Posts Tagged: charlotte nc wedding photographer
engagement photos for a couple heading into their second (destined) marriage
What once was lost, now is found.
Andy wasn’t lost, but finding Amber was akin to finding his other half. We know – it’s a cliché, but it’s true. People who belong together become family almost immediately and family is like that. We drag each other to the center, we raise each other’s game and we find ourselves wanting to be our best selves when we’re with the loves of our lives.
Their story is very near and dear to us, as Andy is actually a member of our family (first cousin). We photographed them in a casual mountain setting just down the road from where we cousins played growing up. Talk about a labor of pure love.
This is a second marriage for these two. After their first marriages ended, they were introduced and found that they were perfect for each other, ready for a new chapter and wanted to head into it arm and arm….. and arm! Andy has a daughter, Ashlyn, who loves her step-mom-to-be and Amber treats her soon-to-be stepdaughter like her own child. It’s beautiful to see and important to celebrate, we think. Sometimes first marriages don’t end the way that we want, but second marriages are a rebirth and a sign that hope not only exists, it triumphs. These two are proof of that. We loved that Ashlyn wanted to be a part of the photo session and is such an important piece, and focus, of their newly joined lives. She’s already benefitting from their union.
We photographed Andy and Amber’s wedding on August 1st and it was beautiful. You’ll see the results soon! Meanwhile, are you getting REmarried or know someone who is? Contact us! Love prevails, people, in all of its forms!
11 years feels about right – let’s get married!*
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness, and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
On Marriage, by Kahil Gibran
*So you knew there had to be more….
Sarah Crisp and Danny Clampett have been together for 11 years and engaged for most of that. They are in love and committed, but never felt driven to stress themselves with planning a wedding. Instead, they focused on each other and let their love be that moving sea between them. And, more practically, planning a wedding is for wedding planners and those who really want to do it and have the time and inclination to put all of the pieces together.
Sarah and Danny are not any of these types. They just wanted to live their lives. They would begin to plan and then life’s other priorities would sneak in and hijack the momentum. But once they decided to dive in and really do it (after a decade) – it happened within months. It tumbled out!
Even though Sarah is a girlie girl (one of 4 girls in her family), she made Danny – a country boy – feel at home in a more rustic environment for their engagement portraits. We photographed them in Davidson, NC and they were, ARE, just a truly beautiful pair.
Stay tuned for their wedding pics!!
50 years of marriage and finally a wedding reception
1965, like any year in the US, was filled with tragedies that made you shake your head and moments that made you cheer and filled you with hope.
The Beatles were touring and fans were spilling out of every continent.
Muhammed Ali dropped Sonny Liston like a sack of dirt in the boxing ring.
Tear gas filled the air in Selma, Alabama as demonstrators stood up for equal voting rights on “Bloody Sunday.”
Lew Alcindor, New York City’s basketball wonder hit the scene. We knew him later as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The U.S. was active in Vietnam and struggling to determine our role, our commitment and our potential losses.
Ed White became the first American to conduct a spacewalk for Gemini 4.
And the earth turned on its axis. People met and fell in love and got married.
And this is exactly what Lucille and Frank Vannoy did.
On March 20, 1965, along with two of Lucille’s friends as their witnesses, they “ran away” to South Carolina to get married by a justice of the peace.
No big ceremony, no pictures, no party.
So for their 50th, Lucille wanted a wedding reception and that’s what their children gave them.
Like all great wedding receptions, the Vannoy’s included a beautiful cake, a fabulous spread of food and drink, family, friends, stories and laughter.
Frank was upfront with us that he wasn’t a “take my picture” kinda guy, so we took the list of photos one wants at a wedding reception and before we knew it, Frank was coming to find either Ryan or myself to photograph him with friends and neighbors!
Any couple who can make it work for 50 years deserves a party this great!
So that they could remember the day and enjoy the memories, Pixels created a custom formal wedding album for Lucille and Frank. Cheers to them and to the next 50 years!
outside bridal portraits in blowing rock, nc on a rainy day and #wemadeithappen
We never know what we’re going to be up against when a portrait session is scheduled outside – whether it’s on a location or at our own outdoor studio in Wilkesboro, NC. After Sarah and her fiancé Danny’s engagement photos were rained out and rescheduled TWICE, we moved up the bridal shoot so it ended up happening before their engagement session. Not our usual order, but we will not be defeated by weather! We took the postal service pledge when we got into this business, so it takes a lot to make us say no.
Thank goodness, Sarah is as spunky and nimble as we are.
Sarah had her hair styled near her home in Bessemer City, NC and then made the drive to Blowing Rock, NC for the session. It is a beautiful spot and where the couple got married a month later, but on this day – wait for it – it rained. Again. In between showers, we carried the dress and veil and ran to the cars, waited for it to stop and then jumped out and did it all over again. It was memorable to say the least and honestly more fun than we expected. And Sarah is so beautiful. Her gown, her flowing locks, she was part princess, part mermaid, part woodland fairy and all bride.
One of the other reasons this session was memorable and fun was that her father, a retired military officer of 30+ years, and sister came with her to the property in Blowing Rock. They were a perfect addition to the day. Dad decided to come when he heard that 2 of his 4 daughters were driving that distance for the shoot and he wanted to follow them home to make sure they made it. Don’t you love this guy? Big and mighty, but a tender father of 4 girls who are all “Daddy’s Girl.” He carried the veil, the bouquet and even held our lights against the wind.
It takes a village sometimes to create a bridal shoot, but this one had the right crew and a happy ending. Stay tuned to see the engagement and wedding photos for Sarah and Daniel. We cannot wait to share.
engagement photos from a first date …… sorta
Last October, Pixels participated in the Pumpkin Patch (I’ll pause here so you can wipe the spittle off of your face). The Pumpkin Patch was designed and hosted by the Midtown Garden Market in North Wilkesboro, NC and we loved being a part of its inaugural year. At our photo booth, we were able to see former and current clients and met new ones. Jamie Goforth and Daniel Harrison were two new people we met and we took a pic of them that included Daniel’s young son. We loved them immediately! 5 months later, we saw them again at the Wilkes Wedding Expo and after chatting, it sealed our desire to work with them and them with us to capture their engagement photos.
Jamie and Daniel met in middle school, but found each other again many years later. Their first date was fueled by nerves that led to Jamie spilling a drink (a story they now tell through laughter) and they reminded us of us. [QUICK DIGRESSION: When Ryan and I first started dating, we went to The Landmark – still our favorite diner in Charlotte, NC – and the ketchup bottle exploded as I was doctoring my fries and I basically baptized myself with ketchup. You never know when a moment of mortification is going to be a story for your grandkids. Take that to heart, gang!]
Anyway, …. after that first date, there was a time of chasing and distance and then their paths crossed and they decided to go out again. What truly cemented it though was a trip to Asheville, NC and where they stayed at the famous Grove Park Inn.
At Grove Park, it was Daniel’s turn to spill a drink all over himself, Jamie, the waiter and the people next to them. Just kidding.
This is where they fell in looooove.
They sat out on that awesome porch, nay, veranda and Jamie played songs from her phone and they talked well into the night. At one point, they started dancing and it began to pour rain. Jamie said, “it was my kind of perfect.”
Shooting their engagement portraits where they had their first date – The Cody Creek Depot – was a blast.
When we asked them what they were looking forward to most on their wedding day (in Roaring Gap, NC in October of this year) they – these two are seriously cute – both said first seeing each other when Jamie comes down the aisle.
Grounded by their faith, their supportive families and each other, the pair has way more than a good shot at a golden anniversary someday.
In the meantime, they are dreaming about their next trip to the Grove Park Inn.
