Posts Tagged: Boone Wedding Photography
traditional studio bridal portraits ~ a mom’s wish come true
For generations, a formal, in-studio bridal portrait was the only game in town and there is a reason for that: they were classic and beautiful and often placed in gilded frames and given a place of prominence in the formal living rooms of people’s homes. In this post-modern age of outdoor portraits, studio bridals are a dying breed. Couples now have a specific vision that begins with quirky (often funny) and inventive ways to announce their engagement, then create their save the date cards, launch a website and finally produce a narrative that is singular to them. The genie is out of the bottle, folks and at Pixels, we embrace this and love the opportunity to create unique portraits that tell a story in an unexpected backdrop. I have to say though that I still love and appreciate tradition and the experience that it takes to create a formal portrait with studio lighting. We had this opportunity with Elisabeth, the beauty you see below.
Elisabeth is an only child and her Mom always envisioned having a traditional, formal, studio bridal portrait of her daughter to hang in their home. Of course we were eager not only to honor this request, but to exceed expectations. I spoke to her mom and got a sense of what she had in mind. This mother-of-the-bride wanted a hand-painted muslin backdrop for some photos and mentioned that she loved images of brides on staircases. Fortunately our studio has both!
While the studio bridal portraits feel more like they’re from a by-gone era, they are a perfect foil for the outdoor engagement portraits we took of Elisabeth Isaac…
… and their glorious wedding photos. If you haven’t read their story of doing pretty much everything in reverse, launch the links. It’s worth the read. These two are an inspiration.
Pixels on Paper is now booking sessions (both traditional and crazy creative) for proposals, bridal, engagements, and weddings for 2016 and 2017 and we’d love to help create memories and heirlooms of your journey from “yes” to “I do.” Call 336.990.0080 and let’s discuss this adventure you’ve begun.
Mountain Wedding combines rustic, stylish, Jewish and traditional elements
The only minor thing about Katie and Josh’s October wedding was their now-shared surname. Katie Muskal wore her mother’s wedding gown when she walked down the aisle to marry her groom, Josh Minor. The gown was reworked and tailored to suit her style, but kept the elements that reminded her of her mom and bonded them that day. And that’s only the beginning….
The bride told us that she, “wanted to create a casual, rustic but chic, festive atmosphere where everyone could be comfortable and have a good time. And of course, we wanted it to be in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains!”
Katie is a native of Pennsylvania, but as an Appalachian State alum, she got the mountain bug and fell in love with our Blue Ridge …… and fell even further for a NC boy – Josh. “After dating a few months, we spent an amazing weekend deep in the mountains while attending a football game. I can honestly say that the beautiful scenery helped us fall in love more and more each day. For our wedding, I wanted to recreate that feeling of love we experienced on that trip.”
There is something about an outdoor wedding that is both challenging and adventurous and so deeply cool. Everyone is surrounded by mother nature, we’re all under the sky, there is tender ambient noise, and the trees and flowers and the rest of nature become attendees.
A little shout out: this couple worked with the amazing talent of Buddy Fore and his efforts tend to result in the most beautiful and well-organized weddings. Just look at his table arrangements!! Also, look for him in the 2016 issue of High Country Wedding Guide.
There was no shortage of details that spoke to autumn and tradition. The bride’s Jewish upbringing was celebrated with a “chuppah” made of antique cloth from both the bride’s and groom’s grandmothers. They celebrated with a “breaking of the glass” ceremony, and later the “hora” chair dance at the reception. Finally, the centerpieces and decorations on the head table were from the bride’s grandmother, who passed away last year.
We love the Blue Ridge Mountain Club! It couldn’t be more picturesque and it, along with the fog and rain in the morning followed by a starry night, allowed us to get gorgeous photos of this glorious couple and the many people people who came from hither and yon to be there to celebrate with them.
This reception had the highest energy we’ve seen and photographed all year. The dance floor never cleared thanks to DJ Erok, whom we would highly recommend. Ages young and old partied well into the night. We loved that when they did need a break, the outdoor fire-pit was close by and the stars were out.
Katie asked if it might be possible for us to thank her parents – David and Tracy Muskal, for giving them an amazing wedding and to thank everyone else who came to celebrate with them. Of course we can: THANK YOU SO MUCH!
From Ryan and myself, we’d like to thank Katie & Josh for allowing us to be a witness to their special day. Good Luck, you two! We love you!
engagement photos …. outdoors, after the wedding (not kidding) and utterly magical
Elisabeth and Isaac, so far at least, enjoy taking a timeline and then completely turning it on its ear if not hitting the Jettison Button altogether. Let’s recap. They moved their wedding up by more than a year because they wanted to buy a house. None of this first apartment, “ramen noodle days” stuff for them. No time for bridal portraits, engagement photos or anything before their June wedding, which was a stunner, by the way. It was at Tanglewood Park, and the bride was gorgeous, the groom handsome and they were surrounded by joyous friends and family. (Oh! And killer shoes/booties on the bride…..). So, we took the engagement and bridal portraits after the wedding. We’re starting with the engagement photos!
We ended their wedding blog with “your wedding was magic” and honestly, so was the engagement portrait session. We met up with them on a trail in Blowing Rock. Isaac is outdoorsy and Elisabeth went to Appalachian State University, so this was a perfect spot. It was a cold but clear day when we got there, I turned to Ryan and said, “I have a vision, but it’s going to take more light.” He said, “lead the way.” When the couple arrived (and I should say, they feel like old friends now, having bonded with them while shooting their wedding), I said “I know it looks dead, but trust me,” and they said “we already do.” And just like that it was magical. I actually posted about this on Facebook because I was so completely jazzed.
The fact that I can describe what I see as the final product to Ryan and together we can make it happen is still the most amazing feeling. We’re a team in so many ways and without the other this just wouldn’t be possible. PLUS, we have clients like Elisabeth and Isaac who will happily step into the middle of a bunch of dead trees that look drab and dull without any hesitation. WOW!
There was another incredibly tender and magic moment during this shoot that we didn’t anticipate at all. Elisabeth and Isaac told us that they had hoped to write their own wedding vows, but with the wedding sped up it just didn’t happen. All the other planning and details of the wedding ate up their time, so they ended up going with traditional vows. In preparing for their after engagement session, they decided to write their wedding vows and asked us to photograph them as they read them to each other for the first time. This was an enormous “whoa!” How beautiful to think of doing this and what a blessing for us to be there not only to take pictures but to bear witness! We found a picturesque setting that was private and romantic, set up a light, put on a zoom lens and then stepped way back, even out of ear shot. As they had their private moment we snapped away. I teared up during those minutes realizing how incredibly special this time was to them and honestly, I’m tearing up again thinking about it. Because of this and so many other reasons we can’t help but feel a special connection with this couple.
whitney & preston ~ a wedding of place, people, horses and special details
We are people people.
We love our clients and if you read these blogs, know us, hang out with us with any regularity, have hired us, then you already know this. There is NO WAY we’d be successful if we were not relational by nature.
But we also love the details and the wedding of Whitney Pegg and Preston Parsons was a perfect combination of personal details and character that reflected their personalities.
Williams Farm is a beautiful spot and gave us almost too many options and gorgeous views – ALMOST. If you can consider that much perfect landscape “a detail” – then it was one of the better ones and Whitney and Preston had dozens of perfect details.
Preston is in law enforcement and is an officer. When they asked us to integrate patrol cars and artillery into their photos, wellllllll, it was a fun challenge. We looked for and found creative ways to do this and they turned out to be some of their favorite images in addition to the classic ones we took.
Brides-to-be: TAKE NOTE. If you want an outdoor wedding – country or otherwise – these two nailed it. Check out the barn (OLD barn), the horses and the set up for both the ceremony and reception. The details around each aspect of their day were amazing and so much fun to shoot.
Both Whitney and Preston seemed nervous before the wedding and we always expect this. Once they laid eyes on the other however it was as if no one else was there and you could see that this was the moment they had been waiting for. You could see them completely relax. They even told us afterward that this moment was one of their favorites of the ceremony and day.
Whitney told us that she had “a photo to go with every aspect of the wedding” that they’d asked for and said “and you even did last minute shots” that they wanted to add.
They’ve requested more photos of them in the future and we can’t wait!
Wanna see their engagement photos? Have a look!
bridal portraits – a fairy in the woods
The fairy poet takes a sheet
Of moonbeam, silver white;
His ink is dew from daisies sweet,
His pen a point of light.
~Joyce Kilmer
Painter Maxfield Parrish loved showcasing light, lush settings and often women of pure beauty in his work. Rebekah would have been one of his studies or models for sure. We love light in the mountains too and we took these photos of her in the gardens and forest in Blowing Rock, NC. It was a place where she roamed as a kid, running around and playing make believe.
We met Rebekah at the High Country wedding expo in Boone in February of this year and our conversation was not so much about wedding details as about travel, growing up in the high country of North Carolina, our shared love of the arts, Scottish roots (check out her tartan below), and dreams of woodland fairies.
In 2011, we photographed bride Erica in a forest in Banner Elk. Photos from this session have remained one of my all time favorites. I loved how magical the forest looked and the juxtaposition of Erica’s couture gown in the midst. One of the images is in our studio and on display at tradeshows. In passing I mentioned to Rebekah that I believed fairies lived there. Instantly we connected and shared our enthusiasm and she mentioned wanting a similar portrait for herself.
While Parrish was not our inspiration, our bridal session with Rebekah had that feel… lush, bright and magical. When we planned Rebekah’s bridal portraits, our goal was to find a magical location that reminded her of where fairies might live.
Do you have a theme or idea in mind for your bridal portraits? Please share it with us. We would love to recreate or create a look for your session.