This summer, Ryan and I are working, of course. But we’re also “having a summer” and so far it has been filled with some travel, 2 birthdays, a storm that sent tree limbs through the roof of our 100+ year old house and watching our small but mighty (MIGHTY, I SAY) garden yield glorious veggies. Here are some highlights (and lowlights). We love you guys. Hope your summers are safe and fun and plentiful, as well.
Late July and the garden keeps giving.
Our summer has also included a usual southern visitor – storms. North Carolina (both the piedmont and mountains) have seen daily thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings for days on end and often with the fanfare of thunder and lightening as well. I love what rain does to our garden, but the more harsh storms in Wilkes County have been doozies. One in particular, in early July hit the Pixels homestead. Our neighbors were without power and sustained lots of damage. I thank God for a sturdy husband, no loss of power, crews ready to come in and no personal injuries. It could have been worse, but it wasn’t.
Food, storms, repair, recovery and …… birthdays. We both have summer birthdays and celebrated with great food and time together away from deadlines.
Of course, we’ve been wandering and spending time with friends as well.
We love to travel all over the states, but southern summers are pretty wonderful. We’re grateful for each other, for our family, friends and clients, for getting to do what we love and for 4 seasons and all they bring with them. Autumn is still “a ways off,” so we’re going to stay in the good company of summer for now.
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.
This is where it began. Two book lovers. Two romantics. Elizabeth and Kyle met working at a game store in college, realized they were both nuts for Dr. Who, books and each other. These two feel like family already to us and in fact their extended families do as well. We photographed their engagement portraits (a BLAST) and Elizabeth’s bridal portraits (gorgeous and romantic) and now, finally, the big day – just one month ago. It’s one for the books, for sure.
Everyone was emotional, naturally, but what we noticed most was how much unbridled love they all have for each other. Seeing Elizabeth with her parents was priceless.
Expectant groom Kyle was nervous and serene, fun with his groomsmen as was Elizabeth with her bridesmaids and bridesman. If you haven’t revisited their engagement session or her bridal portraits, there is a very cool detail in the bouquets and boutonnieres. They were all HAND-MADE with pages from each person’s favorite book. The color in the bouquets, groomsmen’s vests and elsewhere? Dr. Who “blue.”
Elizabeth and Kyle’s wedding took place at the First Baptist Church in Boone, NC and the reception was held at The Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock, NC. Family members played major roles. Sometimes this is the case, but not always. Elizabeth and Kyle included many friends from childhood and college as well.
Some memorable moments for us: Kyle saved a voice message from his recently deceased grandfather congratulating Kyle on his engagement to Elizabeth and it was played during the unity portion of their ceremony. Everyone wept, including us. A recording of Elizabeth’s deceased Godfather singing was also played. We loved their thought and attention to detail.
Another fave….. Kyle and Elizabeth’s four grandmothers were the flower girls! It was seriously one of the best ideas that I’ve seen at a wedding and the Grandmothers loved it.
When we asked about most memorable moments Kyle and Elizabeth were in lock step.
Kyle: “I cried when I first saw Elizabeth walking down the aisle. She had the biggest smile you could imagine on her face while silently mouthing to me ‘do you like it?’ in reference to the dress. It’s an image that is burned into my memory.“
Elizabeth: “My favorite moment of the ceremony was seeing Kyle waiting at the end of the aisle and watching him watching me. He never stopped looking at me and I could tell in that moment that he was sure of every decision that led us to that moment.”
Like the wedding, with tears and laughter – the pastor kept things light in all the right places – the reception was filled with levity, tears, toasts, passion, family, crazy friends and DANCING. The speeches in particular were heart-felt, fun and meant so much to the bride and groom. Elizabeth told us that she snagged one given to save in their memory book.
Kyle: “The cherry on top was having over forty people form a circle during the last song and all sing Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. It summed up the immense energy that surrounded the entirety of the event. I’m still trying to track down a video of everyone singing at the top of their lungs.”
Elizabeth: “I think my favorite moment of the reception was our first dance. We were in front of everyone, but we were really only there for each other in those few minutes. I also really enjoyed our last dance. Out of nowhere, everyone still there got in a huge circle with arms all around each other and we sang Bohemian Rhapsody together while people danced in the middle, laughed, and cried a little!!”
Elizabeth: “SNOW! Kyle had been telling everyone that he wanted it to snow, but I was keeping pretty quiet about that. I wanted it, but I was afraid to say it out loud and then be disappointed. God decided to give us our wish and I was so happy to see it in our home-away-from-home in those gorgeous mountains. So many people traveled so far to be with us! We had family that has known us all our lives, friends we just made in the past year, former teachers, friends of our parents … so many people celebrating with us … and our friend, Oscar, made it back from his year in China less than a week before. It was a wonderful surprise.”
Dr. Who used a tardis (time machine) to get where he needed to go. Elizabeth and Kyle are well on their way, with or without one. Best wishes! We love you guys!
Kyle: “I can’t believe that we actually pulled off what we consider to be our dream wedding.”
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.
Every wedding contains a universe of memories that belong to a single couple.
And we love the continuum that leads to this… a gorgeous bride encased in her veil and a happy man waiting for her.
Thanks to our job and God’s hand, couples share that continuum and universe with us.
How they met, who spilled a drink, who was nervous, who made the first joke, what the proposal was like, setting the date, the excitement, all of the weird and traditional family ideas, friends who got involved, elements that are particular to them …..
Each one is as different as each couple, because each one is a singular story that is theirs for the rest of their lives, to be told again and again. Our job is to capture and celebrate.
Jamie Goforth and Daniel Harrison’s wedding in October of 2015 was a celebration of their complete story…… to date.
Jamie’s bridal portraits were so fun to capture. You like mountains, cars and beauty? Have a look.
Quick flashback of their engagement: these two met in middle school, but reconnected many years later. After some time, distance and chasing, they sealed the deal at the luxurious Grove Park Inn. Now fast forward to the below. A new family made up of Jamie, Daniel and Daniel’s son. A kid in a suit. Are you kidding me?! He was a perfect groomsman and sweet as the day is long.
The wedding ceremony was held at Camp Cheerio in Glade Valley, NC and their awesome and VERY LIVELY reception was in Roaring Gap at High Meadows Country Club where there was dancing, the shoe game, toasts and too much fun with their favorite people. We asked them about “best moments” from their reception and Jamie said, “How do we pick? Being announced as Mr. & Mrs. Harrison, our first dance as husband and wife, and talking to all of our friends and family.”
If only there was a behind the scenes photo of us taking the images below….
Both photos represent a far longer story (of collaboration and balance and coordination) than we can share in a blog post, so for now picture this: Ryan was kneeling down capturing the silhouette image on the left while I was leaning over his back with my camera directly above (almost on top of) his head capturing the image on the right. Both at the exact same time. Two different techniques and two different visions. When a couple of photographers, married no less, capture wedding photos, there is this crazy breaking of some 6th, 7th, 8th wall or entering of a new dimension that occurs. I’m still blown away that after 10 years working together how different and perfect our individual perspectives are in their own right. We continue to work together seamlessly to represent a moment in time. We are a team — both lead photographers — and we compliment each other in a way that only a husband and wife can.
Pixels on Paper is now booking sessions for proposals, bridal, engagements, and weddings for 2016 and 2017 and we’d love to be a part of capturing and celebrating your continuum. Call 336.990.0080 or email us and we’ll do our part in making your story memorable.
For generations, a formal, in-studio bridal portrait was the only game in town and there is a reason for that: they were classic and beautiful and often placed in gilded frames and given a place of prominence in the formal living rooms of people’s homes. In this post-modern age of outdoor portraits, studio bridals are a dying breed. Couples now have a specific vision that begins with quirky (often funny) and inventive ways to announce their engagement, then create their save the date cards, launch a website and finally produce a narrative that is singular to them. The genie is out of the bottle, folks and at Pixels, we embrace this and love the opportunity to create unique portraits that tell a story in an unexpected backdrop. I have to say though that I still love and appreciate tradition and the experience that it takes to create a formal portrait with studio lighting. We had this opportunity with Elisabeth, the beauty you see below.
Elisabeth is an only child and her Mom always envisioned having a traditional, formal, studio bridal portrait of her daughter to hang in their home. Of course we were eager not only to honor this request, but to exceed expectations. I spoke to her mom and got a sense of what she had in mind. This mother-of-the-bride wanted a hand-painted muslin backdrop for some photos and mentioned that she loved images of brides on staircases. Fortunately our studio has both!While the studio bridal portraits feel more like they’re from a by-gone era, they are a perfect foil for the outdoor engagement portraits we took of Elisabeth Isaac…
… and their glorious wedding photos. If you haven’t read their story of doing pretty much everything in reverse, launch the links. It’s worth the read. These two are an inspiration.
Pixels on Paper is now booking sessions (both traditional and crazy creative) for proposals, bridal, engagements, and weddings for 2016 and 2017 and we’d love to help create memories and heirlooms of your journey from “yes” to “I do.” Call 336.990.0080 and let’s discuss this adventure you’ve begun.