• 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

The Hall and Gardens at Landmark Wedding (Ayanna + Adib)

I headed to The Hall and Gardens at Landmark in Garner for this wedding ceremony and reception. Ayanna and Adib’s braved foreboding clouds that threatened rain right before they exchanged vows. The dark blue clouds actually complimented their red and gold color scheme and made everything dazzle even more. Ayanna’s beautiful dress was accented by a new pair of red shoes that flashed a hint of attitude with each step she took.

Luckily the rain held off for the most part and everything went off without a hitch! The only snag (that was quickly resolved by a quick thinking wedding coordinator) was the realization that the sand for the sand ceremony had not made it to the venue… Let’s just say that the sand they did use turned out to be “authentic to North Carolina.”

There was a huge variety of mainstream and international music which made for a fun evening of dining and dancing. One of the favorite desserts of the evening was a Baklavah/Chocolate crossbreed called Choclavah! I think at one point the buffet line was totally empty as everyone had detoured to the Choclavah trays at the side of the room.

One other bit of info that is kind of cool is that Adib has a twin brother named Thomas and I’ll be photographing their wedding in May of 2009. I love it when couples refer me to their friends and family! I get the unique chance to REALLY get to know everyone when I see them in each others weddings.

Thanks to everyone for inviting me to photograph this wedding. I had a great time getting to know all of you and congratulations Ayanna and Adib!

Wedding Cake: Sweet Memories Bakery
Music and DJ: Awesome-DJ – Kerry “K” Cameron
Catering: Marina’s Ambrosia (Lebanese and Mediterranean)
Flowers: Fresh Affairs – Lyn Graves

bride getting ready wedding day
wedding lipstick lip liner
white black woman bride

I love this shot of Ayanna. She looks naturally gorgeous even before putting on the wedding gown.

father of bride hugging daughter

The father of the bride hugs his daughter after seeing her for the first time.

wedding cigar men

The Landmark has an awesome cigar room for the guys to get ready in. Adib told me that the room was one of the reasons that sold him on the ceremony and reception location. I had to agree that he made an excellent choice!

groomsmen getting ready wedding

meeting before ceremony wedding

They chose to see each other before the ceremony.

meeting before wedding ceremony
bride in tears wedding crying

An emotional bride has a hard time holding back the tears. As you can see at least one made it through though…

beautiful african american bridal portrait
bride red heels wedding shoes
red bridesmaids dresses bridal party

We did some “sassy” shots with the girls… There’s those red shoes!

wedding lanterns ceremony

Small wedding lanterns lined the aisle for the processional.

groom saying vows wedding ceremony
pouring sand wedding ceremony
just married recessional
happy couple just married
signing wedding contract
bridesmaids red dresses
marie antoinette ballroom landmark weddings
hall gardens landmark wedding reception
candy table wedding reception
chandelier landmark hall gardens
bride groom dancing first song wedding
hall gardens landmark weddings reception
wedding speech note cards
brother wedding toast
parents wedding toast
father daughter dance wedding black white

The father daughter dance. The shutter of the camera was dragged a bit to create a sense of motion…

fun mother son dance wedding

The mother son dance was so fun! Hey mom! What was the reason behind the finger biting? I noticed Adib was doing it too. It reminds me of Austin Powers a bit…

wedding guests dancing
blue dress wedding guest
grandma laughing wedding
best friends wedding reception
bridal shoes red heels
bride groom wedding exit
fun wedding reception
mother groom wedding reception
wedding cake flowers on top
wedding cake flowers made frosting
smash wedding cake dirty look

This is one of my favorites of the wedding. Ayanna’s mom and sister look on in anticipation as Ayanna gives Adib a look that I think many brides are probably familiar with… It’s the “don’t you dare think about it… I look awesome the way I am without you smashing cake on me!” look…

crank that soulja boy

Bride and guests “crankin’ the Soulja Boy!”

hall gardens landmark garner nc

I guess they were both totally shocked (yet ecstatic) when accidentally bumping butts…

first dance bride groom

Sharing a last dance surrounded by friends and family…

12 comments

Natasha Obazee - June 11, 2010 - 10:52 pm

These pics give me life! The couple and the wedding was gorgeous! Congrats on your wedding, and may you have a prosperous and fulfilling marriage!

Melinda Young - June 7, 2010 - 9:43 am

What a Beautiful wedding!! The bride and groom are both gorgeous and look so very happy in these photos. Congratulations to you..and many blessings to the couple for many many beautiful years ahead for them!!!

Lori and Bob Bailey - October 22, 2008 - 1:49 pm

The smiles,…the beaming smiles…what a wonderful day!

Trupti Patel - October 22, 2008 - 6:58 am

Adib and Ayanna
Congratulations and have a Happy Married life together.

Brian&Kimberly O'Day - October 21, 2008 - 1:36 pm

Beautiful pictures :) Congratulations Adib and Ayanna!

Dwight and Tasha Bel - October 21, 2008 - 1:27 pm

You guys look wonderful! Beautiful dress. Sorry that we were not able to make it. I got my dates mixed up. Good thing I called Paula this past Saturday or I would have wasted a trip. Adib why was I thinking the 18th? Anyway, We love you guys! Hope to see you soon!

Drew & Paula Graves - October 21, 2008 - 1:25 pm

Oh Craig,
These are wonderful pictures. I was so honored to be apart of this special day for Adib and Ayanna… Thank you for including the sand ceremony shot too *wink*

Ayanna & Adib - October 19, 2008 - 4:02 pm

Hey Craig!

Finally, back in the US from our honeymoon and on computer that can load pics faster than one every ten minutes! We LOVED the sneak peek of the photos – looking over them again just reminds us of everything that went well that day, and how happy we were to have everyone celebrate with us. Even though it was a late decision, having you take our photos was definitely one of the best that we made. Thanks again for everything!!

Nikki (The Crazy Maid of Honor) - October 15, 2008 - 5:26 pm

Craig,

Love the shots. It helps that you had such a stunning bride to begin with! I had camera envy all day. Thanks for sharing. The pictures are always a reminder of a very amazing day!

Kim - October 15, 2008 - 4:36 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

heidi - October 15, 2008 - 1:44 pm

What a fun wedding! Love the “sassy” shot!

Bridget C. - October 15, 2008 - 12:16 pm

The pictures are beautiful! Thanks so much for all you did that day, Craig. I especially love that first shot of Ayanna.

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