacular engagement photos.

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So, as you can imagine, it was the day of the wedding when I finally met Nick. We got to know each other a bit while I was busy with the wedding photography and, while talking, I tried to hide my amazement that somehow, almost every groomsman he had was taller then I was (and I’m 6’5″).

The wedding took place in downtown Raleigh NC at the 1st Presbyterian church and the reception was held at the Crabtree Marriott in Raleigh. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and Amber made for a breathtaking bride! I really enjoyed working with the both of them and their families through the day (and night) and I look forward to their return from the honeymoon to show off some of the amazing wedding photos we were able to capture on their joyous occasion.

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I don’t mind driving in the snow, but my confidence in others and the road clearing ability of the city of Raleigh is a bit on the low side.  I ended up grabbing a hotel the night before and after the wedding day to insure I would have no problems making it their ceremony and reception. It’s a good time to mention that I have always wanted to photograph a wedding in the snow, because, let’s face it, Raleigh, NC Wedding Photography and snow just don;t come into contact with each other very often.  At the ceremony, I was thrilled to see how many people braved the elements to come out and celebrate Marianna & Brian’s wedding. After a wedding sparkler sendoff we all piled into the vans and rode back to downtown Raleigh for the wedding reception in the Capital City Club. Before heading back up, I just *had* to get some photos of my happy couple in the snow. With no traffic to speak of, we had free reign of Fayetteville St and, despite Marianna having open toed shoes on, she was a real trooper and let me work a little magic with them!

Both of them are swing dancers so the Casablanca Orchestra fired it up and everyone at the reception danced it up to a wonderful performance of swing music. After cutting the wedding cake with a saber, a few Captain Morgan poses, a whole lot of laughing and dancing, the night started to wrap up. I will make one notable exception here and mention that I was asked to dance, and graciously accepted, by Kelly. Thanks Kelly!   The last photograph below is as I was leaving Capital City Club and walking back to my hotel. Even though I had been photographing for about 9 hours straight at this point, this shot was too beautiful to pass up. I do believe I may frame this one for myself.

Marianna & Brian – thank you both so much for all of your warmth & hospitality and choosing me as your photographer! I truly enjoyed working (and freezing) with you both over the past 18 months and I want to give you my most heartfelt congratulations!!!!

Church: North Raleigh UMC – Raleigh, NC
Wedding Reception: Capital City Club – Raleigh, NC
Flowers: Ninth Street Flowers – Raleigh, NC
Cake: Edible Art – Raleigh, NC
Band: Casablanca Orchestra – Raleigh, NC
Invitations: Carlson Craft
Dress: Enchanting Moments
Transportation: White Horse Transportation – Raleigh, NC

Now on to a few photos!

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Their day, for wedding photography at least, turned out wonderful with cloudy skies giving me a ton of flexibility on which locations I could use.  Wedding photographers really love cloudy days because of the beautiful soft light we get to play with. The Fairmont Methodist UMC has a great courtyard with some of the most amazing light to work with.  We dodged a few raindrops did some photography around the church campus then off to Bogarts in downtown Raleigh where I got to take the happily married couple out and around the architecture in downtown(which is a big favorite of mine). Back inside the wedding reception we got to enjoy a wonderful set of dances with the parents and, of course, the newlyweds. Bogarts did a wonderful job with hosting the wedding reception and everyone had an absolute blast dancing and celebrating with Hunter & Melanie! As things began to wind down, a few of the groomsman “prepared” the car as a final salute to the couple – which of course I got some cool photography of.

As it does tend to happen in this area, the skies cleared up after the wedding reception which gave us the chance to the go back out downtown and do some evening photography. I do need to clarify the wedding was on 10/24, so there was some Halloween activity going on in the form of a scavenger hunt – so hopefully the explains the zombies appearing in wedding photos.

DJ: Shannon Pake – Raleigh, NC
Flowers: North Raleigh Florist – Raleigh, NC
Cake: Wandaful Cakes – Raleigh, NC

As always, here are a few photos from the evening!

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With a small wedding congregation of about 20 people and the bride & groom, this was a wonderfully intimate affair that (being selfish here) allowed me to really photograph Susan & Corey for quite a while. To say I am pleased with the results would be an understatement and a few of there wedding photographs will certainly be making it onto my main website. The day started off, well, in an interesting fashion as the couple discovered the guys boutonnieres had been left behind. I spoke with the Second Empire Manager and the found some beautiful white roses which were cut and would be perfect for the guys. One sticking point… pins. We didn’t have any pins to attached the flowers to the lapels so again, we had to be resourceful. I pulled out my trusty emergency kit and found needle & thread as well as safety pins to attach them.. the day is saved!!! Of course, as I was their wedding photographer I let someone else attach them while I was photographing.

Let me say, I LOVE the light where Second empire weddings are generally held. With a bay window allowing natural light in behind the couple, it adds a real ethereal quality to the wedding photos. After the ceremony and formals, Susan, Corey & myself hit the streets and photographed for quite a while in the block surrounding the restaurant. With it being a cloudy day, the conditions were perfect for wedding photography and, again, the results are outstanding. After we came back into the reception, champagne was popped and the cake was cut…. well, ok, it took an effort to cut the cake. Personally I think the cake cutter was defective (or Corey possesses Hulk like strength) but, needless to say, it didn’t survive the ordeal – see below photography of said defective knife. A replacement was quickly found (again, thank you to the Second Empire) and we proceeded again.

I’d like to thank both Corey & Susan for having me be their wedding photgrapher.

Officiant: Terry Michael Newell – Raleigh, NC
Cake: Second Empire – Raleigh, NC

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As Emily is used to the camera doing the weather every morning for WGHP, I had no doubts that our session would certainly be fun & relaxed. We were blessed with cloudy skies as we strolled around downtown Raleigh photographing the happy couple and yes, I did resist asking Emily stupid weather questions. Although I did embarrass myself at first, we won’t go into that so much because, well, it’s my blog. I think Emily had me laughing more then I had her laughing so I need to brush up on my photography banter before their wedding next month.

Here’s a few of my favorites shots from the day!

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Leigh Ann & Frank had agreed to ride around Raleigh in a limo bus and shoot, basically, anywhere we wanted to. We definitely wanted to stop at the Raleigh Little Theatre Rose Garden and also any other places we saw between the Church and Reception Hall. In the Rose Garden, we did some of the funniest “crazy” formals I have ever shot and am seriously thinking about adding those to my bag of tricks. Back on the bus, everyone started up the party and were in high spirits getting to the Royal Banquet Hall in Raleigh.

I want to give a very heartfelt thank you & congratulations to Frank and Leigh Ann! You guys certainly know how to keep the party going and it was an honor for me to photograph your wedding!

Now, on to some photos!

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While Kerri got ready in a beautiful suite in the Renaissance Hotel in Raleigh, Greg headed over to the church in downtown Raleigh with the guys and my 2nd photographer captured them doing their thing (Won’t be posting those, sorry guys – but I see there was a table harmed in the process). As Kerri got ready, it was very apparent how close everyone in the bridal party and family was. A big challenge for photographers on the wedding day is finding out the relationships between everyone so we can better tell the story. Well, with Kerri’s party, I couldn’t determine who was immediate family and who were friends – since they were all treated like family, I did the same.

The Sacred Heart Cathedral is beautiful and a great example of architecture in downtown Raleigh and following the ceremony, we were able to get a few quick photos in before everyone took a break. The reception picked up that evening at the Renaissance Hotel in Raleigh at North Hills and, with it being my first time there, I was very excited to check out the property. One words comes immediately to mind – beautiful! With the happy newlyweds and 100 of their friends and family celebrating, Kevin Majoros (Joe Bunn DJ) got the party rolling and, well, let’s just say a few pictures had to be censored for decorum purposes.

Congratulations to you both! I am always honored to be chosen to both document and create artistic imagery during a wedding day – so thank you for choosing me!

Wedding: Sacred Heart Cathedral – Raleigh, NC
Reception – Renaissance Hotel in Raleigh – North Hills – Raleigh, NC
Flowers: The Purple Poppy – Wake Forest, NC
DJ: Joe Bunn DJ – Kevin Majoros – Raleigh, NC

And on to the photos:

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21 Wedding Photographers
5 Models
8 Wedding Dresses
2 city blocks

As we laid siege to Glenwood Avenue, it was quite a sight to behold, apparently too much to behold as I did hear of one accident involving two cars, one rear ending the other just after passing one of our gorgeous brides.
After 2 hours of photography, the models & photographers we’re all exhausted but very happy with the end results. In my group, we had 5 photographers working with Lena, our bride, and we visited 8 locations in two hours within 2 city blocks in downtown Raleigh. It’s a wonderful reminder that we don’t always need green pastures or studios to get stunning portraits.

As always, here are a few select photos from the day! You can learn more about the event I organized or our group which holds monthly wedding photography meetings here.

As always, here are a few photos from the day!

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Last week I hung out with some great folks from the Pictage Users Group (PUG) to get a little pre-season warmup.  The PUG group had organized two couples to go around Downtown Raleigh and volunteer us photographing them.  I love these types of sessions as it mimics how I do my engagement sessions as well as a little wedding photography as well.  Literally walk from point A to B and find a few points inbetween that are really cool.  With 7 photographers around, it’s not always the easiest to work that exact shot you want, but our couples were real troopers and we got some wonderful photography as a result.

ere’s a few shots from the meeting:

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So, go back a few months before that, when I had Amy & Rommi in my office for a consult on their photography.  I have the pleasure of shooting their wedding next month and, during our consult, they mentioned they were opening a new business and might need some food photography. Well, you can probably see where this is going…  turns out Tobacco Road is their new business and, you guessed it, they needed some food and interior photography for their website.

Here’s a few of my favorites from our photo shoot!

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I must give full credit to the both of them.  The wind was whipping and it was pretty cold but they were total troopers for the whole photography session.  Of course, they had each other to keep warm and I did promise hot coffee afterwards, so hopefully it wasn’t too awful for them. The end result, through all the cold and wind was some beautiful engagement photography that shows their love and the beautiful downtown Raleigh cityscape.

Now onto the photos!

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The ceremony was held in the beautiful Church of the Good Shepard on an overcast (but beautiful) Saturday in downtown Raleigh and the parents arrived in a Rolls Royce to the front of the Church.  There were so many opportunities for beautiful photos as I had a beautiful couple, beautiful venue & beautiful light and downtown Raleigh as a backdrop.  My favorite is the one of Cindy, just having gotten into the Rolls Royce, taking a moment to check out her wedding ring.

The reception was held at the Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, NC.  Every wedding or event I have ever been at photographer at has been gorgeous, and this was no exception.  After a wonderful meal accompanied by a pianist, everyone adjourned on the patio for Cigars.  With such a collection of close family and friends, the images we captured were beautifully true, honest and joyful moments shared among a very special group.

What a way to end the year!  Congratulations to Cindy & Neil!

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The call I received last week was for portraits, but not quite the kind I was expecting.   The Raleigh SPCA has an annual Santa Paws pet portrait session that Santa gracisouly donates some of his time for.  All proceeds go to the SPCA and help them shelter, treat and place pets into good homes.  It’s a great cause and I was proud to have been called to help out.  We had about 3 hours with Santa and all the pets were on their best behavior (I guess even they know about coal in the stocking).  Below are a few shots of the event.

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The happy couple is honeymooning this week but hopefully they can log onto a computer and get a sneak peek of the below shots.  You can view the entire gallery here (password required).

I wish the both of them a very happy life together!

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It certainly was a long day with enough technical information and theory to cause a photography “reboot” inside my head.  I think it was actually perfect because some of his techniques are very counter-intuitive at first…. then you see the results and after you pick your jaw up from the floor, you realize there is another whole new world available to you with flash.

If you’re a photographer and reading this – GO SEE HIM!.  If you’re a client, hopefully you’ll enjoy the photos below and realize that, just because it’s at night, we can still get some really striking photography.  All of these images are taken during the seminar.

First – Someone shot Neil…  Not sure quite who but I know we had 3 cameras pointed at him.

Now for some stuff during the day using fill flash.

Here’s some stuff from after dinner with only the ambient streetlight and fill flash.

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The welcoming event, held at the Research Triangle Foundation in RTP welcomed all the participants and everyone was treated to a short presentation by Governor Mike Easley.  Immediately following the reception, a dinner was held for the VIP’s at the Art Museum in downtown Raleigh.  After dinner, the VIP’s were treated to an incredible short theatrical presentation by 3 very talented Broadway performers.  Dressed as “living statues” in all white, these three incredibly talented performers sang 5-6 operatic songs in fluent italian.  I’ve never seen anything like it and while I love the photos, it just doesn’t do the mood justice.

Overall, the event was absolutely gorgeous and even though I don’t have much experience in overseas diplomatic relations, it was easy to see the bridges being built and relationships founded between everyone invited.

Here’s a few shots of the evening!

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Here’s the article as it appears in the current issue!  If you happen to pick up a copy, you may recognize a few other photos in there from me as well. 

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Amie & Holt were married at the Edenton Street Methodist Church in Raleigh NC.  This is a beautiful Church with wonderful architecture and humongous stained glass windows.  Of course, speaking for all wedding photographers here, we love shooting in places like this as it affords so many opportunities to mix wedding photography with architectural and artistic styles.

A short limo ride later and we all arrived at the North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh for the wedding reception.  The last time I was here (which was some time ago) the ballroom we were in did not exist.  So it was quite a nice surprise when I came in to see 9 beautiful chandeliers hanging up, a band on the permanent stage and decadent furnishings in every corner.

The band, the flabbergasters, played up a great mix of beach, rock and even rap to get the party started.  Everyone really enjoyed their evening (and I have proof in the photography) and it was my absolute pleasure to work with Amie, Holt and their families for their wedding day!

Now, on to a few photos:

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I met Christina & Antoine for the first time last year. At our initial consult, I remember thinking how much fun it would be to shoot this wedding. They were an absolute pleasure to talk with at the consult (and even for a few minutes after as we waited for the rain to subside) and I remember thinking how long of a wait it would be to work directly with them. Well my thoughts and inner monologue we are right on the money. From the moment I arrived at Christina’s house in Raleigh there was this pleasant aura in the air (along with some Alicia Keys) and the house was abuzz with energy. That energy stayed up throughout the wedding and into the reception at the Raleigh Sheraton hotel.

It was my pleasure getting to know the both of them and wish them the absolute best in their marriage and lives together!

So, without further ado (you’ve waited long enough), here are the photos (Photographers Note* – I do not condone trying to photograph while driving):

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