love, love, love!

things I'm loving right now:

~writing 2011 on things (11 is my favorite number!)
~finishing up my final edits for the 2010 year
~booking so many fantastic weddings (I seriously have the BEST clients)
~spending some quality downtime with my awesome husband
~looking back over all of my awesome sessions this year. y'all SERIOUSLY ROCK!
and...

I'm really, really loving GIVEAWAYS! I promised you one for the new year, and here it is!

WHAT CAN I WIN?

there will be THREE lucky winners...and they will each get one of the following

-your choice--a FREE 45 minute session with high resolution copies of all of the edited images or a $100 credit towards merchandise/prints for a future or past session.

-your choice--a custom-designed and printed calendar--either a 12-month on a single page or a set of 12 5x7s with each month on a different page--shipped right to your door or a $30 credit towards merchandise/prints for a future or past session.

OR

-a set of custom-designed valentines cards! Either 25 postcards or 36 wallets! or a $30 credit towards merchandise/prints for a future or past session.

See examples below! The 12-month calendar has been featured before, but I have a couple of new designs for that too!

HOW DO I ENTER?

Do any of the following and then come back and leave ONE comment for EACH. Comment on my blog or on this Facebook post! Comments on pictures don't count, sorry! You have until Midnight Eastern time on Thursday, January 27th, to enter! You can enter up to once a day for each method of entry! Just be sure to comment!

-share the giveaway on Facebook
-tweet about the giveaway and link to http://carrierrichardson.blogspot.com/
-like my facebook fan page (and if you already have it "liked," you can comment once for that!)
-get a friend to become a fan of mine on facebook or follow me on twitter. you will BOTH get an entry for that!

julie and justin: asheville wedding photographer

I knew this wedding was going to be amazing from the moment I stepped into the Party Barn--and it wasn't the location or the beautiful table arrangements or the horses or the perfect weather. No, it was that I walked up to Julie, introduced myself (we'd only talked on the phone and via email) and she said "no handshakes, friends hug, and we're gonna be friends by the end of today!"

she was right :)

this wedding was held in candler, nc, and wow, wow, WOW! eye candy everywhere, a super-fun bride and groom, and fantastic weather--I couldn't have asked for more.

let's start with the dress: geeeeee-orgeous!


and a touching ceremony--justin's dad officiated.


and so many details--burlap, logs, candles, handmade soap, bird's nest--just made everything gel!


and see that dress-worn by justin's grandmother.



the grandparents? they were PRECIOUS! and grandpa was persnickety in a very awesome way :)go check out the cream-of-the-crop album on my site and you'll see what I mean!

can't you just see how much they love each other? so touching, so adorable!


julie and justin allowed a lot of time for pictures between the ceremony and the reception--it helped a lot that everything was in the same place--and I know they are so thankful they did! check it out...

our own special take on "American Gothic"--SO appropriate for a barn wedding.


and this is the bride's (and my) favorite couple shot of the day!


and I LOVE this ring shot!

their flowergirl was a doll!




their programs were beautiful in their simplicity--and Julie and Justin learned something special for their first dance--the guests LOVED it! I did too! :)







the party barn at night!

the faby family: raleigh family photography

What a cute family! This is the one, two, three, FOURTH time I’ve photographed this family, in some way or another! I love getting to work with repeat customers :)

We met at NC State, since Mom Faby is an alum, and took a little trip down memory lane. We took pictures at her old dorm, places she hung out and visited some NC State landmarks. We played in the grass, jumped up and down, ran around and had a really good time!

Here’s the whole gang—are they cute or what? Love the outfits, they definitely came prepared for variety!



Here are just the kiddos. The loooove each other. It’s simply precious to see them play!


When I saw this I KNEW I had to photograph it—I’m a Golden Hurricane all the way, but now that I’m going to grad school at State I must say “Go Wolfpack!” too!


And here are two fun black and whites—how perfect that the Free Expression Tunnel said “we love daddy!”—it was meant to be. And there’s Dad Faby and his little girl—adorable!

At the end we worked in a little bit of couple time. Awww! The Fabys just celebrated their anniversary last month—again, congratulations!!

one of those moments...

Something little happened to me last week that really made me smile, and I want to share it with you all...

I was having some last-minute images printed at a local camera shop. I was meeting potential clients the next day and wanted to update my portfolio before I met them. [By the way, they booked their 2010 wedding! Allie and Allan I am really looking forward to working with you!]

So, I submitted my images online and left to pick up my lunch, and after I got my food I had a message from the manager of the store...

"Hi Carrie," he said "I'm the manager at Such-and-Such Camera, and I'm calling in regards to the order you placed online. We are not going to be able to print those images you submitted online--they are professional photographs and we cannot print them without a copyright release..."

It just made me smile that even the well-trained eye of the professional printer recognized the quality of my work in a split second. :)

If you're thinking "well, duh!" then think of it this way--it was the photography equivalent of a stranger telling my how cute my haircut is, or how they really love my outfit. Except even better, because it's like I cut my hair or sewed the clothes myself!

and, because all posts on a photography blog should have pictures...here's a picture of a Durham Farmer's Market zinnia that I took in August. I LOVE fresh flowers, and I love taking pictures of them too!