Vacation at Hilton Head...

...with the in-laws. We had a very nice time relaxing and spending time with Jeremy's family in South Carolina last week. One of our favorite things to do while we were there was ride bikes on the beach...so fun and peaceful. Another great memory I have was hunting for shells! We didn't find very many impressive shells but we did find lots of STARFISH and even a few sand dollars (I thought that was pretty cool and turned into a bit of a kid again with excitement! :) I didn't get much time to photograph like I'd hoped with my professional camera because of "technical difficulties" but here are a couple I did snap before that happened.











So I was bummed because my CAMERA BROKE!!! The shutter collapsed before I could do a photo shoot for my sister-in-law and her family on the beach. I was really looking forward to doing a session for them at sunset on the beach. But we improvised. We did a mini shoot anyway with our little five year old sony cyber-shot point and shoot camera. Here are a couple pics from our trusty 7.2 mega pixel point and shoot. The black and white one below was from the afternoon on the beach and Jeremy shot it. The others were after everyone was cleaned up for the evening and I shot them. The picture Jer took of G-man and I was a bit grainy so I decided to add to the effect with a grain filter...I kind of like it but am a little on the fence about the added grain. (love the pic though)



I love this generation picture too. I snapped it real quick while Jeremy was looking at Graydon, Graydon was looking at Grampy, and Grampy was laughing at Gramy who was busy making everyone smile.







Not exactly what I wanted for this family photoshoot but not too bad for the camera I had to work with!

Back from a long trip...

...and way too much to blog about!! Jeremy, Graydon and I have been gone for a little over two weeks and man did I take a ton of pictures! I have a bunch of stuff I will be blogging about over the next week but I wanted to start with a wedding that I was NOT the photographer at but a guest. My husband officiated the wedding of a long time friend of his from high school and I just couldn't leave my camera at home. So please keep in mind as you scroll through these that I only stuck to details and candid shots. I did not want to get in the way of the "hired" photographers or step on any toes so I just snuck around and snapped when I had the chance or the other photographers weren't around! So, sorry you won't see any bridal shots or beautiful portraits of the wedding party but I hope you enjoy anyway! The first few are of the rehearsal...that IS the bride but not in her wedding dress.









Since yesterday when I posted this original post I have spoken with this beautiful bride and discovered that her new husband's grandfather was rushed to the emergency room last night after a family dinner. He had extremely low blood pressure and very shallow breath. I am pleased to say he is stable now and doing well. I snapped this picture of the groom's grandfather at the rehearsal the evening before the wedding. He is 95 years old and I remember thinking how well he looked for his age and I could tell he was well loved. We will keep you in our prayers Grandpa Gander!



Now For the wedding day "sampler"!













The reception was BEAUTIFUL! They cleared out and transformed this absolutely gorgeous greenhouse for their grand celebration.









Once the sun set and the moon was up the atmosphere certainly changed! The lighting was fun and beautiful with pink and blue lights everywhere. I chose to photograph with only available light (which means I did not use flash for ANY of the pictures on this post), that way you get a better feel for the ambiance and mood!



First Dance





Parent dances



The bride and groom had a unique feature at their reception. In the main room was the traditional DJ and dance floor but in a smaller secondary room was a cigar lounge complete with a professional cigar roller originally from Cuba who rolled a couple hundred complimentary cigars for the guests while they listened to a live musician...it was definitely the hot spot of the night! The bride and groom even had an opportunity to try their hand at rolling a cigar...that's the picture you see here.



If you would like to see more details and candids from this wedding you can find Defining Grace Photography on facebook...while your there become a fan and leave a comment! (if you haven't already :) ALSO check back because I'll be posting more blogs over the next couple days!!!

First North Carolina Shoot...

...since we've moved here! Ok, it's my sister but it was still a lot of fun and felt good to be out shooting. My 14 yr. old sister just had her school pictures taken last week and was complaining again about how they rush you in, sit you down, say "smile" then CLICK and it's over...NEXT! She is tiered of the same old boring traditional school shots every year and I certainly can't blame her. SooooOOoo I said pick out a few of your favorite outfits and come with me! Here is a "sneak peek". Hope you all enjoy and as always...LEAVE COMMENTS!!!

My Last Session in Dallas...

...for now. If you've been following my blog you know that we are moving to North Carolina. We pull out of Dallas at the crack of dawn on Tuesday morning and drive with the biggest "drive it your self" moving truck we could rent and our little camry in tow. We close on our house tomorrow and this chapter in our lives will come to a close. We are certainly sad to leave so many wonderful people that we have grown to love behind but we are encouraged and excited to see what the next chapter holds. For those of you who were some of my loyal repeat clients or even those of you who follow my blog and always wanted pictures but never got around to it, I am hoping to come back next year if I can schedule a handful of appointments in a short period of time. And of COURSE I'm always willing to come back to shoot a wedding! So this post will be my last session in Dallas for the time being.
Now on to my lovely couple and their "sneak peek"! Thank you for being so patient in waiting to see your pics. I shot them Monday morning and they have had to wait longer than usual for their sneak peek...however, as consolation, (and because I will not be able to post anything new for a week or two), I am going to post more than my usual 4-5 pics. There were just too many favorites for me to choose from! This "engagement" session was SOOoooOO fun!! Not only is this couple GORGEOUS but they are so sweet and genuine. I loved watching them interact and they were so willing for me to shoot them how I wanted to! I'm excited to see what the future has in store for you guys. It was a pleasure and honor to get to know you and to be able to photograph you two just being in love. Even though I haven't known you long you will be missed. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek! And as always I LOVE getting comments and feedback!







Ok, I know the way I processed this photo does NOT go with the look of their session...but I had to process it this way, it just makes me laugh I love it! Can someone get me a pitch fork??







rrRRAAaawwrrr









I had to include this one of Liz laughing...it's so her!





















This was the last shot I took as we walked back to the car so I thought it was a perfect way to end the post...it also happens to be my favorite shot of the day!



God bless you guys...you rock!