Lindsey+Mark’s 112 Degree Wedding at the Fair Barn in Pinehurst, NC

It’s always risky when you don’t meet clients prior to booking them. We really like to like our clients and we really want people we get along with and who have the same ideas and visions that we do. But sometimes our clients live in different states or Skyping doesn’t work out due to scheduling and we end up booking them anyway. Lindsey and Mark asked for a lot of referrals and I gave them the names of a bunch of past clients and we talked at length about their wedding, pretty much unaware of the ton of other things we have in common, and a ton of other reasons why Geoff and I would end up loving them so much. The first time we got a glimpse into their awesomeness was their idea for their engagement session, and the phone consult leading up to the session where Mark and I ended up taking about television shows for way too long. After I got off the phone Geoff looked at his watch and said, “So I guess they’re pretty cool then.” Yep.

Their engagement session was awesome and freezing and their wedding was awesome and 112 degrees. I asked Lindsey the night before if she wanted to take pictures inside the barn. She said no. I asked, “Now – are you going to grin and bear it or complain a lot but I shouldn’t take it personally?” She said, “Oh I’ll complain a lot, but don’t take it personally.” They didn’t complain at all. At one point she did say that she felt like she was going to pass out (so we went in, obviously), but they put up with the heat and a potential snake in the barn all while carrying a heavy lace dress and wearing heels. And not once did they make fun of us for being completely soaked. I’m not really sure why we don’t bring kiddie pools with us to weddings because we end up looking like we were in a pool anyway… only we weren’t and it’s freaking hot here.

Anyway – their wedding had adorable details, one of the most talented florists we’ve had the pleasure of working with, a Tom Petty first dance, and tons of help from family and friends for the food, cake, music, and everything. I love weddings like this.

First Dance Song: ”We Were Built to Last” – Tom Petty

Lindsey’s Occupation: Assistant Front Office Manager

Mark’s Occupation: English Teacher

How You Met: First in our high school English class, but we never really hit it off. Then again in college after a mutual friend invited us both to the same get together.

Interesting Fact About Lindsey: Lindsey has the most eclectic music taste of anybody. Ever. Thanks Dad for a childhood filled with everything from Dusty Springfield to Alice in Chains.

Interesting Fact About Mark: Mark is a high school teacher by day, and a musician by night. He is in a rock/rap trio called T Minus 9.

Honeymoon Destination: It’s a surprise! Details are being completely withheld from both the bride and the groom.

Date: June 30,2012

Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Fair Barn // Pinehurst, NC

Florist: Aldena Frye Design

Officiant: Rev. Darlene Liedig

Other: Lindsey says… “This wedding was DIY in quite a few ways. We could not have pulled it off without the help of many friends. Special thanks to our Best Man – Brent, Bridesmaid – Cassandra, and Family Friend Jack  for providing their talents and time!”

Anna+Morgan // Wedding at Jumonville and Klay Winery in Pennsylvania

This wedding was awesome. There were fantastic views, honey jar wedding favors, sparkly bridesmaids shoes, foxes and deer, and… wait for it… two wedding vendors named Carolyn. But most awesome of all were Anna and Morgan. They were calm, cool, and relaxed. Although “cool” may not be entirely accurate as it was in the 90s (very toasty for southwestern PA). They braved the heat, the sun, and an abundance of wedding gnats that attacked anytime we went into the shade. They went through the pre-wedding jitters, through the vows, on top of a mountain, down a mountain, into a reception, and up on top of another mountain while offloading in my parents’ Subaru Forester (ohh yeah). You’d think there might be a tad bit of “I’m tired” or “I’m hot” or “Why do these gnats keep attacking us?” but instead, about every hour, one of them would come up to us and ask if we were okay, if everyone was being nice to us, and if we needed anything. And that pretty much embodies Anna and Morgan for me. Just good, nice people who spend their time thinking about others instead of themselves. And everyone at their wedding was the same way. In a crazy, Twilight-zone twist that happens to me all too often, a girl I went to high school with who was also ridiculously nice and sweet and good was at the wedding… proving, once again, that Anna and Morgan have good taste in people. :) And so this wedding was awesome, relaxed, and went off without a hitch. Both the ceremony and the reception were held in some of the most beautiful spots we’ve had privilege to see thus far at weddings… and we were kind of shocked that such quiet, gorgeous views existed in our home state without us realizing it (granted – our parents are about 1.5 hours away so I can kind of understand why they wouldn’t take a bunch of screaming children to a winery when we were little, but still).

We were honored to be summoned in from out of state for the past two weddings and a session and enjoyed our time in Pennsylvania thoroughly. :) We returned to a blazingly hot North Carolina summer and have shot here since, only to return to PA for our next wedding again, and then I’ll be taking a brief sojourn in Chicago. So be patience, friends! Blogging will resume shortly, but I’ll leave you with this gorgeous wedding to stare at for the next week or so until I get return to NC for a good few months before we take off again. ;)

First Dance Song: “When I Say I Do” – Matthew West

Bride’s Occupation: Sales

Groom’s Occupation: Sales

How You Met: Seton Hill University

Honeymoon Destination: St. Lucia

Date: June 23, 2012

Ceremony Venue: Whyel Chapel, Jumonville // Hopwood, PA

Reception Venue: Christian W. Klay Winery // Chalk Hill, PA

Officiant: Pastor Kevin Labby

DJ: Dave Sanchez // DJ 7UP

Florist: Curly Willow Floral

Cake: Prantl’s Bakery

Caterer: Caileigh’s

Hair/Makeup: Artisan Colour Spa

Videographer: Post Script Productions

Jen+Matt’s Couple Session in Pittsburgh Because They Like Each Other

This was a really fun session for me to shoot. Very close to my hometown and on the riverfront, two adorable dogs, two adorable people, an awesome sunset, and a boat. Not sure it can get much better than that. :)

Jen and Matt are my first ever… rowers. Well, kinda. Matt’s a rower and Jen is a coxswain (It’s the official title of the person who steers the boat and yells the commands and stroke rate to the rowers). They both are members of the Steel City Rowing Club in Verona where they met (all the teams practice at the same dock). Then they went to the same rowing camp in South Carolina where they became really close and have been dating ever since Matt threw Jen in the river (about 2 years – Jen gave him this portrait session as a gift for their anniversary). Matt’s a junior at Oklahoma City University (they have a really good rowing team), and Jen is starting her first year at the University of Pittsburgh as an art history major in the fall. They have two dogs, Matt’s dog Shadow (black) and Jen’s dog Emma (white), who accompanied us for some of the pictures. :)

What’s kind of hilarious for me to see is the way people interact with each other on shoots. 99.9% percent of the time, people tell me that they’re going to be awkward. Or they’re afraid they’ll be awkward. Or they’re worried their significant other will be awkward. Then after that it breaks into two categories: those who are actually awkward, and those who aren’t awkward at all. Jen and Matt, slightly concerned about being unnatural, were some of the most natural people I had ever photographed. It was one of those things where they’d start talking and goofing around and I’d literally have to be like, “Hey. Hey. Hey. Uh, guys? Hey. Ummm?” if I wanted them to move somewhere else or do something. It was awesome. Seriously – ignoring that I’m standing there with a giant camera in your face can’t be easy, but some people manage to do it, and I’m really impressed that these guys did… given that it was their first photoshoot and there were dogs and a shaky dock that was practically in the water and they got completely wet. I like these two and their ridiculously adorable pups a lot. :)