If you were hoping to get a piece of cake with Clemson paws on it, see a completely glamorous bride, and a husband who cannot stop smiling, you missed it. You missed the cake. The rest is below. Jason, Jessica and their nearest and dearest gathered last month to celebrate them at their wedding at St. John’s UMC in Rock Hill, SC. It was fun, tender and hot as blazes, but we took the images that made them the happiest. The couple shared this: “We are blown away at the moments you captured. We are weepy just thinking about it. You created memories for us that we will always have and that we will return to for the rest of our lives.” Mission accomplished.
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If you want to see what can be done with high heels AND mountain views, I hope you’ll check out Jessica and Jason’s engagement portraits. I can’t tease it any more than that.
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Jessica told us that her favorite photo is of her with Jason as they walked back up the aisle as husband and wife. We agree. You can tell how crazy in love they are. We also loved the simplicity and classic nature of their wedding – the colors, the church, the flowers, everything was gorgeously understated, elegant and lovely.
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St. John’s provided us with so many opportunities to shoot, but we love photos of these two outside especially. To wit: a lamppost was scaled in the making of these memories…. we suffer for our art.
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The reception was held at Gettys Art Center in Rock Hill, because the bride and groom vibed on the old interiors of the place. True enough, it’s an amazing spot for a reception. One – air conditioning in July! Big plus. Two – beautiful stained wood paneling.
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Jessica: “We cried when we danced with our parents. I didn’t expect my dad to dance with me. I was 100% surprised. It was quite possibly the best moment I have ever had with him. And I loved seeing the photos of Jason dancing with his mom.”
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In the spirit of sharing the love for other wedding vendors, we ask our clients who they hired. Here are those chosen by Jessica and Jason: Wedding gown: Castle, Spartanburg, SC
Wedding coordinator /planner: Crystal Beck. Jessica told us that she was “a game changer.” The bride didn’t worry about anything.
Flowers: Jasn’e Creative Design.
DJ or band: Split Second Sound out of Charlotte NC. “Eric was the BEST! I would hire him again tomorrow if I had a reason.”
Catering: Essie’s Catering. Yummy food.
Cake and desserts: Carrie Shafer. “She is a friend- doesn’t do it professionally but they were DELICIOUS.”
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs, engagements and weddings, brides, and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
“We were so happy to see cousins we hadn’t seen in a long time, friends from Hawaii, Seattle, Colorado, all hanging out, chattering and later playing music for the ceremony. We loved our DJ, photographers and how much love we felt surrounded with. If we were to give a couple advice about their wedding, we’d tell them to get married in the mountains and make the wedding a full weekend, an inclusive event.” ![]()
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We photographed their engagement portraits at The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC so clearly these two adore the mountains. Even their sweetheart of a dog is named Saluda (google it). The wedding was small, intimate and personal. It focused on marriage, family and friends, the most important aspects. The day was an intersection of both elegance and personal touches: Katie’s Mom made the cakes, using recipes passed down through generations. A close friend of Katie’s “did” everyone’s hair and makeup. The same friend undercut her own hair with the couple’s initials surrounded by a heart.
Tim & Katie wrote the table assignments on their snowboards and a canvas candid photo of the pair with an I Love You message was used as the guest book. Finally, an artist friend drew and designed their can cozies to include Saluda’s profile. Those were only a few of the thoughtful details, gang. Katie plied her trade, big time.
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The sunset could not have been better if we’d ordered back drops from Cecille B. DeMille. Watching friends gather after we’d photographed the couple, was one of the sweeter and more beautiful moments of a day filled with beauty and love.
We’d be nuts not to mention the other vendors who contributed to this amazingly cool wedding.
Katie’s gown: Jean’s Bridal – Charleston, SC
Wedding and reception venue reception: Twickenham House and Hall
Flowers: Flowers by Desi
Music/DJ: Dan with On Target
Caterers: Gadabouts
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
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Somehow, after all of these years and too many collaborations to count, we’ve never blogged about Bridal Traditions as a beloved and favorite vendor and partner of ours. Kelly Shumate, the owner of BT, is a dear friend and not only have we worked with her, but for her, creating her custom logo and branding.![]()
We also took her wedding renewal portraits in one of the more unique and beautiful sessions we’ve had with a bride and groom. Honestly, that’s the word for Kelly and the options and perspective she provides to her customers at Bridal Traditions and beYOUtiful Proms – unique. Kelly built her business from the ground up starting with a vision but only working at it part-time. She found gowns for weddings, provided dresses and accessories for proms, and later participated in prom campaigns like All About Prom where she could supply the right attire to each lady. By 2008, with no debt (NO. DEBT.) and a storefront, Kelly left her other job and became fulltime owner, operator and visionary for BT.![]()
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Kelly is fun to collaborate with because she brings so many creative and clever options to the table when we’re the photographers for a particular promotion or event. You can have the word “Traditions” in your business name and still be modern, fun and completely distinct. ![]()
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Every bride, every prom attendee wants to be and look remarkable. You like Scarlett O’Hara? Kelly and her team have got ya. Love The Great Gatsby? Done. Bohemian Chic? She can make you into that perfect gypsy. We look forward to many more years of working with Kelly and her amazing retail operations at Bridal Traditions and beYOUtiful Prom Attire. ![]()
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
American forefather Benjamin Franklin famously said, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” This isn’t actually true. What he wrote was, “Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine, a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”
What is true is that both rain and beer can put a smile on our faces, and one place that handles the beer part is Boondocks Brewing Taproom and Restaurant. These guys have been open since August 1, 2012, which makes today their 4th anniversary! Well done, team.
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It’s a 40 minute drive for us, but it’s our neighborhood spot because we love them, they love us, the food is fab and the craft beer is exceptional. And while “boondocks” means out-of-the-way, backwood, or rural, the set up the Boondocks Brew Haus, just down from the restaurant on South Jefferson Avenue, is all modern. They just updated the brew system a week ago to a larger one and it is sleek, sophisticated and state of the art. Equally cool is that everything about the brew system was customized, from the piping, the control panel, motor/pump mounting all the way down to the Boondocks logo on the lids for the tanks.
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Because we consider owner Gary Brown, head chef/general manager Jared Yelton and the staff family, we offered to help with the installation of the new equipment. When we arrived however, all the heavy lifting of getting the 3 new large tanks in place had already happened. Gary was still doing some fitting work so we stayed a little while to take some photos to help document the history of the installation, even getting a couple “proud poppa” photos with Gary at the tanks.
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The brew haus is responsible for creating the amazing craft beer for the restaurant, but the space is also open for events like monthly beer and wine dinners, private functions, rehearsal dinners and family reunions. The gang at Boondocks is very active in the Ashe County community, as well, supporting local farms and hosting events. They were just awarded the Ashe County Small Business of the Year award for 2016. Finally, manager and chef Jared came to the Pixels anniversary party in 2015 and provided appetizers and cooked other items on site. We just love these guys and are raising a glass to them. Here’s to many more years of making people happy. CHEERS!
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
Deanna Reid, owner of Edenhouse Floral & Events, has been a collaborator and co-conspirator of ours since 2013. In a word: talented.
Creative.
Inspiring. That’s 3 and we’re stopping there, but suffice it to say, she and her team do amazing work.
She’s created floral arrangements for weddings and events we’ve photographed, flower crowns for our portrait clients, and arrangements for our own personal needs. Ryan is wearing one of her flower crowns right now.
Kidding. But the truth is, Deanna brings the juice. Check out the below.
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I think, on some level, we all believe that we can sort of “do our best” and get similar results to those of the professionals. Occasionally, this is true, but it’s rare. Deanna uses uses a huge array of flowers, and combines textures and objects in all of her designs. And she has a feel for clients and adds that spark that completes a vision.
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We’ve heard nothing but rave reviews from our clients who’ve worked with Deanna, be it on price, service, communication or finished products. She is our go-to recommendation for floral needs. Deanna and her team also now offer wedding planning and coordination, applying their same organization, creative efforts and visions to an entire event.
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We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.