A Day at the Gardens
Tiny stars dancing in the breeze while sunshine melts through their petals: the ornament of North Carolina spring. Every years I fall again for this romance of the earth. Forsythia and friends, yellow, white, pink against the strength of a Carolina blue sky. I know I’m not the only one. I hope you enjoy the images!
Barn at Valhalla
When I met Sharon, I was immediately put at ease because she’s real. She’s beautiful, sophisticated, and somehow still down to earth. She’s just friendly good people, as they say. I believe she’s a dietician, and it took quite a bit of effort not say how do I easily lose this weight I’m gaining from eating and drinking every night, all night long? Even I know the answer to that one… Anyway, Sharon told me she and Jim had been good friends for a while, and I got the sense it was a blossomed slowly into things that won their hearts over to one another.
On Christmas Eve I found myself eager not for presents under trees, or even at that moment for the celebrations later with my children, but to see this very handsome couple wed. It is always a gift to do what I do.
The only ones at their private elopement ceremony were the minister, her brother as a witness, and myself. I doubled as a photographer and witness extraordinare. Always an honor to be at a wedding, let alone to sign as witness. Thank you both for choosing to work with me on your beautiful day.
Venue: the Barn at Valhalla
Flowers: Fallons Flowers
Davis Family Lifestyle Photos at JC Raulston in Raleigh
Lucky me! Another great shoot with a gorgeous family that moved here recently. My favorite images from our family session:
More to come, Colleen and Jeff. I hope to work with your family again in the spring! Or at least before you move again! But you should stay here, it’s a great area! xoxo~ Lacey
Omni Grove Park Inn | Wedding Photography
Non-stop laughter and smiles, all day!
as far as I know they are still there, partying near the fireplace…
And thanks to the second shooter for this image— the best man apparently lost a bet of some kind, not only performing in a diaper for the duration of Stroke It (ooh man) but giving a bit of a lap dance to the beautiful bride. Jean was in hysterics, and as you can see so was her groom.
Many, many thanks to the fabulous vendors at this event.. Nikki at Carolina Love Events and her assistant were both amazing. I was not joking, Nikki, when I said the day seemed to be more smooth than other big events I’ve had in recent memory. In addition, Nikki was easy to work with, so thank you! Vanessa Sogan at About Face FX did an amazing job on hair and makeup. Huge shout out for Omni Grove Park Inn, which was gracious each time I had a question or need, and provided fantastic visuals and service for all. Floral décor and bouquet all from Swannanoa Flower Shop. And of course- a huge thank you to Wes and Jean. Congratulations and I hope to work with you again one day soon.
Deidre & James | Memory Mountain Lodge
Who ordered the cold weather? Man, I was so cold for their wedding I wore a coat and a sweater over whatever I’d worn. I think I’m still a Florida chick or something. Thin blood… Deidre, meanwhile, must have been totally floating in inner warmth because she ran around all day without so much as a shrug on her shoulders.
A wedding gift the couples child received— I like that Mom and Grandmother are in the photo, too.
The bride hand made these shawls for her mother and mother in law. So thoughtful and beautiful.
Many warm wishes to Deidre and James and their family and friends. Thank you for being so hospitable and wonderful to work with. I imagine ya’ll dancing around your home, all the time, and I hope I’m right… xoxoxo ~Lacey
Amy & Damian | Elopement near Boone | Wedding Photography
I did already share a couple images.. and given a full hour with Damian and Amy before their ceremony, I may be over-sharing favorites of their two hours with me at Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock.
from the first look.. Amy said she liked this idea as a way to physically start and say “I’m ready to do this”. I thought that was a unique symbolism in the moment and a good start to our portrait session.
I met Amy and Damian at a wine bar in Apex called Peak of the Vine, and got to know them a bit before they needed a photographer. Still, you don’t really know anyone until you see them at their most vulnerable. Before this I just knew they were an attractive couple with four kids between them. Now I know the way Damian is tender and protective toward Amy, the way she lights up for him, and that the kids all seem to love one another already. It was a fine line between laughing and crying for all six.
my fav…
there were, truly, two swans there. did you know swans spend a lot of time with their heads under water? I didn’t either.
this is about where the crying began for Amy…
I dig all the different facial expressions. Kids are awesome.
me pausing to look goofy.. on purpose. of course. I like how the family is also being kind of silly. :)
Cake | NC Photography
I did a lightly Alice in Wonderland themed wedding recently and haven’t had time to blog it properly but as I hit out on one of the last weddings I have for 2018 (I think there are 4 more, still a couple dates for last minute weddings… call me!) I couldn’t wait any longer to share this cake.
Almost entirely edible… The inside was raspberry torte.. the outside amaretto buttercream. Clearly a LOT of fondant, and I tried that too. I’m not too proud. xo Thanks to Wendy’s Custom Cakes in Chesnee, SC for this beautiful creation. More to come!
Mini-Sessions | Raleigh Family Photography
This weekend was phenomenal. I had three photo events (and no, that’s not typical for me, and yes, I’m still alive). Each turned out beautiful and fulfilling and I’m so happy.. even the weather was perfect.
On Sunday I did 8 mini-sessions for families from Primrose Preschool of Apex. The school and I are contributing 20% of sales and session fees to Make-A-Wish! The State Fair and a wedding at the Arboretum did make parking a mess but I still got great shots for each family at the JC Raulston Arboretum. Absolutely love the lighting there, as well as how much area there is to work in!
One more all-spaces-full mini-session day scheduled for this event with the school coming up— we have had a couple more requests for more slots so please email if you are interested; I can add another day with 3 more families interested. Thank you to all the families that participated!
An Indian Wedding | Durham Convention Center
My fav.. that look you give your husband sometimes.
Several weeks ago I was hired to shoot with another photographer (his second, in the biz) at the Durham Convention Center. I’ve only photographed two other Indian weddings, and this one was much larger than either of those. It was a two day event, so I have omitted a lot and limited to mostly the second day. The first day was lots and lots of dancing by various family members, all choreographed!
I will not bore you with my thoughts or understanding about the culture, although I love it and would LOVE to tell you what I ignorantly (no doubt) think I know about each part of the day. Suffice it to say it often looks like people are having fun, interacting, playacting, playing, and feeling. YES!
So all the images below are click-expand. I know it’s a lot of images but these events are so colorful and beautiful and involved.. I cut out all the crowd shots, and I feel that’s a big part of it. What a great group! Thanks to Manjil at Pixel6Studios for having me along.
