We ask our brides and grooms about best and favorite moments, among other things, after their wedding day. Responses range from couple to couple, but with Christine Whitford & Adam Kessell, it was about firsts.
First look at each other during the ceremony.
First kiss after the I Dos.
First moments of greeting and chatting with their guests.
Christine and Adam were married on October 22nd at Firethorne Country Club in Marvin, NC and moment to moment they were present with their friends and family and enjoying each bit.
There were tearful moments for all the girls while they were getting ready. Both of Christine’s grandmothers gave her precious family heirlooms, one of which was a bracelet that her late grandfather had given her grandmother.
Christine’s dad cried when he first saw her before walking her down the aisle.
Christine was a very enthusiastic bride and lots of fun to work with. Because we photographed a previous wedding where she was a bridesmaid, and shot their unconventional but historically significant engagement photos, she already knew our style and how we work. We already had a great relationship with her and Adam, so we knew it was going to be a blast.
Christine’s cathedral length veil was epic. We did have a few “all hands on deck” moments when the wind picked up though.
Firethorne provided an absolutely gorgeous outdoor setting for the wedding. The weather was perfect, there were smiles all around and lots of tender moments, joy and laughter (Christine: “we like to think our friends and family are pretty funny!”).
The reception was a party, as it should be. The DJs from Split Second Sound delivered the goods and kept the dance floor hot and all of Christine and Adam’s friends showed off some serious dance moves. The dancing was Christine’s favorite part of the reception she told us and Adam’s was the cigar bar. Ryan enjoyed spending time photographing at the cigar bar as well. There was just FUN in every direction.
Christine: “When we talk about our wedding day, we talk about how great it was to see everyone and just dance and have a good time. It was so nice to see our families blend so well together. It made my heart smile.”
Christine and Adam not only had a beautiful ceremony and killer reception, they are class acts. In lieu of favors, the couple made a donation in everyone’s honor to the animal shelter where they had recently rescued their own pup. Congratulations, you two and nothing but love for you both on the journey ahead!
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.
October is one of the more beautiful months for weddings in our area. It’s a month of seasonal transition which means you take a chance with weather – as with April and May. We cannot recall an October wedding that wasn’t amazing. Sometimes, the weather drives us indoors, but when the temperature and setting are on your side, it can be golden, … pardon the pun.
Here’s a toast to all of our October Anniversaries. And to many more! We love you all!
“Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of all three.”
– Stanley Horowitz
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
– George Eliot
“It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps a harvest in the Autumn.” – B. C. Forbes
“Autumn’s the mellow time.” – William Allingham
“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!”
― Rainbow Rowell
“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” – Lauren DeStefano
“In autumn, don’t go to jewelers to seek old, go to parks.” – Mehmet Maret Ildan
“I know the lands are lit, with all the autumn blaze of Goldenrod.” – Helen Hunt Jackson
“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.” – John Burroughs
“Autumn came, with wind and gold.” – Unknown
“But these are days that we dream about when the sunlight paints us gold.” – Martha Schuster
“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree.” – Emily Bronte
“Autumn. The year’s last, loveliest smile.” – William Cullen Bryan
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.
There were years (in the many hundreds) when people married young. Maybe your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents did. No one thought anything about it and I’m not prepared to give a history lesson about why it worked or didn’t. Young brides and grooms, older brides and grooms…. we ALWAYS cheer for a strong marriage that lasts until Al Roker is talking about it on the Today Show.
These 2 below, Violet and Floyd, were married for 67 years. They were married young, were 21 and 22 in this photo, and in 2015, they passed away holding hands with their hospice beds pushed together. 67 years and together right until the last moment.
Who knows why some young marriages work and last, producing thriving families, smartypants kids, and reels and reels of memories? But they do. When we hear, “but they’re SO YOUNG,” as we have in our tenure as wedding photographers, we think, “but what if what they have is the big “IT?” We believe Ashley & Oscar have it. They are young, yes, but they have the depth, gravitas, self-awareness and sense of longevity – and they displayed it during our photo session.
They have “it” and IT is a shared belief in Christ and each other.
Ashley and Oscar met when her church took a trip to Mexico. When Oscar returned to school in the states, they started spending more time together and realized their similar dreams and feelings. Ryan and I have known them for a while. Oscar and Ashley’s brother Daniel were models for us during a prom shoot a few years ago. The Caudill’s have supported Pixels On Paper Photography and we’ve always appreciated their love and care for us. Now we get to return the favor as documentarians and friends.
I’ve never been around a couple, even twice their age, who were more grounded in faith, family and tradition. Ashley will finish the last of both her high school and college courses in December and then they will be married in NC. A honeymoon in Mexico is planned and Ashley will finally be able to meet all of Oscar’s family. We’re excited about the stories to come of how these families will blend into one and write their own new story with Him at the center. We couldn’t be more hopeful or proud or happy for them.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or NC 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 as well as the surrounding areas. 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. Contact us to schedule your portrait or wedding photography.
If you were hoping to get a piece of cake with Clemson paws on it, see a completely glamorous bride, and a husband who cannot stop smiling, you missed it. You missed the cake. The rest is below. Jason, Jessica and their nearest and dearest gathered last month to celebrate them at their wedding at St. John’s UMC in Rock Hill, SC. It was fun, tender and hot as blazes, but we took the images that made them the happiest. The couple shared this: “We are blown away at the moments you captured. We are weepy just thinking about it. You created memories for us that we will always have and that we will return to for the rest of our lives.” Mission accomplished.
If you want to see what can be done with high heels AND mountain views, I hope you’ll check out Jessica and Jason’s engagement portraits. I can’t tease it any more than that.
Jessica told us that her favorite photo is of her with Jason as they walked back up the aisle as husband and wife. We agree. You can tell how crazy in love they are. We also loved the simplicity and classic nature of their wedding – the colors, the church, the flowers, everything was gorgeously understated, elegant and lovely.
St. John’s provided us with so many opportunities to shoot, but we love photos of these two outside especially. To wit: a lamppost was scaled in the making of these memories…. we suffer for our art.
The reception was held at Gettys Art Center in Rock Hill, because the bride and groom vibed on the old interiors of the place. True enough, it’s an amazing spot for a reception. One – air conditioning in July! Big plus. Two – beautiful stained wood paneling.
Jessica: “We cried when we danced with our parents. I didn’t expect my dad to dance with me. I was 100% surprised. It was quite possibly the best moment I have ever had with him. And I loved seeing the photos of Jason dancing with his mom.”
In the spirit of sharing the love for other wedding vendors, we ask our clients who they hired. Here are those chosen by Jessica and Jason: Wedding gown: Castle, Spartanburg, SC
Wedding coordinator /planner: Crystal Beck. Jessica told us that she was “a game changer.” The bride didn’t worry about anything.
Flowers: Jasn’e Creative Design.
DJ or band: Split Second Sound out of Charlotte NC. “Eric was the BEST! I would hire him again tomorrow if I had a reason.”
Catering: Essie’s Catering. Yummy food.
Cake and desserts: Carrie Shafer. “She is a friend- doesn’t do it professionally but they were DELICIOUS.”
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.
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.