Posts Tagged: charlotte nc wedding photographer
pixels’ vendor spotlight: edenhouse floral & events
Deanna Reid, owner of Edenhouse Floral & Events, has been a collaborator and co-conspirator of ours since 2013. In a word: talented.
Creative.
Inspiring. That’s 3 and we’re stopping there, but suffice it to say, she and her team do amazing work.
She’s created floral arrangements for weddings and events we’ve photographed, flower crowns for our portrait clients, and arrangements for our own personal needs. Ryan is wearing one of her flower crowns right now.
Kidding. But the truth is, Deanna brings the juice. Check out the below.
I think, on some level, we all believe that we can sort of “do our best” and get similar results to those of the professionals. Occasionally, this is true, but it’s rare. Deanna uses uses a huge array of flowers, and combines textures and objects in all of her designs. And she has a feel for clients and adds that spark that completes a vision.
We’ve heard nothing but rave reviews from our clients who’ve worked with Deanna, be it on price, service, communication or finished products. She is our go-to recommendation for floral needs. Deanna and her team also now offer wedding planning and coordination, applying their same organization, creative efforts and visions to an entire event.
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 church wedding …… literally
Before even stepping foot where the bride, bridesmaids and others were gathered, I heard Adrian’s infectious laugh and knew it was going to be a great day and all was ok. She was back. What a joy it was to watch and photograph all that excitement rolled into one tiny, beautiful bride. Throughout the ceremony she literally bounced with joy, giddy and eager to say her vows.
During the days leading up to her wedding day, when I spoke to Adrian she didn’t sound like her usual bubbly self. The typical wedding stress had gotten even to her. I was worried she had lost sight of what the day was all about and was letting the details and responsibility of pulling everything together take over her thoughts. Fortunately, the good juju won the day.
Not even one month ago, Adrian Bridges and Banks Church married each other at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, in Wilkesboro, NC. It was the southern, summer wedding some brides dream about and between the tender moments at the ceremony, the beautiful views at Camp Harrison at Herring Ridge where they had their reception, it was pretty sweet all around.
The groom is someone we’ve known for years and he’s way more comfortable in small groups than in crowds. In intimate settings, he’ll share stories of his farm, about his childhood and friends and latest adventures. Having all eyes on him on his wedding day was not optimal, to say the least. The shift in his posture and mood was remarkable though when he saw Adrian. No one else was there once she was by his side.
When asked about the best moments from their wedding, they told us that one was when everyone surrounded them and prayed for their marriage. Honestly, it was pretty amazing to watch. Both families and the entire wedding party joined at the altar, laid hands on Adrian and Banks and prayed for them. The entire congregation held hands and crossed the aisles to join in prayer as well. It’s something we don’t see often and was humbling and powerful and incredibly moving. We talk about corporate prayer, when whole communities come together. The couple’s “community” came together to pray just for them.
Mountain weddings are beautiful and so are mountain receptions. God bless gorgeous scenery and perfect weather. Pixels “does” rain, but it’s pretty fab when we can send our couple in any direction and get something memorable and lovely in our lenses.
Adrian and Banks told us that their favorite moments from the reception were the dancing and chatter with friends and family, the beautiful views at Herring Ridge and the ribbon wands everyone waved when they left for their honeymoon. It’s hard to describe other than to say there was just so much joy that day.
We hope all brides and grooms can have this kind of love for each other, have those who support them want nothing but cohesion, a Christ-centered marriage and success as a couple. They’ve started out well. Here’s to the next 50 years.
For those of you interested in details from the Bridges-Church wedding, the flowers were from Eden House, Adrian’s dress was from Did Someone Say Party; makeup was provided by Sharla Bance and the videography was captured by Hill City Productions.
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 #5 ~ hire a planner, avoid stress and dance more!
Did you hear that bell? Well, you know what that means!!! It’s time for another Wedding Redux, where we ask couples whose weddings we photographed to talk candidly (and helpfully) about things they loved and things they would change. It’s in the form of a Q&A, complete with friendly advice and feedback. Today’s couple – Elizabeth & Kyle Bishop – are faves of ours. We shot their engagement and bridal photos and then their amazing March wedding. Pay attention brides and grooms – their input is thoughtful and detailed!
YOU’RE MARRIED. You’ve done it! Now… IF you could plan and execute your wedding day all over again, what would you do more of?
Kyle: “Dancing. I wish we had been able to invite more people that would have danced with us. I think it would have made the reception more festive.”
Elizabeth: “Eating! Even though we tried to make sure ahead of time that we would get something to eat, we still only managed a few bites of the appetizers. We chose such yummy food for our guests and then didn’t get to enjoy any of it.” [PIXELS NOTE: Look for Kyle’s funny addition at the end of this blog about food. And sadly, we see this all the time. Great intentions to eat the food and then it never happens.]
What would you do less of?
Kyle: “Prep work. Hiring a wedding planner would have helped with that.”
Elizabeth: “A wedding planner definitely would have been nice to have, especially with all the other things we had going on while we were planning our wedding.”
This came up a couple of other times during the Q&A with these two. The wedding planner vs. friends and family debate. The Bishops told us how they wish they’d hired a planner to take the stress off of themselves and their many family and friends who stepped in and stepped up to help from the planning all the way through the day. It’s a tough call, when you have a budget, and Ryan and I certainly don’t get a kick-back if a couple decides to hire a planner. We just want happy couples. We’ve seen weddings planned with family and friends that were flawless and relatively stress-free but you never know. The key word is stress. So figure out ways to eliminate as much of it as possible.
What do you wish you’d done, but were afraid to do?
Kyle: “Learn a couples dance to break into for our first dance. That would have been pretty neat.”
Elizabeth: “A choreographed couples dance would have been a lot of fun, but neither of us is very confident in our dancing skills. Our friends and family probably would have loved it though!”
Positive and negative feedback (or advice) on any or all of the following:
Attire?
Elizabeth: “LET YOUR DRESS SHOPPING BE FUN! Going into shopping, I think a lot of brides stress about finding “the one” but we shouldn’t. The right dress at the right price IS out there and you will find it. It may not be at the first or second shop and that’s okay. It also might be at the first shop and that’s okay too. My gown was the third one I tried on and I insisted on trying several others because I thought “‘It can’t be this easy.'”
Food?
Kyle: “We liked the choice of food but the delivery was lackluster. Many people had to wait longer that we would have liked to eat.
Elizabeth: “Food was… a bit of an issue for us. Everything was delicious, but there seemed to be a lot of confusion between what we expected, what we were told we would have, and what we ended up with. Most of our guests didn’t realize there was any issue, but it was a source of stress for us leading up to the event and on the day of. Be sure that you know exactly what you’re getting, how it will be served, and what the kitchen’s plan for timing is.”
Flowers?
Elizabeth: “We were lucky enough to have my sister and maid-of-honor offer to make all of our flowers from various craft paper and book pages. It was a lot of work for her, but it was the prefect addition to our day and not having to worry about picking up flowers on the actual day was a big load off our minds. We did have a live flower bouquet to toss though. I was not about to throw one of my sister’s creations.”
Location?
Kyle: “We had our dream wedding. Boone was the best place for that.”
Elizabeth: “Where do you want to get married? Go there! We knew that no matter where we had our wedding, most of our family was going to have to travel several hours, so we chose somewhere WE wanted to get married. If you do have a wedding away from home, I would suggest providing your guests with a list of favorite restaurants and local activities. Many of our guests arrived the day before and spent time shopping or sight-seeing before our ceremony started.”
Elements of the ceremony?
Kyle: “The chapel was the right place. Again, somewhere special that we always wanted to get married.”
Elizabeth: “Your officiant can really make a big difference. We were lucky enough to have a family member that is also an amazing minister. Find someone that makes the two of you feel comfortable and who can speak to you as a couple.”
Number in the wedding party?
Elizabeth: “I always imagined a small wedding party, maybe three. At most four. I am, however, lucky for have a husband with a lot of friends and a desire to include them all. I admit, it stressed me out a few times along the way, trying to coordinate that many people, but in the end everything worked out well. Kyle’s guys were wonderful about helping with setup and all of my girls were perfect. My biggest piece of advice would be not to worry about tradition too much when it comes to your bridal party. I had a bridesman, who stood on my side and our grandmothers were our flower girls. Everyone loved them!”
Time of year? Time of day?
Kyle: “It was a perfect time of the year. We got snow and sun. What more could we ask for?”
Elizabeth: “I think these things are really personal to each couple. We knew we wanted a big party of a reception and that we wanted it at night, so that dictated our ceremony time. We also knew that we didn’t want our anniversary too close to either of our birthdays or any particularly important holidays. I would advise finding out when the peak wedding season is in your desired area, and then choosing a date a couple of weeks before or after that. Doing that helped us really stretch our budget.”
DJ vs. a band?
Kyle: “Our DJ was the best decision. We were able to pick out the songs that we wanted and direct the flow of the evening to our liking.
Elizabeth: “We wanted so many different kinds of music that a DJ was really the only way for us to go. Ours had a great song selection and managed everything really well. The only thing I would mention here is to make sure ahead of time that your DJ is comfortable announcing things during the reception. We assumed that was part of being a DJ and we were wrong.”
Vows?
Kyle: “Write your own and it will allow you to show how much you care about each other.”
Elizabeth: “We wrote our own and I loved it. I admit, I was nervous to read my own words in front of everyone, but it was ultimately more important to me that Kyle know exactly how I felt. My biggest advice here would be to speak up! I was so nervous and emotional that I wasn’t able to project very well and as a result, not all of our guests heard what I was saying.”
Name 3 things you would do differently, if, by some strange wrinkle in the universe, you could do it all again (to the same person of course):
1. Lock down the schedule of events for the reception so that everything is on time.
2. Hire a wedding planner to lower overall stress.
3. Have a pizza from Capone’s pizza for my grooms cake.
Name 3 things you would not change / would do the same:
1. Location and Time. I feel like our wedding was perfect.
2. Our photographers. They were the best vendor decision of the wedding. [THANKS, GUYS!]
3. The oldest couples dance got some people on the floor dancing that didn’t dance the entire night.
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 venue spotlight: holiday inn city center, charlotte
Wedding clients tend to search for locations that will do two handfuls of things really well, AND be easy to get to AND have great views, catering options, a Plan B space and all sorts of other amenities and accommodations. Take a thoughtful look at the Holiday Inn City Center Charlotte. This may be exactly what you’re casting for.
We want to see the sky, but be cool inside for our August wedding. Is that possible? Does the venue have rooms for everyone and places to gather between events? Can we be inside for the ceremony and then walk a short distance and be outside? Are there things to do around the venue? Can we dance underneath the stars at our reception?
Yes – to all of those. Charlotte is a big place, but you can gather those you love in one single spot and celebrate. The Holiday Inn has everything in terms of help with planning, catering, rooms, of course, a gorgeous open patio to say vows beneath and outside its walls is a city ready to be discovered and roamed and played in.
We’ve photographed lots of weddings there and the number of indoor and outdoor options for amazing photos, regardless of the time of year, is noteworthy. The windows and reflections, lighting and skyline are all perfect for weddings and parties of all kinds.
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 #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.