winner of the end-of-summer contest!!

*note: there has been an adjustment since the first winner did not claim the prize. a second winner has been drawn!

i am pleased to announce the winner of the end-of-summer contest for a free session and 50 prints! thank you to everyone who entered! this was such an enjoyable experience for me and i really loved reading what you thought about the photographs. i hope to do more contests like this in the future, so please stay tuned!

and the winner is….. (drum roll, please!)

DERICA JUSTICE!

derica said, ” This is a hard choice! I love them all, but since I have to choose, I pick #2. It is a great shot of the groom and shows the romance & love their special day was filled with!”

on the second round of drawing a winner, i was going to be surprised if someone from the newsletter didn’t win since they have their chances doubled. sure enough, derica is on the newsletter list, so it just goes to show the advantages of getting put in the pot twice and signing up for the newsletter! :)

derica owns bon bini print and design and did our super fabulous halloween wedding invitations (will post some pictures of those later), and i’m sure we’ll have a great time coming up with a neat shoot!

thank you, everyone!

end-of-summer contest

end-of-summer contest!! :)

finally i have a moment to breathe in order to post the end-of-summer contest. :)

in order to thank the readers of my newsletter and blog, i wanted to give back at the end of this summer and give away one free session of any kind with fifty free 4×6 session prints to one lucky participant. it’s a value of $450. :)

details: below i have posted a blog entry that features my top ten favorites pictures from this year. they’re numbered but in no particular order as it was hard enough to choose ten. :) just comment below on which photograph is your favorite out of the ten listed and why. viola! your name is entered into a program that will pick a random name.

IF you’re on the newsletter reader list, however, your name will be entered twice. write somewhere in the comments that you’re a reader and i’ll check with my list to confirm it.

simple as that! i’ll announce the winner on FRIDAY, AUGUST 13TH via the blog and you’ll receive a free session, an online viewing gallery, and fifty 4×6 prints. you can use this session for anything: senior pics, engagement, pets, family, etc. whatever you want.

rules: you must be within 30 miles of raleigh, nc or pittsburgh, pa to win the session. OR you can also win if you’ll be in raleigh, nc or pittsburgh, pa in the sometime near future. pittsburgh is slightly harder to orchestrate, but if you win, we’ll find a way to get the pictures somehow. :) comments are always welcome from all over the globe, but you either have to live around here or be coming here soon. sorry, uzbekistan!

so again, here are the steps:

1.) live within 30 miles of raleigh or pittsburgh OR be traveling there in the near future.

2.) leave a comment with the number of your favorite photograph below and why.

3.) get your name entered into a drawing to win the free session and prints (name entered twice if you’re on the newsletter mailing list).

4.) winner announced via blog on friday, august 13th!

#1:

photography contest

#2:

photography contest

#3:

photography contest

#4:

photography contest

#5:

photography contest

#6:

photography contest

#7:

photography contest

#8:

photography contest

#9:

photography contest

#10:

photography contest

so that’s it! have fun commenting and good luck!

raleigh wedding photographer: renee+daniel

LOVED this wedding! renee, daniel and their family and friends are such a super friendly and nice group of people. it rained! and nobody was really even that stressed out about it! in fact, the bridal party grabbed some umbrellas and we went outside to take pictures anyway! thankfully it didn’t pour and it stopped soon after so we didn’t need them for too long, but it’s awesome when clients are that easy going. easy going and super friendly bridal party, a couple totally in love, and a group that totally knew how to throw a party. nice!

lather salon raleigh lather salon raleigh wedding makeup

renee and daniel were married on july 31, 2010 at north raleigh presbyterian church. awesome church, by the way. has great grounds and a modern feel about it.

Raleigh wedding photographer guys getting ready girls getting ready raleigh bridesmaids

i was loving this ring. i like the circular design on the petite band. i have been getting some brides and grooms with awesome rings lately!

wedding rings raleigh wedding photographer raleigh groomsmen

renee wore ballet flats… second bride in a row! such a great idea. i was also loving the bridesmaid attire, flowers, and shoes. tan pumps + sage green = WIN.

north carolina wedding photographer north raleigh presbyterian church north raleigh presbyterian church north raleigh presbyterian church wedding ceremony raleigh bridal party

they are both too cute. :( they’ve dated for five years and were so comfortable and cute around each other. there were a lot of tears at the ceremony and the reception. adorable!

raleigh north carolina photographer raleigh wedding photographer north carolina wedding photographer couple

the below shot is my favorite ever. expect this in the portfolio soon.

raleigh nc wedding photographer

raleigh bride and groom north raleigh presbyterian church wedding

the wedding reception was held at one eleven place in cary. great venue! very classy. they did an excellent job arranging everything and being super nice and organized.  and renee and daniel had a candy bar! YES! and just when i got excited about that, i saw that the candy bar was lime green and purple! BIGGER YES!

one eleven place

purple and green candy bar

all of their first dance pictures involved them laughing cutely the entire time. :)

first dance

first dance

one eleven place reception

i want this little girl’s hair!

one eleven place wedding

one eleven place wedding reception

one eleven place wedding reception

the expression of a bouquet toss winner vs. the expressions of surprised defeat in the background:

bouquet toss winner

best. garter. toss. ever. i have never seen a group of guys so enthused. usually they stand there with their arms at their sides and step aside when the garter comes towards them. :) these guys were all about it. i love the guy in the front trying to hold back the rest of the crew like, “don’t worry, dudes, i got this.”

garter toss

cake cutting

wedding reception dancing

i’ll give you three guesses for the song in the next two pictures and the first two guesses don’t count. :)

wedding reception dancing

raleigh photographer one eleven place

one eleven place wedding reception

last dance

AWESOME. thanks renee and daniel! we had a great time and wish you two all the luck even though you won’t need it because you’re adorable together. :)