Posts Tagged: wilkes county
lauren and joshua | wedding photo gallery | pixels on paper
It seems like only yesterday that Misty was volunteering on the Trinity Baptist Church middle school youth beach trip and came to know Lauren who was a student on the trip. It was easy to see that she had an amazing passion for people and for God even then. Throughout years of youth trips and service projects her passion only grew greater. As did Misty’s friendship with Lauren and her wonderful family, where Lauren obviously learned to love.
Fast forward 10 years later, and imagine the awesome surprise of getting a phone call out of the blue from Lauren asking us to photograph her wedding. How is that possible? She was just in middle school! And who is possibly good enough for “our Lauren?” The answer, undoubtably is Joshua. You can not only see it but feel it when they are together.
After the consult, the realization was that they are not only madly in love with each other and are a perfect fit, but that they share and incredible passion for God and were focused not on the wedding but on God’s covenant. We were honored to have been a part of the wedding. When you are witness to a love like this, there is just something about it that radiates through everything, including the photos. There were multiple occurrences for us on the wedding day that included goose bumps and tears.
The ceremony, held at Baptist Home Church in North Wilkesboro, was genuine and started as many others do, but their deep faith was shown to all in attendance as the ceremony was drawing to a close. After they had been pronounced husband and wife, and had their first kiss they did something very special that left very few dry eyes in the church, including ours behind the cameras. It is such a simple act, but one that helps demonstrate the love they share. They simply knelt facing each other, head to head and quietly prayed together while the church sang praise and worship. Such a simple, but very powerful and passionate act.
Following the ceremony, despite the temperatures in the low 30’s and winds gusting around 20 miles an hour, Lauren and Joshua were determined to go to Main Street North Wilkesboro for a few additional fun photos. They literally stopped traffic with one of the most picture-perfect dip/kisses we have seen, right in the middle of the street!
The reception kicked off as they descended the steps into The Bassment at Talia’s Espresso where they mingled with friends and family. Jordan, Lauren’s brother, surprised the newlyweds with a slideshow packed with memories from their childhoods. The theme of praise and worship continued with Jenny, the Matron of Honor playing guitar and singing some of Lauren and Joshua’s favorite worship songs.
Joshua and Lauren, we wish you nothing but the best in your marriage. Lauren, you are in great hands!
Ceremony Venue: Baptist Home Baptist Church
Reception Venue: The Bassment at Talia’s Espresso
Dress: David’s Bridal
Men’s Attire: Men’s Wearehouse
Hair Stylist: Lisa Gaillard
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
ashleigh + philip = gorgeous autumn engagement photos in the country
Ashleigh and Philip wanted to take advantage of what was remaining of the gorgeous fall foliage in the Wilkes County mountains for their engagement photos while a bit of the color still remained. We found a perfect hidden gem of a spot that suited them just perfectly. Surrounded by trees wrapped in vibrant colors, running water, wooden bridges and golden hay bails, these two love birds were the perfect feature in an environment that they seemed more than comfortable to be a part of.
We are looking forward to photographing their outdoor wedding in Wilkes next May. In the meantime show us and them some love on the blog. Our blog loves comments!
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
amber + wesley {married} at camp sky ranch | outdoor country wedding
After a couple years of planning all of Amber and Wesley’s time and energy came together on one spectacular fall wedding day in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Camp Sky Ranch. The venue itself provided an amazing backdrop and is one of Blowing Rock’s hidden jewels. If you haven’t heard about it you want to read the history here and learn what Jack and his wife Lori have brought to life.
Like many of the weddings we photograph this event was a family affair. Everyone worked together for days to decorate, coordinate, and celebrate the union. Family members baked and decorated the cake and cooked all the homemade southern foods for the reception. Bouquets, floral arrangements and candle decorations inspired by the Autumn surroundings were designed by Denise Brooks of Innovative Occasions.
Let us know what you think of Amber and Wesley’s outdoor wedding pictures. Our blog loves comments!
We are so thankful to have been a part of Amber and Wesley’s special day. They put their trust in our creative photography to capture their day. We could not be any happier with what we were able to capture. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Douglas!
In case you missed them, be sure to take a look at Amber’s gorgeous bridal photos!
Wedding Photography: Pixels On Paper
Venue: Camp Sky Ranch
Flowers: Innovative Occasions
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
dustin + kristen { family portrait pictures} pixels on paper
It is very exciting for use when we have photographed a couples wedding and they return for all their future creative portrait photography needs. Just like these two! Kristen and Dustin are still technically newlyweds with less than a year of marriage behind them. They love photos and are determined to begin the tradition of annual family portrait pictures. Like I’ve been saying for years to other couples, you don’t have to have kids to have portrait pictures! Kristen and Dustin’s family currently consists of the two of them and one super cute fur-baby named Tiger.
Enjoy the pictures of this super cute and sweet couple!
Take a peek back at Kristen and Dustin’s wedding photos here. And see more of our creative portrait photography on our website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
august 2011 | the move
When we put our first home up for sale in December of 2010 I thought we had it all figured out. We had our sights on moving to Wilkesboro, NC and renovating an awesome live/work space where we could have an awesome studio and modern flat. Despite the horrible housing market we knew how much we wanted for our house, when was the ideal time for it to sale, how much we would have in our pockets to put down on the new place, etc, etc. Of course being a total Type A personality I had a plan A,B,C in place. My biggest and only fear was of the house selling in June, the absolute busiest wedding month of the year, when I simply could not squeeze another hour into the day for packing on top of shooting and editing. What I could not and did not plan was how utterly emotional the whole process would become or how much it would open my eyes to the work God was doing all along the way.
Ryan and I bought our first house together on August 22, 2004. It was cute and needed work but even then the deal I thought was to good to possibly be true. I remember being a leader on a youth mission trip one late night in Pittsburgh asking the youth pastor (who happened to be the same man who married us a year earlier) if we were making a mistake. Could this possibly be what God wanted for us, did we deserve it? After he laughed at me, he reassuringly put my mind at ease. We worked alongside family and friends for months renovating and improving and making our own mark on it. The major work continued room by room through December 2009. 7 years later there wasn’t a room or a wall that we hadn’t changed in one way or another.
What I learned is that Ryan and I made a great team. That we weren’t always going to agree on the process of getting from point A to point B. That major arguments would happen when were utterly exhausted. That laughter in the rooms we made sounded more beautiful. That I had the vision for the finished product and Ryan had the talent of a great handy-man and carpenter and could make my visions a reality. (I still think he can have a show on HGTV.) What I also learned is that all the labor and memories we made in that house made it harder to say goodbye.
Here are just a few of the major renovation before and after shots. Keep in mind we did all the work ourselves with some help from friends and family.
When the offer came through in late July with the closing date set for three short weeks later on August 19th (within 2 days of being exactly 7 years from the date we bought it) I suddenly went into a state of shock. All those well-thought plans seemed more like hazy dreams. The troops around me, mainly Ryan and my Mom, rallied to keep me on track. Once again looking back on it the deal seemed to good to be true. Now I know I was never really in control of the situation. What I had thought would be best for us wasn’t at all. What God had planned for us was so much greater. For example, there is no other time in the entire year that we have 3 consecutive weeks with no photo jobs on the schedule! If you had an hour of free time I could bore you with the long list of items that shouldn’t have happened or worked in our favor but they did.
The following shot was taken after a long hot day of packing on the very last day in the house. The trailer and cars were fully loaded and all that was left was for us and the animals to load up and hit the road for the 104 mile trip to the new place we would call home.
I cried and I still cry which even seems silly to me when the outcome is exactly what we wanted. I miss the place we called home and where we made so many of our first memories. We don’t yet have a location in Wilkesboro and Ryan is still working in Charlotte. We don’t have as much time together but I know all this is only temporary. Our dreams are being fulfilled without us even knowing. Seeing it happen and now fully trusting that God has it all planned out for us makes it much easier to relax and enjoy the ride.
Now that things are somewhat settled we are taking on the Fall photography schedule and looking forward to sharing the art that we create and the passion that drives it. Sorry for the extended break.