• Welcome!

    Luster Studios is my personal portfolio where I share weddings, special events, engagement sessions and portraits. My origins stem from a fine arts degree in photography and computer graphics. My "style" is a perfect blend of creative ideas driven by a relaxed attitude and a fun yet thoughtful personality.

    Through a combination of posing and photojournalism I strive to capture planned and spontaneous moments that will later help you relive how you were feeling at that exact moment. I'm based in North Carolina and often travel to destination locations. I look forward to getting to know what inspires you both creatively and personally.

    - Craig Carpenter

A Belmont Estate Wedding in Reidsville, NC (Cristina + BJ)

I recently joined Cristina and BJ for their wedding at The Belmont Estate in Reidsville North Carolina. When we first met I really clicked with them so I was excited when her wedding day was finally here. Here’s some of the highlights of what a great event this turned out to be.

If you’re not familiar with the Belmont Estate in Reidsville I highly recommend it as an elegant and beautiful backdrop for your next event or bed and breakfast excursion. Charlie has been a proprietor there for 12 years and is a top notch gentleman that will show you some true southern hospitality.

The weather was amazing and Cristina and BJ (AND their friends and family) are an awesome mix of heart and down right craziness. The ceremony took place at a Methodist church down the street and a horse drawn carriage escorted the couple to The Belmont after they were married. The soundtrack for the evening ranged from meaningful first dances to hot spanish ballads as the night progressed. “T” (short for Thiamous) represented Complete Music well! There was a lot of dancing and everyone looked like they were having a blast.

At one point during the night I asked Cristina if she was having a good time too and she replied “Craig, having you here tonight has been one of the best decisions I made for my wedding.” When I hear compliments like that… that are spoken from the heart it makes all the hard work worthwhile!

Congratulations guys!

VENDORS:
The Belmont Estate
Woodmont United Methodist
Complete Music


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Sara carries the dress with care to Cristina. I love this shot! The backlighting on her dress makes her appear as if she’s “floating” down the stairs

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Their daughter was the flower girl… adorable.

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I knew I was in for an interesting night when I saw an authentic license plate rom New Jersey labeled the “Sopranos”

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BJ’s mom (and sisters) shed tears of pride and joy during the mother son dance

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A great contrast between Francisco’s (Cristina’s dad) dancing style and the couple in the background.

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Don’t ask!

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Now that’s what I call “wedding toast!”

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6 comments

Tina - June 11, 2009 - 3:42 pm

I was just surfing the net for ideas for my own engagement photo shoot and I have been thru nearly fifty sites without stopping. But I am forced to leave my cruise and tell you that you made me a soar a little higher with your amazing picture of the wedding gown by the window!

Thank you…

Kim James - October 22, 2008 - 6:24 pm

Thank you so very much for sharing your photos with us, I hope you had as much fun as we did. Ayanna is special to her dad and I and we were so happy that you were able to share this special occassion with her. Take care

Kim James

justine miller - October 11, 2008 - 1:42 pm

Thanks for stopping by my blog :) I love that first dress shot!

Heidi@TrulyEngaging - October 7, 2008 - 7:38 am

I forgot to say how much I love the first shot of the wedding dress lying on the settee in the sun! So gorgeous… dreamy really.

Heidi@TrulyEngaging - October 7, 2008 - 6:52 am

Hi Craig,
Thanks so much for your comments on TrulyEngaging. And, you’ve inspired me to write a blog post about the bride getting just the right pearl length… Can I call on you? :)

Larry and Rebecca Evans - October 6, 2008 - 4:37 pm

Thank you so much, Craig, for the great pictures of our son and his new wife. You did a great job, and your photos are beautiful. We were not expecting pictures so soon, so we were really surprised. We will always recomment you to all our family and friends. We had a great time with you, and it was great meeting you at BJ and Crisinta’s wedding. Great Job!

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