willodean and jason: durham engagement photographer

I have probably said it a hundred times and I'm sure I'll say it a couple hundred times more--I LOVE taking engagement pictures! I get to know so much about a couple and their personality, and they so dang FUN! I love it that Willodean and Jason had multiple "looks"--one of which was soft and romantic, see?



And then they had a dressy outfit, followed by a change of dress for Willodean. She had a sassy dress and amazing shoes-I love it! And it's always great working with a could that has a clear idea of what they want in their engagement pictures, but that also is willing to try whatever crazy ideas I suggest. For example: see that picture on the bottom right. I said "okay, stand right here and kiss. yes, next to those pipes." and the didn't bat an eye :)



can't wait to photograph your wedding this november!!

michele + quent = married! raleigh wedding photographer

what an amazing saturday afternoon! and an amazing couple! michele and quent were married in raleigh at pleasant grove united methodist church--the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing and the light was incredible!



I loved that they served danny's bar-b-que at their reception--what a southern touch! it was held at the raleigh elks lodge and both the reception area and the grounds were gorgeous! I loved it that there were so many special touches for their day--they gave away seed paper flowers, michele had her grandmothers' pins on her bouquet and quent even found a penny (heads up!) when we were doing some of the couple pictures! such a special day, indeed :)

lauren + pat =married! mebane wedding photographer

if I had to sum up lauren and pat's wedding in a word, that word would be incredible--the venue was picturesque, I loved the colors, lauren looked radiant, pat looked polished, and it was a sunny (and hot!) day! I loved it that everyone partied the night away too!

and pine lake pavilion was just fantastic! the light in the trees, the details of the venue, and just the overall gorgeousness--I was blown away!

I had been looking forward to this wedding for over a year--and especially since I did their engagement photos! and it did not disappoint :)



I must say--the guys totally rocked their pink, yes? and the horse drawn carriage was unbelievable! and at the bottom, those are lauren's something olds--so sweet!

love these? go check out the rest of their wedding under "recent weddings" here!

katie + ben = married! durham wedding photographer

you already saw katie and ben's engagement photos--now it's time for their lovely, lovely wedding!



I loved all of the details of their wedding, some of which aren't pictured here. Katie's dress had a blue bow and a piece of her mother's dress sewn into the lining. Ben had special earrings for her to open during their first look. Their bubbles were placed in the shape of a heart, they had an awesome candy table and it seemed like every single element had special meaning--I loved it! And a super-shout out to these two for their thoughtfulness--they put extra thought into where we should sit and we had an excellent time with our kickball-playing tablemates :)

little baby evan: durham newborn photographer

this little boy is one the smiling-est babies I've seen in a long time. if you look at the one in the red shirt you'll see his smile--he looked like that 5 minutes into the session, and it was almost like he was waving and saying "hey carrie, nice to meet ya!" my heart melted, I'm not gonna lie. :)



little evan was an answer to his mommy and daddy's prayers, and it was incredible to see the love that just poured forth from them. and I can't wait to see that love in a tangible form--that is, when david draws a picture of evan. check out his AMAZING work, here. my husband matt and I can't wait to have him draw one of our wedding photos for us too! such talent, such love, this family is incredible!

sarah + evan = married! blowing rock wedding photographer

I just love the mountains of north carolina. maybe it's because they are still a novel thing to me--in tulsa we had plenty of rolling hills and lots of shoreline from our lakes and rivers, but I rarely saw real mountains. and there's such an awesome vibe when you travel out west--I just love it!

so of course I was thrilled when sarah and evan's wedding rolled around! I had such fun doing their engagement photos and their wedding was simply gorgeous. see?



also, that top left picture of her dress in a bathtub? tells you just how awesome sarah is! I told her what I wanted to do and, without batting an eye, sarah said "do whatever you want, I trust you completely." and now that is my favorite dress picture EVER. :D

one other awesome thing about this wedding was the venue! It was a lovely little city park and the wedding was on a little peninsula of land with a gazebo. and this wedding helps me answer a question I get all the time. first, the picture:


More often than not I get asked "do I want/need/have to have a second shooter?" It's a totally fair question--weddings have budgets and second shooters cost money! But if you have a second shooter, you can often get perspectives like you do here. These were taken within two seconds of one another. And in this case, my second shooter was my fabulous husband Matt, who second-shoots for me 95% of the time! :)

There are a ton of other amazing moments from Sarah and Evan's wedding I'd like to share with you--and you can see them on my wedding website, under "recent weddings." Go check it out!

kristin and erik: durham engagement photographer

these are my fabulous neighbors--and this is their fabulous engagement session!



I loved that the whole time we were doing the session I just kept thinking "they are so in love!" Too cute, huh?

I can't wait to share their wedding with you!!

jackson (jack) john: raleigh newborn photographer

you've already met jack's super-cute parents (see their maternity photos here) and now it's time to meet their super-cute little dude!



he was seven days old in these photos--and every bit as cute and cuddly as the day he was born. he was only eleven hours old in this picture. :)



and blogging about this particular session gives me a chance to share a new product with you--my new calendar!



I'm including one with every newborn session taken between august and december this year, AND if you booked a portrait package with me, I'll be giving you one for also! Want a calendar for your wedding or family photos? No problem! I can custom design one for you! Calendar pricing starts at $20, please contact me for details!

lisa and richard: north carolina engagment photographer

I feel very fortunate to be blogging about yet another one of my dear friends!

Lisa is my very favorite person on my softball team (no offense other Toxic Wasters!)--she has a contagious laugh, a positive outlook on life and can out-run everyone I know other than my husband (who I swear is part cheetah)--but she gives him a run for his money! And once upon a time, she encouraged me to visit a rock climbing gym with her. I did, I had fun, I got lots of bruises and blisters and bought my very own harness. It was awesome!

Just telling y'all this make me want to go to the rock climbing gym now...

so, anyway, while there I also met Richard. He was very nice and quite funny and a very experienced rock climber--and after one of the evenings at the gym I informed Lisa that I was pretttty sure that Richard totally wanted to make out with her. And you know what? I was right.

They met climbing. Their first date was climbing too-Richard took Lisa on her first outdoor multi-pitch climb--meaning they went 600 feet up a mountain and Lisa's life literally rested in Richard's hands! And appropriately enough, Richard proposed to Lisa while they were climbing!

So for engagement pictures, I just knew that climbing had to be involved! What I didn't know is that it would mean walking to the top of a mountain!



We traveled the path of their first date--first, they climbed Stone Mountain (but we hiked up it)! Next we went to the ice cream stop at the entrance to the park, then ate at Foothills Brewing and saw the sites in Winston-Salem. I loved that I could photograph them at such meaningful places!

They'll be getting married this October and my husband and I will be celebrating our 6 month-aversary at their wedding--and I couldn't think of a better way to mark the occasion!

These are only a handful of the pictures from their session. Wanna see the rest? Go to my wedding website and see their album under "couples!"

katie and ben: durham engagement photographer

I love it when couples laugh together--and this couple definitely did! but ben and katie were so sweet together too! I could definitely tell that they just had an understanding of one another and that they appreciate the little traits and quirks that make them who they are! they are a "go together like peas and carrots" couple!



such sweetness!



I can't wait to show you more pics from their gorgeous wedding!

jessica and cody: tulsa couple photographer

meet jessica and cody. aren't they the coolest? and the silliest?



jessica and I have known each other, for, well, ~80ish percent of our lives. we've been there for each other through awesome accomplishments and stupid boys, bad haircuts and cute clothes, middle school, high school, college and everything inbetween :)

before they left oklahoma for ohio, jessica and cody wanted to get some t-town photos to enjoy in their new residence. plus, we took these only a month before their three-year anniversary, so that worked out nicely, too :)



It was so much fun working an an area that means so much to me, too (I hail from Tulsa, if you didn't already know). Love you guys!

j d and r hathcote: raleigh family photographer

do you remember this gorgeous mommy-to-be, or this handsome little baby? well this photoshoot was to celebrate his first birthday!

he has such a great smile!



and a great giggle too!



such a sweet family...







and his little curls are just precious!

christy and jeff: durham maternity photographer

so, you know I'm behind on blogging when I'm sharing a maternity session and the baby is already born and more than two and a half months old, ha! but I don't want to miss anything! newborn photos will be up soon for little jack!

the weather and the light were unbelievable for this shoot--but christy and jeff take the cake!



they were such good sports! and since they're also very close friends of mine, it was so very special to get to be a part of this time in their lives! I have to admit, though it is always such an honor to have people let me into their lives and let me chronicle their relationships and family, when my close friends let me do that it is just super touching. I am so lucky to get to be a part of such amazing occasions!







I love these foxgloves! Such awesome flowers! I kind of got distracted by them, I'm not gonna lie. I think they are now my second favorite flowers, right behind the ranunculus. :)



and this is my very favorite from the session!

suzanne and thomas; 2010 graduates, UNC!

meet the lovely suzanne and the dashing thomas, who are now officially "doctors of pharmacy." and who also happen to be friends of mine. :)





we made sure to visit The Old Well, aka the really important place where you MUST take pictures at UNC's campus. The University of North Carolina is known for The Old Well--and fortunately we didn't have to wait in line to take pictures at it like I did later that week!



I love it when I get to capture the "couple things" that a pair of people do--and suzanne and thomas? they hold pinkies. awwww.





they graduated just a few short weeks ago--and a few days after we took these pictures they got ENGAGED. in PARIS!!! I could not possibly be happier for them!





I cannot WAIT to shoot your wedding next summer!

karen + rich = married! kernersville wedding photographer

this was such a fun wedding--it was my first of the year, which is a treat in itself, but I also got to document two of my friends getting married!

it was a bit of a stressful day--Rich hails from England, and that volcano with the unpronounceable name threatened to spoil their hope of having all of their family in! But nearly all of them made it in on the first flight to RDU (which I thought was particularly interesting since the purchaser of this ring took the first flight OUT of RDU to London!) It was certainly a joyous occasion, and I knew they would rock the pictures--because they did such an awesome job at their engagement shoot last fall!

he looked handsome.


she looked breathtaking.


and they had a lot of fun!

there were lots of beautiful details, too!

want to see more from their fabulous day? Well....I waited until my first wedding was complete to announce this, but you can see them all at MY NEW WEDDING SITE! check them out under "recent weddings!" I am so excited to have it up and running!

Congrats again, you two! I will always remember your wedding anniversary (it's a week after ours) and I wish us both many, many happy years!

ryan, beth and addison: raleigh newborn photographer

it was a joy to work with sweet little addison and her kind parents, ryan and beth. it is clear that they are so excited to have a family of three!





addison was so curious about everything going on--she didn't want to miss a thing! and she just looked absolutely precious!





she and her daddy love to share sweet little kisses...


I'm looking forward to next month--I can't wait to see how she has grown and changed!

shadi, michael and adrian: durham family photographer

the sky might've been ready to open up at any moment, but the colors were vivid and the flowers were in bloom!

shadi, michael and adrian are a beautiful family!



and adrian was so delighful! he really enjoyed all his daddy's attention!



this family had a sweetness about them...






and I just LOVE this one--the colors, the smiles, the awesome forsythia in the background--it's just fantastic!



hooray for springtime!