Yes. . .we're here!! Only two more weeks to save with Winter Rates!!

Talk about being slackers! Yikes, it's been awhile but we promise to catch up over the next few days!

OK! First, our Winter Rate reduction/stimulus plan will expire in two weeks at the end of March! So get off the fence, give us a ring and save some money on remaining 2009 dates! We'll also extend this offer to Spring 2010 dates that are still open!

Next, here are a couple of images from Cat + Andrew's e-session that we did last week out and about the streets of Asheville. They are a great couple from Philadelphia and we will have the pleasure of photographing their wedding this May. The amazing Shay Brown, owner of Shay Brown Events and Palettes of Perfection in Asheville, will be pulling everything together at the Crest Center for them, Shay and her team always do an amazing job and we love working with them! It was about 39 degrees, wet and windy but we had a great time, sometimes yucky weather makes for the best images. . .here's a couple from the day:






And finally! Watch out for leprechauns!!! Not so scary really, I think Sara makes a pretty dang cute leprechaun!





More to come soon! No really!!

xoxoxo,

brian + gry

5 things to be thankful for - Christmas 2008

Even in the bad economic times we are facing, we must still appreciate and be thankful for the many good things that are always in our lives. Here is my (Brian's) top 5:

1.) My beautiful family. . .Gry, my wife of almost 10 years (July 2nd will be 10!)and our amazing daughter Sara. I can not imagine my life without them, they are the reason I live. Which leads me to #2. . .

2.) The gift of being a father, the most amazing, fulfilling, terrifying, joyful thing I have ever done and it just keeps getting better. . .I only hope I can be half the good Dad to Sara that my Dad was to me.

3.) Friends! (This may be a long one!) Friends like Jennifer Garrett who has shown us what real strength and courage is while she faces the unthinkable. . .her 3 year old daughter Shayla, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma (cancer) a couple of months ago but is fighting hard, smiling alot and we all pray daily for her recovery. Jennifer, Shayla and Shay's sister Savannah are the bravest people I know. . .kinda makes our other "problems" seem pretty insignificant doesn't it? Please go to her Caringbridge site and leave her a note, you'll feel better for it!





Shay with her "bald guys" Cory, Ian and Parker at our recent Christmas party - bald IS beautiful!!


Fellow photographers like Rachel + Andrew Niesen and Corey + Jill McNabb who have directly and indirectly inspired us to grow and improve our business and to share our knowledge with others, thanks guys! And of course, Parker + Missy Pfister. Parker has rekindled the photographic curiosity in me that I thought I had all but lost. His art is an inspiration to me to try new techniques and see beyond the obvious. A prime example is this image of my daughter Sara, the technique Parker taught me (he didn't know he was teaching, but he was!) during a wedding he was shooting. I would never have taken this "chance" and in turn not have this wonderful image of my daughter. . .thanks Parker, ya big lug.



And finally our friends Kent + Kris Scherr who we are rediscovering after the birth of their third child, Mia. Kris delivered our daughter, Sara, when she was still a student mid-wife almost 9 years ago. Kent is an OB/GYN is Asheville and both are just down to earth, real people. . .hey, anyone with a purple house and a chicken coop out back has to be good people right!?

There are of course many others that we are so fortunate to have in our lives, we will always treasure these friendships and are humbled and so grateful to have such wonderful, giving, "real" people in our lives.

4.) My Mom, Fern, who is struggling with Parkinson's Disease but still lives her life with courage, dignity and an inner strength that I am in awe of. I love you Mom.

5.) And last, I'm thankful that I get to do what I love to do everyday. So many people never find their passion in life and I am so fortunate to have not only found it but am able to live and share it with my wife Gry.

So everyone, have a Merry Christmas and look forward to a New Year full of hope and new adventure. Things will get better in our country and it starts with all of us not forgetting that we still have so much to be thankful for.

xoxoxo,
brian

Carrie + Keaton - part deux!

Our good friends Paul + Holley Jackson, aka Four Seasons Films, sent us the following link to their trailer from Carrie + Keaton's wedding earlier this year at the Cliffs at Glassy Chapel! They do such amazing work, check it out here!



Also, just found out that this wedding will be featured on the beautiful Weddings Unveiled blog very soon. . .check it out!


And please visit www.caringbridge.org and leave a note for our little friend Shayla and her amazing Mom Jennifer and big sis Savannah in the guestbook. Shayla, who is only 3 years old, was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma a few weeks ago but is responding well to treatment and is in Chapel Hill today receiving stem cell therapy. She is such a brave, beautiful little girl so please keep her in your thoughts + prayers! Here she is the first week she was in Mission Children's Hospital. . .she still has that smile all the time! Leaving a note in her guestbook brightens her smile even more. . .thanks!




xoxoxo,

brian + gry

Want a beautiful wedding? Make it personal!

We've photographed over 250 weddings over the last 9 years. Some are small intimate gatherings, many are huge, multi-day celebrations with budgets way in to six figures. We've found though that the most meaningful and memorable weddings are the ones where the bride and groom makes the day personal by adding little details that are special to them and their families. A hand painted sign made out of wood siding from the bride's childhood home, dancing the first dance in your great-grandmother's wedding dress, using your collection of antique tins for your center pieces, well. . .you get the idea. Sure, you can throw a ton of money at anything and it will look wonderful (hasn't there been something about lipstick on pigs lately??;). But will it be as memorable as the wedding we had the honor of photographing last month at The Inn at Half-Mile Farm in Highlands, NC. Terri + Sean did all of the things above (and much more) and, with the help of the amazing Shay Brown of Shay Brown Events in Asheville, will remember and cherish their wedding day for the rest of their lives. Make it personal and make it real!! Here's a peek at their day:

















Here's another peek at another gorgeous Biltmore Estate wedding that we photographed last month. Nisha + Jay were married in the Walled Garden with their reception in the Italian Garden next to the Biltmore House. This was the reception, in full swing, just at twilight.



And finally! DOG IS LOVE!!

This is my German Shepherd dog, Max, who was found wandering the side of the interstate at 8 weeks old! We adopted Max and Heidi, our daughter's dog of undetermined origin, from the Henderson County Animal Shelter on the same day. We urge you to support your local Humane Society, animal shelters, or rescue groups and not do business with pet shops that use "puppy mills" to supply their customers.




Hope you have a great day!!

xoxoxo,
brian + gry