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Category Archives: Family

Tavolla Rossa / Rehearsal Dinner Photography (Thomas + Julia)

June 29, 2009 Posted In: Family

Julia and Thomas held their rehearsal dinner for their June wedding at Tavola Rossa Restaurant in Raleigh. Family and friends traveled from all over for the momentous occasion. Probably the most shocking (or lack there of) detail of the night was the fact that the entire restaurant had no electricity for most of the evening. Tavola Rossa is located near the Crabtree Mall and the entire grid was down. Luckily we were outside so it didn’t effect us too much. Besides the fact that the food was awesome, I was impressed with how well the restaurant handled the situation.

There was a rumor that a car had crashed into power station near by. It was funny because at various points in the evening I would overhear “How does someone wreck into a power station?!? Aren’t they secluded with giant fenced barricades surrounding them? How do you even do that?!?”

I’m tagging the photographs below with a few other highlights from the evening but one of my favorites was the fact that Joe and Karen (Julia’s mother and father) were celebrating their 30th year anniversary that exact night! It was really cool to see the torch being passed from one generation to the next. They had brought a few photographs from their wedding day to share with everyone. Congratulations and thank you for letting me be a part of your special rehearsal dinner!

Click here to view photos from the wedding!

Julia’s bridesmaids were a blast. We had a lot of fun posing in front of this gritty wall nearby the restaurant.

cute photo boy
boy woman walking
dinner prayer
rehearsal toast wine
italian restaurant lasagna

All of the food tasted amazing… Grazie Tavolla Rossa!

wedding rehearsal
rehearsal dinner wedding portrait

I thought this semi-serious portrait of Thomas’s groomsmen turned out rather nice. I had to do a lot of post processing but I think it was worth it.

vintage photograph
vintage wedding photo

I love this set of photos of Julia’s parents. Thirty years goes by fast! I’m a bit partial but I prefer Joe’s choice of haircut nowadays…

grandma grandmother wedding

The grandmothers listening to a great story from one of their friends.

tavola rossa restaaurant

I spotted an old Tavola Restaurant sign in the back that they were getting rid of and couldn’t resist getting a few unique portraits of Thomas and Julia pretending to walk off with it. I mean… what better souvenir could you possibly take from your rehearsal dinner than a six foot sign of the place! Or at least take a photo of it…

restaurant sign
engagement photo

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Karen Porter - July 6, 2009 - 1:41 pm

Actually, Joe & Karen Porter were celebrating their 33rd wedding anniversary that evening!!

Couples and Family Maternity Photos (Lindsay & Stephan)

March 28, 2009 Posted In: Family

Lindsay and Stephan are a sweethearted and loving couple from Clayton that have been married for 3 years and hold tight bonds with their friends and family as well as their extended family at C3 Church just down the street. Last year they decided to take a big step and extend their own family!

Soon after when they found out that they were pregnant, they contacted me to check my availability for a fun photography session. Normally I don’t promote my maternity photography, but in the case when someone asks me (or if it is a past client) I am more than happy to oblige. I especially enjoy fun sessions where the focus is still on the couple. As they waited for Lindsay to start “showing” they kept in touch with me on how things were going.

I even had a chance to see their 3D ultrasound which was pretty cool! I joked with them that maybe there were a few “sleeper” babies just waiting to surprise them. For those of you that may be wondering what the heck I’m talking about, I was referencing a term in bowling where the “sleeper pin” is a rear pin that is not easily seen because of a pin directly in front of it. I don’t know that they were thrilled about that idea and decided that one baby was going to be enough for now!

As time went by Lindsay’s belly got bigger (as one would expect in a circumstance such as this) but they also got busier and busier with baby classes and preparing the nursery. It became difficult to lock in the perfect time to schedule the shoot. 9 months snuck up on us pretty quick and before we knew it Lindsay was going to be due in a week so we decided to photograph the next day.

We had fun scoping out Clayton for some fun locations and later went back to there house for some cozy shots that included their weimaraner, Bray. I must say that they could not have cut it any closer! Just a day and half after our pregnancy couple photos Lindsay and Stephan announced the birth of Wyatt James Caldwell. I teased them that all of the moving about during the shoot must have caused Wyatt to want come out ASAP!

I noticed that if Stephen covered up a few letters on one of the signs that we could make a new sign up to make Lindsay laugh!
couple playground swings

What are the chances that we would find a swing seat that said “Miracle?”
married couple swinging

Don’t worry Bray! They won’t love you any less. :)
couple photography dog

A perfect nursery to welcome their new baby home to!
monogrammed baby cloth

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Maternity Photography / A Special Christmas Present (Heather + Matt)

December 26, 2008 Posted In: Family

I’ve been waiting for months to add this post! You probably remember Heather’s pregnancy photoshoot from earlier this year… right? Her friend Courtney was inspired by one of my photographs to create an artistic painting to give to her on Christmas Day. She was the sweetest person and even asked my permission. I said “of course!” and promised to keep it a secret.

Heather told me how excited she was when she received the painting on Christmas. I wish I could have been there to see the surprised look on her face. These unexpected moments are what I love about my clients and their friends and family! Thank you for including me in this amazing gift Courtney. You are extremely talented.