Monday, January 7, 2013

Bridal Portrait Reveal

After getting my wedding photos back looking at my bridal portraits definitely took second priority. GASP! But I wanted to get back to basic's and take a trip down memory lane and share with you some of my bridal portraits. 

Taking bridal portraits is definitely a very southern thing and not every gal does them. I was on the fence about it but then I was thinking that if I'm sitting here paying for hair and makeup and NOT trying the dress on it seemed like a waste. I really wanted to experience it all. It was definitely a decision I'd recommend to other brides because I LOVED my bridal session! It was so fun to get dressed up, walk around downtown Raleigh, and smile for the camera for over 2 hours. A little much but it was so easy working with Sarah Der!!!!! She is amazing, number one, and uber sweet number two. She didn't make me feel rushed or pressured and allowed for our session to be complete before packing up and leaving even though it was her anniversary!! I was so grateful and the pictures are just magic, so thanks again Sarah! You rock!! (OH and if you're looking for a portrait or wedding photographer, definitely contact Sarah, she lives in Chapel Hill and she is TOO cute!!) And a special shout out to my incredible hair and makeup artists, Fiquet Bailey Swain of Luxe Apothecary in North Hills and Kari Berry of Marigold Parlour at Seaboard Station. If any brides out there need assistance on their big day I HIGHLY recommend both of these lovely ladies!

OK, so I started my photos at our reception venue, The Stockroom at 230, because I needed somewhere to put on the dress and we got some good shots out of the venue but we wanted to take advantage of daylight so we quickly began our walk downtown:

 

Then we ventured to City Market with the old cobblestone streets for a bit of fun and some of my pumpkin love.. What's that? Pumpkins?! You'll see!


We wanted to use the last bit of daylight so Sarah asked if I knew anywhere with some wide open space because downtown Raleigh was sucking up all the daylight with the shadows. I said YES of course! Where hubby is the head pro, Lonnie Poole Golf Course!! I quickly called him and told him he had to leave and we were on our way for some last shots!
 
 
Capping the evening off with some Wolfpack love!!

Well, there you have it! My bridal portraits! Sorry for the mass amount of photos but it was hard to choose which ones especially since we did so many different locations and styles. It's fun to see all of them in one place though. After the fiasco of having to reschedule and almost giving up, I loved the end result and Sarah was so quick and prompt in helping me get the photos quickly so we could use them at the reception. Like I said, bridal portraits may not be for everyone but I had a blast and I think it would give any bride a sense of calm and confidence in preparation for the big day!

Happy Monday!
xoxo,
mrs. a.
  

Thursday, January 3, 2013

A Look Back at What Was 2012!

  

In 2012 we traveled to Beaufort, Topsail, and Ocracoke Island during the summer months and adopted our sweet little Kit Cat in January. 

Photography by Meredith Perdue
  
We took our engagement photos in March with Meredith Perdue at the North Carolina Museum of Art, and we loved every minute of it...
then we mailed our Save The Dates!
 

In April we booked our honeymoon to Antigua and we booked our cake baker. We also selected our linens and rental items and flower girl dresses.

We booked the amazing Dickens Band to jam the night away at our reception.
 

I celebrated my 25th birthday at Fox's Liquor Bar with great friends.
  
We were honored to have been thrown a couple's shower at Lake Norman, NC over 
the 4th of July, by my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

We went and saw Jason Mraz and Christina Perri and ventured to 
Asheville for a friends wedding and did some exploring! 

I got to bachelorette party it up in Wrightsville, NC the weekend after Asheville with the most amazing girl friends in gorgeous NC weather, it was a BLAST!!!
 
 I got to vote this year and watch the olympics, hubby and I applied for our marriage license, we got to celebrate Halloween with our neighbors and we went to see one of our favorites, Dave Matthews Band in December.

One thing I've yet to tell you more about, are my BRIDALS, with Sarah Der!!! What a fun day that was, and how gorgeous the photos look! Can't wait to recap soon!
 
Photography by Sarah Der
 
In September we spent hours stamping our invitations with vintage stamps but then we finally got to mail them! What a sigh of relief that was. We also received our rehearsal invitation in which YOU helped me choose my rehearsal dress!
 

But what we all waited so long for... we got MARRIED!!!!!! It was the absolute best day of our life! Hubby likes to say that the two weeks we were away from work, getting married and honeymooning were the best two weeks of his entire life and I have to agree!!!!
 
Photography by Meredith Perdue
 
Our honeymoon in Antigua was all we could've dreamed and more, and then once we were home it was Thanskgiving the day after and the beginnings of our first Christmas! Thanks for the help in selecting our Christmas card!
 


That was a small wrap of 2012 but WHAT A YEAR it was!!!! It was by far the greatest year of our life thus far and we are so excited to see what 2013 has ahead for us but all the years we'll celebrate as husband and wife. Afterall the wedding is just the process but the marriage is for life, and we want to communicate and love each other every day through our vows that we spoke on November 10th, 2012. 

Thank you to each and every one of you for being part of the process, especially since I started this blog in 2012. It really was such a blessing! I hope you all have a beautiful 2013!

xoxo,
mrs. a.