regina holder

new blog

2008-06-15T00:44:00.002-04:00

I am excited to finally launch my new blog! My friend Christine and her wonderful husband Mike have been so helpful in getting it together. All new posts will be at www.reginaholder.com/blog. Please update your reader or bookmarks! I hope to see you over there!

kirstan and robert - hilton head

2008-05-23T23:18:00.002-04:00

Kirstan and Robert were married at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort and Spa. I drove down Friday afternoon to do a couple portrait session with them on the beach and ended up going to their ceremony rehearsal. We did their engagement session in Atlanta in February after several times trying to plan a trip to Hilton Head because the weather was not cooperating. Click here for the engagement slideshow.

The weather on Friday was perfect - in the 70s with a cool ocean breeze. Saturday was a different story with a storm looming overhead. It sprinkled a little at the end of the ceremony and we were afraid to go too far out on the beach. No "trashing the dress" before the reception!

Kirstan and Robert had hired me over the telephone, but we seemed to instantly "click". Kirstan has the most infectious laugh - you can't be around her long without having fun for sure! Robert is part of a huge family and such a nice guy. They all had a way of making me feel like family really quickly.

Both of Robert's parents and Kirstan's mother had passed away, so there was a lot of emotion that day. I asked Robert if he noticed all the guests watching from their rooms and he said that once he saw Kirstan all he saw was the tears in his eyes. They lit memorial candles before the cake cutting and I love the photo of Kirstan wiping his tears. Then, during the father/daughter dance, it was Kirstan's time to cry.

I don't normally go back to the room with the couple - I wasn't the only one there! BUT they had such a fantastic view off their balcony. It was hard trying to capture them and the ocean in complete darkness, but I love the shots we got in the end. Robert's nephews are 2 floors down yelling up to them. I'm sure at least one wing of the Westin knew which room they were in.

Thank you so much Kirstan and Robert for such a wonderful day. I enjoyed hanging out with you and your families and friends. Much love to you!

A casual and relaxed Robert hanging out with his nephews.

Cheers!

First kiss.

3rd or 4th kiss!

Here's where I was afraid of Robert's back going out.

They love these pelicans that are all around the Westin. This is their favorite because they said it looks like the are getting married. Kirstan shared her bouquet for a few.

The best wedding party entrance EVER!

Ummm....I think this is called....

CHEATING!

I wonder if she has a ring yet?

Robert's nephews were hilarious!

Go Robert! Go Kirstan!

may pug and my birthday

2008-05-20T21:57:00.006-04:00

Last Tuesday night was our monthly Pictage User Group (PUG) meeting, which is held in the conference room upstairs from my studio. Charlotte photographer Critsey Rowe was our guest speaker. Critsey is a partner of Indigo Photography and has recently launched her own boutique style company. She has been published in many local and national magazines and had her first international magazine feature in the current issue of UK’s “You and Your Wedding”. She photographed Carolina Panther Thomas Davis’ wedding that will be featured on the WE channel show Platinum Weddings and published soon on the cover of a local magazine. Critsey talked about how she stepped up marketing her business and meeting with event planners outside NC. She founded The Next Set, a group of photographers networking to high end vendors. She photographed celebrity planner David Tutera in his NYC apartment last month. Critsey and Thomas Geist from Germany just recently got married. It was great having them up for the PUG and dinner afterwards.

So, my birthday was the day after the PUG, last Wednesday. I had thought that Mexican would be a good choice for dinner - because it is my favorite. Then, I had the most embarrassing birthday experience ever in a restaurant. They came to the table singing with a red sombrero that they plopped on my head and started sticking a spoon of whipped cream in my face. Thinking it would make the guy stop, I finally let him put the spoon in my mouth - only to end up with whipped cream up my nose. What was I thinking!!! Please God, don't let any cell phone photos show up on the internet!

I had arranged a lunch at 12 Bones with Critsey, Thomas and a few other friends from the DWF forum, which is how we all met. Much to my surprise, Critsey, Corey Cagle and Honour Hiers had arranged for a lot of other photographers and vendors to come. 12 Bones always has a long line and so as I walked up - 1/2 the line started singing! They went all out decorating and even got an awesome cake made with Reese's cups.

My beautiful cake from Chez Nous.

Woodward + Rick (Brian and Gry)

Surprise! - 1/2 the line starts singing.

Brian, Corey McNabb and Thomas

More singing - 3rd time!

The whole gang!

Karen from Brown's Floral Design

Jill Schwarzkopf and Corey McNabb

Shay Brown and Brian

Kelly Giezentanner, Gry and Audrey Goforth

Critsey, Me and Brie Castell

My friend Christine from TX did a wonderful blog post for my birthday and you will get to see my new pimped out present soon!

I got a ton of birthday wishes on Facebook, my new internet obsession, and an awesome email from my friends Gene Higa and Ann Hamilton from San Francisco with a hilarious series of photos. Bogie was asleep so he is partying in photo form.

THANK YOU SO MUCH to all my friends for making me feel so special!

belinda and dr. h

2008-05-19T23:26:00.003-04:00

I've made some major accomplishments in the last couple of weeks, so I am happy to finally take some time to blog about one of the absolute most fun weddings ever!

Belinda and Dr. H's wedding was the last wedding for me in 2007. They were married at the chapel at Lake Junaluska on a cold and rainy December afternoon with the reception following at Crest Center. A few things that I learned about Dr. H very quickly - he is passionate about food, he LOVES music and his goal in life is to make Belinda happy. On Friday night at the rehearsal dinner at The Sunset Inn, after a magnificent meal prepared by Chef Vincent, H presented Belinda with a limited edition signed lyrics to one of the last songs written by John Lennon. The next afternoon, the bride walked down the aisle to the same song, "Grow Old with Me".

Dr. H's daughter, Leigh, and Belinda put together a winter wonderland theme and Stacey at The Bloom Room absolutely transformed The Crest Center. It was the most elaborate decor I have seen and was wonderful! The tables were named with the words "I love you" in many different languages.

And now the fun part! They had an Elvis performance during the reception. It was top secret, only a few people knew it was happening ahead of time. After dinner was served and Dr. H and others made a few toasts, the lights went down low. The band with the full horn section came on stage. If you ever saw Elvis perform or on TV, you know the song!!! The drums did the famous, intro beat and as the room went dark, H was so excited he was bouncing in his seat! The spotlight hit Elvis and it was magical. The next hour and half was just FUN!!! Lou Vuto doesn't really impersonate Elvis - his performance is more of a salute to Elvis. Of course Belinda got the first scarf and kiss, but it was the scarf and kiss to H's mother as she stood at the edge of the stage that was one of my all time favorite wedding moments!

Check out the slideshow!

I just love the snowflakes and white roses. Stacey always does beautiful work!

Yet another beautiful cake by Cakes by Jane!

I think the signature drinks were a huge Elvis hint - very "Blue Hawaii".

This is actually Lou's son on the drums.

LOVE IT!!!

Check out Lou at The Memories Theatre in Pigeon Forge.

Special thanks to Mike McKinney for passing along my info to Dr. H and to Corey Cagle for 2nd shooting with me.

bridal portrait in the orchard

2008-05-19T22:54:00.002-04:00

I LOVE the bridal session that I did recently with one of my summer brides. I can't wait to be able to share all of them, but I am just teasing one image. It was so beautiful with the trees in full bloom and the buttercups in between. A huge THANK YOU to Jane and Bennie Arrington for use of the orchard. They own Pinnacle Mountain Farms and the Barber Orchard Fruit Stand, where National Geographic and Southern Living recommend the apple cakes.

kelly and dan

2008-05-16T19:23:00.005-04:00

Kelly and Dan were married on a super rainy April morning. They were supposed to have their ceremony and reception at the Wyche Pavilion in Greenville, but it is open to the elements. Instead, they had to move inside Larkin's on the River, who caterers for and coordinates the Pavilion. We were lucky that the rain cleared enough to do some nice couple shots at the end of the day.

Dan sang Kelly down the aisle to "Hallelujah". It was so sweet! They radiated happiness all day. During the toasts, Kelly put her head on Dan's shoulder and it was just a beautiful moment.

The beautiful and talented Vanessa Renee, performed the couple's first dance song. Dan is a huge fan of Vanessa's and they were so excited to have her perform during the reception. Dan and Kelly are quite the dancers!

Click here to see the slideshow. Special note: It is actually Dan singing on the first song and then Vanessa. How cool is that!

Special thanks to Jarrad Lister for helping me photograph Kelly and Dan's wedding. I am excited to have Jarrad working with me on several weddings this year.

Here's the link to Dan's blog!

wedding party photos

2008-04-27T22:59:00.002-04:00

For years, I just did the basic line up boring shots for the wedding party. Occasionally, I would have a bride ask me to do something different and thought that some of them were fun. Now, I give the couple a list of the common ones, such as wedding party walking arms linked, groomsmen "sopranos" type pose, etc, and let them tell me the specific ones that they want. Sometimes, the bride puts "yes" on the groomsmen jumping shot and doesn't so much tell the guys. LOL! So, when I say, "jump" - they really aren't so sure. I just had to share this shot from Courtney and Mannings wedding last Sunday. At first, reluctance but as guys do, things got a bit competitive and look how high they got! I love the shadows, too. Check out the guy on the right - he bent his knees. And yes, that is the groom's dad catching some air! So fun!

las vegas

2008-04-26T23:01:00.002-04:00

I have some really important things that I am working on for clients, so I always feel guilty taking time to blog. I marked 2 major projects off my list this week, so I am going share my trip to Las Vegas.

One of the coolest things about being a photographer is the friendships and relationships with other photographers. Many people seem kind of shocked that as photographers we are great friends with our competition. WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) hosts a convention in Las Vegas every year. This year, there were 11,000 photographers there! From Asheville, Corey Cagle, Corey McNabb and I went out for the convention. Corey Cagle and I traveled and roomed together at the Paris hotel. In addition to the speakers, there is a tradeshow and lots of parties. I got to see so many friends from all over the country and meet some of the photographers who are great inspiration to me.

Gene Higa is an incredible photographer from San Francisco that travels to exotic locations all over the world. We met last year in Orlando and I just love him dearly!

Jose Villa takes the most gorgeous photos and in a digital world still shoots film. One of my goals for this year is to take his Mexico workshop.

Rachel from LaCour, myself, Corey, the world famous Timco and Christine from TX at the Flosites and Pixel2Canvas party at the Palms.

Corey and me with the beautiful and talented Jules Bianchi at the Pictage party. I mentored with Jules almost 2 years ago and again last year. She is a huge part of where my business is right now and a super cool chick!

With Robert Evans in the Pictage booth. Robert is famous for photographing the Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston and the Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes weddings and has started Photography Mentor to educate photographers - joined the first day.

On Wednesday night, the Coreys went to see Elton John in concert at Cesar's Palace. My friend Christine Tremoulet from Houston and I went up in the Eiffel Tower, which is 1/2 the size of the one in France, towers 460 feet above the strip, and one leg comes down into the hotel casino. We saw two water shows from the Bellagio across the street. Then, we went down to the Venetian with Jamie also from Houston. Of course, we got there right after the gondola rides closed.

Thursday night after the desert shoot Corey and I went for walk around the block over to Bellagio, seeing the light show from a totally different perspective. It's amazing how high the water shoots up - you can hear blasts from it in the Paris rooms.

I came home exhausted and really sick! The worst thing about Las Vegas is the cigarette smoke. We had to walk through the Paris and Bally's casinos to go to the convention. I thought I just had bronchitis but I haven't had a fever over 102 in years. It took me about 3 weeks to finally feel back to normal. Corey was super sick, too.

In the new American Photo magazine, Gene, Jose and LaCour were named in the top 10 wedding photographers in the world! Very exciting!

something different

2008-03-30T20:09:00.002-04:00

I recently did a photoshoot in Red Rock Canyon, outside Las Vegas (another post coming soon). I was super excited to try out my new infrared camera. One of my favorite photographers, Jose Villa, had posted some images on his blog from the new Fujifilm IS-1 and I ordered one right away! This camera reads the infrared light, similar to how infrared film used to - instead of taking a normal digital image and running an action to make it look infrared.

A special note - the bride up on the rocks is wearing a black dress and black veil - more images coming soon!

it's about time! - iphone

2008-03-09T22:15:00.003-04:00

I am so excited to finally get my iphone today! Many of you that call my cell phone on a regular basis are probably used to my ringback tone. So far, that is the only drawback I have found and the awesomeness of the iphone way makes up for it. When you call and get a real ring, you've got the right number! THE PHONE NUMBER DID NOT CHANGE.

regina holder photographer - grand opening party

2008-02-25T20:09:00.004-05:00

I was so excited to finally have my studio ready to have people over to celebrate my grand opening. My studio is at Biltmore Park, One Town Square, just off I-26 at Long Shoals Road. Even though I found this incredible space last fall, I was moving residences and in the busiest month of the year, so I didn't really utilize it until January when the first clients met with me. For the party, I invited wedding vendors that I have worked with, a few that I really hope to work with and some close photographer friends over for some chocolate martinis and hors d' oeuvres. I can't tell you how incredible it was to have so many awesome people come by to celebrate with me!

I have so many people to thank:

My friend and fellow photographer, Corey Cagle, who helped me carry in everything, rearrange furniture and hang the new canvas prints. She is always such a huge support to me and I appreciate her so much!!!!

Nicole from Verge Events talked me through numerous frantic phone calls and helped me figure out everything. There were so many things that I had never thought of. She was a lifesaver at the last minute and I couldn't have done it without her.

Blossoms at Biltmore Park - Audrey made the GORGEOUS floral arrangements. They were perfect!!! and Alan saved the day when the bags I bought for the cookies were too small.

Nick at 28806 Deli did an amazing job with the food. I LOVE the mini ruebens that they do (and I don't even really like ruebens that much). Everything was incredible and he even came back the next day to pick everything up.

Dylan from Blazin Sounds Entertainment set up custom lighting for the party. I love that he was able to take a boring flourescent lit hallway and uplight it purple to set the environment. He even projected stars on the black ceiling - how cool!

Penelope at Classic Event Rental, who got stuck at work and didn't make it to the party, was so fantastic and had even referred a bride to me the day after I talked to her. Here's the big "green" tip of the day - rent your plates! It is way cheaper and much nicer than paper or plastic.

Lisa McMillan, Exquisite Events, who bless her was sick with the flu, was still worried about helping me. She came by with all the martini shakers early that morning so she wouldn't get anyone sick.

My friends at LaCour in Atlanta sent flowers since they couldn't come and the sweetest note that absolutely made my day. My friends and baby clients Emily and Dawn sent a beautiful orchid that I get to enjoy - it's even purple and brown! A special thanks also to my former brides and friends, Jennifer and Rita, that bartended and were both a HUGE help!

Karen from Brown's Floral Design laughs as Corey Cagle races to get out of this room shot.

Patti from Shay Brown Events, Maggie Schlubach and Telle from Chez Nous

I LOVE this arrangement from Blossoms at Biltmore Park!

The signature Godiva chocolate martinis.

I yummy mini ruebens and mini bleu cheese burgers from 28806.

Nicole and Corey McNabb, whose wife Jill is the queen of the martini. I hate that she wasn't able to join us!

Maura from Honey Darling Events

Jill, Maggie, Corey and Nicole

Maura and me!

Stacey from Bloom Room and me!

The "after party" in the hall to show off Dylan's lights.

Dana shows her brother and the others the cool plaque she made for my birthday.

Dylan and his lovely wife Xochilt chilling on the couch. Corey Cagle took this fun shot (and many of the others!)

dine to be kind

2008-02-22T15:58:00.003-05:00

Animal Compassion Network in Asheville is holding their 5th annual Dine to be Kind day on Tuesday, February 26. Area restaurants are donating a portion of their proceeds to ACN's spay/neutral program to help control the pet population. A lot of incredible restaurants are on the list, including 28806 Deli, 12 Bones, Urban Burrito, West End Bakery and Pomodoros.

Click here for a complete list of restaurants and more information.

asheville pug - february meeting

2008-02-14T01:04:00.000-05:00

At our February meeting, the Asheville PUG did a panel discussion. The PUG has so many new members that I thought it would be great to have a format that allowed them to ask questions to a panel of "experts". Honour Hiers, Corey Cagle, Corey McNabb and I answered questions and got to know some of the new people better. Out of the 13 people in attenance, 8 have been in business about a year or less and 4 were at the PUG for the first time. Questions that we will explore further in future meetings include second shooters and the expectations both from the primary and second photographer, advertising, studio task management and websites.

The group

Sage, Christy and Suzanna

Alicia and Corey McNabb

Corey Cagle and Honour

Mark Block asks a question, Christy, Suzanna, Peter and Zac

january pug meeting

2008-02-14T00:13:00.002-05:00

In January, the Asheville Pictage User Group (PUG) had the privelege of having Justin and Mary Marantz guest speak at the PUG meeting. Their presentation on client "loyalty beyond reason" left all of us thinking of how we can improve how we treat our clients, how going above and beyond on customer service brings clients that rave about you and how to be more exclusive. They are genius at branding, marketing and setting themselves apart from the "competition", which is really their network of friends that refer weddings to them. By creating client loyalty, resulting in super-referrals, and networking with other photographers, they have been able to shift the dynamic and actually pick and choose which clients they want.

We had the biggest turnout ever, even with the snow that arrived just as we finished dinner. I really appreciate the ones that braved the weather, especially with long drives home and a massive THANK YOU to Justin and Mary that spent 15 hours driving home in a snow storm.

Another big THANK YOU to Corey McNabb and his lovely wife, Jill, the queen of the martini. A few of us headed over to Corey's studio for some chocolate martinis and fun times with awesome friends.

Look at that group shot! Awesome turnout for a snowy night!

Justin and Mary with Detra Dowling

Martini-maker extraordinaire - Jill McNabb

My BFF - Mary!

Zac Thomas

Cheers!

Corey and Justin

"Say cheese"

Zac, Mary, Corey, Sarah Henry, Honour Hiers, Justin and me in front

open house - portrait special for habitat for humanity

2008-02-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited to announce the Open House for my office! I finally have it decorated and all my canvas prints, so it's time to invite you all over!!!

Sunday, February 24 from 1:00 - 5:00 pm

One Town Square Blvd, Suite 204, Asheville, NC 28803

In conjunction with the Open House, I am running a portrait special from February 14 - April 20. During this time, all "play dates" will be $50 off and $50 from each session will be donated to The Portrait House. As if it can't get any better, for every new client that you refer that actually books a session, you will get a $50 product credit!

The Portrait House is on a worldwide fundraising mission to raise money and awareness for Habitat for Humanity. Founded in 2006 by photographers, Justin and Mary Marantz, The Portrait House relies on a national network of the top photographers in the industry to offer their services in exchange for a direct donation to Habitat.

Play dates are documentary, photojournalistic photography sessions that shows your child in the family environment, interactions with parents, grandparents and other family members. There are no "say cheese" or formal posed shots. More details are available on the children's website. Here are some favorite recent favorite images:

Please drop by for a few minutes to check out my new space! I would love to see you!

email alert

2008-01-26T23:37:00.000-05:00

"this is only a test..."

I have been told that some emails have bounced back and others have not been received in the last few days. If you ever email me and I do not respond promptly, please know that it is very likely that I did not receive the message. Yahoo email addresses are particularly bad about not coming through on Hotmail. When I get my iphone next month, I will be officially changing email addresses. Until then, if you are having a problem contacting me, please email me at info@reginaholder.com.

your carolina with jack and kimberly

2008-01-25T20:51:00.000-05:00

My new really awesome friend, Lisa Gatewood-McMillian, of Exquisite Events is appearing on Your Carolina with Jack and Kimberly on Monday, January 28. The segment will air on Spartanburg's WSPA Channel 7 at 10:00 am. Monday is the first of a four part series on destination weddings. Lisa asked for some images that are indicative of the Asheville area to hold up during her segment. I am so honored that she asked me! How cool is that! I can't wait to see the show. I am TiVoing it!!! Your Carolina is a local show kind of like the Today show meets Regis & Kelly.

happy birthday lennox!

2008-01-24T22:14:00.000-05:00

Today is my baby's 8th birthday. It's so hard to believe that Lennox is already 8 years old. She's had a great day with an Arby's junior roast beef, a new chewy and some extra Mommy time.

melissa and joey - engagement

2008-01-15T00:54:00.000-05:00

Melissa and Joey live in New York City and came home last May for a shower and to do their engagement session. They have the coolest jobs! Melissa is an accessories buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and Joey works for Saturday Night Live. I had talked to Melissa several time by telephone and actually ended up meeting with her mom to finalize them hiring me for the wedding. So, I was really excited to finally get to meet them in person and their whole families at the same time since we did their session right after the big shower.

Melissa's parents live at the Cliffs at Walnut Cove. We started out on their screened in porch and then in the front yard. Then, we walked around the different falls at Walnut Cove and did some relaxed portraits. They are so fun. It's always a great e-session when the couple is having fun with it.

Click here to see Melissa and Joey's engagement slideshow.

bridal show

2008-01-10T23:13:00.000-05:00

It's that time again. I will be exhibiting at the Wedding Festivals bridal show on Saturday at the Asheville Civic Center. The show is from 10 am - 3 pm. I will be in my normal spot right across from the concession stand.

This is the craziest booking time of the year. I have gotten at least 50 inquiries in the last 2 weeks and have booked 3 weddings and have 4 more that I have talked to on the phone or am meeting with by Monday. If you are seriously interested, please contact me soon before your date is already taken.

casey and jared - warren wilson

2008-01-07T21:58:00.000-05:00

Casey and Jared were married June 2, 2007 at the Warren Wilson College Pavilion. Casey's family hosts a Thanksgiving Folk Dance Camp and her grandfather is well-known for calling square dances at Montreat. It was one of the most fun weddings. Everyone was up and participating in the square dances. Friday night at the rehearsal, Glenn taught the groom's family and their friends the basics.

Casey, her mom, her sisters Mary Evelyn and Tamara and the groom's sister Dana got ready at the chapel across the street. There were so many special moments. Casey and her mom are so close. After some tear shedding, they all walked across to the ceremony with her dad. Those are some of my favorite shots of the day.

The dinner was served in the gardens above the pavilion while it was transformed for dancing. Casey's mom Beth had made all of the linens for both nights and the bridesmaids dresses. Everything was so pretty and personal.

June 2 is also Casey's parents anniversary. One of my favorite moments was during a dance to Blame it on the Bosanova when Beth and Bruce were dancing in the middle. Warning - you will be singing the Bosanova song after you watch the slideshow. Months later, I still find myself singing it.

Click here for Casey and Jared's slideshow.

monica and norman - lake junaluska

2008-01-03T12:18:00.000-05:00

Monica and Norman were married at the Memorial Chapel at Lake Junaluska on May 26, 2007. They are two of the friendliest, most down to earth people you can ever have the opportunity to meet. I have said before, I can spend hours talking to them and not even realize it. Here is the link to their engagement blog post.

Monica and the girls got ready at Sunset Inn. The rooms there are so pretty and I just love the shot of Monica checking herself out in the mirror. I rarely do any "teastained" tinting to an image, but Monica's dress was almost exactly that color. My friend Danny came along to shoot the groom and guys getting ready and for the on altar shots during the ceremony.

Karen at Brown's Floral Design did such an awesome job! The bridal bouquet, the groom's boutonnière, the massive floral arrangements on the altar and the hydrangeas on the tables were all so pretty. Karen really worked with Monica to make it exactly how she dreamed of.

The sit down dinner reception followed at the new Maggie Valley Country Club. The new building is so nice and dinner was excellent. Too bad, the small town police decided to road block the exit as guests were leaving. I've seen this happen several times recently.

There were so many special moments. Monica was just radiant as she walked down the aisle with her dad. Danny caught the great shot of her son and the best man putting their arms around Norman as he saw her for the first time. I love the shot of Norman's mom looking at this ring during the reception. Monica's son gave the toast and it was such a sweet moment for all of them.

Click here to see their slideshow.

new website content

2008-01-02T23:21:00.001-05:00

I took a break from working on the last few weddings from last year to update my website. My website is getting so many hits and I am getting a lot of inquiries, so I thought it was important to show the new work. I only have one feature gallery for now, which is Ann and Nathan. Their wedding at Claxton Farm was so awesome and they had so much fun. I keep posting the image that I made a huge canvas print at my office, so I will post one of my other favorites. I love Queen Ann's Lace. It's my favorite flower, which is hilarious because it is a weed. My mom chose my name because it means queen in Latin and my middle name is Ann, so there you have it.

I have other images that I need to upload, including the two weddings that were featured before. There are other weddings that are completely not respresented, including Tera's and Karen's, that will be. My last wedding was the most fun - they had an Elvis impersonator so that will definitely need to be included. I have only put a fraction of the engagement sessions up, too. I am planning on launching a completely new website in the next month - so stay tuned.

reflecting on 2007 - on to 2008

2008-01-01T19:31:00.000-05:00

I have to say that my business blew up in 2007! I have been so blessed and so thankful for the opportunities that I have been given, the photographer friends that have supported and encouraged me and for the wonderful couples that I have worked with.

I had some goals going into 2007 that came true and then some!!! I attended 3 major workshops, went to 2 Pictage partner conferences, was published in Weddings Unveiled and The Bride's Book, started the Asheville Pictage User Group (PUG), got an office at Biltmore Park, more than doubled my baby clients and made some incredible friends along the way. Having said that, I also took on way too much work, not turning anyone away and got behind on editing. I work non-stop day and night. It has been very frustrating and I finally gave up in September and hired a company to help me. So, my number one goal for 2008 is to outsource more and work less. I am not a Photoshop expert - I know just enough to make my images look good, so having someone who is much more skilled (and faster) helping me actually makes my images look even better. I also want to bring on a part-time person, who will hopefully 2nd shoot with me regularly and help me with the children's editing. I am going to finally do a Grand Opening for my office, so that people can see my place and to thank the people who have been so supportive. My biggest goal professionally for 2008 is to shoot outside the US - so if you are getting married in the Caribbean or Mexico, EMAIL ME!!! I am also working on "going green" - I've already put all new light bulbs in and have always been a recycling maniac. I am going to be setting up a new studio management tool that will help me reach the paperless office goal. Personally, I need a more energy efficient vehicle, too.

Ok, the New Year's Resolution - BLOG MORE. I have so many weddings, engagement sessions and children's play dates that you guys have never seen. I am going to try to blog every day until I get caught up.

A lot of photographers are doing their Top 10 favorite images. I have way too many favorites to just pick 10 and I know I am missing some awesome shots. I put together a slideshow of some of my favorite images from this year. Not every wedding is featured - that would be like a 30 minute slideshow. Click here for the 2007 highlights slideshow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope 2008 brings you peace and happiness!

weddings unveiled magazine - going to the chapel

2007-12-31T13:19:00.000-05:00

I got my box of Weddings Unveiled magazines in the mail today and was thrilled to see my name listed in the Going to the Chapel section. Each issue, they feature a city and list the "inside scoop on some of the city's top wedding professionals". In this issue, the featured city is Asheville and I am on the list!!! How incredibly cool is that!

I have a new full page ad in this issue, too. I just LOVE this photo of Elizabeth and Paul at The Yellow House.

The Winter 2008 issue of Weddings Unveiled should be on newstands throughout the Southeast in the next week!!!

office update

2007-12-28T19:52:00.001-05:00

Everyone keeps asking to see photos of my office, so I thought I would share a couple that Christine took in October. Thanks for helping me hang the giant print of Ann and Nathan!! I absolutely LOVE this shot of Ann and Nathan during their first dance at Claxton Farm. The print is 40 inches x 60 inches. Part of the reason I haven't posted about it is that it makes the loveseat look like a "little tiny couch" in Christine's words. "Big huge print, little tiny couch" - you will have to imagine the hand gestures and tone of voice. Until I can get a bigger couch, I am going to put up a photo that isn't so wide. Next month, I should have a completed office with more gallery wraps. With moving residences, I had to put the grand opening on the backburner. I hope to have a big party by February. I love the painted cement floor and the open ceiling painted black. The office makes me very happy! I look forward to spending more time there in the new year. Having internet access put in will be a huge help.

merry christmas!

2007-12-25T19:16:00.000-05:00

Lennox and I are enjoying a quiet Christmas at home thanks to a really bad cold. I am looking forward to going to Raleigh next week to visit my best friend Becky and her family, including new baby Sophia. I didn't want to get the baby sick! I had breakfast with Emily, Lewis and Harper and her brother Jay and his family who insisted they didn't care that I am sick. I was absolutely exhausted this afternoon and elected to stay on the couch instead of going out into the cold. I am blessed with great friends that make me part of their family.

Isn't Lennox so pretty?!? I love her little white eye lashes.

christmas cards

2007-12-05T01:30:00.000-05:00

I have been so bad about not blogging. Thanks everyone for their patience. I am frantically editing to get everything done by Christmas. I have done so many beautiful weddings and awesome lifestyle portrait sessions. I have some cool Christmas card templates that several of my clients are sending out this year. So, I thought I would share with you some Christmas cards. I promise to share in depth every wedding after the holiday rush is through.

finally!

2007-11-07T18:48:00.000-05:00

Many of you may already know that I have been moving my residence. It has been the worst 3 weeks of trying to get moved, keeping up with my weddings and other portrait sessions and having very little time to sit and edit. I was without internet for a few days, living at one house and working from the other house for a while and overall extremely exhausted. I apologize tremendously to my clients that have been waiting longer than expected for delivery times. As of today (a week late), I am finally moved. I am sitting in a room that has more boxes than walking space, but I am back to working non-stop on images. With holiday deadlines for leather albums quickly approaching and a bunch of clients needing Christmas cards, I am either editing with as much speed as detailed work will allow or shooting. I have had to postpone the grand opening for my new office space until January. I will be stepping around boxes for a lot longer and still not sleeping enough, but it is a great satisfaction when each wedding and portrait session are completed.

I have lots and lots of weddings and portraits to blog, but getting the images to everyone has to take top priority. Thank you so much for your patience and understanding.

kadee and jevone

2007-10-09T23:25:00.000-04:00

Kadee and JeVone met in marching band at Western Carolina University, so music and their friends were a big part of their day. Kadee's dad was actually my band director from the 7th grade through 2 years of marching band in high school. Kadee was the third bride this year referred by my former bride Lesley, so I was really surprised to find out that she was born during the time her dad was my band director.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Kadee and her sister and friends at the hairdresser's house (she has super cute kids!). JeVone and the guys were out playing basketball. Kadee was so beautiful in her Ashley Jordan dress. They were married at West Asheville Baptist Church. The musicians were their friends. There was also a fun slideshow during the ceremony.

The reception was held at On Broadway. We stopped by the big bouquet mural for some fun wedding party and couple shots. Celine and Company always does such an excellent job. Ted from Premier Sound and Light kept the party going and everyone had such a wonderful time.

CLICK HERE to see their slideshow.

bridal show - stop by!

2007-09-26T01:23:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that it is already time for the Fall Bridal Show! The Wedding Festivals show in Asheville is this Thursday, September 27, at the Civic Center. The show lasts from 4 pm to 9 pm. Tickets are $8 at the door or $7 online or with the $1 off online coupon. Marc and Colleen really have worked hard to get the show publicity and to get a lot of vendors there for brides to meet with. I usually end up getting a lot of inquiries right after the bridal show, so if you are seriously interested, please don't wait! I look forward to seeing you there!

I am offering a special discount coupon* for the bridal show and will extend it to my blog readers:

Any collection booked by October 12 - $500 off and a Free Engagement Book.

Any collection booked by November 1 - An additional $200 product credit and Free Engagement Book.

*Ok, fine print time: This does not apply to any weddings already booked or any special collections quoted prior to September 23, 2007. The Engagement Book is a 7"x7" hardback book that may be used as a guest book with 24 images, one per page.

Here's some information from the Wedding Festivals site:

-Over 80 exhibits, fashions, door prizes, show discounts and the

-1st 600 brides through the door can register for a Carnival Carribean Cruise.(Some restrictions apply)

-See the lastest in wedding trends, collect information and see the latest fashions for 2008

-Visit the Couture Display at the show.

-Visit the Table Top Design Gallery, bringing wedding trends and designs together in a table display

-Free Bridal Magazines.

-The first 450 brides will receive a free "My Wedding Bag" Canvas Tote bag compliments of Wedding Festivals.

-Bring the Groom, he'll enjoy "Kiss Country's Grooms Corner"

Grooms will enjoy the following:

-Wild Wings display-Charter's Entertainment Extra's, Charter will be providing their cable favorites, including ESPN and Spike TV.

-For the challenge driven groom, they can participate in Charters Video Game challenge with a chance to win Video on Demand cards for free movies!

-"Putt for your Bride", every Grooms hole in one will receive a chance to win a Carnival Cruise.

jennifer and matt

2007-09-21T16:32:00.000-04:00

Jennifer and Matt were married in Matt's hometown of Galax, VA. It was such a beautiful day, especially being at the higher elevation. Much, much cooler in temperature than the day we attempted Jen's bridal portraits in Winston-Salem! Jennifer was so excited and gorgeous! She picked the perfect dress all on her own. This is the year for tall guys and short girls - almost every couple this year has had extreme differences. Matt is 16" taller than Jennifer so that makes for some photographic challenges. Their handsome son Christian made a brief appearance for a few family portraits. Then, we were off to Matt's grandparent's house for a relaxed, fun reception. It was absolutely gorgeous there with the log cabin at creekside and a large pond. They danced until after midnight courtesy of DJ Skriff -Anthony Leonard keeping the party going.

EDIT: Thanks, Jen for posting up the link on the knot chat. Thanks to everyone for stopping by!!!

CLICK HERE to see their slideshow.

new office - biltmore park

2007-08-31T01:49:00.000-04:00

Today was an exciting day! I got the keys to my new office space at Biltmore Park!!!

I have been meeting clients at the different coffee places and at their homes for the past 7 years. It has been very frustrating not having my own dedicated space with photos on the walls. Plus, I have to drag my albums around in a rolling suitcase and make the statement, "I'll be the one with the luggage." so that people know how to find me. This summer has been especially difficult with the popularity of the iced coffees. It seems every time I go to say something, they turn on the blender.

I had initially called Biltmore Park back in November about one of their synergy suites, which is a small office with access to a conference room. I have been on their waiting list for months. I just happened to see a sign in downtown Asheville a few weeks ago for an office that I really loved on Pack Square in the historic Jackson Building, but parking was a serious concern. I was very close to signing a lease with them when I decided I wanted to look at other offices. Nate at Beverly Hanks Commercial came to the rescue. Nate went to a commercial property meeting and came back with 2 options at Biltmore Park. I ended up with a much bigger office, 513 sq feet, as a sublease in One Town Square. Nate has been awesome and I really appreciate all that he went through to get me into the best possible space!

During the process, I have gotten to know Nicole at Verge Events, who has her office at Two Town Square. She has been wonderful and will be helping me with my grand opening. I am also excited to be near Blossoms at Biltmore Park, who have done some of the most incredible floral arrangements this summer. I will let everyone know when I am open and ready for you to stop by! I can't wait to get started. Here are some before images:

kathy and john

2007-08-31T00:44:00.000-04:00

Kathy and John were married on a Friday afternoon at Oak Hill United Methodist Church in Candler. Kathy is one of those overachiever brides - she graduated from college at UT, got married and moved out of state in less than two weeks, all while their new house was being built back here. I am always amazed at what the couples go through in the months and weeks before the wedding. In the time that I spent with Kathy and her family, it became very obvious how important her mom and sisters are to her. Her mom was heading up the building of the new house and helping with the wedding, all while keeping up with her younger daughter in the state track meets and working full-time. I guess super achieving runs in their family!

One of my favorite photos ever happened as Kathy and John were making their departure. Kathy's grandfather had one of his friends bring his horse and carriage for their grand exit. The horse was huge! I love the motion in this image as I panned with the horse.

Click here to see Kathy and John's wedding slideshow.

Tag...you're it!

2007-08-24T03:53:00.000-04:00

I've just been tagged by the absolutely fabulous "it" couple Justin and Mary and Erin from LaCour, too! in this fun blog game that's going around where we have to list 8 random things about ourselves that you might not know and then tag some other photographers to get in on the fun! Here goes...

1 - I don't eat anything with seeds in it. I have a major hang up on seeds. I don't mind the flavor of the items, just won't eat them in their natural form. strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon, etc.

2 - I HATE folding clothes, so I don't! My household chore as a kid was folding clothes out of the dryer. HATE it! So, when I do laundry, I leave all the clothes in baskets either in the laundry room or closet and put them in the dryer for a few minutes to get the wrinkles out.

3 - I am IN LOVE with Andre 3000 from Outkast - seriously! Ever since I first saw him in the SouthernPlayistiCadillacMuzik video (directed by PDiddy) back in 1994, he has had my full heart and devotion. I even love him in Idlewild which is not a good movie. He is the most fantastic in the So Fresh, So Clean video. Second to Andre is the most white of white boys, Anderson Cooper. I tivo Anderson every night just to see what tie he is wearing.

4 - I have been into Hip Hop/Rap since I was in college. I saw Public Enemy, Tribe Called Quest, Digital Underground (minus TuPac who was filming Poetic Justice), Black Sheep, Nice and Smooth and lots more. My favorite album right now is the new TI. I feel so isolated with none of my friends here having a clue about what I am talking about.

5 - I am a TV addict. It is always on. I can see it just out of the corner of my eye sitting at my desk. My tivo has 40 season passes. I watch a lot of reality shows, the weirdest one now is The Pickup Artist on VHI - a truly crazy show! Some guy named Mystery and his two wing men, J-Dog and Matador are teaching geeks and freaks how to pick up chicks! I kid you not - one of the craziest shows I have ever seen. I love America's Next Top Model, getting to see all the photo shoots and A Model Life with Petra. which leads to #6

6 - I watch QVC more hours than not! My friend Donna that I worked with in Durham got me started watching it. The main reason is that I am so picky about clothes and don't like the local options. Lane Bryant is so trendy and their clothes are made for tall fat people. Catherine's is ok and I sometimes find t-shirts that I like, but it mostly old lady clothes. Everything on QVC comes in sizes XS - 3X and they feature many famous designers, such as Mark Bouwer and Carson Kressley. Most times that you see me I have on QVC clothes. I do not buy loads of jewelry like some people I know! Since they buy in bulk, they have really awesome prices and easy pay, which lets you break up your purchase in up to 5 payments. It's how I got my last desktop and my new Sharp Aquos 42" plasma.

7 - Ok, something photography related: I got my first camera when I was 7. My first photo was of my grandfather on Christmas day holding my new Ragged Ann doll. I moved up to a 35 mm Sears brand camera at age 10. My mom, grandmother and brother toured the US in the summers and visited family members in Arizona and Washington. My mom was a school librarian, so she had the whole summer off. I took hundreds of rolls of slide film in all the national parks. Ansel Adams was my first hero. Then, I evolved into loving fashion photography and Bruce Weber, who became famous with the Calvin Klein ads in the 80s and currently does the Abercrombie catalogs.

8 - I sleep with a 100 pound dog. Lennox is my baby and has slept with me every night that I am home for the last 7 1/2 years. She's a sweet snuggle bud. Even when I was in a serious relationship (14 years!), he slept upstairs in the guest room and Lennox slept in the bed. When I get home late from a wedding, she is always in bed waiting on me.

So, now the fun part: tagging other photographers!
Corey Cagle
Michael Juiliano
Dana Andreasson
Elizabeth Myers
Christine Tremoulet

mary kristen and isaac - couple portraits

2007-08-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

So many times when I am at a wedding, a bridesmaid or friend of the couple will approach me and tell me that she wants me to do some portraits for her and her husband. I am always super flattered that they have liked the couple's engagement portraits and sometimes bridal portraits enough to want me to do their photos. Well, as busy as everyone's lives are, it is very rare that I actually hear from them. I'm always super disappointed that they haven't taken the time to do some photos that they want. It's really uncommon for a couple to have a nice portrait of them after the wedding photos are done. I was so excited that Mary Kristen took the opportunity to actually go through with it!

Mary Kristen is friends my bride, Heather, from last September. Mary Kristen and her husband Isaac were such a huge help to Heather and Clay on their wedding day that Heather gave her a portrait session for Christmas. Months of back and forth and scheduling later, I finally just drove down to Greensboro one Sunday afternoon to spend some time with them.

Mary Kristen and Isaac have been married for five years. As with most sessions, they started out a little stiff. By the time we got to the bamboo, they were having fun! We were walking through the park and there was a couple ahead being all kissy. They just laughed and made their "we've been married a long time" claim. As we were leaving the park, they were all sweet and kissy, too! I just love their photos! Thanks to Heather for an awesome portrait session gift and to Mary Kristen and Isaac for being so fun and taking some chances.

Click here for their slideshow.

elevate workshop - orlando

2007-08-03T13:45:00.001-04:00

I had the opportunity to spend 4 days with some of the most awesome photographers and friends at the Elevate workshop in Orlando in June. Garrett Nudd and his wife Joy hosted the workshop. I have followed Garrett's rise to success and fame through one of the photographer's forums that I am active with. I am always excited to see the new images he posts and now check out Garrett's blog daily. Garrett has the ability to get his brides and couples to do things that I have never seen anyone else do. His bridal, engagement and wedding images look straight out of a high fashion magazine editorial. Beautiful, sexy and different! We always tease him that he works will in bathrooms!

For the last several years, Wedding Photojournalism has been the big thing in wedding photography. Last year, I took Denis Reggie's workshop and he is the king of wedding photojournalism! See my blog from last year. Then, in February, I took the LaCour workshop and they produce some of the most gorgeous and elegant images in the storytelling of the wedding event. Another blog link. Andrew and Rachel actually sat in on this workshop. While this is totally my style of shooting weddings, being inobtrusive, documenting special moments, creating family legacy, I was struggling with the portraits. I have so many brides that want bridal portraits, but expect the dress spread out, look at the camera pose. I knew until I could show that a bridal portrait could be so much more that it would be hard to get someone to do the crazy things I wanted. The same thing with the couple portraits, I didn't have sexy, out of the box images to show, so it was hard to say "kiss her neck, look sexy". Of course, I totally understand that not all couples are going to want those type photos and that is totally fine! I don't want anyone to do something that they aren't comfortable with!!!!

The workshop kicked off with a beautiful party at the Solutions Bridal Salon in Winter Park. They have many of Garrett's images on their walls. Garrett and Joy brought in some excellent guest speakers! Gene Higa and Ann Hamilton came in from San Franscisco. I was so excited when they were added as guest speakers. I have followed their blogs for almost a year, too! Lisa Konecny of E Events Design gave some great advice on working and building relationships with other vendors. She had a great influence on the new marketing materials I am working on. Zack Arias does his own lighting workshops and I really regret that I couldn't stay over for it in Orlando, but I will get to go to the One Light Workshop in a couple weeks.

During the workshop, we actually got to do some shooting! First, we met Garrett at an empty house in the process of remodeling - not the typical spot to do a couple session! Garrett led the group as we shot along side of the master! Then, later that night, we shot 4 different sessions of models. My photographer friends from Atlanta, Katie and Chris Torres, were one of the couples that I worked with that evening. I had shot with them in Chattanooga last November, so I have quite a collection of images of them! Here is link to those images. Since I had to get the model images finished up this week, I thought I would share some of them with you. I'd love to hear what you think!

Here's the slideshow of some of my favorites.

Me with Garrett and Joy.

Me with Gene Higa.

Me with Tomas Flint.

Me with Katie and Chris.

Kevin Meyers, Katie and Rachel.

Garrett, Tomas and a super niiiiicccce guy, Frank DiMeo.

My shoot out partner -Ty Miller, Frank, Andrew, Tomas and Adam Hudson.

Sticky, Brandy and Katie. I am always amazed at photographers that can work in stylish footwear.

Eric Laurits in action.

Garrett leading the group.

ann and nathan - claxton farm

2007-08-02T10:09:00.000-04:00

Ann and Nathan were married on a hot, overcast Sunday afternoon at Claxton Farm. Ann radiated happiness from the moment she put the dress on! They are a super fun couple and it was a perfect wedding. Stacy at Bloom Room did extraordinary flowers as usual. Weddings with a live band have incredible dancing and interaction shots. A Social Function had the bride and flower girl on the tamobrine, then Nathan, his brother and groomsman took over the mic for some AC/DC.

Claxton Farm has 360 degree mountain views and is absolutely gorgeous. Maria and her staff were a pleasure to work with, making sure that the couple and their guests were well taken care of. I love the dance floor out in front of the rustic barn. It was so cool with the dancing shots being outside! There were so many special moments just on the dancefloor - Nathan kissed Ann's hands as they finished their first dance. Nathan's dance with his mother was especially touching. Right as it is getting dark, I like to take the couple aside and do a few shots. I love the shots of Ann and Nathan in the barn!

With over 1,500 images, it was hard to narrow down a few to share with you. I am so excited over these images!

click here to see the slideshow!

Here's what Ann said: "Thank you so much Regina! Of course we love them! I kept it playing all night ;-) I have forwarded it on and everyone loves it. You're an amazing photographer..everyone has been so impressed! Thank you, thank you! I cannot wait to have them in frames so I can look at them all the time!"

laura and mike - valdese vineyard wedding

2007-07-26T10:43:00.000-04:00

Laura and Mike were married on a beautiful hillside with panoramic mountain views at the Waldensian Vineyard. Just as the sun was lowering in the sky, the gorgeous bride stepped out from behind the trees and walked down the long path with both parents beaming to meet her groom.

Laura was so emotional and happy before the wedding. She couldn't stop crying. Finally, she had caught her breath and was calming down when the ring bearer arrived with a Tiffany's bag with the sweetest heart necklace and a note from Mike that said "I can't wait to marry you!". Needless to say, she lost it again for a few moments.

The happy couple came into the reception and went straight into their first dance to Sam Cooke's "You Send Me". The lights from the band created such a warm glow on them. They are truly some of my most favorite dancing shots ever. The dancing and fun continued until their bubble send off.

Carolyn at Your Floral Bouquet did a fabulous job on all of the bouquets and arrangements. They really spruced up the barn at the vineyard. Gloria at Top Hat Bridal and Cakes in Morganton made a beautiful cake - it was delicious! A special thank you to my bride, Lesley, for referring Laura (and 2 other brides this year) to me! It was great seeing her and Paul again.

Click here to see their slideshow.

jennifer and ryan - lake lure inn and spa

2007-07-25T23:53:00.000-04:00

Jennifer and Ryan were married at the 1927 Lake Lure Inn and Spa. I met Jennifer back in September, 2005, when she was a bridesmaid at Laura and Josh's wedding. She came along to help with Laura's bridal portrait. She also served as a bridesmaid at another friend's wedding that I photographed in 2006. We have had many hour or longer conversations and she is not only a bride, she is a great friend. Ryan is always amazed at how much she tells me!

Jennifer and Ryan are so much fun! What a wonderful party they had. Dan from Premier Light and Sound kept the dance floor packed! It was a great time had by all. There are so many wonderful photos from their wedding. Patty from Carolina Roses in Kings Mountain went the extra mile on their flowers! She did a fantastic job and unlike most florists, Patty was there through the reception and set out the little candles in the pool after dark. Can you believe Jennifer found that beautiful dress at Bridal Mart?

Click here to see their wedding slideshow.

A sweet note from Jennifer's mom:
Regina, I just don't know how to begin! The slideshow is wonderful! Doug & I watched it last night for over 2 1/2 hrs. Doug cried 3 different times. I think seeing what you captured on picture, well, it was more emotional than us going through it! You are remarkable & I can't wait to see the others. Again thank you for caring about my daugher and her happiness. Sincerely, June Angel

Part of the handwritten note from Jennifer:
"Just wanted to thank you for a job well done! Our pictures are amazing! You captured so much emotion of our day. You went above and beyond in so many ways....I'm so glad we have become friends through our group of weddings."

Ryan ended up with quite a bit of the delicious cake from Michelle at Icing on the Cake on his face.

Laura and Josh with baby #2 on the way.

carolyn and kyle - fearrington house

2007-07-17T19:03:00.000-04:00

Carolyn and Kyle had an absolutely gorgeous wedding at Fearrington House outside Chapel Hill. The country inn is famous for it's beautiful gardens, striped Galloway cows and rustic barn.

Carolyn and the bridesmaids got ready in a room that looked out into the ceremony site. The girls were so relaxed and had many visitors drop by. The boys came by to say hi before the wedding and then joined Kyle on the opposite side of the White Garden. I just love the photo of Carolyn and her grandmother. Carolyn looked so elegant in her unique dress with a gardenia in her hair, very classic. All of the calmness was replaced by excitement and pure emotion as she and her dad made their way down the aisle to meet Kyle. Aren't they just radiating happiness on the way back up the aisle!

After the family shots, the couple and bridal party went in front of the Fearrington House for some relaxed portraits. Then, they partied the night away in the barn.

This wedding was extra special as Carolyn and Kyle grew up in my hometown and attended the high school that I did many years before. The bridesmaids and groomsmen, except for one, were all their high school friends. They have been there through the beginning of their relationship when they were instrumental in getting them interested in each other until the day of the wedding when they stood up for their longtime friends and wished them all the best. Carolyn and Kyle are so blessed to have so many friends cheering them on through the marriage.

Click here to see their slideshow.

jill and derrick - inn on biltmore estate

2007-07-16T01:21:00.000-04:00

Jill and Derrick were married on a Friday evening at the Inn on Biltmore Estate. They had a fun day filled with family and friends. Jill actually allowed the most amount of time for family photos of anyone ever. She had a shuttle lined up to take the family members in front of the Biltmore House prior to the wedding separately and again after the wedding for their formal portraits. The Biltmore Estate has strict rules about the front of the house, because it is trademarked so I can't share those images on my blog or website. There are some truly fun shots in front of the house with the family members in the slideshow!

Jill was so awesome to work with! She had just started having her hair done when I arrived. It was so funny to her neices when the hairdresser was teasing her hair. She did a hilarious impersonation of Suzie Who, from Dr. Seus! Each of her neices took turns spinning around, showing her how pretty they looked in their dresses. Jill also did a special honor to one of her dad's close friends, who recently passed away from cancer - she wore her wedding dress! After a redesign to remove the "Dynasty sleeves", Jill wore the dress that was so special to her dad's friend who happened to be the same size.

When I talked to Jill and Derrick about why they had their wedding at Biltmore, they explained that it was not only a beautiful and prestigous location, but they didn't have do all the extra planning of hiring a lot of other vendors. Blossoms at Biltmore Park is my new favorite florist! I have done three weddings recently that they just blew out of the park. Highly recommend!

Click here to see the slideshow.

Here's what Jill said: We love the wedding slideshow! There are so many great photos with wonderful (natural) expressions and joyous moments. Thanks for taking such great shots of our special day. You have been so wonderful as our photographer and captured every moment. Jill

happy 4th of july - remembering granny

2007-07-04T19:57:00.000-04:00

Happy 4th of July!!!

Every year, the "Florida people" or seasonal residents of my little tiny community have a Fourth of the July parade. They decorate their vehicles and start at the top of the mountain at 1 p.m. blowing their horns and waving on the way down. They all go to the Balsam Mountain Inn for hot dogs and then come back up the mountain. For anyone who has been reading my blog for the last year knows, my grandmother was really excited to ride in the parade. I didn't take photos of them as they went past today, but I stood in the doorway remembering my granny and how much she really loved the attention that she got waving her flag. Click here to see the slideshow.

brittainy and brandon

2007-06-14T21:01:00.001-04:00

I shot Brittainy and Brandon's e-session at Cataloochee in the Great Smokies National Park. I have done several engagement sessions out there in the last couple years. I try really hard to make them all look different. I was especially conscious of making Brittainy's photos different than Rachel's since their moms work together and the weddings are only a couple weeks apart.

Cataloochee is known for the elks that they brought in a few years ago. It is a popular place for both tourists and locals. It is so remote and has such beautiful panoramics. We did actually see 3 elk this day, but they were so far away that even with the long lens I couldn't get a decent shot. A couple that had been there for 10 days was just seeing elk for the first time. Every time the elk would lift their heads, they would fire off about 50 shots on their cameras with massive lenses. So, when Brittainy and Brandon were down in the creek and kissed, I shot off a bunch of frames. It was fun!

It was my first time meeting either one of them, since I met with Brittainy's mom while she was still in school in Chapel Hill. They are so awesome together. Couples that have been together since high school always amaze me. I hardly even know where any of my friends from high school are now. I am looking forward to Brittainy's bridal session in a couple weeks and their wedding in July!

Click here to see their engagement slideshow.

rachel and chris

2007-06-12T15:17:00.000-04:00

Rachel and Chris were married at the Chapel Hill Bible Church last month. They were really close friends through athletics and Chris had to do some convincing to get Rachel to go out with him. They so obviously were meant to be together. What an incredible couple! Rachel's grandfather did the reading and prayer at the beginning of the ceremony. Then, the couple shared a moment of prayer before they exchanged vows. There were so many special moments during this wedding. Rachel was drop dead gorgeous with the most perfect dress. The green bridesmaids' dresses and orchids echoed the fun spirit of the day. Flowers by Henry did a fantastic job on the bouquets and the fun table arrangements in the bright green vases.

The reception was held at the fabulous Prestonwood Country Club in Cary. The Grand Ballroom was the perfect background for awesome photographs. From the moment that they walked in until the moment the left, everything was perfect. The cake was up on the grand staircase and designed by Prestonwood. Chris ended up with quite a bit of it on his face. Some of my favorite photos are the ones of Rachel and her dad, especially on the dance floor. I also love the photos of when Chris picked Rachel up during one of the last dances.

Click here to see the wedding slideshow.

Here's the sweet message Rachel sent:
REGINA!!! we LOVE the pictures. i cried through the whole slideshow. they are WONDERFUL and beautiful and you captured the whole day and everything i felt during it perfectly. thank you so much..... rachel...and chris

rachel and tyler

2007-06-12T15:02:00.000-04:00

Rachel and Tyler are getting married at First Methodist Church in Waynesville in August. I photographed Rachel's sister's wedding in October, 2004. Rachel and Tyler actually sang together during Amanda and Andrew's ceremony. I feel honored to get to spend such a special time with a family that I already know.

We did the engagement shoot out at Cataloochee in the Great Smoky National Park. It is a special place for them and were they got engaged. Tyler proposed at the barn where they are sitting in the slideshow. They are such a fun couple and just radiate how happy they are.

Click here to see their slideshow.

may photographer's meeting/my birthday

2007-06-12T01:38:00.000-04:00

So, I am really far behind on blogging and am going to try to do a couple posts each day to get some things caught up. May is definitely the busiest month of the year, when the weather is finally nice, the trees have leaves and the flowers are all in bloom. It is the most popular month for weddings, too. Everyone always thinks that it is June, but May always far surpasses June in my bookings. I am frantically working to get everyone's images to them and have slowed down on how much I am shooting each week.

Today is the June PUG meeting and I realized that I have never shared images from the last meeting. Charles Bordner from Imagine That Inc. was the studio spotlight and shared the presentation that he did in Chicago at the Pictage Partner Conference. Charles is getting recognition for the awesome newsletters he has created to notify the couple of their images being ready and link to their ordering information. Rather than just sending out an email stating the links to view the photos, he personalizes a newsletter that they can forward to their family and friends. It is my goal to start doing the newsletters by next month.

The meeting was the day after my birthday and we all went to Don Pueblo's for dinner. Much to my surprise, Corey Cagle had arranged for Cakes by Jane to make me the most awesome birthday cake. It was perfect!!!! Melissa did an outstanding job personalizing the cake with the purple stars. If you need a wedding cake, birthday cake or just want the best cream cheese pound cake, check out Cakes by Jane! I wish I had had my real camera to do justice to her creation. My friend Dana made me a ceramic plaque of my logo that truly was the highlight of my birthday. I stole this image from Corey McNabb's blog. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends! Thanks for making my birthday so special and fun!

new home phone number

2007-06-12T01:27:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have a new home phone number. I am finally getting rid of my huge contract with Bellsouth for the yellow pages. Yeah! I am so excited to go back to a normal telephone number and bill. If you call the old number, it forwards to my cell phone and I will still get the call. Please update your contact information. 828-452-4295

heather and daks

2007-06-01T02:04:00.001-04:00

Heather and Daks were married at The Yellow House, a gorgeous bed and breakfast in Waynesville. I just love them and their families. I had the pleasure of meeting Heather's parents at the initial meeting and everyone cried over the slideshow of a bride they didn't even know. Then, both moms came to help out with the bridal portrait session. Their wedding was one of the big packages with rehearsal and Sunday brunch coverage. It was such a special time with all of the family and wedding party staying at The Yellow House for the weekend. I was so honored to play a part in this special time. Susan at The Yellow House was so fantastic and really worked hard to make their stay and wedding really nice. They were replanting flowers and bushes that got taken out by the awful spring weather and everything was so nice. Clyde Ray's Florist did a fantastic job on the flowers with the help of Daks mom. I gorgeous and delicious cake was by Lil Harvey's.

Heather's brother Travis and her cousin sang The Beatles song, "All You Need is Love" that is in the slideshow. The three bridesmaids were all former college roommates of Heather's and did a ceremonial passing of the big wooden spoon that used to hang in their apartment. The guys all sang "You Never Even Call Me by My Name (The Perfect Country and Western Song)". It was such a fun night!

Here's the awesome email that I got:
Hi Regina,
I just wanted to say thank you again for all the help during our wedding. Daks and I could not have done this without you! You were so helpful with all of the little things that we would never have thought of... like the angle of the sun during our ceremony and helping figure out different set up options, or helping get the veil on just right, or helping bustle my dress! To this day, I think you are the only person who can actually bustle my dress. :) You were just fantastic and we are so grateful for your help. And, on top of this you were still able to take AMAZING photos! Wow!
Thanks again,
Heather and Daks

Click here to see their fun wedding slideshow.

pictage partner conference in chicago

2007-05-22T02:24:00.000-04:00

As if my schedule wasn't crazy insane enough, Pictage decided to host their first Partner Conference of the year in Chicago the first week in May. I hated being away and having my couples waiting on their images, but Pictage is only hosting 2 conferences this year. At first, five of us from the Asheville PUG were supposed to attend. By the time we got there, Honour had backed out due to an out of state wedding, Michael's house sold and he had to move right away and Corey Cagle got stuck in Florida after shooting a wedding there. So, internationally renowned rockstar photographer Corey McNabb (he likes the hype) and I flew to Chicago for 4 days. It's funny that we have known each other for 3 years and used to speak briefly to each other at the bridal show twice per year. Now, we are such good friends and I can't imagine many other people that I could be with constantly for 4 days and still have fun. This was our 2nd trip together and he keeps me laughing the whole time. A store clerk in Chicago asked if we were brother and sister, because we pick on each other constantly. I got home Sunday night from a wedding in Chapel Hill at 3 a.m. and had to be back up to go to the airport at 6:30 a.m. I was frantically looking for the charger for my point and shoot and finally gave up. Of course, I found it within 20 minutes of being home and not looking for it. So, almost all of these images are from Corey's p&s camera.
Corey made his first ShowIt Web slideshow!

When we got to Chicago on Monday afternoon, Jessica Claire and Keats were setting up their ShootSac booth. I am so excited about getting my new camera bag next week! Corey ordered it for me the first day it went on sale in Las Vegas. I have been stalking Jessica's blog daily for over a year.

Then, Corey had made dinner reservations, but it took us all forever to shuttle there in Leann's SUV that we weren't able to be seated at the main table. So, I was hanging with the boys at the small table. Here are Corey, Shaun Austin of KISS wedding books and Mike Larson, who was one of the speakers.

Corey is usually easy to find, just look for the hot ladies! Amber and Shyla making a Corey sandwich. And then the rockstar shot!

Tuesday was the first day of speakers. I always get so excited at these conferences because you get to learn how other photographers are being successful and little things that can make a huge difference in your business. I think from being exhausted and spring allergies, my head was hurting so bad all day. I skipped dinner with the different groups, but came downstairs later to an empty hotel. I was just getting ready to take some food up to my room when Davide Greene from Canada showed up. I first met Davide at the conference in Los Angeles last September. He is so awesome and really doesn't do anything "by the book". He doesn't even call himself a wedding photographer, he's an "International Photographic Artist". No advertising, no bridal shows, no marketing to brides, just a kick ass website and clients that love him. I always enjoy talking to him and was thankful for his company and insight. The next morning, I attended his sessions and it was so inspiring.

I was excited when I found out that LaCour photographers were attending the conference. I attended their workshop in February and just love all of them. Big hug to Erin, who wasn't there! We missed you!!!!
Me and Andrew

Me and Rachel

Me and Mark

Corey and I with LaCour sans Erin.

After the conference ended on Wednesday, a big group of us went out for pizza. Chicago pizza is so different and goooood! The sauce is on top. Then, some of us went out to meet Corey's brother-in-law (my former groom) for drinks.

Me and Amber from her blog.

Me and Sofia

The late night crew! My new BFF Mary and her hottie hubbie to be Justin.

They make fun of me for being too short for these "self portraits" when one photographer in the photo is actually taking the shot.

Corey and I went sightseeing in Chicago on Thursday. HUGE mistake. Never walk 6 miles on the day you have to travel. We were exhauted by the time we finally got back to the airport and then had to drive home from Charlotte.

This shot is for Honour and her mail order chicks!

The typical tourist!

We were digging the shots at the Cloud Gate at Millenium Park. I was supposed to call Millie before we left the hotel, but our flights were messed up and I totally forgot. Sorry Millie!

A Chicago hotdog!

The Lego store was fun!

The guide said that Garrett's popcorn was Oprah's favorite. OMG!!! Who would have thought that the combination of carmel corn and cheddar popcorn was to die for??? We walked back to get more!

christopher - portrait session

2007-05-21T13:56:00.000-04:00

Every time I edit through Christopher's photos, I laugh really hard. He cracks me up with the facial expressions! I love his big baby blue eyes, how he wrinkles up his forehead and his raised eyebrows. He is such a sweetie and so happy. We took these photos at the Walled Garden on the Biltmore Estate, because the snow this spring seriously hurt all the regular garden spots. Christopher was sitting in the flower beds and had his first taste of dirt. Oh my goodness! His face got all crazy and intense. I love the interaction with him and Harper, too. His whole face lit up when he saw her.

post number 100!

2007-05-21T13:47:00.000-04:00

I started this blog on July 1, 2006, by moving all the posts over from my old blog. I changed my company name last June back to my name and so then changed the blog.

This is my 100th blog post! Thanks to everyone that stops by to check it out. With close to 4,000 hits, I feel really blessed to have so many people interested in what I am doing.

monica and norman - e-session

2007-05-21T01:19:00.001-04:00

Monica and Norman are such a fun couple! I first met Monica at Indigo Salon where she works on the other side of the wall from my stylist Julie. Julie was looking at my website last fall when they told me that Monica was getting married. Monica is one of those people that you feel like you have known your whole life. We can talk for HOURS! When I finally got to meet Norman, I was at their house almost 3 hours - marathon talking session. They are so awesome together and super excited about getting married. Their engagement shoot was the same. We met and went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway near my house with them on Norman's Harley. Then, we went to lunch at O'Malley's on Main Street in Waynesville and then back to their house to get Monica on her bike. Almost 5 hours later! Norman is the GM at Ghost Town Harley-Davidson in Waynesville, so they have NICE Harleys. I am really looking forward to their wedding next weekend!

Click here to see their engagement slideshow!

harper - portrait session

2007-05-17T11:40:00.000-04:00

Harper is such a gorgeous little girl! I love her still chubby cheeks that jiggle when she runs and now she has the most fabulous little curls. I have been photographing Harper for the last fifteen months and she is so fun to work with. Harper's mom, Emily, is now one of my closest friends and biggest supporters. I have a lot of my clients directly from Emily showing off Harper's photos, including numerous children and 3 weddings! Harper is always a joy to work with and takes the most awesome shots, which is why she has her own gallery on the new children's portrait website.

Harper is such a Daddy's Girl! I just love the shots of her on his shoulders in this session and they were just playing while I was doing some other shots. Then, when they walked back through the walled garden at Biltmore, she was so sleepy and laying on his head. It was too sweet!

ted and tina - sneak peek

2007-05-05T15:49:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Tina and Ted's wedding in Wilmington a couple weeks ago. They were married at the incredibly beautiful First Presbyterian Church in Downtown Wilmington. The fun reception followed at Courtyard by Marriott at Carolina Beach. This was my first wedding in Wilmington and I was super excited about getting to do shots out on the beach. Tina and Ted are on a fabulous honeymoon cruise in Europe for two weeks. As promised, I have updated this post with the slideshow now that they are home.

Click here for Tina and Ted's wedding slideshow.

regan and randy

2007-05-02T19:44:00.000-04:00

Regan and Randy had a wonderful wedding that honored their family heritage. Even though they live in Florida, it was important to them to be married in Western NC. The historic church at Smokemont, where they held their ceremony, was attended by her grandmother as a child. Located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Lufty Baptist Chuch was established in 1836. Her grandparents were married in Bryson City near the Fryemont Inn where the reception was held. The families and friends all stayed at the Fryemont Inn and it was one big party all weekend. Some family members had stayed in the cottages most of the week. Sue Brown and the staff at the Fryemont were fantastic.

Regan's grandmother had a lot of old family photos on display in the Fryemont lobby. To begin Regan and Randy's family legacy, she made them a beautiful quilt. Nanny also made it known that she has 6 baby quilts ready and waiting, too.

Regan's mom, Patti, is a florist and she did an absolutely amazing job on the floral arrangements! I have never seen a wedding with such incredible flowers. Patti's shop is Price Florist and is located in Oak Ridge, TN. Her staff carried all those flowers up the trail to the church for those massive arrangements! They brought to life a dark small church and made it glow.

The fabulous cake was by Cakes by Jane, who are known for their Southern Cream Cheese Pound cakes. Regan was so excited about the cake and was going around hyping it up to all the guests. Each tier of the cake had two layers, almond on the top and cinnamon on the bottom. I loved the crystalized sugar and how it made the cake shimmer. When I went by to drop off some photos at their shop in Asheville, they were making peanut butter chocolate chip pound cakes....it's a good thing the weren't baked yet!

You will also notice that Regan did not choose a traditional wedding dress. I haven't ever photographed a pink wedding dress before but it was really beautiful. The funny thing is that she's not even a girly girl. One of her coworkers made her the Miss Piggy wedding doll to match her dress.

Click here to see Regan and Randy's slideshow.

apryll and david

2007-04-30T22:08:00.000-04:00

Apryll and David were married in Mt. Pleasant at the Creek Club on I'On on a windy Monday afternoon. I'On is a gorgeous housing development on the Hobcaw Creek. Eliza and Brian at I'On did a great job accommodating the unusual weather. Unfortunately, the storm walls had to be rolled down.

Their family and friends came from all over the country to share in their special day. A special part of the day was when her father who is in ill health gave her away. Apryll's brother, Buck, was the minster and her brother Tim walked her down the aisle to where their father was seated. Even though it was too windy to go out to the gazebo on the marsh, we still ended up with some fabulous couple photos. The Creek Club had a gorgeous view and the sunset shots ended up being some of my favorites.

I got to spend some time with Apryll and David both a few weeks before the wedding and on the morning of the wedding. They are so in love and happy. I just love the way they look at each other and the playful bantering.

Click here to see Apryll and David's wedding slideshow.

special recognition to elizabeth and tandra

2007-04-30T00:43:00.000-04:00

One of the most fun things about being a photographer is networking with other photographers. Since I launched my new website last August (which I just replaced), I have had a lot of photographers email me to ask questions about the site, the music and working with me. After many email correspondence and a couple phone calls, I asked Elizabeth of Sweet Life Photography to assist me at Tina and Ted's wedding in Wilmington. The church was so huge and had so many rules that I knew I would need help getting the shots I was allowed to take, so Elizabeth helped cover the narthex while I was up in the balcony. No photos were allowed within the sanctuary at all! They also had a Marine sword arch and I knew I needed to be in the front while the couple came through, but I also knew I needed the shots from the back. I was so glad Elizabeth was there when I found out Friday afternoon that Tina was going to get wacked on the behind with the sword. Elizabeth was so fun! I enjoyed spending time getting to know her and hope that I gave her some advice that will help her business. When I was first starting out, I was totally out on my own with no one to ask for guidance. I wish I had someone who had taken time to help me develop my business - maybe it wouldn't have taken so long to get to this point.

On Sunday, I went up to Jacksonville to meet Tandra Garner for lunch. Tandra is a children's portrait photographer in New Bern that is just getting started out. Tandra's son, David Owen, is featured on her website and such a cutie! Even though we only had a short time, I think we will be seeing each other soon. Her family is coming up to Asheville to the Biltmore House on vacation soon. I also took a "self portrait" photo of myself with Tandra, but it isn't something either of us would want on the blog.

suzie and josh

2007-04-30T00:05:00.000-04:00

Suzie and Josh were married at Bethel Baptist Church in the church his family attended for many years. The reception followed at Ledbetter Lodge at Camp Daniel Boone, which is Boy Scout camp in Western NC. Suzie was so excited about the wedding! Her excitement was contageous. You couldn't help feel the anticipation and sheer joy on the day of the wedding. She was so anxious and nervous before the wedding. We had to clear the dressing area, give her some air and her sister delivered a great pep talk. Suzie was crying so hard walking down the aisle and then when she saw Josh, a big smile! Josh's father, who is a minister, officiated the ceremony. After the ring exchange, he said she kept saying, "Can I kiss him yet?" and she jumped up in excitement.

The reception was lots of fun thanks to Randy from Music Explosion as the DJ. During the first dance, Suzie was trying hard to convince Josh to let her dip him. He kind of gave in reluctantly. From the macherena, congo line and the clogging, Suzie was rocking out! Josh's grandparents are really into clogging, they even have the special shoes. I haven't ever been at a wedding where the grandfathers were tearing it up on the dance floor. The guys that decorated Josh's truck were particularly ugly. There was Vaseline everywhere! I'm sure the two weeks they spent in Hawaii helped him get over it.

Click here to see their slideshow.

tera and kipp - wedding in west virginia

2007-04-20T00:56:00.000-04:00

I have written about Tera and Kipp a few times already. See below for the wedding sneak peak with some of my favorite images from the day. Tera and Kipp had originally planned a wedding on the Outer Banks, then switched it to Raleigh and finally ended up getting married in their hometown in West Virginia. Tera's grandmother would not have been able to travel to Raleigh and it was so important for her to be there. Tera just told me that her grandmother had been wanting them to get married for years and in the guest book wrote, "This is what I wanted." Isn't that so sweet? After the ceremony, they did a receiving line but took time to visit with the grandmothers who were sitting in the back pews. I overheard her grandmother talk to his grandmother about how nice Kipp is and how happy she was for Tera. It's just the little things like that that make me cry at weddings.

The ceremony took place in Kipp's family's church in Williamstown, WV, which is just across the state line from Marietta, OH. It was a solid 7 hour drive for me. Once they had met with me and decided that they wanted me to photograph their wedding, Kipp said, "Tera had to have you" and they paid the extra travel charge. It is so awesome when a couple is so into their wedding photography and I love that they wanted me enough to still have me come up. Carl at the Blennerhassett Historic Hotel in Parkersburg was super nice and great to work with. Their reception was beautiful and elegant and the hotel was just gorgeous. Carl asked me if I was willing to come back for weddings there, and I really would make that long drive again for such a wonderful place and great people.

Tera said she watched the slideshow at least 8 times the first night and I know my statcounter is blowing up in West Virginia. I still don't have the right version of "Under My Skin" since they actually danced to a duet with Frank Sinatra and Bono, but I will change it as soon as possible. My best friend, Becky, who is a photographer at NC State and has seen like every image for the last 20 years said, "The Tera pics are amazing-- maybe your best complete wedding yet. I love that they wanted you to follow them around after the reception for the building shots, and those two shots in the window with the curtains are super nice." She has always encouraged me and been super supportive.

Click here to see Tera and Kipp's wedding slideshow.

Here are a few more images:

ann and nathan - e-session at grove park inn

2007-04-19T10:20:00.000-04:00

I finally got to meet Ann and Nathan after months of emails and telephone calls for their engagement session. They live in Boston, MA, but her parents live in Charlotte. The wedding is at Claxton Farm on July 1 and I am so excited about how beautiful their photos are going to be.

Ann and Nathan are such a cute couple and so much fun! We were supposed to meet at Lake Lure for their engagement portraits, but with the crazy weather we decided Grove Park Inn would be a safer location. It's a good thing we moved the e-session inside. It was snowing in April! We got some fabulous shots in the snow with the stone work and mission style exterior lights. I love the shots at the end with the dogwood and the snow. Thanks for braving the cold for the cool shots!

Click here to see Ann and Nathan's engagement slideshow.

new website launched

2007-04-18T22:17:00.000-04:00

I am so excited that my new website is finally live. I was hoping to have it up in time for the Weddings Unveiled magazine going on the newsstand. I had just put up the old website last August and as much as I loved it and it was incredibly successful for my business, I wanted to launch a separate site for the children's photography. I hope you will take a few minutes to check it out. www.reginaholder.com

rachel and chris - engagement photos

2007-04-12T23:10:00.000-04:00

If you have been following the blog, I have been posting about the tour of the Southeast doing engagement and bridal portraits. The last stop on that tour was in Chapel Hill to meet with Rachel and Chris. When I first met Rachel and Chris about their wedding, they weren't officially engaged. Chris was waiting until he could ask her father's permission before they became engaged. I must say he did an excellent job with the ring! In Chapel Hill and the Triangle area, most brides plan their weddings over a year in advance, because there are so many weddings with all those big universities in such a close proximity. Rachel was having a really hard time finding a venue that they loved, but she has ended up planning a really nice wedding with lots of help from her friends. Rachel is one of the three brides I have this year that were referred from Lesley, whose wedding I did 3 years ago. They are all in Physical Therapy school at UNC-CH together. Lesley has been so awesome and generous. Rachel and Chris are University of Florida graduates, so I have to give a shout out to them for the National Champ Gators.

Click here for their engagement slideshow.

EDIT - Here is the cute email I got from Rachel:

"regina.

we love, love, LOVE them! thank you so much! and my mom went nuts when she saw them :] wow...you do amazing work! thank you!

rachel"

asheville pictage user group (pug) april meeting

2007-04-12T22:05:00.000-04:00

We held our monthly Pictage User Group meeting on Tuesday night. Corey McNabb was our studio spotlight and he did a presentation of his work and talked about his business. Corey has been named one of the top 100 photographers in the country and is a recent first place and multi-award winner at WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association). He also recently studied with Mike Colon in Newport Beach, CA and is a member of the Grace Ormonde 5-Star Directory. Several of Corey's friends came to show their support and two of his brides and his wife joined us at Carraba's for dinner. Then, a few of us went to Corey's studio until the wee hours of the morning and he showed us how to use Lightroom. We have been teasing Corey that he is on every photographer's blog that attended the big WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) conference in Las Vegas. Michael gave him the new name McBlogStar. Corey had over 600 hits to his blog and most of them came from other photographer's blogs linked to his. It is so cool that my closest friends are all photographers that now hang out with each other.
Tara, Jill, Corey and his wife Jill

Me and Dana

Laura Tolle, Corey and Tara

Michael, Corey Cagle and her husband, Billy

From left to right, Laura and Troy Tolle, with Tony McCune, both with Digital Chalk, Tara, and Jill Schwarzkopf.

Previous Pictage meeting post.

featured wedding - weddings unveiled magazine

2007-04-09T23:25:00.000-04:00

I am so excited!!!!!

The new Weddings Unveiled magazine has just hit the newstands and one of my weddings is featured as a "real wedding". Weddings Unveiled is my favorite local magazine, since the editor is a photographer and she puts a lot of emphasis on the images. I submitted Carla and Andy's wedding from November at Neverland Farms in Cleveland, GA. I have known since February that it was going to be published and have been very excited about how it will affect my business. I got a big box full of magazines last week and had to race over to show my neighbor. I am not about bragging or showing off, but she has shown everybody she knows. It is so funny! She even showed my great-aunt today when I didn't even think of it when I went to see her yesterday for Easter. I have to admit that my most excited moment was when I actually saw it on the shelf today for the first time at the little Ingle's in my hometown. All I could think was that my photos were in that magazine out here in the middle of nowhere and I wanted everyone to see them. Weddings Unveiled is distributed in NC, SC and GA if you want to check it out. I have to scan the other 2 pages, but I have the cover and opening shot below. I also have a full page ad, too. I have had the most hits to my website ever today. I am feeling very blessed. The last year has been so incredible for my business! Thank you to Carla and Andy for believing in me and letting me put you in a magazine!

jennifer and matt - another portrait tour stop

2007-04-07T23:20:00.000-04:00

I am continuing my posts on the e-session and bridal tour that I did two weeks ago. I shot 9 portrait sessions on two tours of the southeast. After I did Tina's bridal and engagement session in Wilmington, I came back to Raleigh. Then, on Saturday morning, I headed down to Greenville to meet Jennifer and Matt for the first time. We started out at the stadium at ECU with the PeeDee Pirate big statue. Matt's family are huge ECU fans and have season tickets, so the football games are a special time for them. Then, we went down by the river and did a few shots out on the new bridge. Jennifer mentioned that the new wine store downtown had a wine bar upstairs. Fourth Street Wine Shop and Wine Bar are in a gorgeous historic building. Of course, at 11:00 a.m., the wine bar wasn't open, but the shop owner was so generous, let us go upstairs and even came and poured them a glass of wine. Jennifer and Matt were so fun! We should have shot more after the wine bar, because he kept kissing on her after we finished up. I got a sweet email from Jennifer about how much they love the photos - it's so fun how the slideshow gets everyone excited about their photos. I am really looking forward to their wedding this summer.

Click here to Jennifer and Matt's engagement slideshow.

tera and kipp - the wedding sneak peak

2007-04-07T00:23:00.000-04:00

Good morning, Mrs. Bodnar! I hope you had a wonderful honeymoon.

Tera is my official blog stalker and I know she is very anxious to see her wedding photos from last weekend in West Virginia. I am not quite ready with her slideshow, but since I know she is checking the blog in great anticipation.... a little bit of a sneak peak.

Tera had 2 shots that she wanted duplicated from Kipp's parent's wedding, including this one coming out the church doors.

Doesn't she look stunning in this shot?

Tera also wanted a shot of her with her dad and the clock in the background. I grabbed this one right before the procession started.

Then, her very sneaky photographer, popped around the corner right as she and her dad were getting ready to enter the sanctuary. She doesn't even know about this one.

Her matron of honor said that she was the only one who got to see them making out in the narthex during the recession, but it didn't take much encouragement for another kiss.

Lastly, these 2 shots were in their incredible hotel room at the historic Blennerhassett.

tina and ted

2007-04-06T00:00:00.000-04:00

Continued from the last post....

Tina finally made it back from being snowed in at the airport for 2 days in NYC. We ended up rescheduling for the following Friday for her bridal portrait. I already had several appointments "down east" in Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Greenville, NC. In the amount of luck that I had had with getting Tina's bridal portraits done, I got a speeding ticket on the way to Wilmington. I was so upset with myself. I had been driving with the cruise control set, gotten off for a break and within 2 minutes of being back on I-40 was sitting on the side of the road getting not only a speeding ticket but also a warning for not having corrective lenses. Who knew that you needed to get a new driver's license after LASIKS????

After months of emails, telephone conversations and a delayed portrait session, it was great to finally meet Tina in person! Tina's bridal portraits are WOW! It was totally worth all the drama getting to the point of taking them. They are getting married in the big First Presbyterian Church in downtown Wilmington. It is a magnificent location and the bridal portraits are very dramatic, especially the ones from the balcony with the huge stained glass window above the altar in the background. You will have to wait until after April 21 to see those. Email me if you can't wait!

We didn't think we were going to be able to do an engagement session, but luckily Ted was in town to get ready to drive to their big wedding shower in his hometown. These photos were taken literally in 12 minutes, since they had to get on the road. I think that on the day of the wedding, the comfort level will be so much better than if we hadn't raced through these.

a portrait session tour

2007-04-03T23:35:00.000-04:00

A couple weeks ago, I spent 4 days driving around the Southeast doing portrait sessions for my April brides. I decided with gas prices so high and my X-terra having lots of miles on it to rent a car. It was so crazy driving a little Toyota Corolla. First, I went to Atlanta for Heather's bridal gown fitting. Even though she had told the bridal shop that it was her final fitting and the day before her bridal portrait, we arrived to an unfinished dress. It was not a good thing, but they ended up having the semestress fix it in a short time. All was well in the end but Heather was upset and the dress was in pieces in the front, so we didn't do as many shots as I normally would have. I ended up coming home that night, because I had so much going on. The next morning, I drove back to Chateau Elan about an hour north of Atlanta to do her bridal portrait. See this post below. I wish I could show you her portraits because they totally rock!

On Saturday morning, I left my house around 7:30 a.m. to drive to Wilmington to do Tina's bridal portrait. It's a solid 7 hour drive for me, but I was really excited about her portraits. I got about 2 hours into the trip and found out that she was stranded in the airport in NYC due to a snow storm and her flight had been cancelled again. So, I called my Sunday appointment in Charleston and asked if they could move up to Saturday in hopes of going on to Wilmington on Sunday.

Apryll and David were super cool and we met at Battery Park in Charleston for their engagement portraits. David had actually proposed on the steps of the gazebo there and at the time, Apryll was in a cast and on crutches. We did some fun shots and then some with the water in the background with the sailboats. Next, we went to Waterfront Park and did shots with the fountain there and out onto the pier with the battleship in the background. I saw a nice archway with flowers blooming and they did a few portraits there, just a relaxed session getting to know the couple. To my absolute horror, when I got home, the last memory card that I had used was corrupted and we lost about 100 images. This is the first time I have had any time of problems with shooting digital. I bought software and called technical support to no avail. I was devastated and had to break the bad news. I found out that I could have spent a lot of money (quoted $500 - $1,000), sent the card off to a recovery center and they might have gotten the images. If it had been their wedding, I would have definitely sent it out. While we have awesome shots from the first place, it's the worst that the last shots were lost. All new memory cards ordered!!!! I debated about whether I should share this story, but I totally believe in being honest and upfront. Card recovery software wouldn't exist if I was the only person that had ever had this happen, right? They still have great photos and I will more than make it up to them for the lost shots on the wedding day.

Click here to see Apryll and David's engagement slideshow.

After we got finished, I called and checked in with Tina's friend, Megan, and still no flights out of NYC. It was a big debate about whether I should go to my hotel and hang out or if I should come on home. We figured she would be exhausted if she did get a flight and that wasn't guaranteed. It would have been an extra 4 hours of driving, too. So, I took some fun for me shots in Charleston and came on home. I drove about 12 hours that day in that little tiny car. I ended up putting 1,200 miles on it in 3 days! I do have to say that I spent less than half as much as I would have in my vehicle.

To be continued.....

mary curtis and luke's wedding

2007-04-02T12:03:00.000-04:00

Mary Curtis and Luke are two of the nicest people ever! They had known each other for a while and saw each other often at church. Then, their minister kind of noticed that they would be good together and played matchmaker. Boy, was he right! They are perfect together! I have had some wonderful grooms in the past, but I must say Luke is way up there!

The rehearsal dinner was held at the Terrace Hotel at Lake Junaluska. Luke's family gave the couple a wonderful surprise. They had no idea until then where they would be going on the honeymoon. Luke's dad made them close their eyes and they opened them to find Hawaiian leis around their necks. Mary Curtis and Luke were very excited about the 10 days they got to spend in Hawaii!

The wedding was at Mary Curtis' family church, First Baptist Church in Waynesville. They had over 400 guests! The big church was filled with loved ones. Mary Curtis' brother, Kirk, sang with the choir during the ceremony including the first song in their slideshow. The reception was in the church fellowship hall with a nice buffet dinner. The toasts are always such an emotional part of the day. Mary Curtis' sister, Brenda Mock, told the story of them having 3 bedrooms and 4 children. When the first one went off to college, Mary Curtis still stayed in her room and then again when the second bedroom opened up. It was a testiment to how sweet and caring Mary Curtis is that she has such a strong bond with her younger sister.

Click here to see their wedding slideshow.

Click here for the rehearsal slidshow.

To view all photos on Pictage, click here.

My new assistant, Cam, took this great shot on the altar during the ceremony.

it's all gone....well, mostly

2007-03-29T22:37:00.000-04:00

I was in Chapel Hill Saturday shooting an engagement session. It was almost 90 degrees in March. My hair was seriously hot and sweaty and the only option was the dreaded ponytail! UGH! After growing my hair for the last three years, I decided that I was due for a major change! So, it's all gone!...well, mostly anyway. I lost some major inches, especially with the top layers.

I had dinner with my friend and fellow photographer, Corey Cagle. She took these shots with the point and shoot. We are going to do a formal session soon for my new website.

heather's bridal portrait with katie!

2007-03-22T13:12:00.000-04:00

Last Friday, I drove down to Chateau Elan Winery and Resort to shoot Heather's bridal portrait. She and Daks are very into wine and plan a honeymoon in Napa. Chateau Elan was the perfect location for a gorgeous bridal portrait! The winery is right off I-85 near Athens, GA, about an hour north of Atlanta where Heather and Daks live. We did most of the shots in the big Inn and Convention Center. They allowed us to go down into the Barrel Room for some awesome photos! I hate to be a tease, but come back at the end of April to see these beautiful images of Heather. Heather is so graceful and elegant. We had a great time with both her mom and Daks mom along. Daks' mom made the classic floral arrangement with the white roses and of course, heather.

Click here to see Heather and Daks' engagement slideshow at Biltmore.

Click here to see Heather and Daks' wedding website with their engagement photos.

My friend Katie from 6 of Four Creations came up from Atlanta to help me with the bridal portraits. She was a huge help and moral support. I really appreciate her taking time in a very busy week to come hang out with me. We had a nice lunch at the Winery Cafe.

big thank you to susan!

2007-03-22T13:02:00.000-04:00

I have been shooting a lot of bridal portraits lately. Unfortunately, I can't show you any of those yet as the weddings are in April! I had Suzie's bridal portrait scheduled on what turned out to be an incredibly windy March day. We were panicing about a back up plan and I just happened to think to call The Yellow House in Waynesville. I have Heather and Daks' wedding there at the end of April and had never met the new owner. Susan was so gracious and allowed Suzie and I to have full use of the bed and breakfast. Wait until you see these gorgeous shots! Thank you so much to Susan for the generosity!

This is a shot that doesn't show details of the dress. It was inspired by Joe Buissink and his infrared portraits. Unfortunately, it doesn't showcase The Yellow House, but those will come soon! Stay tuned.

meredith and reece

2007-03-19T22:40:00.000-04:00

I love my children clients. It is so fun watching them grow up in between portrait sessions. Meredith and Reece are such beautiful little girls. Meredith was 2 years old in December and Reece is 9 months old. They are so sweet together. I love the interaction between them. Reece was so cute sitting in the daffodils and Meredith kissed and loved on the big pink bunny. They both got their mom's gorgeous eyes, so it is hard for me to make any of them black and white.

Click here to watch their slideshow.

jordin's first birthday

2007-03-19T01:24:00.000-04:00

I had the pleasure of photographing Jordin's first birthday party. Jordin is the grandson of Teresa and Ron, whose wedding I photographed last October. They eloped at Lake Junaluska and I got to sign the marriage license. I just love them - they are such a fun couple. I always say I need a PG-13 website so I can put Ron's testimonial comments up! Just writing that makes me crack up. Ron is a hoot!

Jordin is such a cutie pie. He looks so much like his grandfather, Teresa's dad. I love the photos of them together. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the cake at first, but he finally just dove right in.

It is always a special honor for me to be able to continue my relationship with the wedding couples. Now I have people scheduling birthday parties around my wedding schedule. I am getting ready to launch new websites and the new children's website will have some of my birthday party images. I have put together new packages for the children's portraits. I love getting to know the kids well enough that they think it is fun to have their photos done.

asheville pictage user group (pug)

2007-03-14T23:47:00.000-04:00

I have partnered with Pictage as my online viewing website, but Pictage is so much more than just a gallery site. They are a top notch professional photo lab, offer fantastic products including the albums I offer and believe in helping their partners grow their businesses. Pictage encourages photographers to work together and learn from each other. This a totally different concept since a lot of photographers are secretive and do not socialize much less talk business with other photographers. I am happy to say that most of my closests friends are other wedding photographers. Pictage asked me to host their Asheville Pictage User Group (PUG) and our first montly meeting was in January.

Last night, we had 17 photographers get together and guest speakers Nathan and Amber Holritz came from Chattanooga.

Nathan and Amber are amazing photographers and great speakers. Nathan is so super organized and has transformed their business into a paperless office. He spoke a lot on the concepts from the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. Warren Sanders won a free copy! Amber seriously rocks on the baby portraits! I think she is one of the best in the business. A lot of the group went to dinner together at Carraba's after the meeting and then a few of us went to play pool. We all want to say a big "THANK YOU" to the Holritz for their time and generosity. It was greating see you both again and I look forward to seeing you again at Pictage's conference in Chicago in May. Please check out the amazing photos on their blog, too!

Please note: All of these photos are from my point and shoot camera!

Corey McNabb, Corey's office manager, Jeremy Russell and Christopher Record.

Terry Hopkins, Lisa and Warren from Blue Moon Portraits with Nathan.

Jason Tench and me

Honour Hiers and associate Aimie Cook, with Honour's baby and Corey McNabb.

Dana Andreasson and Brady Linkous

me and Amber

Corey McNabb won both games!

Nathan tries some slick moves

Corey Cagle, Nathan, Amber, Corey McNabb and me!

We were having a problem getting all of us in the self-portrait, so a girl at the pub offered to help. She might have been a little too intoxicated, because she thought this shot was "perfect!!!"

kathryn and david

2007-03-08T00:43:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of getting to know Kathryn and David over the President's Day weekend. They did something very cool and sneaky - they had their honeymoon at the log cabin near Burnsville that they rent around the same time each year and then they got married on Monday! Kathryn was so cute closing the door at work when she talked to me so no one would know. They sprung the wedding on their friend at lunch and invited her to come by.

I went up to their log cabin on a snowy Sunday afternoon to meet them and do a few couple portraits. Oh my goodness, it was cold and windy on top of that mountain. Kathryn loves the fireplace and can stoke up a roaring fire. How in the world they walk back up a flight of stairs outside after getting out of the hot tub I do not know. It's a wonder they had all their fingers and toes for the wedding.

I met them Monday afternoon at Cedar Crest Inn in Asheville. It was my first wedding there and what a gorgeous bed and breakfast! Rita was so nice and helpful. For couples planning a small, intimate wedding, I definitely recommend checking out the Inn. The red room that they were staying in was the perfect backdrop.
Dr. Fred Werhan officiated and his wedding ceremonies are always incredibly fitting to the couple. Kathryn said that they had thought of writing their own vows, but Dr. Werhan had suggested vows that were better than anything they could have written. I am so happy that Dr. Werhan has me as a vendor on his website, since that's how Kathryn found me. Thanks, Fred! It's always an honor to get to sign the marriage license. It was so funny that for as relaxed as Kathryn and David were on Sunday, they were both so nervous and anxious on Monday! I just love their expressions, between the nervousness, giddiness and pure joy after the ceremony. They are very into wine and had a special bottle from Stephen Spielberg's winery for after the wedding. What a lovely couple!

Here's what David said: "Kathryn and I loved looking at the site... The pictures look great! Thank you, we really enjoyed them with a glass of wine tonight! It’s amazing but you can definitely see the nervousness and joy in the pictures. I love the one of us kind of dancing after the ceremony and my friend crying in the background, so much happiness! Lots of good photos, thanks again!"

Click here to see Kathryn's and David's slideshow.

victoria and rob

2007-03-01T23:36:00.000-05:00

Victoria and Rob were married in Charlotte and had such a fun wedding. Victoria is such a gorgeous girl and was absolutely breathtaking in her dress from La Bella Sposa. Things were a bit anxious for a few minutes before the ceremony when majority of the guests arrived late. The wedding coordinator, Gale, did a great job helping bring everything together. Their ceremony was beautiful and very emotional.

The reception followed at the Sardis Swin and Racquet Club House with a tasty buffet by Triple Crown Caterers. The bride and her mother Natalia did all of the beautiful tulip floral arrangements. Victoria is Russian and Rob is Polish. They honored their heritage and observed several traditions, including walking over strings, drinking from their champagne flutes tied together by strings, sharing bread and tasting salt. Victoria's father, Alexandre, and maid of honor, Samantha, guided the toasts at the reception. Alexandre was so much fun and really touching, playing a toast and slideshow from Russian President Putin and a recorded message from Victoria's grandfather in Russia. Another reception highlight occurred when her father brought out a broom and had Victoria sweeping as money was thrown on the floor. The guests kepts spreading the money back out for her to sweep more. After we did the engagement session and with the photos I was seeing in the back of the camera, I have been telling Rob that he married a super model. He said, "I know".

This is my first wedding since my LaCour workshop (see post below). I was really excited about the images and my new lighting techniques!

Click here to see Victoria and Rob's slideshow.

Click here to register to see all their photos. event key: wedding

The beautiful cake from Suarez Bakery:

christopher - 9 month session

2007-02-26T15:38:00.000-05:00

Christopher is such a special little boy. He has grown so much from the slim little infant to a chubby fun almost crawling 9 month old. He is the joy of his family and so very loved. We did all of these shots with natural light in his room and throughout the house. I always stress relationship and how much it improves the wedding photos. It is the same for the children's portraits. I have known Christopher for 8 out of his 9 months and see him regularly. He has some of the funniest expressions. I love the one when he is flinging the toy and has that wild look and the one where he looks like a frog. He often raises his eyebrows. I laughed at him so much editing these photos.

Click here to see Christopher's 9 month sessions slideshow.

Can't get enough Christopher:

6 weeks
3 months
5 months
6 months

Christopher's Nana, Vanessa, isn't feeling well. I hope the photos bring her joy and peace. Please pray that she will be feeling better soon so that she can play hard with this lovely little boy.

lacour - storytelling workshop

2007-02-16T01:37:00.000-05:00

I spent 4 days in Atlanta this week at the LaCour Business of Storytelling workshop. It was a fabulous experience! I love these guys. LaCour consists of 2 husband and wife teams. They do some of the best lighting and post production work that I have seen. With photojournalism backgrounds, they understand the importance of telling the wedding story. Since I have a degree in photojournalism myself, it really makes sense to me what they are doing and I feel very inspired. Plus, it is so encouraging having photographers of their stature reaffirming that what I am doing is in the right direction. It is also important to realize my shortcomings, so that I can work on improving those areas. The LaCour signature lighting techniques are definitely something that I am working towards. They take an ordinary scene, without staging or interacting, and make it a work of art. Wedding photojournalism portrays what truly happened, without setting up scenarios or prompting the subjects, but the images don't have to be boring or just documentary. Telling a story through the photos of the wedding, not just the nouns (who) and verbs (what) but also through the adjectives and details. LaCour has a worldview theory that you draw like people to you through your beliefs. They stress a family legacy approach to wedding photography.

Photographs have always been such an important part of my family. My grandmother loved the photos from her family from her grandparents through her childhood and through her children's children. I now have many of those photos and they are so important to me. The first photo that I took was at age 7 of my grandfather and last year I had it enlarged and framed. My grandmother had lost a lot of her vision and when I made the photo of my grandfather big enough that she could see it, she cried so hard. The photo was taken the last Christmas that he was still with us.

Here are a few images from our lighting demo at the historic Biltmore ballroom in Atlanta. Mark and Erin of LaCour were married last year and did some modeling for us.

I already feel like a better photographer! Group photo from LaCour blog.

website updates

2007-02-11T00:10:00.000-05:00

I have spent some time this weekend updating my website and adding new content. I am going to the LaCour 4 day workshop on tomorrow and they do a portfolio review session, so I wanted to overhaul the website before they saw it.

I have redone the portfolio galleries and restructured those to have 2 feature weddings. I shot Carla and Andy's wedding in November in Georgia. I love their engagement shoot in Helen, GA last summer. I just shot Margaret and Josh's wedding last month in Asheville. Again, they are some of my favorite engagement photos and I just love their wedding photos. I still have some work to do on the children's portraits gallery and hope to actually launch a new children's website in the next month. I had experimented with the brown background a few months ago and ended up switching back to white. Now that I have really embraced the purple and brown in my branding and marketing, I think I am ready for the brown background. If you haven't been on the website in a while, check it out! www.reginaholder.com

As always, I am so excited at how many people actually read my blog and a bunch of you have subscribed either through Feedblitz, which will send you an email every time there is new content, or Feedburner that consolidates all the blogs you read into one listing daily. If you haven't subscribed, give it try. I subscribe to several blogs myself.

victoria and rob

2007-02-11T00:02:00.000-05:00

I had the pleasure of shooting Victoria and Rob's engagement photos in Spartanburg a couple weeks ago. I had missed Victoria's message that they needed to reschedule, but I think in the end we were all glad that I had arrived unexpectedly at their house. Building a relationship and trust before the wedding makes such a big difference in the wedding photos. The first photos we did were at the place they used to work together and they would spend time sitting by the fountain talking. Then, we went to an old factory site on the river were they like to take walks. I love the photos of Victoria standing behind Rob, her eyes look so gorgeous. They were really fun and didn't even protest when I put them up in a tree or in a falling down building. I am really looking forward to their wedding next Saturday.

Click here to see Victoria and Rob's slideshow.

margaret and josh

2007-02-10T23:44:00.000-05:00

Margaret and Josh had a beautiful wedding at one of my favorite locations, The Basilica of St. Lawrence, in downtown Asheville. The Bascilica is by far the most grand church in this area and is a true cathedral. Margaret was a gorgeous bride. She definitely understands the importance of a good makeup artist. The reception was held at On Broadway by Celine and Company caterers. On Broadway photographs so well and makes a great backdrop for photos. The food was awesome, too. I love Margaret and Josh's photos so much I have made them a feature wedding on my new website updates.

Click here to see their slideshow.

bridal show january 2007

2007-01-15T00:42:00.000-05:00

The bridal show yesterday at the Asheville Civic Center had record attendance. Wedding Festivals announced at the end of the show that over 550 brides had registered. That doesn't include the fiancee', family members and friends that came through with them. It was packed for most of the day. We handed out almost 400 fliers and 36 packets with detailed information.

I've already had brides contacting me yesterday and today, so that's exciting. I keep track of who contacts me first for each date and then if I hear back from the bride I add her to a list. I don't meet with another bride for the same date until I am sure the first bride is not going to book. Everyone has different budgets and expectations, so I know some brides are going to be a better fit with one of my friends and can give a solid referral. I am only taking on about 15 more weddings for 2007, so if you were at the bridal show and are truly interested - don't wait! I hate when someone really wants to book me but by the time they figure out all their wedding details, I am already booked. Even if you aren't 100% sure of date or location, it's better to go ahead and let me know you are interested than waiting until it's too late. I look forward to meeting with some of the brides that were excited about my work and my books! Thank you for stopping by my booth!

I also want to say a big THANK YOU! to my friend and fellow photographer Corey Cagle for helping me out once again and to my assistant Barbara for saving me by racing over my old laptop when the new one died 10 minutes before the show started.

samantha and josh wedding

2007-01-14T22:52:00.000-05:00

I posted about Samantha and Josh's wedding at Lake Junaluska a couple weeks ago. Here are a few photo highlights from the wedding:

Click here to see the slideshow.

happy new year!

2006-12-31T20:25:00.000-05:00

New Year's Eve is always the time to reflect back on the previous year. I want to thank all of the wonderful couples and parents of the awesome children that I have been so blessed to work with this past year. My business has grown so much and a huge part of it is the referrals from all my clients to their friends and families. It means so much to me to have all of you be a special part of my life as I share the special days and document the moments so important to you all. I am looking forward to 2007 and the next chapter in my life.

Many blessings! peace and happiness in 2007. HAPPY NEW YEAR!