Wishing and Hoping | Wedding Story

Sally Fry and Matt Scruggs met and fell in love on the UNC Chapel Hill campus. They asked us to photograph their whole wedding story! We were lucky enough to photograph her bridal portrait, their engagement portrait, various events leading up to the wedding and the incredible wedding itself. I just love it when we get a chance to know our clients really well and are able to thoroughly document this special time in their lives. We really could not have asked for nicer people to work with. Thank you soooooo much, Sally and Matt!

This is their wedding story, which is a slideshow of the best images of the day set to music. If you want to see the WHOLE STORY please visit their wedding gallery. This is where you may also purchase prints.

Wedding Vendors:

Reception Venue: The Carolina Inn, Heidi Werner
Florist: Tre Bella
Dessert Designer: Miel Bon Bons
Tablescapes: CE Rentals
Ceremony Music: Tim Baker
Reception Music: Joe Bunn DJ Company
Bridal Boutique: Traditions by Anna
Aesthetics: Mina’s Studio
Men’s Tuxedos: Julian’s
Stationery: Reaves Engraving

After I posted the Wedding Story this is what Sally’s mom, Ginny Fry, had to say:

Kristin – Wow!!

You have done such an amazing job with capturing all of the love and memories from Sally and Matt’s wedding day and weekend!! Our many, many thanks to you and Sarah for doing a truly wonderful job!! We are so very impressed with your work and appreciate all of the many hours behind the scenes that you’ve spent to produce their wedding story, slide show and gallery. I love the music you added for the slide show – perfect! We can’t wait to share everything with our family and friends!!

I have to thank you so much for being such a joy to work with. You made Sally and Matt and each of us feel so comfortable. Your terrific and fun personality, thorough understanding of Sally’s expectations, and the natural and professional ease with which you worked each wedding event to photograph the planned and candid moments will keep their special weekend forever fresh in our memories. We feel very fortunate to have had you there with us. Thank you, thank you.

As the “mob” and a fellow alum, I feel we can’t highly recommend you enough!! Your fabulous work and reputation in our area speaks for itself; however, should you ever need an endorsement or recommendation, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

A Winter Engagement | A Wedding Story

Who said it is too cold out for a portrait? Even though most of the leaves are down and the countryside lies dormant, January is still a beautiful time for an engagement portrait. Many of the couples I meet become engaged around the holidays. Then the planning begins! A good photo of themselves as a couple is a must. Christa and Jonathan are both busy doctors at Duke Hospital. She is a neurologist and he is an orthopedic surgeon. They are planning a December 2012 wedding at Fearrington Village.

They wanted their photos to be simple, classic and real. The trick is to get past the fact that you are posing for a photographer to find some real moments. I tend to just let the couples interact with each other with light direction. This way their real personalities come through and moments abound. I always try to do some verticals as well as horizontals so they have lots of options for save the dates. Thanks for a fun afternoon, Jonathan and Christa!

Late Winter in the Garden | A Wedding Story

Leslie and Craig will be married on August 20, 2011 at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, NC. We met in the late afternoon at Duke Gardens last week for an engagement portrait. Leslie mentioned that she was in need of an image for a save-the-date card. She also has a great idea to have a framed image on each of the tables at the reception. So we strolled a lot, changed outfits once and got to know each other.

UPDATE! The wedding was so beautiful! You can view their WEDDING STORY here. Enjoy!

A Stroll Down Memory Lane | Engagement Story

Next May we will be photographing the wedding of Jenn Baucom and Brandon Ayscue at University United Methodist Church and The Carolina Club. To get ready for the wedding, Jenn and Brandon wanted some great engagement photos to be able to include in save-the-date materials and wedding Web sites. We chose a weekend afternoon to meet at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful day. Unlucky for us it was a football home game, which always complicates parking in my lovely home town. So we ended up walking around campus when the masses were still at Kenan Stadium cheering on the Tarheels. Brandon kept on saying that our walk was such a stroll down memory lane. He had not been to campus since he was a child. Both Jenn and I went to school at UNC so we felt the same as well. I think the shadow photo sums up the day perfectly.

This is what Jenn had to say about her photos, “These photos are gorgeous! You did a really amazing job. This makes me even more excited about bridal portraits and wedding photos! Thank you so much!”

UPDATE: Jen and Brandon’s wedding was really special. Their families live locally so I love running into them and reminiscing. Good luck out in Cali, you two! See their WEDDING STORY here.

Preacher’s Son

That great Dusty Springfield song is now running in my head, “the only one who could every reach me, is the son of a preacher man….” Well, Tyler Elkins-Williams is just that as the son of Stephen Elkins-Williams, and he has certainly seemed to reach his fiancee Priti Rao. This was an ideal engagement portrait- the opportunity to record a chapter in a couple’s story, get to know them better and for us to find our photographic rhythm. It means a lot to me that the site of our shoot was The Chapel of the Cross, Tyler’s stomping grounds since he was 18-months-old. Priti loved the arches and as we strolled Tyler had a lot of memories to share. Here are my favorite images. I am so glad that I will be doing Priti’s bridal portrait as well as their wedding photography in September.

To see the WHOLE story click HERE to view their gallery. This is what Priti had to say about her photos, “We received the prints and love them! We already have them displayed in our new house!! We have gotten so many compliments already ”

UPDATE: As I write this update, Priti and Tyler have celebrated their first anniversary already and are expecting their first child, a boy, any day now. I am so excited!!! You may view their WEDDING STORY here.

Make a Wish

This past Tuesday Celia Pyle and Ben Whited came to the KPO Photo Studio for their engagement portrait. They will be married on June 12th at Fearrington. The goal of this engagement portrait was to get a great image that will be enlarged to 11 x 14. They plan to put a substantial mat around the print as it will serve as the guest book for their wedding. At the reception, guests will write their best wishes around the image and it will subsequently end up framed in their home. I love this idea! A traditional guest book most likely gets filed away and never looked at again. But this framed print will always remind them of their family and friends.

Celia’s mom, Sue, came along for the portrait session. We used both the indoor settings and the blooming azaleas for our backdrops. Ben and Sue had a good time finding dandelions in the yard so that this lucky couple could make a wish. I certainly wish them the best and am really looking forward to photographing the upcoming nuptials.

You can see all their images in their GALLERY.

UPDATE: Celia and Ben had a beautiful, warm, and rainy wedding. No matter at Fearrington as they have the open air Garden Terrace for shelter. Love the stone fireplace! The sun came out just as their guests were enjoying their first cocktail. See their WEDDING STORY here.

A Quiet, Engagement Portrait Session

Margo and Sam are to be wed on October 31, 2009 at Fearrington. It had not occurred to Margo to have an engagement portrait done. But then, a close friend said, “Your not having an engagement portrait done?!” so she rethought her decision. As she explained it, she decided it would be great for them to have a professional portrait done pre-wedding so that they could get used to being photographed. As a photographer I REALLY appreciate this chance to work with a client prior to the wedding. I get used to how they interact as a couple, their style, their best sides and their general likes and dislikes. Here are my favorites from their session, which took place both on UNC-Chapel Hill campus and in downtown Carrboro.

You can see a GALLERY of their images.

I quickly discovered that both Margo and Sam light up when they look at each other. So I just let them interact rather than pose them too much.

UPDATE: You will love Margo and Sam’s WEDDING STORY! A Halloween wedding. How cool is that? Congrats you two!