It has been  while since we’ve shot an engagement session in downtown Raleigh, and we were excited to return to our roots this spring with Amanda and Derek! We were lucky enough to meet them last fall and book them for their wedding this upcoming September and are having a blast getting to know them in between. :) They met at UNC several years ago but only started dating as they were both moving out. ;) Then they lived in separate places for a while until they both settled down together in Raleigh (hence the photos downtown) where they watch a lot of Breaking Bad and Mad Men. They’ve considered getting a dog, but have determined that it’s a little much right now, so we’re working on convincing them to get cats.

Derek also works on a fantastic poster print company he’s founded called Blue is the Land. It started out with him making posters for their house of places that they’ve lived (Amanda’s from Winston-Salem and Derek’s from Schenectady, NY, but they lived together in Chapel Hill and Raleigh after that) and also places they’ve traveled (they go to NYC frequently and were engaged there). Since then, it’s grown quite a bit and now features all sorts of cities! You can even request them. :) They’re super well designed and feature a bunch of the neighborhoods in the cities in a nifty way that we hadn’t seen before but are also pretty sleek and modern at the same time (I swear I don’t work for his company, I just like his design work). You should check it out! Maybe after you view these pictures of him and Amanda being very cute.  May I present to you: the face, the image, the spirit of… Derelicte!

Nicole+Blake // Married!

We had the pleasure of meeting Nicole for the first time several years ago when she was a bridesmaid at a wedding, and now we are so happy to reunite with her gorgeous self and her amazing  husband Blake! They were married a couple weeks ago at the courthouse and are having a reception in January. Like a ton of our couples, they met online (we should start submitting commercials to Match.com, etc. to receive royalties) and had their first date with some friends at the Carolina Ale House where they instantly clicked. They were married a few months later and now both reside in Raleigh with their adorable dog Lily (despite living in North Carolina, Blake still adamantly cheers for the South Carolina Gamecocks, but begrudgingly agrees with that Lily the dog is an NC State fan along with her mother).

These were to be mostly their engagement photos with a few pre-wedding photos thrown in for good measure before the reception. We did a first look with them in their wedding attire after they changed (Blake hadn’t seen her wedding reception dress yet!) and couldn’t have asked for better weather for a girl in a sleeveless wedding dress. :) It was chilly but the sun was out, and there’s not much more you can ask for this time of year! Lake Johnson has special meaning for them so we happily joined them by the edge of the water for these pictures… and were photobombed by a heron. :) Congratulations to the new husband and wife team, and we’re excited to share their reception with you in a few months!

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Kristine and Kevin were fantastic to work with for this shoot! They know how to have fun and aren’t afraid to be a tad bit ridiculous. They made us laugh probably more than we made them laugh, and we had a great time. They both are involved in culinary art – Kristine’s in school for baking and Kevin’s a cook. Geoff and I decided that they should probably move in with us so that we don’t have to do either of those things again (we’ll take care of the dishes and you can live here for free, okay?). Kristine’s planning on making their wedding cake for their spring wedding next year.

I actually met Kristine doing photos for a veterinary hospital two years ago where she was the secretary. She’s kept in touch and followed us for a while and we’re excited to have her and Kevin on board for 2014! They have 4 cats (two outside and two inside) so they get bonus client points.