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!

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

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. :)

i photographed my second farmer’s market for the downtown raleigh alliance recently, but this time the toyota farm-to-table tour was present! toyota picked a handful of farmer’s markets across the country and organized various local chefs and farmers, paired them together, and had the chefs create dishes based on the ingredients from the local farmers. they then handed out free samples (yum!) while attendees had the opportunity to test drive a prius and receive free cutting boards from toyota. :) it was pretty awesome that they chose raleigh for one of their stops!

raleigh event photographer raleigh downtown farmer's market toyota farm to table tour

the kids made vegetable puppets after the veggie puppet show and it was just about the cutest thing i’ve ever seen. who doesn’t want to put googly eyes and straw hats on vegetables?!

raleigh farmers market raleigh farmers market happy dog

this was one of the chefs from the busy bee cafe preparing some of the samples. diggin’ his salt tattoo on his left arm. paired with his picture is the samples of yellow tomato soup that the mint handed out.

toyota farm to table tour pumpkins farmers market raleigh event photographer toyota farm to table tour

also – don’t worry. most conferences with our mayor don’t end up like this. i think.

mayor meeker raleigh event photographer toyota farm to table tour

the band american aquarium played at this farmers market and was awesome. i already liked them, but then they did a cover of thunder road and i was totally won over.

american aquarium

farmer’s market ends at the end of october for the year, so make sure if you’re out and about on a wednesday downtown that you stop by and visit them!