Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Ashley & Brian / A North Carolina Mountaintop "I Do"

I have been dying to share these photos with you all for quite some time now. And a'las the time as arrived. Just a week off of my Peruvian jungle adventure (I am sharing those photos soon, I promise) I made my way to the North Carolina mountains for Ashley and Brian's Blowing Rock wedding. Getting hired by Ashley and Brian, the brother of Allison a bride I photographed two years in NC, was like getting the best kind of compliment. They saw me in action, saw the result and wanted me at their own special day. I love it!

Ashley and Brian met in college at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, which happened to be right around the corner from their mountaintop wedding venue. And despite "uncooperative weather" (a.k.a. torrential downpour come ceremony time) the day turned out to be a truly beautiful celebration of a truly beautiful pair complete with a post ceremony mountain scape photo shoot and a ski lift ride to the reception.

If you know me at all you are aware that I am a fairly sentimental person, but photographing weddings is seriously hard work. I am busy, busy, busy coordinating things, fiddling with the dials on the camera, grasping a reflector in one hand a camera in the other standing on one foot on a chair looking for light, praying that I can be omnipresent and invisible at the same time and trying to predict the future, to name a few. (Thank the dear Lord for my second shooter Pam. Thanks, Pam!) The enormity of it all typically doesn't hit me until the day starts to wind down. At Ashley and Brian's wedding it was midway through the reception during the toasts. Standing in the corner with my eye to the camera I watched as Ashley and Brian's loved ones passed the mic around the room. I swear there had to have been at least twenty toasts. From moms, dads, grandparents, siblings, best friends, god parents, and on and on, everyone took no hesitation in publicly professing their love and adoration for these two as individuals and as a pair. As my vision became hazy from the tears clouding up my eyes I seriously had to give myself a little talking too (inside my head, of course). "Carrie, pull yourself together!" I literally almost lost it. These two were the real deal and it was evident to all who sat on the sidelines watching their lives. And here they were, gathered around, cheering them on and raising glasses. How. absolutely. beautiful. sob.

Congrats to you, Ashley and Brian! I loved being there to capture your day and to cheer you on.

1_AshleyBrian_intro

2_AshleyBrian_placedetails

3_AshleyBrian_prewedding

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3_AshleyBrian_dress

4_AshleyBrian_bridedetails

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8_AshleyBrian_ceremony2

9_AshleyBrian_car

10_AshleyBrian_formals

11_AshleyBrian_skilift

13_AshleyBrian_receptiondetails

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Here are a few of those infamous toasts...
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1 comments:

sb September 13, 2011 at 3:15 PM  

aaaaugh! these are so gorgeous, carrie!

About Caroline

I decided my destiny was to be an artist at age five when I won an honorable mention in a art competition in kindergarten. Ever since then I have been following a dream that has manifested itself in a variety of rewarding and delightful ways. I have practiced in the field of graphic design for over 8 years and recently acquired my Masters in Graphic Design at NC State University in Raleigh, NC (check out my design portfolio by clicking here if you like). But a passion that has stuck with me ever since I got my hands on my first Nikon camera in my undergraduate art education at Florida State University is photography. The instruction I received there was but a seed in what would develop over the next years of my life. Recently I have begun photographing people in their celebrations of life and could not feel any more blessed to be a part of capturing those memories.

About This Blog

A great american writer once wrote, "If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world, and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan my day." EB White penned the thoughts of my own heart. One part of me is a graphic designer working to challenge the world, seeking out problems and striving to create avenues for change. The other part is seeking out the beauties of the world and working to capture them in our memories forever through photography. This is what you will find here. Me enjoying the world. I have been truly fortunate to photograph such incredible people at truly beautiful moments in life. I can only hope that the images I've collected will forever keep alive those thoughts and emotions that swelled in their hearts and minds that day.

If you are interested in having me capture your life moments you can contact me by clicking here.

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