Hi everyone!
So, here we are – spring is finally here and the 2019 wedding season is well and truly underway. I’m really happy for 2 reasons: 1) the sun is out and 2) I’ve just finished working on this beautiful Melrose Knitting Mill wedding photography from a few weeks back.
Johnique and Derrick’s was actually the first of two weddings I shot at Melrose that same weekend. It’s not often I shoot two consecutive weddings at the same venue, so I think this gives me a great opportunity to maybe show two very different, but equally beautiful weddings back-to-back. I always strive to capture the personality and uniqueness of each of my couples and the individual mood of their wedding days. For me, each wedding (that is each couple, their friends and family, and the people that make it all happen) gives it its own personality and voice that should come through in the pictures. People commenting on my Instagram often talk about how they “get” the character of each couple in my photos. If that is the case, then I am achieving my goal and that makes me a happy chappy!
The vast majority of my clients over the years have been drawn to my work for my artistic photojournalistic style. Many of my couples are uncomfortable in front of the camera, which I can totally relate to as I feel dead awkward on the other side of the lens myself. I think my empathy with the feeling of awkwardness some of us get when having our photo taken has actually helped me connect with my couples and that helps us (them and me!) just relax and have some fun with things. If everyone is relaxing and having fun, that leads to trust and trust leads to great pictures. So over time, and without necessarily trying to, I’ve found my style and approach has evolved and portraiture has now become a key element of my wedding day coverage. It varies from client to client of course, some want a lot of portraits, some want the minimum. Most want somewhere in-between. Whatever each client wants is totally fine with me, as long as there is enough time in the schedule. I consult with each of my clients in the run-up to every wedding to make sure everything is looking good and timelines look realistic for the kind of photos they’re interested in getting.
I think I’ve mentioned before that I’ve seen an increase in the number of people doing “first looks”. This is great news for me as it basically means my couples are creating more time for me to work with them to get those relaxed portraits without impacting on my ability to deliver the photojournalistic coverage I would normally give. Johnique & Derrick wanted plenty of time for portraiture, so together with their planner – the amazing Steph Smith at Southern Oaks Events – they did a really good job of building out a timeline that allowed us to create a good variety of shots of the bride and groom, the wedding party, friends and family. With the beautiful day we had, the light was amazing and, with such fabulous subjects as these, I really had a tough time of whittling the images down for the blog. We really made a LOT of portraits I really like.
So here, without further ado, are JUST SOME of my faves from Johnique and Derrick’s day. This Melrose Knitting Mill wedding photography gallery tells the story of their day from start to finish. Again, everything is totally unstaged or directed by me aside from the portraits. I’ll be back soon with the follow-up to this post, which will be from Melanie & Anthony’s gorgeous Melrose wedding the following day. Same venue, with an equally amazing couple, but a totally different day with its own unique character and voice. I’m looking forward to sharing that one too!
Kudos to the fabulous team of pros who worked behind the scenes to make it all happen:
Ceremony & Reception: Melrose Knitting Mill, Raleigh, NC | Event Coordination & Catering: Steph Smith, Southern Oak Events, Raleigh, NC | Florist: Embellished Blooms, Raleigh, NC | Cake: Simply Cakes, Cary, NC | Make-Up: Contour Kissed, Raleigh, NC | Bride’s Dress: The White Gown, New York, NY | Groom’s Suit: Sebastian Cruz Couture, Miami, FL | Officiant: Rev. R.E. Midgette, Raleigh, NC | DJ: DJ Tys, Raleigh, NC | Videographer: AO&JO, Raleigh, NC | Assistant Photographer: Erin Henderson, Wilmington, NC
