It was so nice to be back at the beach for a wedding. Everything was in place, as expected. A very cool and chill couple, Ashley & Connor; a great wedding planner – Rachel Munro of Bridal by the Sea; a great location and manager – Deborah Barts with The Ocean Club – and perfect weather. I had spent time with Connor and Ashley (and Ashley’s great mom who was a big help on both shoots and the wedding) both for an engagement shoot in Raleigh and a bridal shoot in Chapel Hill, and I knew the wedding would be fantastic.
The first photo is an image of Ashley and Connor after the ceremony on the sound side of the Ocean Club along the inner coastal. I like this shot for 4 reasons: 1) The angle, 2) The weight and balance, 3) The very clean 90 degree lines, and 4) The fantastic embrace of Ashley and Connor.
The next set of images is from Friday evening’s rehearsal dinner at the Aquarium, which was excellent. Nothing like having dinner surrounded by such awesome sea life.
There was a moment Saturday morning when Ashley’s parents both had some beautiful gifts for her. The emotions and the moments were so nice, I thought it was worthy of placing a concentration on it. A cabinet door draws our eye in nicely to Ashley hugging her Dad. It allows us to watch without being intrusive during their moment. The next shot brings us back a bit, showing the dress in the background, while her Dad places the necklace around her. The fourth shot is one of my favorites of the day, and perhaps the most expressive father image this year. As Ashley’s mom goes in to hug her, if we drop down just a bit, we are able to catch the greatest mix of happiness and sadness in her Dad’s eye. He is so in tune with his family, he is unaware of our presence, and that really makes the moment.
Moving over to Connor, I want to point out his third image. By shooting over his Dad’s shoulder, we’re able to catch Connor putting on his jacket, while feeling we’re part of the scene rather than just looking at the scene.
The ceremony site was beautiful and it was the first time I’ve seen it conducted at this part of the Ocean Club, and it worked out perfectly. I really like the ceremony photo which uses the palm trees to frame the tight shot of the ceremony. We’re able to view the wedding as an outsider, which is always nice. I wanted to parallel the palm trees in the next shot of them leaving, keeping nice clean lines, and having the black and white give us a very clean, old feel to their first new moments as husband and wife.
The rest of the night was perfect. A cool breeze, gorgeous dancing scenes, and a lot of smiles. Take note of the sun setting on the cake. The colors and shadows are gorgeous. Cheers to Ashley and Connor on their first month together as husband and wife!
Vendors of note:
Cake-Cake Karosy
Hair-Lee Powell (hair gallery)
Band-The Shakedown
Flower-Tildy Designs
Catering-Carltons
Wedding Planner-Rachel Munro of Bridal by the Sea
Invitations/Programs-Ashley Babb
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Last year I spent time with Tim & Betsy for their engagement shoot at Biltmore Estates in Asheville, NC. It was a great shoot, and somehow I missed blogging about it. We got some great images, saw some black bears, and even had a great dinner in downtown Asheville. A few of my favorites are posted here. Then take a minute to click here to see their wedding at Rehoboth Beach. It is worth it!
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Alive. That is the word I would use to describe how I felt at around 12:30am Saturday night after what was an intense two day Indian wedding experience with Yuval, Swathi, their friends and family. It really was more than just a wedding, it was an experience. Friday’s late night Garba was a 5 hour festival of color, dance, food, ceremony and kinship; while our morning started quite early at Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh, NC around 7:30am, with a small photo session of Yuval & Swathi together. From there, they separated and Yuval began his portion of the day, which included a great ceremony in a horse and carriage with all the guests parading their way to the ceremony site (with live drummer, music and dancing, of course).
The ceremony itself is a fantastic free flowing event where guests are happy to come up to the platform to take their own photos, move their chairs into the shade where they like, or to step back and enjoy a proper tea and snack at the tables in the back. I took this time, to move through the crowd to get great vantage points which I typically would never do during a ceremony.
After the ceremony and a great lunch, we took a small break and rejoined at the Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, NC for another small photo session and then the start of the cocktail hour and reception. The Prestonwood’s reception hall is a fantastic site, and the lighting was spot on and matched perfectly with the colors from Swathi’s dress to the table linens and flowers. After some more great food, the parent dances and toasts, DJ Rang set the pace for the next 4 hours of one intense song after the next. Seamlessly blending in American music into Indian I am happy to report not one slow song the whole night. The dance intensity was led by Yuval’s dad, who used the Garba as a warm up for his reception night discotheque experience. The lights came on about 12:30am with the huge crowd pushing DJ Rang to play “one more song” – even though he had played “one more song” two or three times already lol.
Special cheers go out to DJ Rang, videographer Prashant, Images by Denise (Denise Hutter), the most excellent drummer who’s name I can’t recall, flowers by Fresh Affair, and the staff of both the Prestonwood and Brier Creek. In addition, it was great seeing good friends and former 2011 couple Adam & Jennifer and future 2012 couple Jeff & Katie; as well as all the great new friends I made over these two days. A super cool group of people, with Yuval and Swathi leading the way. Cheers!
Since there was so much packed into these two days, we have an extended set of blog images to enjoy:
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Last weekend the Whitford Plantation in New Bern, NC became the international home for Sarah & Christian’s wedding weekend. Hailing from Belgium, with friends and family from as far as Lebanon, a rainy Friday gave way to an incredibly perfect Saturday on the water for an ideal wedding. With gorgeous rooms inside and a perfect outdoor setting, Whitford Plantation proves itself an ideal location for an outdoor wedding.
The introduction image really does a nice job of encapsulating the weekend. I pulled Sarah & Christian away for about 5 minutes during their cocktail hour for this series of images. The soft tree moss does a great job of framing Sarah’s side , while Christian’s side is left open, and combined with the water, leave us feeling unbound. We also get a great view of Sarah’s phenomenal dress.
The next few photos show off the dress and veil in more detail, and the ring shot is set to the background of one of several masks throughout the plantation. We follow with some really nice images of both Sarah & Christian getting ready. The foreground in all three do a great job of giving us a feeling of “peaking in” on the couple as they put on their finishing touches before the ceremony.
Of the ceremony shots, I think my two favorite images are the one of Sarah walking the path to Christian and the one with her hand on his face. In the first, its a vantage point we don’t see to often – especially as a guest. And the second is such a tender and loving moment – one that any man would want on the day of his wedding – an unscripted soft expression of love.
After a few images to set the scene for the reception, I wanted to show two images focusing on Christian. The first is a great moment from his soft spoken brother Patrick. This great moment shows that often a gesture says more than any word can. Following is a perfect hug between Christian and his daughter Tara, who takes note of me taking the photo. As you know I much prefer the unaware photograph, but in this case, Tara’s smile is perfection. This hint of her knowing I’m watching, and a wry smile to let me know she doesn’t care and I’m not relevant.
Following the dancing, I wanted to end with a shot from Sarah & Christian’s first dance. The hug, the embrace they share – you can see the love in Christian’s eyes and you can see it in Sarah’s back. The shadows do a great job of showing us just enough, for anymore would be intrusive.
It was great working with all the true professionals at the wedding. I had a great time seeing familiar faces like Rachel, Patrick and Tamara, and of couse making new friends as well. Special note to Rachel Munro & her team of Bridal by the Sea who did an amazing job setting up and coordinating the wedding.
Cheers to the Sarah & Christian as they enjoy a bit of newlywed bliss :)
Vendors of note:
Kathy Canby Cakes | Whitford Plantation | Intimate Bridal | DJ Professionals |The Chelsea | Making Faces | Bridal by the Sea | Hair Gallery | Southern Hospitality Service
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You can’t beat back to back shoots at Duke Gardens & Duke Campus. I had a great time with Mike & Kristina, who’s wedding is coming up in about 6 weeks. Enjoy some of the photos from the day.
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