Posts Tagged: outdoor wedding photos
weddings: it’s time to bake, er…. book YOURS!
I love to cook. If you know me, know about our house and garden, or if you read the blog from summer 2016, you’re aware that I enjoy growing things, cooking the produce and herbs I’ve grown, trying new recipes, canning veggies, etc. Ryan and I are foodies. And we love craft beer as well.
Before you head down the rabbit holes those hyperlinks can lead you down, let me say: I was thinking while reading through a cookbook recently, how very much cooking and especially baking is like planning a wedding. You need the right ingredients, the right environmental elements, good timing and all sorts of other factors in place in order to end up with something you want to devour and share and photograph. The rub is that you get one shot at a wedding vs. a cookbook author or home cook who can test and test recipes until triumph is inevitable.
Amy Adams as Julie from “Julie & Julia” – Sony Pictures
Really good recipes begin with a story. The “why” of what’s being prepared. So do relationships. How’d you meet? Who said I love you first? What made you decide that being apart was not an option? Most stories behind recipes have to do with how amazing the combination of ingredients is and why so many generations of cooks or family members have made this or that item.
Eggs are eggs. Flour is flour. But combine them and STAND BACK!!!
When we book engagements, one of the first things we do is learn your story. Yes, we ask about locations for the shoot, but we also want to know you and I am confident that we get the photos we get of our clients and we become friends with so many of them because we take learning about you seriously – and discovering the elements and ingredients that make you special as a couple.
Bride, groom, landscape, sky …. all of the elements are there.
Bride and bride, Spanish moss, water, Charleston: DONE.
Our couple at Asheville’s Biltmore Estate in autumn.
No sooner do you mix up the ingredients for an engagement session than it’s time to plan the wedding. As photographers, ours is only one part – albeit an important one.
Who asked for sprinkles??
There is weather to consider when cooking up your wedding day plan; the guest list, the gown purchase and alterations, the suits or tuxes to rent, the choices of chocolate or strawberry, sit down or buffet, band or DJ, mountains or coast, outdoors or church and on it goes. A vanilla cake is a blank canvas and once you’ve chosen your actual wedding date and location – it feels sort of limitless. To my mind, it should be fun. “Please let it be fun – and meaningful” – we pray for our clients. We so hope that it is. Even the elements that don’t come together are rarely noticed by guests. They see the environment, listen to the vows, hear the music, enjoy the experience. Guests don’t worry about the eggs when they’re enjoying the cake, you know?
Sunlight, outdoors, surrounded by family.
Throwback Renaissance gown, bride and perfect weather.
A farm and an intimate hug.
The outcome is most often lovely and delicious and our job is to capture it. What has been fun these 11+ years is seeing the same elements combined with a variety of results. Church weddings, outdoor weddings, small gatherings, casts of thousands, at the end of the day it’s still a cake, or for my purposes it’s still 2 people who enter that day single and leave it as someone’s spouse.
It’s the end of January and we aren’t the pressuring type, but if you’re planning your wedding for 2017 and haven’t booked your photographer, we hope you will do so and choose us. We are proud to be recognized for our wedding photography by friends and fans and by WeddingWire, among others.
Next week! ONION RINGS….kidding. Contact us with questions. For those of you who know us…. we love you!
wedding redux #4: nice and simple
This wedding, between Jamie Goforth and Daniel Harrison, was windy and gorgeous. The two can coexist, and if you check out their portraits from the day, you’ll see. As part of our series where we ask the bride and groom for feedback to share for future nuptials, here are some insights from Jamie.
“I wish that I had used more flowers in my ceremony and reception, but both locations had lots of natural beauty.
We were married at an outside chapel in Glade Valley, NC. It was windy and cold on the day of the wedding. My bridesmaids wore leggings under their dresses (LOL). I would tell those planning a wedding to remember to think about how the weather will be on the day of your wedding.”
Number in the wedding party and number of guests — any thoughts or changes? “We had 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen, 1 flower girl and 1 ring bearer. This was a large party but I knew that I wanted and needed them all by my side the day of the wedding. We had around 150 guests and I think that was a nice number, but more than we really wanted. I personally think the smaller the better with the amount of guests.” [As a couple who’ve photographed more weddings than we care to count, we loved the honesty in that answer. It’s important to know who you want and need with you on your wedding day. It will matter later more than you can imagine. Just saying…]
Time of year? Time of day? “We had a fall wedding in the mountains, 4PM and the leaves were beautiful on the trees that time of day. It was a little chilly, as I mentioned, though.”
DJ vs. a band? “I preferred a live band, but they were much more expensive, so I went with a DJ and the reception was great… a LOT of participation on the dance floor!”
Wedding planner or “family-and-friends-all-hands-on-deck” approach to planning? “I think that having a wedding planner is better than all hands on deck. This is so there is only one person to go to for everything. That one person will know what you want in your wedding and if others want to assist they can. Just have the wedding planner approve it.”
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). “I would have had a cocktail hour while taking our pictures after the ceremony. I feel like the whole day was a blur, I would try to slow down and take it all in. I would have eaten, instead of just taking a few bites, but of course I wanted to talk with all of our guests.”
Most important piece of advice: “Tailor the ceremony to who you are as a couple. Daniel and I love camp fires and s’mores so we had a fire in the fireplace at the reception with a s’mores bar for our guests.
Make the day about what you envision and not what other people want or think it should be. It was honestly the best day of my life and I got to enjoy it with all my family and friends.”
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 part 2 ~ MORE SAGE ADVICE
“Don’t worry about pleasing everyone else. It’s YOUR wedding, so do what you want to do!! You will enjoy it even more if it’s everything you imagined it would be.”
Part II of our series, Wedding Redux, takes advantage of the insight of Whitney Pegg Parsons, married last year at Williams Farm. Have a peek at their wedding and then enjoy Whitney’s feedback.
What would you do less?
Stress about the situations you can’t change. Something is going to end up happening which causes some detail to perhaps not turn out the way you wanted. It’s just like life; you have to roll with it.
Positive or negative feelings or comments about any of the following?
Attire.
Do your research! Look at more than one place before deciding who you’ll buy your gown and dresses from.
Gifts.
Go with what is sentimental. You want to look back, with friends and family, and all be able to say ‘I remember that day perfectly.'”
Flowers.
Don’t get stuck on using a florist as your only option. Sometimes asking around, ordering flowers in bulk and decorating yourself can be just as beautiful and more cost effective.
Location.
Choose somewhere that is memorable and most fits your style. Google can be your friend here. There were a lot of local places I would never have known about if I hadn’t looked online. Most importantly, choose the location first. It will determine the date of your wedding and help with other details.
Decorations & Decor.
PINTEREST!!! Everyone has their own ideas of what they want their wedding to look like, but sometimes it’s harder to execute than you think. Enlist the help of those online, your friends and family and they will help you better determine what is going to be the most feasible.
Number in the wedding party?
Choose the few who are most important to you. You shouldn’t feel that just because someone is your friend that it means they have to be in the wedding party. Some friends don’t even feel comfortable being in the party to begin with. Choose people who, when you look back in 50 years, you’ll see the photos and appreciate that they are still your friends and people you still talk to.
Number of guests?
It is always bigger than you think it’s going to be and that is okay! I was so worried because my list kept getting bigger and bigger due to family members and I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. Some people will never come but just like to get an invitation. I would recommend setting a maximum number of guests and never going above that number.
Time of year?
There is always going to be some weather issue that may possibly get in the way. I’d say choose whatever you want and can handle and then go for it. As for time of day, it depends on the season.
Wedding Planner or “family-and-friends-all-hands-on-deck” approach?
Don’t choose a family member or close friend. Planning a wedding can be stressful and you don’t want to depend on someone you may end up having a falling out with… a falling out over something stupid. Choose someone you can rely on who has experience. They will be able to help you plan out a schedule so you don’t forget any details.
Name 3 things you would do differently if, by some strange wrinkle in the universe, you could do it all again (but with the same spouse):
My main things would be stress less and enjoy more. I would worry less about the little unimportant things and enjoy the big details even more. When the day actually came, I felt like it was over in a matter of minutes and would have loved to have had more time to enjoy it! I would also have done more research on attire for dresses and suits and saved myself a lot of last minute stress!
Name 3 things you would NOT change:
Even though it was stressful at times, it turned out to be a mostly perfect day. One of the most important things I would never change are the people I chose to spend my special day with. They enjoyed it as much as I did! Secondly is the photography. There is no other way to go back to that day other than through the pictures. Choose a photographer who is relatable and whose style you love and you won’t be disappointed (Misty & Ryan, of course)!!
Finally, and most importantly, find the right person – choose the right spouse! If you know that no matter what goes wrong with the wedding that they are with you, it’s all that matters.
It’s only going to happen ONCE, so stand back and take a minute to really live in every little detail that you can.
In case you missed them, click here to read Redux part 1.
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.
the Wedding to complete the continuum of a couple’s journey
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.
Mountain Wedding combines rustic, stylish, Jewish and traditional elements
The only minor thing about Katie and Josh’s October wedding was their now-shared surname. Katie Muskal wore her mother’s wedding gown when she walked down the aisle to marry her groom, Josh Minor. The gown was reworked and tailored to suit her style, but kept the elements that reminded her of her mom and bonded them that day. And that’s only the beginning….
The bride told us that she, “wanted to create a casual, rustic but chic, festive atmosphere where everyone could be comfortable and have a good time. And of course, we wanted it to be in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains!”
Katie is a native of Pennsylvania, but as an Appalachian State alum, she got the mountain bug and fell in love with our Blue Ridge …… and fell even further for a NC boy – Josh. “After dating a few months, we spent an amazing weekend deep in the mountains while attending a football game. I can honestly say that the beautiful scenery helped us fall in love more and more each day. For our wedding, I wanted to recreate that feeling of love we experienced on that trip.”
There is something about an outdoor wedding that is both challenging and adventurous and so deeply cool. Everyone is surrounded by mother nature, we’re all under the sky, there is tender ambient noise, and the trees and flowers and the rest of nature become attendees.
A little shout out: this couple worked with the amazing talent of Buddy Fore and his efforts tend to result in the most beautiful and well-organized weddings. Just look at his table arrangements!! Also, look for him in the 2016 issue of High Country Wedding Guide.
There was no shortage of details that spoke to autumn and tradition. The bride’s Jewish upbringing was celebrated with a “chuppah” made of antique cloth from both the bride’s and groom’s grandmothers. They celebrated with a “breaking of the glass” ceremony, and later the “hora” chair dance at the reception. Finally, the centerpieces and decorations on the head table were from the bride’s grandmother, who passed away last year.
We love the Blue Ridge Mountain Club! It couldn’t be more picturesque and it, along with the fog and rain in the morning followed by a starry night, allowed us to get gorgeous photos of this glorious couple and the many people people who came from hither and yon to be there to celebrate with them.
This reception had the highest energy we’ve seen and photographed all year. The dance floor never cleared thanks to DJ Erok, whom we would highly recommend. Ages young and old partied well into the night. We loved that when they did need a break, the outdoor fire-pit was close by and the stars were out.
Katie asked if it might be possible for us to thank her parents – David and Tracy Muskal, for giving them an amazing wedding and to thank everyone else who came to celebrate with them. Of course we can: THANK YOU SO MUCH!
From Ryan and myself, we’d like to thank Katie & Josh for allowing us to be a witness to their special day. Good Luck, you two! We love you!