Joanne and Doug’s Elkin Creek Vineyard Elopement Photos
Everything about this story, this couple, and this day makes me happy. Joanne and Doug Morris found each other again after decades apart and eloped to Elkin Creek Vineyard to say their I Dos. I’ll say more about the reconnection in a moment, but first I need to express how honored we were to be their photographers. And those who want a private wedding, especially spur of the moment, to begin their lives together, go for it. Joanne and Doug made a wonderful choice in Elkin Creek Vineyard, and this is a favorite venue of ours as photographers and as a couple.
Joanne only saw the place on their wedding day – April 23rd – and she just wanted portraits after she and Doug said their vows. After they finished their ceremony near the property’s windmill, we photographed them in various spots around the venue. Their natural affection for each other was evident. They were so sweet together.
We fell in love with these two, and their sweet dog Bailee. Their story is a lovely one: dramatic and dreamy. Joanne and Doug met in St. Louis while in college and, along with their brothers, made their way through chiropractor school. They dated and the tribe remained close, but after graduation, they all parted ways, and both Joanne and Doug married others, had children and began separate lives.
Flash forward many years and Joann was having a recurring dream that Doug’s brother would come to her and ask her to contact Doug. She brushed it off as a weird blast from her subconscious mind, but the dream was relentless. Finally after 4 nights in a row of this dream of Doug’s brother insisting that she find Doug, she got on social media and they reconnected. The timing was perfect as each was single. A few months later, they started dating again and got engaged.
During this afternoon in April, we loved watching them together as we asked them to pose.
Days later, when Joanne called to ask if we’d gotten “just one good one” I laughed, because so many of them were fantastic. Their love jumped through the lens.
I’m so excited for these two to start their lives together near Durham with their sweet dog. Love can happen at any age and through lots of life’s ups and downs. We’re so incredibly happy for them!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Bennett family and six month old Angelina
This day felt like a family reunion and I’m so grateful for it. We’ve all had a year of struggles and regrouping with familiar faces and old stories felt so good. Ryan has a history with this wonderful family. He and baby Angelina’s grandma Ann Russo became pals while working together a couple of decades ago. Long after they became friends, Anne’s daughter Jessica was getting married and they thought of Pixels to photograph their wedding. We’ve been friends since. On this day, we took Angelina’s six month portraits with parents Jessica and Bobby and grandparents Ann and Rich Russo at the peach orchards which were gorgeously in bloom.
Angelina was born while we were all in the teeth of the pandemic and mom Jessica worried that she wouldn’t know how to socialize, but this angel has a TON of personality. She’s not shy at all. It was so fun seeing parents and grandparents mixing it up with her. It was such a beautiful day in a warm setting with people we love.
Obviously, with all of this history, this wasn’t the first time we’d photographed these guys. Check out Jessica’s maternity portraits and Angelina’s newborn portraits.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Gavin is Four – An Outdoor Portrait Session
Believe it or not, Gavin stopped running, climbing and exploring long enough for us to grab some photos. Oh, and he’s four years old, hence the photo session. He loves being outside. In fact, every single time we’ve photographed this little monkey, we’ve done so out of doors (and occasionally out of breath).
I met his mom Jessica years ago and after we became friends, I shot Gavin’s 6 month portraits (I was 38 weeks pregnant during that shoot), his first birthday cake smash, as well as his 2 year old portraits. Before our eyes, he’s become a little boy.
On April 16th, we all met up at a park, and we brought our 3 year old with us. Those boys (and the rest of us) got filthy playing around, laughed constantly, and marveled at their energy. As you all know, boy and girl dynamics can be different. Girls, even when they are outside, will stick with a plan for the most part and follow directions. Boys love to move, must move. They demand dynamism. Finley and Gavin are text book examples of this. They are free range nuts and I loved to watch them. Perfect weather and setting and happy kids made for a perfect afternoon of photography.
One of the funniest moments was when Jessica, who is a full-time Army Reservist, asked Gavin to come to her and he took off. She is a petite creature, but she means business, and ran after him in wedge heels! She kept calling, “you know you’ll have to stop SOMETIME!!”
By the end of the day, Gavin was so wired, he tore off his shirt and Ryan caught him in action … nothing but a blur. Four year olds should be celebrated. We certainly adore this one.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Six Month Baby portraits in the orchards
I say it all the time, but with all that we endured during quarantine and Covid lock-down, it seems like these babies are growing up even faster. This is the third time we’ve photographed this little cutie, and now Gracelynn is six months old. She came to the orchards with an entourage, a steamer trunk filled with costume changes and a sparkling personality. All of it was right on time.
This is our third time photographing Gracelynn, including her newborn session and a family session. We also photographed mom Caitlin’s maternity portraits. Along with Caitlin and Gracelynn, father Matthew and grandmother Tabitha were in attendance to help with the many outfit changes and generally just to enjoy the day. This little girl is adorable, so filled with personality and always ready to give us great expressions.
I loved getting special photos of Tabitha and Gracelynn. This young gramma is over the moon to have a new grandchild in her life.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
The Driver Family and 6 month old Astrid
Somehow, six months blew by and suddenly there we were, right back where we photographed Mom and Dad (Macy and Jesse) for their maternity session. This time, they had their daughter Astrid, a freshly minted six month old, in tow and looking adorable.
It was a REALLY COLD and windy the morning we gathered, but the views on top of the mountain were incredible and the blooms on the apple trees lent themselves to the day. Astrid is the sweetest little thing and while she didn’t appreciate the temperature, much less the views, she perked up when she could be snuggled between her adoring parents.
Often, after children enter the picture, parents will shy away from having images taken of just them as a couple. We loved that Macy and Jesse wanted some of these portraits and we encourage other parents to remember this. Before there were little versions of you, there was just you. That should be celebrated too!
It was a beautiful day with a beautiful young family in a pretty spectacular spot. I would say that is satisfying all around. We love it when families find a location that they love and return to it to mark special occasions, milestones or just because images.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs newborns and families, special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2021 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.