Update!

We have lots of great prizes as follows:

The first ever Downtown Roanoke Wedding Crawl is a great way to meet wedding vendors, see some of the beautiful downtown wedding venues, and help out the Roanoke Valley SPCA at that same time! I’m going to be the featured photographer at Hotel Roanoke which will be using the beautiful Crystal Ballroom as its centerpiece as well as conducing tours of several other locations within the hotel that are used to host every kind of wedding event.

Hotel Roanoke has a long tradition of hosting some of the most beautiful weddings in Roanoke. They have an excellent in house catering staff that not only prepares delicious food and exciting specialty drinks with gorgeous presentation, but they also are exceptionally attentive to make your wedding guests feel welcomed and cared for. Of course the building, grounds and central downtown location make the Hotel Roanoke a photographers dream. I love the city backdrop and some of my most beautiful bridal shoots are done there. Of course it makes a stunning backdrop for wedding day couple portraiture, too.

Get your tickets here at the RVSPCA website!

Hope to see you there!

Here are a few more from Lindsey and Caley’s awesome inter-continental wedding extravaganza at Sundara. It was basically a destination wedding Southern Virginia style with people flying in from all over the world (even Mt. Everest…that one still blows me away) just to make sure these two got a proper send-off to happily ever after. Lindsey is from the States and Caley is British and they both live in London now but wanted to have a classic southern style wedding for all of their friends and family to enjoy. Moonshine guest favors, lawn games,  and the gorgeous Sundara setting made the perfect wedding celebration with lots of other little special touches that only friends and family can bring. In lieu of a toast the bride’s sister wrote a little short play that told the story of the beginning of Lindsey and Caley’s relationship. Much to the bride and groom’s surprise they were spontaneously cast in the starring roles and gave a stunning performance playing themselves! Then Caley’s best man gave a hilarious roast with classically wry British wit that had everyone else in stitches. Followed by a beautiful toast by the groom for his lovely new bride, a cake cutting with the bride’s father’s dress saber, a polka dance with accordion music delivered by the brides sister and brother-in-law, and a crowd rousing band that brought the party on, made for a completely fun evening that I’m sure Lindsey and Caley will remember forever.

Reception Venue: Sundara | Caterer: Center Stage Catering | Florist: Creative Occasions Florals and Fine Gifts | Ceremony: Green Memorial United Methodist Church in Roanoke, VA | Alcohol Purveyor: Wine Gourmet | Cake: Wildflour Cafe | Rentals: Aztec Rentals | Hair and Makeup: Les Cheveux Salon and Day Spa | Guest Transportation: Mountain Valley Transport | Couple Transportation: Rolls Royce provided by Prestige Limo | Bands: Eight More Miles and Six Stylez | Wedding Dress: Vintage Wedding Dress Company | Brides Shoes: Emmy Shoes | Bridesmaids Dresses: Reflections Brialwear

Here’s a little sneak peek from Lindsey and Caley’s wedding and reception at Sundara. It was a gorgeous day and so many people came from all over the world just to be there for these two. One came from Nepal where he had just climbed Mt. Everest. How often does THAT happen? More to come!

This was a beautiful day for a gorgeous April wedding with Melissa and Craig. I loved everything about working with these two. I’ve known Melissa for a while now but Craig I had never met. Sitting there chatting in the studio with them on the first day I met Craig I could tell that they were perfectly suited to each other. Both are quickly at ease with others, ready to share a good laugh, and it seemed to me they kind of adored each other. They will easily share a life of love and good times. That’s the best.

Thanks to my friends at Blue Ridge Catering, Creative Occasions, Lux Lighting and Event Design, and Charter Hall in the Roanoke City Market Building for lending their talents and gifts to make this a very perfect day.

Here’s a little shout out to my friends at The Roanoker who are coming out with a brand new wedding magazine that exclusively showcases weddings in Roanoke and Southwest Virginia. I invite any of my clients who had weddings in Roanoke or points westward to enter their wedding in bridebook. Once you have completed your entry, all you have to do is contact me with a list of the images you wish to submit and I will prepare them for publication and submit them directly to bridebook.

The information they sent me states that they are looking for:

• Weddings that occurred between January 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012
• Weddings that took place in Roanoke or a southwest Virginia location
• Weddings that used the services of local photographers, florists, wedding planners, caterers, venues, etc.

There is no cost to submit your wedding for consideration but, if selected, there is a fee for the design and production of your registry pages.

bridebook debuts in May 2013.  Deadline for submissions is Feb. 1, 2013. Their editors will notify the lucky brides on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

More than 12,000 copies of bridebook will be beautifully printed and elegantly designed. Every Roanokermagazine subscriber will receive a copy and it will be on sale at Barnes & Noble and newsstands across the valley. Brides will receive 10 complimentary copies for family and friends.

As a very busy year was winding down, I was able to have a little fun with an editorial shoot back in October. Beautifully styled by Amy McArthur with a timely Hobbit Wedding theme, all the elements came together for a gorgeous shoot. Perfect weather especially for late October.  It was also a first for me as prior to this I have never worked with a pony…or an equine of any kind for that matter. At least not at a wedding. i loved it. I MUST do that again so if you are getting married on a horse or even if your wedding has a horse or pony in it, I want to be a part of it!

A BIG HUGE THANKS to the following people who offered their amazing talents and expertise to make this so beautiful.

Patty and Tom Trostle who provided Sundara, one of the most gorgeous places on Earth to get married
Jolina Goad and Tammy Carswell of Les Cheveux Salon and Day Spa who did the perfect job on hair and makeup
The awesome Mark Frye of Creative Occasions Events Flowers & Gifts (who can even decorate a pony!)
AmRhein’s Brides & Formals for that perfect dress
Healing Strides an amazing organization that brought us the charming and lovable Warrior
Charlotte’s Web Antiques Mall and Primitive Gatherings for set furnishings and props

And a special thanks to the beautiful Abby Broughton who was the most perfect model ever for this shoot.

When we think about our parents, especially those of us who no longer have one or both of them, there are always certain things we will forever associate with them. A lot of those are material things, simple keepsakes or perhaps heirlooms. They are things we can look at that instantly conjure an image of them or give us  that feeling that  they’re here with us despite the fact they are not. Maybe it’s a piece of furniture,  or something they used in the kitchen or out in the shop. Sometimes it is something very simple, yet permanently tied to our memory of them and therefore cherished.

My mom’s stationary box was just one of those things. As far back as I can remember I have been fascinated with intricate geometric design, and for the most part the more complex and symmetrical the design the more I like it. I love beautiful handmade rugs and tapestries and fabrics with these designs. Pool trim tiles always catch my eye and I am amazed whenever I get a chance to see a quilt show. So, her stationary box naturally attracted my eye. It was just a nicely made cardboard box, nothing particularly fancy but well done, embossed printing with an intricate repeating design on gold foil paper. And it was around for as long as I can remember. Once depleted of the stationary it came with, it was the keeper of paper scraps that I cannot describe other than an assortment of odds and ends that still had some useful purpose. But, it was always around. Never discarded. And for forty some years it sat there where my mom held highest office at household command central. Then I came along with a renewed and now sentimental interest in it.

At first I thought I would just use it to make some type of graphic as a background for my website, but that didn’t really work out. I scanned it and manipulated it every way I could but it just didn’t pan out as I had intended. So, the box just sat on the shelf in my office where I would occasionally pick it up and admire it but was never quite sure what to do with it.

About a month ago I had the annual clean out the office day where all the junk I accumulate is usually discarded. I’m not a hoarder…for long. When I came to the stationary box I once again wondered what I could possibly do with it. I just didn’t want to put it in a box or a closet where it would never be looked at again. I wanted to USE it in some meaningful way where I could remember my mom and admire its familiar design. I put it aside and came to a box of frames that I had laying around and that is when it came to me! I would make the box into a photo mat and in it I would put a photo of me and my mom that I had always loved. It was the one with my dad’s ’41 Chevy pickup in the background. We were out in the back yard in a baby pool and he was home for lunch and snapping a few pics of his new kid. Perfect.

So, this is what happened to my mom’s stationary box. Despite being on the creative side, I’m not a very crafty person so I was rather pleased with myself. It was a the prefect project ending for a simple piece of family memorabilia and the photo that makes it even more special.

Here’s a few shots, the first one showing the scanned box lid, with all its worn edges from nearly a half century of use.

And the finished piece.  I chose a simple black frame and a white undermatting to set the box top mat apart from the photo. I was very careful to preserve the symmetry of the design as best I could, cutting the opening so that it was centered in the design repeat. I love it!

I had a few scraps of material left over that I couldn’t part with so I fashioned a little box that holds all my CF cards waiting to be downloaded. Ok. Maybe I AM a little crafty :o)

The day before their wedding I touched base with Ellie just to check in since they had traveled to Roanoke from Texas and were taking care of some last minute details. Ellie did have a special favor to ask. It seems that Bryan REALLY wanted to have an old fashioned straight razor shave just to make this day a little more special. He had spent a good part of the week just trying to find a place that still did them since it appeared the straight razor shave had gone the way of a two bit haircut.

Well, he finally found Esquire Barber Salon, an old-fashioned barber shop on 11th Street that still did them and he really wanted this part of his day photographed. Could I possibly oblige? Seemed like fun to me, so I prepared for the day a little earlier than usual and headed over to the shop just as the groom’s entourage was arriving.

The shave went really well, and Bryan seemed to enjoy a bit of groom pampering. That is, until the end when he got a little wake up call from the alcohol rub on his freshly shaven face. As for me, I loved photographing this little ritual. I was just a wee bit nervous at the beginning when I looked down as the straight razor was about to start its glide right above Bryan’s jugular. It was apparent that Bryan’s barber was just a wee bit shaky being photographed on the job. Nevertheless, he insisted that we continue to document this special part of the day and he did a stellar job. Bryan lived to tell with minimal blood loss.

I was over at a shoot for my friends at Firefly Media who were having a grand opening at their new digs in Grandin Village. Of course, no eventness on Grandin Road would be complete without James Tarpley and James was there to help cut the ribbon. I never really had the privilege of meeting James, but he came over to me just to say how much he appreciated how hard I was working and we struck up a little chat. At the end, he eagerly agreed to a little portrait shoot and I thought this was the shot that captured him best. What a wonderful person, and a such a handsome guy. I loved the hat.