At summer’s end, we tend to think that weddings are a done deal, and for the most part, they are. But there are more than a few couples who prefer an autumn wedding. The temps are cooler and there are opportunities for gorgeous decorations and in beautiful venues. These are some of our favorites.
Fall light is decidedly NOT summer sun. It’s elegant and combined with brisk air, turning leaves and an earlier hour for shawls and fires, make autumn a perfect time to get married in the North Carolina mountains. Locations with vistas and panoramic mountain views mean that there are loads of options for getting not only great group shots, but the images of newlyweds that will one day be family heirlooms.
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, 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 work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States LicenseAll photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
People like Ryan and myself who are in the wedding industry, feel spring and summer rushing our way like a runaway train. It’s always fun, but it’s a busy time of year. The first day of spring was just marked off the calendar and we’re gearing up for Merlefest, prom, graduation and of course weddings of all sorts. For the next month or so, we’ll be focusing on all the aspects of the wedding season and celebrating one of life’s biggest celebrations. Today, I want to share more from our 14 years in the business of photographing weddings!
Whether we’re capturing the couple alone or surrounded by their crew of family and friends, the setting or the details, the rush and hubbub of a wedding is exhilarating.
Stay tuned, wedding fans, because there is much more to come on the wedding front.
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,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 work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License All photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
So a couple of things stuck with me after this recent photo session (read: party). One, I love it when people understand the true value of a printed photo. It’s not because it’s my profession to take pictures, it’s because I feel like I’ve met a landsman… someone from “my homeland or country” who appreciates what I appreciate. I value printed images. I love seeing framed photos at people’s homes when I’m there. I love thinking of them deciding that that particular image was so wonderful, they printed it, framed it and put it on a mantel, office desk or bedside table. They thought, “I want to see this as often as possible and to be reminded.”
Two, it stuck with me that lovers of printed photos know that images are not only daily pieces of joy, they can last longer than a life.
When Ryan photographed the celebration of 50 years of marriage for Kate and Otis McNeil, Kate said “Not to be morbid, but truly a complement to your work: These are the photos we are proud to have displayed at our funeral whenever that day comes.” And she wasn’t morbid, or sad or even wistful. She meant it and that means the world to us.
Kate & Otis McNeil celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on December 8th of 2018 (their actual anniversary is December 22, 1968) with a massive party at The Event Center at Summit Square in Winston Salem, NC. So much thought, effort, preparation, coordination and love went into making this a special evening.
Family and friends came from all of the US to reunite and celebrate.
In speaking with Kate during the months leading up to the event to coordinate the photos it was obvious what a momentous occasion this was for her and Otis. We loved that it was not lost on them how important marriage is and what a triumph of love, commitment and fortitude 50 years is.
Kate wanted to make sure that we captured the party atmosphere, but she was especially keen that Ryan took plenty of posed and candid images of all their family that would be in attendance. So we coordinated family members photos prior to the event start time, much like a wedding.
After the event, Kate and Otis ordered images of their kids, grandkids and themselves and many members of their extended families have also ordered photos of themselves with their children’s families. It fills me up thinking of all those family members, spread out all over the country, seeing the same images from that day hanging somewhere in their homes.
If you take the time to celebrate a life, a marriage, a graduation, a birth – and you plan a gathering or party around it with guests and family, really make it an event – we encourage you to hire a photographer to capture those images that you’ll want to see on your desk and look at daily and those you’ll want people to remember you by later.
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, 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 work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2019 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
According to the couple, their favorite moment was just after the ceremony, when they realized “we really are married – the dream is real” and could bask in it. A close second and third were being with their families before the ceremony and the reception where everyone could chat, mix, mingle and eat afterwards.
What we loved was how they incorporated so much heritage. Courtney did this for her bridal portraits as well. Generations of family china patterns from both sides were used as the place settings during the reception and the decor used featured orchard and farm elements including homestead doors, ladders, and apple crates.
Both Courtney and Cody were relaxed and excited throughout the entire day and Cody in his normal comedic fashion caused a roar of laughter when he wore a head lamp to remove Courtney’s garter.
Courtney told us how quickly they felt it all went by, but that – if given the chance for a do-over – they wouldn’t have changed a thing.
Here’s a little more about their vendors:
Wedding Gown: Bridal Traditions
Wedding coordinator /planner: Cathy Snipes
Wedding and reception venue: Gambill Estate
Videographer: Our Story Video Creations
DJ or band: Block Party Productions
Caterer: Michelle and Mike Mizelle
Flowers, Cake and Desserts: Family
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, 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 work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License
All photos are ©2018 Pixels On Paper. Do not copy, crop, or remove watermark.
Our photography foundations series continues with bridal portraits. Ladies……… we love doing these. You look beautiful – ALL OF YOU. You’re hair and makeup are done and you’re wearing one of the most glamour dresses you’re ever going to own and in the right setting, it’s magical.
We’ve taken bridal portraits months before the wedding, weeks or days before and even after the wedding has taken place. Sometimes, the timetable doesn’t work out and we are more than happy to see the bride again in the same or a different setting after she’s a Mrs.