This was the wedding of Meghan and Josh in August of 2015. The groom made the arbor they stood beneath (a gift to his bride) and she walked down the aisle to Bruno Mars’ “Marry You.” There were amazing details in every direction – from the mountains behind them as they pledged to be together for life, to the bouquets, color choices, and reception where everyone danced and partied late into the evening and stayed for the weekend.
BUT. What if they could do it again….? Do it all over again.
If you’re planning your wedding – listen up.
We asked Meghan and Josh what they would change and here is what they said. [insert the high-pitched rewind sound here and clip of everything moving at top speed in reverse]
Name 3 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 wouldn’t worry about a shuttle service to get people to and from town. I wouldn’t book vendors based solely on price and I wouldn’t try to do things I wasn’t completely happy with just to save money.
Name 3 things you would do again, if you could?
I would definitely do a small destination like we did where we all stayed in cabins together for the weekend so it was an extended celebration. I would still have my personal and humorous wedding. I would use my florist, caterer, and my photographers a million times over.
Tell us about vows. Any changes?
I LOVED our vows! We wrote our own and they were completely original and US. They were humorous, but still sweet.
How about the number of guests?
DO NOT invite everyone you have ever known and don’t worry about people getting their feelings hurt. Throughout this process, I started to notice that for every person we added to the guest list, we were adding approximately $75/head. This is where I should have cut my budget instead of scrimping on other things or trying to put too much work on myself.
Did you use a wedding planner or the “family-and-friends-all-hands-on-deck” approach to planning?
I had a planner and don’t know how we would have done it without her. I wish we had utilized her even more instead of me trying to do it myself to save money! I tried to do a lot of things on my own or use people who were “cheaper” to try to cut costs. I would have paid the extra amount and had everything taken care of and not worried about it! Do you notice a trend here?!
Time of year? Time of day?
I never wanted an August wedding, but then I never planned a wedding until I had to. August was perfect! Late summer was perfect for my colors and the time of day and location (on top of a mountain) made the weather absolutely unbelievable!
Location?
My fiancé and I wanted something that was natural and gorgeous, which is exactly what we got. We had to go way out in the county to find this, and didn’t want people to worry about driving. We wound up spending more money for a shuttle service to and from town and up and down the mountain than if we had just paid extra somewhere else. We had to rent two sets of chairs because of two separate locations, get generators, and lug things up and down the mountain just to try to get everything we needed into this “natural” space.
What about the elements of the ceremony?
Make it ALL about you! Traditional or not, putting your personal touches on these makes all the difference in the world and it is what your guests will remember.
Decorations & decor?
Make sure they fit your venue. I wanted glitz and glamour mixed with the natural space and additional vintage elements. Sometimes your venue is decoration enough!
Number in the wedding party?
I would suggest going with the smallest number of people possible. My 6 were perfect, but the smaller the better.
Positive and negative advice on any or all of the following:
Attire?
Dress in things that will look good, but also fit your location.
Food?
EAT! I said, “oh we are GOING to eat!”…then we didn’t. We loved the food we selected and then we didn’t even get our to-go boxes.
Gifts?
Don’t register for things you have no intention of using, regardless of what people think you need!
Flowers?
My flowers were one of the TOP things that made my wedding! The colors were gorgeous and tied together my color scheme perfectly! In an attempt to save money, I tried to use potted plants at the altar, but I should have let my florist do those as well.
What, if anything, do you regret?
I don’t regret anything, however, there are a few family members that I wish I would have taken pictures with before they left. I wanted the majority of the pictures done before the ceremony so that we could use the full time for the reception. I had some older family members I assumed were going to stay through part of the reception, but they left right after the ceremony, so they aren’t in any of my photos.
What do you wish you’d done, but were afraid to do?
There are a few moments of my wedding that I wish had been slightly more serious, but that is just not my personality. I was scared to have anything even slightly sentimental because I knew I would cry, so I did everything in my power to make sure that I didn’t break down.
What would you do more of?
If I could do it over, I think I would have enjoyed things more. I don’t say that to mean I didn’t enjoy it, but it was a very stressful time, and I went through different phases and a boat load of emotions. I had days where everything mattered and I didn’t care about the cost; other days, I wasn’t spending a dime, and nothing was a big deal because it was just a “celebration.” Looking back, I see that these were things I will only get to do one time and I would have cherished every moment even more if I had truly had a concept of this.
Stay tuned for more in this series — Wedding Redux, especially if you’re a bride-to-be, maid of honor, mother-of-the-bride or newly engaged. Hearing from those who’ve stood where you are about to stand can make all the difference in the world.
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.
It’s winter. It hasn’t felt like it completely yet, but the cold is coming and winter in the NC mountains is stunning. Snow on the ground, leafless trees, broad meadows and our awesome mountains make a perfect landscape. This time of year is an opportunity for portraits that are unique, creative and cool (insert snarky laugh track here).
Honestly, we wish more brides would consider portraits this time of year and not shy away from the elements. We’re all accustomed to the greens, yellows, and pinks of spring, but winter white is breathtaking and bridal portraits this time of year turn out to be singular, and with an equally beautiful palette. Barren trees and dormant grounds can still be amazing in the dead of winter. A beautiful bride will stand out even more against such a backdrop.
Even though not much snow remained on the ground during these shots, we set up this shoot with our gorgeous model, Tiffany Roope and once accessorized, she was the winter princess of each portrait.
We live in a part of the country that knocks our socks off, and then requires that we promptly put them right back on. BE BOLD! Have you thought about bridal portraits that are different from what you’ve seen or taken into consideration engagement portraits that creatively showcase a fall or winter landscape? Don’t be afraid to try something that might not have occurred to you before. The results can be unforgettable. Our reviews will tell you that we are creative and adventurous, but we are friends and guides also. We will not steer you wrong.
Contact us for bridal portraits by phone – 336.990.0080 – or email. We’re booking and would love a chance to work with you to do something new!
By the way – Tiffany’s dress & accessories were provided by Bridal Traditions Wedding Attire.
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.