I’ve been working with Gilded Bridal in various capacities for yeaaaars. They are my pals, my rockstar small biz colleagues, my boardgame partners. This time I was tasked with getting updated photographs of their beautiful shop in downtown Raleigh. It’s filled with amazing wedding gowns, all of which I wish I could try on and run around the store. Dresses of every size, shape, variety – sleeves, no sleeves, black, white, ivory, lace, satin, etc. So many beautiful fabrics and accessories that it’s a dream to walk around it. Annnd it’s a dream to work with their staff, who are my favorite people. Zan, the owner, has been my friend for many years (actually over a decade now, I just checked, woo!) and I adore them. They’re a badass boss and a formidable board game opponent and they went on a safari and showed me videos of lions and it was great. Their amazing team is also incredible! Makenzie and Pamela are a ton of fun, hilarious, and easy to work with as a photographer (and as a bride!). As part of this small business branding shoot, I updated their shop photos as well as their individual and group headshots while we listened to a lot of U2 (Zan and I are big fans) and ran around doing silly things. I love this group of people and this unique and fun bridal shop!

I’ve been photographing my friends here over in Holly Springs for so many years – from when Sara and Sam were just a couple, to when their son was super little, to now when he’s in his school age years and obsessed with towers. The towers are new to this year. He loves towers of all types, but mostly towers that include sirens. One of his favorite activities is pretending he’s a tower with a siren, which involves standing completely still, arms above his head, emanating a high-pitched noise… all while making his parents find the base of the tower somewhere in the room, which is always invisible. The siren impressions are quite accurate and impeccable, and he can tell you about all sorts of famous towers with sirens all over the world. When he’s not talking about sirens, he enjoys talking about cats, reading, and playing video games.

Miss Poofy the Cat loves him and is totally cool with the siren sounds and the tower building. It was an honor to photograph her beautiful poofy self again, along with some photos of Biscuit, the super cute tabby with the orange who poses with very cartoon-wide eyes when offered treats. Bandit, their third kitty, did not make an appearance for this photoshoot but she sends her kind feline regards. Also a joy to photograph some of Sara and Sam this year making cookies for their annual Cookie Week at their house, where they bake a ton of different types of cookies (a delicious and wonderful tradition!).

This was my first time meeting and photographing Casey and Cole and they were simply wonderful! Casey and I had been in communication for a while for other reasons and it was great to finally meet in person and attach a face to a name. She and Cole have been together since the 8th grade and now they’re married and living with their two hilarious dogs, Bean and Garbonzo. Bean is the black and white older sister and Garbonzo is the brown younger brother who enjoys pestering his sister as much as possible in the best way. They love each other and their parents very much and are always together (and with their little ghost squeaky toy). They were great at posing for photos (the dogs and the humans) and I loved capturing some photos of them at home doing what they all do best – reading, playing music and board games, taking a walk, and cuddling on the couch. Eventually we bid the pups farewell and took off to American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham for some photos of just Casey and Cole. It was bitterly cold this day and they were absolute champs despite a lot of shivering. It was so fun getting to know them despite the frigid temps, and I love the pictures we came away with!