Posts Tagged: blowing rock nc engagement photography
An orchard portrait session & popping the question
On Easter weekend, we had the pleasure of spending the day – not only in a beautiful spot – but with a beautiful couple, Cody and Courtney. Cody Tevepaugh is the son of the owners of this peach orchard where we have shot many a portrait session. We’re the exclusive photographers for this place and have photographed everything from prom to senior to family and engagement sessions in the peach blossoms. We always look forward to that season when there are many blossoms and people among them.
Cody and his brother Casey have been models for us, and we shot Casey’s wedding a couple of years ago as well. The plan was for Cody to pop the question during the photo session, so he scooped us with the details weeks in advance, as we were also planning to take Courtney’s family’s photos that day. I think the only thing we love more than a surprise is one that goes off without a hitch, or in this with one.
We started out with photos of the two of them (Cody and Courtney) together, then Ryan moved onto individual photos of just Cody followed by Courtney. Misty was able to pass the ring to Cody who, with Misty’s help, moved around behind Courtney where he got down on one knee. When Courtney turned around and saw Cody he popped the question.
Both families were nearby to witness from afar, and when Cody yelled out “she said yes,” everyone cheered. It was pretty great, we have to admit. Courtney told us that she was completely surprised – something that doesn’t always happen with proposals. We are often brought in AFTER the yes has been given, so it was wonderful to be a part of the plot and to capture the results.
These two plan to be married on on September 22, 2018 and we’ll give you one guess where we will be!! We cannot wait!
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, engagements and weddings, brides, and 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 ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
let the engagement portrait train keep rolling
The season is upon us and we’re not talking about standing in line to return that gift you pretended to love…. you know the one. The season of engagements, engagement portraits, save-the-date cards, setting up your wedding website, dress buying, location scouting etc.
HEAR THIS: THERE IS TIME FOR ALL OF IT.
But start here. Schedule your engagement portraits with us and we’ll help you figure out the where, when, what to wear and help with other details related to getting your photos taken. We’ve been doing this for well over a decade and have the images and heirlooms to prove it. Take a deep breath and call us. We cannot wait to work with you!
Regardless of venue, timing, theme or special request: we’re in and will do our best. We’re married………. we get it and want you to get off to the best start with fabulous engagement portraits. Consider us a part of your team and contact us. Let’s get started.
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, engagements and weddings, brides, and 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 ©2017 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
The Hills & Valleys are Alive | 4 seasons for photos in the Carolinas
It’s taking ALL I can do not to bring up Vivaldi’s masterpiece, The Four Seasons. And now I’ve done it, so if you like any of the 4 movements, or Vivaldi or classical music, it’s now stuck in your head. You’re welcome.
Meanwhile, our autumn portrait sessions booked up (THANKS EVERYONE) and I’m reminded that we shoot year-round because we can. North and South Carolina provide an embarrassment of riches for portraiture, not just for nature photographers. Mountains, gardens, farms, barns, fields, streams, valleys, the Biltmore Estate, the Blue Ridge Parkway and any number of purpose-built resorts and views surround us. We find ourselves consistently tramping through the woods, climbing rocks, on ATVs and by moving water capturing memories. Here is a small sampling of locations in our distinct seasons. If you need a reminder of the dizzying array of options, enjoy. We’re here and we’re always ready!
Late Summer Wedding in West Jefferson – rustic, by the river and UP ALL NIGHT at the reception
Leatherwood Resort
Winter Wedding at Elkin Creek Vineyard
Sunset on Beech Mountain
Hoben family Summer outdoor portrait in Roaring Gap NC
One of our favorite Spring spots: an extravagantly beautiful orchard in bloom
And the same orchard peopled with the lovely Arnold family
Autumn Blue Ridge Mountain Club Blowing Rock NC outdoor wedding
Rain or shine…… love wins, right? Blowing Rock NC
Gorgeous Quinceanera portraits in a mid-summer field in Wilkesboro
Warm Winter bridal portraits after snowfall in Moravian Falls NC
Wedding at Twickenham House and post reception vista portrait in Jefferson NC
Charleston SC engagement portraits
Botanical garden bridal portraits
Engagement session at The Biltmore Estate in Asheville
From the back “porch” at the Biltmore Estate
A fairy portrait session – expecting mother and big sister wade in
Winter Family Portrait of the Allens at Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock NC
Summer engagement photos in the NC Blue Ridge Mountains
Scottish highland wedding – bridal portraits
Delicious Brock at his 1st birthday portrait session in Pixels’ Portrait Garden in Wilkesboro.
engagement portraits at George Vanderbilt’s mountain estate ~ dog in tow
Timothy Mahon and Katie Speights are not typical and we adore them for it. Their love for each other casts shade over what others would consider “the grand scheme” and it’s hard to be more grand than Asheville’s Biltmore House…. at least in North Carolina. It’s still our country’s largest privately owned home, but more importantly to our story, it’s where both Timothy and Katie met while working at the Inn on the Estate. 
You’ll notice that neither the house itself nor the iconic set pieces that everyone recognizes are in any of these photos. What is? Timothy and Katie… and their sweetheart of a dog, Saluda. If you know where Saluda is (hint: a little spot just outside of Asheville where you can rent a kayak and grab some barbecue), you know this pair loves the mountains.
We cannot begin to explain how much we loved hanging out with these two. We knew immediately they were a perfect fit for our style as were we to theirs. When we met them at the entrance gate and had a quick discussion about their preferred backdrops for the day, Tim began by saying “what do you think of bamboo?” Their photos were less about traditional portraits and more about the entire scene, … nature, textures, and their interactions in all of it.
“We’d been dating for a year and a half and decided we wanted to do something different, something new. Since we had to keep our relationship on the ‘down low’ because we worked together, we both were excited to sell all of our things, pack up the car and dog and drive out west. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, but the fact that we were doing it together made it an adventure. We’ve known since then that we wanted to do things like that for the rest of our lives with each other!”
Their body English demonstrated how extremely cool they are, in love they are and happy to be taking this next step. Ryan and I spent hours with them afterwards, chatting, having brunch and cracking up. We love this pair!
“Our commitment to each other is grounded in living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment of it.”
Their wedding will be brilliant and these two deserve nothing but that fullness and happiness they’re planning.
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 babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and 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.
a blowing rock engagement portrait session ……. with Dr. Who
“There’s a lot of things you need to get across this universe.
Warp drive… wormhole refractors…
You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold.”
— The Doctor, Season 6, Episode 6 of Dr. Who
These two are die hard fans of Dr. Who. “Who? Precisely.” No kidding, their wedding color is Dr. Who blue.
Meet Kyle and Elizabeth. They are gamers and voracious readers. They love Disney and are easily one of the most interesting couples we’ve ever photographed. And interesting isn’t a euphemism for “we don’t understand them.” We do understand them. They are singular and share the same interests, goals and loves and they are…..in love. What’s fun, as an “old married couple” who still adore each other, is knowing that what’s ahead for them is going to be the ride of their lives, starting with their March 2016 wedding and WE. CANNOT. WAIT.
“You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world!” — The Doctor, Season 2, Episode 2
But let’s set the stage. They met while both were employed at Gamestop in Boone, NC and after realizing how much fun they had working together, they also realized how much they had in common….. which led to wanting to be together all the time …. which led to the biggest epiphany: “We are an US.” It was only a matter of time. They both love games, as I mentioned, they have favorite books and authors they’re devoted to. [To wit: Elizabeth has multiple copies of Black Beauty and couldn’t decide which edition to use for our photo session.] In fact, while shooting the photos of them with their favorite books, we feel confident that they weren’t posing for us – they were actually reading. Each wedding party member was asked to name their favorite book of all time and pages of those books will create the bouquets and boutonnieres for the wedding day. How incredibly cool is that? We got a sneak peek of a bouquet during Elizabeth’s bridal portrait session and let’s just say, it’s amazing!
“I am and always will be the optimist. The hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams.” — The Doctor, Season 6, Episode 6
The details for their March wedding don’t just encompass the things they share as a couple with their friends, but also include family heirlooms and traditions. Elizabeth will be carrying a small silver purse and locket when she walks down the aisle and will wear pearls just as her mother did at her wedding. Kyle’s family has a tradition of dancing as married couples from oldest to youngest and then sharing wisdom during the reception. It’s a nice mix of old and new that is going to make this wedding – and marriage – work.
“Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It’s not the time that matters, it’s the person.” — The Doctor, Season 3, Episode 6
Harry Potter and Dr. Who scarves made an appearance in photos and these two were naturally candid in front of the camera and totally into one another. Kyle loves photography and not until the end of the day did we know that he came to the session with lots of photo-related concerns and thoughts in mind. At the end of our session he told us that we had taken care of everything and fulfilled all his ideas even better than he had envisioned. It’s a great feeling to know that we’re intuiting before we set up the first shot and it’s why we spend so much time getting to know our clients. We always ask tons of non-photography related questions for this very reason, and the answers allow us to create images that are personal and truly reflect our subjects.
“We’re all stories, in the end. Just make it a good one, eh?” — The Doctor, Season 5, Episode 13
Like the good Doctor, we too are hopers of far-flung hopes, but before we get too far down the road, let’s celebrate the now. We’re excited about the wedding and reception of Elizabeth and Kyle, with the bouquets of sonnets, board and electronic games at the reception, emblems of their beloved interests and family mementos – it should be a wild and beautiful ride.
“When you’re a kid, they tell you it’s all… Grow up, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid, and that’s it. But the truth is, the world is so much stranger than that. It’s so much darker. And so much madder. And so much better.”
— Elton Pope, Dr. Who, Season 2, Episode 10.