Alexas Photography Blog

I followed these two cuties around Kathryn’s alma mater – UNC Chapel Hill – for their engagement session. We almost melted in the heat, dodged mass amounts of graduates in Carolina blue gowns, and generally just had an awesome time :)

 

Victoria + William’s wedding was my first of the season and it was the perfect one to start with :) A beautiful color palette of grey + yellow, happy families, and a couple so in-love you could almost feel it! It was the perfect day and with the wonderful Anna Paschal as my second photographer, we caught every amazing moment from the second Victoria arrived to the lantern send-off.

Venue : Gardens at Gray Gables, Bride’s Shoes : Anthropologie, Floral : The Garden Outlet, Catering : Savory Street Catering , DJ : Triad DJ, Cake : Cakeocity

I love this father-daughter moment that Anna caught . . .

A few minutes of prayer over Victoria and William’s marriage. . .

We found the guys getting ready in the house . . .

I love the few minutes right after the ceremony. . .

This engagement session is a little extra special because the groom is my uncle and his beautiful fiance is almost my aunt! I’m so honored that I’ll get to photograph their wedding day this summer. Uncle John lives on a gorgeous piece of property in Kernersville and (Aunt) Jennifer will be joining him there after the wedding :) So of course it was the perfect place to do their engagement session! Plus we got to include his sweet dog, Level. . .

Isn’t this barn gorgeous?

A little nod to American Gothic. . .

I just love you guys so much and I’m so excited for you!

 

As you all probably know, Mother’s Day is just a couple of weekends away! I’m sure you have been getting e-mail newsletters, mail, and advertisements that all tell you what you have to buy to “show mom how much she means to you!” and I’m not going to do that to you, don’t worry ;) Yes, us moms like to know we’re appreciated but all I need is a smile from my little man to know it’s all worth it! I’m sure you other mamas know what I’m talking about! But any excuse to have photos taken is a good reason, in my mind :) So I’m offering mini-sessions the Friday + Saturday before Mother’s Day… check out the details below! Also, check out how stinkin’ adorable my son is. . .

 

 

The details : 

Mini-sessions will be held at my house off Lawndale Dr. in Greensboro. I want these sessions to have more of a relaxed,  real life feel than a posed “formal portrait” (though we’ll make sure to get a smiling group photo as well). Plus, it’s kind of a built-in rain plan ;) I’ll also have some backdrops set up in the house and outside in the yard – there will be plenty of different areas to shoot!

Yes, the sessions are technically for Mother’s Day and would be great for moms to do with their little ones but the sessions are open to anyone – Grandma’s + grandkids, moms and kids of any age, and those of you that are pregnant but may not have your little one by this Mother’s Day (a mini maternity session!). And if dads are around and want to hop in for a quick family portrait, that works too :)

Email me at hello@alexasphotography.com and list your preferred time slot! I’ll then send you an invoice for the session that you can pay online. Address of session location and other details will be sent after your session is claimed + paid!

    Friday, May 10th time slots :                                                                     Saturday, May 11th time slots :

10:00 – 10:30am                                                                                                             10:00 – 10:30am

11:00 – 11:30am                                                                                                              11:00 – 11:30am

12:00 – 12:30pm                                                                                                              12:00 – 12:30pm

1:00 – 1:30pm                                                                                                                    1:00 – 1:30pm

4:00 – 4:30pm                                                                                                                   4:00 – 4:30pm

5:00 – 5:30pm                                                                                                                    5:00 – 5:30pm

6:00 – 6:30pm                                                                                                                     6:00 – 6:30pm

I’ll try to mark off slots as they’re claimed. More time slots will be added if needed :)

I remember photographing Deidra + Nate two years ago during my Valentines mini-sessions when they were just dating… I had a number of couples that afternoon and about half of them were engaged or married and the other few were boyfriend/girlfriend. Before thinking it through all the way, I blurted out “so when are you guys getting married?”… oops. There was a short awkward pause and a little bit of nervous laughter but we all got over it. Fast forward to today and these two are planning a wedding in August. Yay! I couldn’t be more excited for them and am so honored that they chose me to document this new stage of life :)

Deidra + Nate met at the UNCG gym so we started our session there…

Skills :)

Nate was reppin’ UNCG basketball under his outfit.

IN LOVE with this dress that Deidra wore for the second half of our session…

This sidewalk is where Nate popped the question after a dinner at Mellow Mushroom!

These two look pretty comfy together, don’t you think?

These shoes!!

You guys even make an empty parking lot and a white wall look good ;) Can’t wait to photograph you again on your wedding day!

I’m having so much fun meeting back up with my 2013 couples to shoot their engagement and bridal sessions! With couples booking their wedding photography more than a year in advance or booking while out of town, I sometimes don’t see them for months after our initial consultation or meet them for the first time when we get together for their session! I met Catherine in June of last year and didn’t see her again until we met for their engagement session last month at Pullen Park in Raleigh. . .  She was just as cute as I remembered :) I also met Ryan for the first time that afternoon and, despite their reservations about “posing” in front of a camera for more than an hour, they were perfect!

I love how they look so relaxed here… Like I just snapped a photo of them on a walk together! See, I told you they were pros ;)

Catherine + Ryan both have gorgeous green eyes. . .

A little romance in the park . . .

This is definitely one of my favorites. They’re so stinkin’ cute together!

Catherine was totally working it in that gorgeous afternoon sun. . .

This was my first climb-a-tree-to-get-the-shot post-baby. I’m glad I can still do whatever it takes :)

Catherine changed into this beautiful Anthropologie dress for the end of our session. It was a little chilly out but Ryan kept her nice and warm :)

Looks like somebody’s in love! ;)

You two were so fun to work with. . . I can’t wait til your wedding in just a few weeks!

I love photographing couples that are relaxed, natural, and even goofy with each other and that made Lindsay + Nic the perfect subjects! We joked and laughed most of the session and I left feeling like I had spent the afternoon with a couple of friends. It was awesome! In the week leading up to the session we had the hardest time choosing a location. . . finally we decided to start at a local lake Marina. Turned out it was kind of a special place for these two! Lindsay’s family lives nearby so they’ve spent time at the lake and Nic loves to fish and has been out on the water at least a few times :) Perfect!

We started warming up with a little cuddle time in the woods.

It didn’t take long for these two to look like naturals!

I love this photo on the right. . . I asked Nic to give Lindsay a ‘smolder’ look. He totally nailed it! haha

I’m pretty sure these two forgot we were in the middle of a session while they were on the dock.

I love them and their matching cowboy boots :)

After the park, we stopped on the campus of  University of North Carolina Greensboro, where Lindsay and Nic first met just a few years ago.

Yeah, they’re just naturally this adorable together.

Nic took us to the spot on campus where he proposed in October. Right behind the dorm where they first met! So sweet.

We shot this session on a Sunday afternoon so all the students were gone! It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

Oh, and how gorgeous is Lindsay? I can’t wait to see her as a bride later this year!

Nic was killing us with his smooth moves ;)

Nic + Lindsay, you guys are so great. I’m so thankful that you chose me to play just a little part in your story and I can’t wait to be there when you become husband and wife in a couple of months.

I’m back in action, y’all! After “slow season” and getting used to having a newborn in the house, it was nice to get back behind the camera! Hannah + Dan were my first engagement shoot of 2013 and they were so great! Cute, fun, and so in love . . . the perfect combination :) We shot their engagement session at Graylyn Estate in Winston Salem, where they’re getting married later this year.

Cuddles on a cold day. . . perfect :)

These two make the dead of winter look good!

Hannah + Dan are going to be pronounced “husband and wife” right in this very spot! Love it.

We stepped inside for the end of the session and a change of clothes . . .

Just a little flirting in the library ;)

Or sweet Noah Ravenel was born January 10th – just a day after his due date – at 2:40a.m… I can’t describe how much his arrival has changed me already – in less than two short weeks. I didn’t know how instantly I would love him. The second I saw him was a feeling I’ll never forget.

So perfect.

So sweet.

So new.

I just want to cry when I look at him. And I don’t think it’s “just hormones” … it’s the fact that I’ve been entrusted with this amazing and beautiful gift. An 8 pound 2 ounce gift that likes to be wide awake at 11:00 at night (and 2am, and 4am)…

… that looks just like his daddy and just like me all at the same time

… that makes the sweetest little sounds in his sleep

… that has changed my life in a hundred ways already.

I’m so thankful. I’m so in love. I can’t get enough of him!

Jonathan is already proving himself (again) to be the most amazing man on earth… Aside from being a wonderful daddy, he has cleaned, cooked, changed diapers, and massaged my feet :) He’s also responsible for most of the photos below. I wanted photos of Noah’s arrival so bad but we never designated anybody to come with us and document. We took my camera bag to the hospital and, after all the pushing, Jonathan shot these photos.

I know things have been a little slow around here lately… You can blame it on the holidays, the cold weather, and the fact that our little boy, Noah, should be here in less than two weeks! As any first-time-parents or expecting couples probably know, waiting for a baby to arrive is so unreal! We’ve created an adorable nursery, loaded up on the sweetest little baby clothes, and packed our hospital bags and I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that we’re having a baby soon. Our son. What an amazing gift from God! I can’t wait to have him in my arms.

I didn’t ever “get around” to scheduling a maternity session with another photographer… our due date kind of snuck up on me! But I wanted to make sure we have some photos of this beautiful time in our lives. I know that I’ll have the camera in Noah’s face all the time once he’s born, but I hardly ever get in front of the lens! So Jonathan and I did a little photo session around our house last week…