Posts Tagged: Blowing Rock Wedding Photographers
Wedding redux #3 ~ straight up advice!
Sherae Jones married David Johnson under a glassed-in rooftop in Charlotte in 2014. It was glorious. We got to know this couple when we photographed their engagement session and that’s when we discovered how cool and real they are. So, when we asked Sherae to look back to provide some perspective – this is what she told us …. no holds barred!
Name some things you would do differently, if, by some strange wrinkle in the universe, you could do it all again (with the same person of course).
I would have had a few more important pictures taken and by important I mean family, and a couple more with us and our Officiant.
The arrangements for my hair. I trusted a friend to do my hair and she didn’t even do a trial for me. She also ended up bailing on me two days before. Luckily someone else stepped in, but it was something I should have hired a professional to do.
Name things you would NOT change.
My decorations… I had two pillars with flowers at the altar. I also had rose petals down the aisle. For the tables I had glass vases with floating candles and marbles. Given the venue, I didn’t need a whole lot. What I had was just enough. I probably would have had more artificial flowers. Looking back it wasn’t important to have real flowers.
The Cake & Candy Bar – for my cake I had two tiers and then a cupcake tower. I also had a few cake pops- which were a big hit! For favors, we did a candy bar. That was also a big hit and very popular for the adults. LOL!
Food– Instead of doing a buffet or traditional sit-down dinner, I did heavy hors d’oeuvres. That was something that the venue coordinator suggested. I got a lot of backlash about that from family, leading up to the wedding. However, on the actual day they loved it! It doesn’t seem like a lot, but having a good variety of food to choose from works and guests had the chance to get SECONDS!
What if anything do you regret?
I regret that Dave and I didn’t get around to each table to say thanks TOGETHER. I have gotten some negative feedback from guests about that. However, there was a lot going on, I was busy dancing, it rained and everything was moved inside.
I also regret that I cut the top tier of my cake. I had two tiers and a cupcake tower. Because I cut the very top tier and not the bottom, the venue assumed it was ok to cut all the cake. As a result, all of it was eaten and we do not have any for our first anniversary.
Positive and negative advice on any or all of the following:
Attire. Who cares what anyone thinks. It is YOUR day. A lot of people will give advice, but you do not have to take it. Wear whatever you and your spouse-to-be are comfortable with. I wore Chuck Taylor’s under my dress… probably one of my favorite parts. I also did not wear a veil and I was fine with that. Instead, a good friend of mine made a head piece for me that was truly one of a kind.
Food. Make sure it is good. Most people remember the food, the bride’s dress, and the music.
Gifts. Always appreciative of gifts. If you do a registry, pick things you want.
Location. If you are worried about the weather, pick a venue where you can have a backup space if weather gets bad. Also, another suggestion is to have everything in one place. So much easier for guests and vendors.
Decorations & decor. Budget for linens, as they tend to be a little expensive. Some chairs are beautiful, but are not comfortable. And decorations can be subtle; they don’t have to be extravagant. Small vases and floating candles are very affordable and the vases can be bought at the dollar store if you want to save money for other items on your list.
Number in the wedding party. I suggest no more than 5. Five is the perfect number to keep up with. If you have a bridal party that is larger than 5, not only is it more expensive for bridal party gifts and for those standing up for you, but also the procession of the bridal party takes some time and makes your ceremony longer.
Number of guests. Whatever you can afford. A good average number is about 150. Some will decline and you may get some no-shows on the actual day. I suggest keeping the number reasonable for your pockets because food is very expensive and so is alcohol if you plan to serve it.
Time of year. Time of day.
Everyone loves summer/early fall weddings, but those tend to be the most popular times to get married. Try a winter wedding. Those are just as beautiful and rain will not be an issue since everything is indoors. Spring weddings are not bad, but everyone knows it rains a lot and that could be an issue if your wedding is outdoors. I suggest early afternoon (2 p.m.) and evening weddings.
DJ vs. a band.
I like both. DJ’s are probably more pocket friendly, but bands bring a classier vibe to the whole shebang.
Wedding planner or friends and family approach.
I would say definitely go with a wedding planner. They are professional, organized and will help your day run smoothly. They can be expensive, but if you go with a venue where the fee is included, go for it. If your venue does not include the coordinating, and you have to hire outside, hire someone of quality. Someone who has great reviews. Remember you get what you pay for. I had 4 wedding planners working the day of my wedding, and I had no worries. They took care of everything! The family and friends approach is not bad, but you have to know who you are dealing with. I’ve personally been to weddings where there were family and friends in those roles or no coordinators at all. Honestly, those weddings were not organized at all.
Vows. Writing your own is obviously more special and intimate. However, there is nothing wrong with the traditional ones. I mean, after all, traditional vows sum up everything so perfectly.
Pixels will continue to share feedback from our brides and grooms in the hope that you’ll be able to balance both the stuff you dream about with the practicalities of planning and the day!
In case you missed them, click here to read Redux part 1 and Redux part 2.
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.
Wedding redux part 2 ~ MORE SAGE ADVICE
“Don’t worry about pleasing everyone else. It’s YOUR wedding, so do what you want to do!! You will enjoy it even more if it’s everything you imagined it would be.”
Part II of our series, Wedding Redux, takes advantage of the insight of Whitney Pegg Parsons, married last year at Williams Farm. Have a peek at their wedding and then enjoy Whitney’s feedback.
What would you do less?
Stress about the situations you can’t change. Something is going to end up happening which causes some detail to perhaps not turn out the way you wanted. It’s just like life; you have to roll with it.
Positive or negative feelings or comments about any of the following?
Attire.
Do your research! Look at more than one place before deciding who you’ll buy your gown and dresses from.
Gifts.
Go with what is sentimental. You want to look back, with friends and family, and all be able to say ‘I remember that day perfectly.'”
Flowers.
Don’t get stuck on using a florist as your only option. Sometimes asking around, ordering flowers in bulk and decorating yourself can be just as beautiful and more cost effective.
Location.
Choose somewhere that is memorable and most fits your style. Google can be your friend here. There were a lot of local places I would never have known about if I hadn’t looked online. Most importantly, choose the location first. It will determine the date of your wedding and help with other details.
Decorations & Decor.
PINTEREST!!! Everyone has their own ideas of what they want their wedding to look like, but sometimes it’s harder to execute than you think. Enlist the help of those online, your friends and family and they will help you better determine what is going to be the most feasible.
Number in the wedding party?
Choose the few who are most important to you. You shouldn’t feel that just because someone is your friend that it means they have to be in the wedding party. Some friends don’t even feel comfortable being in the party to begin with. Choose people who, when you look back in 50 years, you’ll see the photos and appreciate that they are still your friends and people you still talk to.
Number of guests?
It is always bigger than you think it’s going to be and that is okay! I was so worried because my list kept getting bigger and bigger due to family members and I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Some people will never come but just like to get an invitation. I would recommend setting a maximum number of guests and never going above that number.
Time of year?
There is always going to be some weather issue that may possibly get in the way. I’d say choose whatever you want and can handle and then go for it. As for time of day, it depends on the season.
Wedding Planner or “family-and-friends-all-hands-on-deck” approach?
Don’t choose a family member or close friend. Planning a wedding can be stressful and you don’t want to depend on someone you may end up having a falling out with… a falling out over something stupid. Choose someone you can rely on who has experience. They will be able to help you plan out a schedule so you don’t forget any details.
Name 3 things you would do differently if, by some strange wrinkle in the universe, you could do it all again (but with the same spouse):
My main things would be stress less and enjoy more. I would worry less about the little unimportant things and enjoy the big details even more. When the day actually came, I felt like it was over in a matter of minutes and would have loved to have had more time to enjoy it! I would also have done more research on attire for dresses and suits and saved myself a lot of last minute stress!
Name 3 things you would NOT change:
Even though it was stressful at times, it turned out to be a mostly perfect day. One of the most important things I would never change are the people I chose to spend my special day with. They enjoyed it as much as I did! Secondly is the photography. There is no other way to go back to that day other than through the pictures. Choose a photographer who is relatable and whose style you love and you won’t be disappointed (Misty & Ryan, of course)!!
Finally, and most importantly, find the right person – choose the right spouse! If you know that no matter what goes wrong with the wedding that they are with you, it’s all that matters.
It’s only going to happen ONCE, so stand back and take a minute to really live in every little detail that you can.
In case you missed them, click here to read Redux part 1.
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.
bridal portraits embracing romance, imagination, and books
Do you ever look at a photo and think about the zillion captions that could be written? There are contests out there and most are about funny photos or cartoons, but this shot below evokes so many thoughts.
What would her groom write? “Hurry to me!!”
Or her father? “There goes my girl….”
What would her big sister say? “Wait up!” or “I miss her already.”
Or her great-great grandmother if she could see this photo? “How romantic.”But she’s off and this image of Elizabeth (Eli) Rickard walking down the steps has become one of my favorite bridal portraits to date. It’s another image that I conceived once I saw this stairway in the Green Park Inn. I described my thoughts to Ryan and along with Eli’s sister Kari, we made my vision come true. I like it because it’s different from many other bridal portraits we’ve taken. For me it portrays movement, anticipation, and represents the marriage journey that Eli was embarking on. It’s always deeply rewarding to try something creative when you have a bride so deeply ensconced and in love with her favorite things – in this case, books, fantasy, romance and Kyle.
Elizabeth is a classic romantic, a dreamer, a lover of fantasy, has a super hero spirit and a smile that’s as big as her heart. She just married her beloved Kyle Bishop on March 5th (portraits and blog to come), but these bridals were taken indoors due to rainy and cold January weather. Elizabeth loves to read (this will be this week’s understatement), so the historic Green Park Inn’s library made a perfect setting. To note: Eli’s favorite book is Black Beauty and the horse portrait fit brilliantly. Her sister Kari used pages from Black Beauty to create Elizabeth’s bouquet.
Books were incorporated throughout the wedding details (and we STRONGLY encourage you to check out their engagement photos to fill in more of the story).
I always encourage brides to include friends and family in the portrait session and day. It’s fun to witness the relationships, and time with each other on these days is often the most time they’ll get since the wedding day itself can be whirlwind. For Eli, this session included her mother, sister and niece, all of whom came in from out of town. It was a girl’s day to play dress up and they were, to the person, emotional and giddy throughout the portrait session.
Our caption for this photo above would be “She’s ready.” We promise when the wedding photos have been processed and we can share bouquets of books and the stories that made their day the fairytale that it was – you’ll be the second to see 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 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.
wedding expos ~ get ready, ya’ll!!
[with the oh-so-familiar backup music] “It’s the MOST won-der-ful tiiiiiiiiime of the yeeeeeeeeear!”
Ok, actually that was Christmas and it’s over, people. Valentine’s Day is also over and we hope it went well for ya. Spring is around the corner and that means – for those of us in the business and those out there who are engaged – Wedding Season. It’s a time when brides, friends of the bride, mothers of brides, coworkers of the bride and All God’s Children are making haste to get to a bridal show or wedding expo.
Expos are where you get ideas and find the people you want to work with as you plan your wedding. At Pixels, it’s where we can show who we are and what we will do to make your day exactly what you want it to be. We love meeting brides, couples and families while visiting with favorite and new vendors. And it’s where we meet YOU. Some of our favorite clients were met at bridal and wedding expos.
We believe in cross pollination when it comes to ideas. Good ideas come from everywhere, and if you’re a photographer it could be an ad, something overheard or read. It could be a headline we saw in the airport on the cover of Outside Magazine. Seriously. You never know where your next idea will come from, so part of going to wedding expos is to get inspiration.
Pixels will be participating in the following upcoming wedding expos, displaying photos, meeting couples, and accepting clients for 2015 & 2016 wedding dates.
March 13th Wilkes Wedding Expo, Wilkesboro NC
1:00-4:00 at The John A Walker Center
$5.00 when bride registers online, $8 at the door
March 20th High South Wedding Expo, Boone NC
1:00-4:00 at Boone Shopping Mall
$8 at the door
Below is our booth at the High Country Wedding Expo in 2015. Keep an eye out for us. We’d love to meet you.
Pixels on Paper Wins WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Award®
For those of you who don’t live and breathe wedding photography, WeddingWire is the nation’s leading online wedding marketplace and it named Pixels On Paper as a winner of the prestigious WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® for photography.
“The WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® recognizes the top five percent of wedding professionals in the WeddingWire Network who demonstrate excellence in quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. The esteemed awards are given to the top local wedding vendors in more than 20 service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers, based on their professional achievements from the previous year.”
We are humbled and excited by this, you guys. And we are incredibly proud.
We’re proud of our first successful (and thrilling and experiential, experimental, exhausting, gratifying and zany) decade in the business.
We’re proud of the partnerships and relationships that are the result of our business.
We’re proud that, while working as a team and as a married couple has its challenges, we have grown as people, as a husband and wife and as artists and photographers.
We’re proud that this is our 7th consecutive year winning this award, thanks to you guys!
Finally, we are incredibly proud of our work. Being recognized for being one of the best at what you do is a shot in the arm to say the least, and a fantastic way to start 2016. So, thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Award winners in our industry are often selected by the host organization, but the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® winners are determined solely based on reviews from real newlyweds and their experiences working with Pixels On Paper. This means a lot to us! WeddingWire’s award-winning vendors are distinguished for the quality, quantity, consistency and timeliness of the reviews they have received from their past clients.
Additionally, Pixels will be highlighted within the WeddingWire Network, which is comprised of more than 200,000 wedding professionals all over North America and abroad and includes leading wedding sites beyond WeddingWire, such as Project Wedding, Brides.com, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Weddingbee.
We wanted to share a few of the reviews that helped us win and help tell our story. It goes without saying that we love and appreciate our clients so sincerely, but hearing them describe us in these reviews shows that the feelings are mutual. Not only is it very, very cool, but it’s professionally satisfying. The reviews mean even more than the award. If you are a client of ours and would like to add a review to WeddingWire for us, we welcome it and would love it!
“Pixels On Paper Photography is more than just a couple who takes pictures (amazing pictures!) Misty and Ryan got to know me and my husband so that they were able to capture the special moments between us on our special day. Anyone can take pictures and yes some have “special eye” but the amount of talent and special techniques they have as a team are unbelievable. Taking the time to get to know your clients before the event and even stay in touch after makes the biggest difference. We have found our family photographers for life!! I would highly recommend them to anyone for any event.”
“We used them for both our engagement shots and wedding. We were 100% confident that the pictures would turn out amazing and did not have to worry about a thing.”
“It was important for us to have photographers that we got along with because we knew that they’d be with us for the entire wedding day! Misty and Ryan were so much fun to work with and be around. They were also very prompt in delivering our proofs! Our photos were posted online 12 days after our wedding! We came back from our honeymoon and were able to enjoy our photos– it renewed all the warm feelings that we’d had on our wedding day. Thanks to Pixels On Paper for capturing our special day!”
Here we are …. on vacation out west. It’s not ALL photography and graphic design, y’all.
“My daughter was running late getting to the remote mountain venue from having her hair done in the nearby town. Misty and Ryan were purely professional and seemed to not have a care in the world. They gave my daughter time to get her make-up done and began taking her preparation photos. They know exactly what moments to capture and they do it well. Misty noticed during the ceremony that my daughter’s veil was on backwards and positioned most photos in a way that it wasn’t so noticeable. She immediately corrected it before taking the after ceremony shots. I felt more like my best friends were taking the photos that day. This incredible husband and wife team made everyone feel at ease. We were all able to relax and enjoy the moments. I am a memory fanatic and take tons of pictures at any event that I attend. I must say, I started the ceremony with a camera in hand but quickly realized this was something I didn’t need to do. I really could count on Misty and Ryan to capture every single moment as well as all the small details. Amazing team even more amazing photos!”
“Ryan and Misty Case are AMAZING. We purchased a photography package that included engagement photos, bridal portraits and wedding day photos for a great price. We shot our engagement portraits along the Blue Ridge Parkway and the bridal and wedding portraits in Charlotte, NC – the flexibility that they have to travel where we wanted was great and very easy to coordinate. Both photographers were professional, creative and absolutely incredible to work with. Immediately we felt like we’d known each other for years. On the day of our wedding, Ryan and Misty were completely organized, kept us on schedule, made us laugh and captured so many beautiful shots throughout the day that we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Pixels on Paper rocks!!!!”
“These photographers are true artists and can really do some creative things when you let them do whatever they want! I wanted non-traditional and just let them have at it. Best decision of my life (well, second best–after accepting my husband’s marriage proposal!)”
“I love that [Misty & Ryan] work so well together. It’s like they read each others minds.”
[Quick aside: honestly, we do read each others minds on photo shoots… for the most part. Other times – we’re like everyone else who’s married. You think you’re communicating seamlessly one minute and the next you’re saying, “wait – WHAT?!!“]
“As MOB [mother of the bride], my job was to show up in a field, carry cold water and a dress train through a field. Little did I know, I was about to meet two exceptionally talented and excited people who wanted our daughter’s bridal photos to be even more spectacular than she imagined. Misty & Ryan’s enthusiasm and vision have provided our families with moments we all will treasure … They not only took superb photos, but also blended into the fabric of the day, making being comfortable in front of their cameras as natural as can be. The hardest part is choosing which photos to keep! I would highly recommend their elegant style and innovative ideas to anyone.”
Another favorite from a High Country wedding with a thoroughly Scottish vibe (rain included).
Believe it or not, it’s the start of the season and we’re looking forward to the proposal, engagement, bridal and wedding sessions we’ll have in 2016 and 2017. We’re booking now, so call (336.990.0080) or email us and let’s get started.
What it’s all about: faith, togetherness, inclusivity, collaboration, creativity, joy and good lighting!
For more information about Pixels, please check us out at the WeddingWire Storefront and if you want to learn more about the Couple’s Choice Awards®, please do!
About WeddingWire
WeddingWire, the leading technology company serving the $100 billion wedding and events industry, is the largest online vertical marketplace connecting engaged couples with event professionals. With more than two million consumer reviews, it is the industry leader in consumer reviews. The site enables engaged couples to search, compare and book from an extensive database of more than 200,000 recently reviewed event professionals, from venues to photographers. WeddingWire provides event professionals with the technology they need to serve their clients, including a SaaS platform, which powers advertising, marketing, and CRM needs of local wedding and events businesses nationwide.