Kimberly+Dan’s Raleigh Engagement Session

So in writing I have an easier time calling them Kimberly and Dan, but it person it didn’t work out so well as I kept almost calling Dan either Daniel or Dinberly and calling Kimberly Kim… so we had to shorten it so I could stop making a total jerk out of myself. Thankfully, these two are totally cool and laughed obligingly at my cheesy jokes all night and braved the rain with no umbrella and were down.right.awesome.

Kimberly and Dan were introduced by Kimberly’s sister at the Flying Saucer in Raleigh in 2011. They hit it off and went on their first date to Goodnights Comedy Club (where we were able to take a few pictures!) and the rest is history. Both at in the United States Air Force… Dan in the reserves and Kim in active duty as an air traffic controller. Dan does IT guy stuff. They’re getting married on October 6th (my birthday!) in Las Vegas but, unfortunately in my opinion, not by Elvis. They have impeccably good taste in TV (Lost and Game of Thrones… Joffrey’s such a punk) and music (although we’re forgiving Kimberly’s affinity for country). They were super goofy and cute and did whatever the heck I asked them to without hesitating and I loved them immediately. I hope I get to see these two again in the future but for now I am wishing them the best.luck.ever for their wedding in Las Vegas in October! Cheers to you guys!

Raleigh Engagement Photographer: Becky+Jake

Becky and Jake originally weren’t going to do an engagement session, but I am super glad they changed their minds. :) They are a ton of fun and one of those couples that love and appreciate photography (Jake does some photo work himself!). They were all game and didn’t give me any weird looks when I requested strange things of them, and Jake, in turn, requested a few shots in the Kudzu jungle of Raleigh. Becky works at NC State doing sciencey stuff, and Jake works at IBM doing computer stuff (clearly I am not in a computer or science related field)! They’re going to be married at CAM next year, and their wedding pictures there will be stellar. You’re allowed to shoot inside CAM, which is pretty cool seeing as how we couldn’t shoot inside Artspace for our wedding. But since they’re allowed to take pictures inside there, we did a lot of their engagement photos around CAM in the warehouse district where it’s pretty industrial and funky. We were all set to do photos outside with our 30% chance of rain, which then became “30% chance of rain; rain stopping at 3pm”, which then became “70% chance of rain the entire evening” which translated to “it rained the entire time and was super dark and overcast.” It didn’t pour though, so we toughed it out! And to accompany us through the remainder of the session was Hobbit… whose breed is “crusty old Labrador” according to Becky, and who is adorable but totally not interested in me. “Hey Hobbit”s and “Pssst, Hobbit”s just made him look further away. He wore his little bandanna with pride and was the cutest crusty old Lab I’ve ever seen. :)

Raleigh Engagement Photographer: Keena+Dink

Keena and Dink are a great couple whom I had the pleasure of meeting through the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. They are super into downtown Raleigh and both live and work there. As Keena told me, “It’s our whole world.” There were a few specific places Keena and Dink wanted to go, and they toted me around in their car to them. :) They wanted to go to the places that they usually frequent in order to get a sense in the pictures of their happy lives that they live downtown. They’re a huge fan of the local restaurants and the Boylan Bridge Brewpub, so we went up there toward the end so I could photograph them inside one of their favorite places. :) Dink is a bankruptcy lawyer and Keena is in legal marketing. They both conveniently work in the same building! They’re having a small ceremony downtown in May, and then they’re heading to Las Vegas with family and friends to celebrate with another ceremony (but no Elvis). ;) Enjoy!