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Well, what a fun day this was! Lauren and Dennis's Good Shepherd & Melrose Knitting Mill wedding!! Lauren and Dennis live out in California, so I actually met them for the very first time on their wedding day. Till then we'd been talking via email and a Skype meeting. Even through our limited communication, though, I could tell they were a really cool couple. And this was finally confirmed when I rocked up to The Church of the Good Shepherd in downtown Raleigh and finally got to hang out with them. And what better day to do that than their wedding day? This was my first time shooting at the Good Shepherd and what a beautiful church it ... READ MORE

Sarah & Jake were married back in February in a beautiful, intimate ceremony at St. Mary's School Chapel in downtown Raleigh followed by a full-on party at their reception at The Umstead. These are two amazing venues for a wedding: Built in 1855, St. Mary's Chapel has a fabulous vintage feel to it, which beautifully complemented Sarah's dress and Jake's classic tuxedo look. Conversely, The Umstead, which opened its doors in 2007, is a super modern design with sleek, elegant architecture that provides a fabulous backdrop for the getting ready and wedding reception part of the day. I really enjoyed photographing the fusion of the feel of th ... READ MORE

Hi everyone! I'm just getting back from a week in an 11th century French château with 11 other photographers having my melon twisted by the amazing, inspiring Parker J Pfister, gentleman, scholar and artistic genius. Those who know me know I love spending time stepping back and recharging my creative and artistic batteries whenever I can and this was a great opportunity to do so surrounded by a group of fellow creatives and professionals. Over the course of 7 days, we dived deep, unpacked our mental luggage, analyzed our artistic selves, dreamt up some crazy visions, learnt new techniques, ran amok through an abandoned abbey, communed with ... READ MORE

OK, so this River Landing Country Club wedding is going to be the final wedding to hit the blog in 2017, and, as far as I'm concerned, it's a great way to wrap up the year. Yes, it's a bit of a corker! Let's see: Fab bride and groom? Check! Awesome wedding party? Check!! Beautiful locations? Check!!! T-Rex first dance? CHECK!!! The list goes on... Megan and Chad were really great to work with. Megan is a photographer herself, so I was very flattered when she reached out to me to ask me to shoot her wedding. Given that she lives in VA, we pretty much planned everything via phone and email and hadn't actually met till the wedding day itse ... READ MORE

We started out the 2018 wedding season with a real classic in all senses of the word. A Duke Chapel wedding is always a recipe for success, but add to that a fabulous bride and groom, other such gorgeous venues as 21c and The Cookery and a crack team of wedding professionals, and you really have something very special indeed on your hands. I first met Brandy and Gabe about a year and a half ago at Toni and Kevin's wedding in Winston-Salem, where Brandy was one of Toni's bridesmaids. Brandy struck me then as a really fun person and so I was so really pleased when, a few weeks later, she phoned me to tell me she'd just got engaged and ask me ... READ MORE

2017 finished in style with Jill & John's fab wedding in Durham NC. Regular readers of the blog will probably remember Jill from her beautiful Rose Hill Plantation bridal session, which was one of my favorite portrait sessions of the year. She made such a stunning bride and was such good fun to be with, I was really looking forward to the wedding day! As a regular Durham wedding photographer, it was great to close out the year at such iconic Durham venues as Immaculate Conception Church, Duke Gardens and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Before that, though, and while Erin was photographing John and the guys, I met up with J ... READ MORE

One of the best things about my job is being there with my clients to document the story of their family as it grows in the years after the wedding. Just over two years ago, I shot Jackie & Rob's engagement session, followed by Jackie's bridal session in January of 2016 and their gorgeous wedding photographs the month after that. So I was really thrilled when Jackie and Rob reached out to me to let me know they are expecting their first child and I was looking forward to seeing them again for their portrait session celebrating Jackie's maternity a few weeks ago. We started out by taking a relaxed stroll around JC Raulston arboretum before ... READ MORE

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of photographing Jill and John's wedding just up the road here in Durham, so I'm pleased to now be able to share some of my favourite photos from Jill's Rose Hill Plantation bridal photography session from a few weeks ago. Readers of the blog will know I shot another bridal session out at Rose Hill back in the summer, so it was great to be back on a beautiful, golden autumnal evening. I never like to repeat myself if possible, so we shot in totally new locations throughout the house and grounds. Jill looked amazing and we came away with some gorgeous, unique images. Seeing two of my photos printed large on fine ... READ MORE

A few weeks back, I got up early and headed up the Blue Ridge Parkway to shoot Teresa & Jed's dawn wedding on the summit of Grandfather Mountain. When we got there, a very thick mist enveloped everything and I was worried we weren't going to be able to take in any of the amazing views you get on a clear day. As it was, God seemed to be smiling down on us as the clouds parted and we were wrapped in the most gorgeous light you can wish for. After the short ceremony, we took a few portraits and Teresa & Jed were treated to their own personal little rainbow. It was a fitting symbol for such a fun-loving and happy couple to start their new ... READ MORE

I met up with Abby & Chad on a chilly, cloudy Sunday for a beer and a chat at James Joyce's in downtown Durham, followed by a fun walk around Duke Gardens for their engagement photography session. Cloudy days bring a certain mood and the light was beautifully soft that afternoon. Abby & Chad went with two very contrasting looks for their session. Here are just a few of my faves from our time together. Luckily, the rain held off right till the very end... READ MORE

When I'm looking back on the photos and smiling while I'm editing, I know how lucky I am to do what I do for a living. Hallie & Cullen's wedding was such an occasion: a fabulous autumn day at the Winmock at Kinderton with truly special people. I could spend hours gushing about this couple, who are so obviously head over heels in love with each other, the amazing venue, the beautiful weather, the fabulous reception, but I'd rather let the photos speak for themselves. Here are my picks of the pics from their day: Thank you so much, Hallie and Cullen; I ... READ MORE

Maria and Andrew's St. Catherine of Siena & The Sutherland wedding was definitely a highlight of my year so far. As wedding photographers, we can only hope for three things: great subjects, great locations and great light - all three were available in abundance on this beautiful day. Throughout the day, it was a joy to just stand back and watch Maria and Andrew interact together and just photograph them as they are. They are so obviously besotted with each other and there were so many tender moments between the two of them, there was really very little direction needed from me for the portrait side of things and we ended up with so man ... READ MORE

So, late last month I got the chance to photograph this fab couple for their Duke Gardens engagement photography session. Lauralee, Taylor and their cute pooch, Poppy, joined me one evening for a couple of libations at Geer St. Garden where we chatted and got to know each other a little bit. From there, we headed out for an autumn-themed engagement shoot around the gardens. The sunlight was beautiful and the chemistry between Lauralee and Taylor was amazing. Poppy was petty amazing too! :) Here are just a few faves from the session. Golden hour certainly lived up to its name!   READ MORE

Annie & Yuriy were married last month in the pergola at one of my favourite places to shoot: Duke Gardens. It was a lovely Saturday in early September and, for me as a Duke Gardens wedding photographer as well as all the guests in their formal attire, the weather was perfect for an outdoor ceremony. Annie & Yuriy's family hail from China and Ukraine respectively, so there was a traditional element to this wedding that brought in some of the customs from both cultures. Annie was also really interested in dedicating a good amount of the day to portraits both before and after the ceremony, so we got the opportunity to walk around the gar ... READ MORE

I was first introduced to Chad Biggs and his team back in September 2014, after shooting co-founder and lead planner, Jessica's, wedding the previous month. Since then, I've had the pleasure of working with them on a number of weddings both at Melrose Knitting Mill and in other venues. To me, they've always been really great people to work with: totally on their game with regard to the planning and nailing all the little details, but they've also been really fun and friendly people to spend time with too, which is great given the pressures of working on such mentally demanding events as weddings. So it was great to get a call from Jessica ear ... READ MORE

Back in the early spring, I spent an afternoon with the lovely Elizabeth shooting her bridal photos ahead of her wedding this summer. When Elizabeth had originally contacted me, she was looking to do a session that would allow her to pay homage to her late mother, whose veil she would be wearing on her wedding day. We took that concept and ran with it as the base for the session. When we met up, I also found Elizabeth's elegant look to be reminiscent of a 50's film star, so that played into the mood and feel of some of the images. Incorporating these themes along with the spring colours into the session, I think we came away with something pr ... READ MORE

July closed itself out in style with the fabulous Duke Chapel and Bay 7 wedding of Margo and Patrick, who all you avid readers of this blog might remember from their engagement shoot this past spring. Well, this was their big day, I was really looking forward to it, and it didn't disappoint. Margo and Kathy at Sally Oakley Weddings & Events had done a great job liaising with me to plan the timeline and so we had plenty of time for the getting ready shots at the WaDuke, followed by a first look and group photos at Duke Gardens before heading to the chapel for more portraits and the ceremony itself. The reception at Bay 7 was a lot of fun w ... READ MORE

When you have such an amazing couple as Sara and Ross whose love and happiness at getting married is so evident, you can't possibly have a bad day. Add in Duke Chapel and Hope Valley Country Club as venues, an amazing team of vendors, bright sunshine and a monsoon-like storm in the space of a couple of hours, and you know it's going to be a very special day indeed. If you stop by my blog regularly, you might be familiar with Sara from her Duke Chapel bridal photography session, which I posted a few weeks back. She is such a lovely, warm, happy soul and it was so great to see her unleash that beautiful smile all throughout her wedding day. ... READ MORE

Three distinct cultures came together last month at Pascale and Tim's Umstead wedding: with Lebanese and Japanese elements intertwined with a traditional American wedding there were so many beautiful moments and pretty details to take in. From the getting ready with the always-amazing Stephanie at The MakeUp Culture, to the first look on the boardwalk, the ceremony overlooking the lake, through to the reception with its origami details, traditional Lebanese drum band, confetti-enhanced cake-cutting and plenty of dancing courtesy of the talented DJ Rang, it was a great day to be a wedding photographer. Everything was put together brilliantl ... READ MORE

Sara & Ross tied the knot in a truly beautiful wedding at Duke Chapel this past Saturday and I'm looking forward to sharing some images from their gorgeous day really soon. In the meantime, I'm pleased to be able to share some photos from Sara's recent bridal photography session. This was a fun but challenging shoot as it started raining pretty heavily just a few minutes into the session and then rained off and on for the duration. This meant that we were restricted to shooting under cover a lot of the time, which forced me to think differently and get creative to obtain the widest variety of images possible whilst keeping Sara and her be ... READ MORE

A gorgeous day in a beautiful location with great people. That pretty much sums up the vibe of Jordan and Zeke's wedding at Duke Gardens earlier this month. Readers of the blog will recognise Jordan from her bridal photographs that I shot a few days before the wedding. She made such an elegant bride, and I think you'll agree that her groom, Zeke, cut a pretty dapper figure too. Congrats to them both and best wishes for the future! Big thanks to all the great people that collaborated to make the day such a success: Ceremony & Reception: Sarah P Duke Gardens, Durham, NC | Event Coordination: Grace Beason, Grace Leisure Events, Durham, ... READ MORE

Well, wedding season is in full swing and there's a lot going on over here in the studio, so it's just a quick post and run today. But I really wanted to take a moment to share Natalie and Elliot's wedding as it was such a fun day to shoot from start to finish. Mad props to Jessica at Chad Biggs Events for putting together such a great team of people to work with (see below for details) and working with me to draw up such a great timeline in order to explore the mill and surrounding area to get some pretty unique shots for Natalie and Elliot to look back on in the years to come. Congrats to them both! Here is the amazing team of people tha ... READ MORE

Britne and Calebe's wedding was a real coming together of cultures. With Caleb and his family hailing from Brazil, and Britne being from right here in the gold ol' USA, there was definitely a really fun vibe to this wedding. Britne wrote out and learnt her own personal vows in Portuguese, which was a surprise to Caleb and a very touching moment of the ceremony. We were blessed with a perfect sunny spring day for the ceremony outside at the Borden Building in Fred Fletcher Park in downtown Raleigh.  Here are just a few of my faves from their day... READ MORE

Shooting at golden hour is photographer nirvana. Most of the time, that means shooting at sunset, especially in the summer months when sunrise is so early in the morning. Shooting at sunrise in June, though, you get the benefit of cooler temperatures than in the afternoon and the fact most people are still in bed, so places that would otherwise be teeming with people are pretty much empty. So it was great to be able to meet up with Annie & Yuriy early in the morning a week or so back to shoot around Duke Chapel and Sarah P. Duke Gardens, where they will be getting married in a few short months. As you can see below, we pretty much had bot ... READ MORE

Duke Chapel weddings are always a pleasure to shoot and Lara and Juice's big day was certainly no exception! It started with Lara getting ready in a beautiful suite at the Washington Duke Inn and ended with her riding the mechanical bull at Shooters! Along the way, we also stopped by Duke Chapel for the ceremony and The Cotton Room for the reception. Suffice to say, it was a pretty amazing day! Lara and Juice planned their wedding from NYC and were ably assisted on the day by Casey at Events by La Fête. Huge thanks to Casey and her team for all her help making the day run smoothly. Here's a list of the other fab people that made this day s ... READ MORE