For Day 11 of the 30 work-day blogging challenge, I'm giving some love for newlyweds Emily and Brian who got married on May 12, 2018 in Columbia, North Carolina. The reason for the shoutout is because we just found out they are pregnant! My husband is very good friends with the groom, Brian, through fishing and Brian was even in our wedding as a greeter. This couple is very near and dear to our hearts so we are so excited to see their family grow! Look at those good looks... they are going to have some stunning offspring.

Their Scuppernong River wedding was absolutely exquisite to say the least. The guests enjoyed the beautiful view, a radiant sunset and the even more pretty couple right in their hometown. Thank you guys again for allowing me to be a part of such a special milestone. You deserve a two-fold congratulations on two big life events in 2018. Gimme me all the stories on parenthood because I need some tips!

Vendors:
Martell's Edenton Party Equipment & Rentals
Yeopim Flowers
Visuals by Helen

For those of you who are just now tuning in, I am doing a 30 work-day blogging challenge to force myself to share more about who I am, what I do and what everyday life is like so that you see I’m just as human as you are. Last Friday, I challenged myself to do three new things I’ve always wanted to do in our hometown:

1. Blow-out bar: I know this is silly but this is 2018 and almost every girl I know says, oh you’ve got to try it, you feel like a million bucks and you don’t even have to lift a finger.
2. Underwater selfie with go-pro: I’ve convinced Jess to help me try this over the weekend and I literally could not be more excited.
3. Walk the "Wrightsville Beach" Loop: This is a local must-try because you get to go all through Wrightsville Beach and Harker’s Island and slowly take it all in. I’ve lived here for over a year and still haven’t done this 2.5 mile loop and it is something I’ve wanted to do.
   
   

Guess how many I actually accomplished? Only one— a GoPro selfie..
It's actually ALOT harder than it looks if you don't want to keep your eyes open! My favorite might be the family photo with Belle and of course the fail pic of her and me together. She hates getting her ears wet so she was shaking her head and I was avoiding the splash.

The Tiki Time adventure got me thinking… what if I challenged myself to do three things I’ve never done before over the weekend, right here in Wrightsville? Then I made a list of three things I’ve always wanted to do:

1. Blow-out bar: I know this is silly but this is 2018 and almost every girl I know says, oh you’ve got to try it, you feel like a million bucks and you don’t even have to lift a finger.
2. Underwater selfie with GoPro: I’ve convinced Jess to help me try this over the weekend and I literally could not be more excited.
3. Walk the "Wrightsville Beach" Loop: This is a local must-try because you get to go all through Wrightsville Beach and Harker’s Island and slowly take it all in. I’ve lived here for over a year and still haven’t done this 2.5 mile loop and it is something I’ve wanted to do.

So I’m going to challenge myself to do these three things, attempt to take photos of it and talk about it on Monday for Day 9 of the 30-Work-Day Blogging Challenge! In the meantime, y’all go out there and surprise yourself, do something you’ve never done before and I promise, you will delight yourself with what life has to offer.

Bad habits sound negative to most people, but to me, bad habits just sound like a side effect of being human. Everyone has them, it's just a matter of whether or not they realize it. I took a poll from the general public asking if people would anonymously submit their bad habits to me and I was pleasantly surprised in the answers—some of them bring such a good laugh but some are really humbling to see how honest people are with me. Here's what habits you told me about:

-Drinking a bottle of wine every night (actually got this three times)!
-Picking my nose until it bleeds.
-Throwing recycled goods in the trash out of laziness.
-Only taking poops at work to avoid using TP at home.
-Always saying no when someone asks about hanging out.
-Not washing my face before bed.
-Biting my cuticles.
-Sitting. It's been 5 years since I last exercised.
-Binge-watching Netflix until 2am almost daily.
-Throwing my cig out on highway. Oh and smoking.
-Shameless self-tanner so I'm permanently orange.
-Farting and blaming it on other people.
-Going straight to the junk food aisle every time I'm at grocery store.
-Never keeping cash on me + using my bank cards.
-Rarely tipping Uber drivers.
-Feeding the dog scraps after dinner and now it's 15 pounds overweight.
-Smoke too much pot that I don't know how to chill without it.
-Can't be alone so I find a new friend to hang out with every night even if that means spending money each night.
-Eating ice cream every night before I go to bed (and sometimes not brushing my teeth so I can savor the taste). 
-Not drinking enough water.

Self awareness can be a blessing and a curse when it comes to bad habits, but it could also lead to making a change if you don't like the bad habit. I've been around a lot of people that have been critical of themselves, saying they could do this better or that better but cut yourself a break. As long as you don't have habits that hurt other people, it's not the end of the world. If you do have a habit that negatively impacts those around you, then do something about it. Be the change.

Here are some of my bad habits. They may seem silly but they are things I do too much:

-Impulse purchases on Amazon. Last week I bought joint-pain management weed treats for Belle after seeing her having a hard time getting up and down off the floor. Too early to know if it is working yet but fingers crossed it takes the edge off of her arthritic pain.

​Tomorrow's blog post will be about tonight's adventure to a place we have never been before, just 16 miles down the road. On the Cover page of Our State Magazine, they feature a restaurant called Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar in Carolina Beach in the NC by the Sea edition. This little gem is about to get a few more visitors.

After yesterday’s blog post I opened up the floor to what today’s blog post should be about. According to the survey, y'all seem interested in what my typical day is like. Y'all— I'm really not that interesting but this question was asked several times so I'm not going to deprive you of your wishes. Keep in mind, I never have the same day twice so this is a rough timeline:

6:30am | Wake up and hit snooze (once or twice admittedly).🤷

7:00am | Actually wake up, feed Belle, drink coffee, and watch the Today show for news and weather. 📺

7:45-8:15am | Answer e-mails from my photography and graphic design e-mail accounts (Yes, I have separate emails for both to better keep up with my separate clients and I have that many to go through that it takes all of 30 minutes). 💻 

8:15-11am | Jam to loud music from Spotify and carefully edit + retouch photos from recent photo sessions or weddings. 🎧
 
11am-12pm | Graphic design work for small businesses I help on a regular basis. 💭

12pm-12:30pm | As marketing director for Rooster's Southern Kitchen, I'll screen for negative feedback to relay to management and respond to positive reviews on Google, TripAdvisor, Yelp + Facebook. 🐓

12:30pm-2pm | Eat lunch (usually dinner leftovers) and do one thing that helps promote my business, i.e. post an ad, print materials, work on blog, etc.🍴

2pm-5pm | More photo editing (I have to spread it out throughout the day so I don’t drive myself crazy because it can get tedious after several hours. For perspective, an 8-hour wedding takes about 16 hours of editing). 📷 Here's my favorite photo I've edited today so far. The color + vibrance reminds me to stop and smell the flowers, literally and metaphorically.

5pm-5:30pm | Work on blog content or schedule a post on social media for my clients and/or myself.

5:30pm | Orange Theory Fitness class or an evening photoshoot depending on day.🏃‍♀️

6:30pm | Grocery store run since store is next door to gym🥫

7-8pm | Shower + Cook dinner. Let's be real, Jess is the master chef and I'm the sous chef. Tonight we're having short ribs, sautéed squash zucchini and onion and mushroom risotto.  🚿

8pm-10pm | Eat and watch Parks and Rec with my husband (Don’t judge us. We like having something funny to watch at the end of the day and neither of us had ever seen it so we started the season together).😂

For today’s self-promotion project (that occurs every afternoon), I started on making some more soft-copy portfolio books to give to potential clients with small businesses in Wilmington. This is a culmination of both my photography + graphic design skills. My goal is to bring these books to small boutique clothing businesses looking to gather lifestyle or product content for their websites, blogs, social media posts, and social media advertising. Those of you that have a small business probably know how important it is to stay relevant to your fans online so by having a whole lineup of professional photos on standby takes almost all the work away for you in the social media realm. You just figure out what product(s) you want to promote that day and roll with it. I got about halfway done with this 20 page portfolio. MY goal is to have this sent to printers by labor day weekend. Crossing fingers.🤞 Down younger is a couple of teasers for you:

To sum it all up, I sit in this desk chair for about 8-10 hours a day and my goal is to get up more often to walk and stretch. We all know sedentary lifestyles aren't good for you so why do we continue to do it?

For tomorrow's blog post, I'm going to talk about all (okay most) of my bad habits so you know I am just as human as you are.

Last Friday, I wrapped up Day 3 of the 30-Workday Blogging Challenge with the question: How does my hearing loss affect my job, much less my everyday life? I promised some embarrassing stories that I’ve accumulated over four years that are a direct result of my hearing loss. My top five is the time I walked in on a half-naked couple in a photo booth...(they weren't taking photos so the flash wasn't going off so I didn't think anyone was in there). Needless to say, they quickly got dressed and ran out... so I ran in and stayed until I stopped blushing. I probably could have avoided moments like this if I could hear. I would've heard kissing sounds or something, but nope, instead I got some PG-13 action at a high-dollar wedding venue instead. 

Here’s the abbreviated version of the rest of my top 5 stories. (All my client names are going to remain anonymous because like I said: it’s embarrassing).

1. In the winter of 2016, I was photographing at a small country club wedding outside Charlotte, North Carolina. The bride and groom wanted to get ready at the “locker rooms” of these clubs, which are basically bathrooms for senators with toilets, showers and changing space all in one room. When it came time to capture the groom getting pretty,  I knocked on the men’s locker room door and didn’t hear anything. Assuming they were distracted and getting boutonnieres on, I just let myself in. Thinking the men's powder room was a similar setup to the ladies—they were in fact the opposite as the men's stalls were right where you walked in. Let me tell ya—it was stinky in there! The grooms friends were laughing and I heard a stern voice from the middle stall:  “Be right out!” I was so caught off guard I actually said “Shit, take your time!” I’m not even the type of person to cuss much less accidentally make a connotation about poop while the man is making a brown egg. 

2. Usually before every wedding, I finalize wedding day itineraries but sometimes little details get left out, like *After formal family photos, we want to do bride+groom photos across street on the beach on a random property then ride over to reception which is also at the beach 2 miles away.* so when they told me, “Let’s do our photos at the beach” after their family photos, I just assumed they meant the beach where their reception was. In hindsight, they said something like the Beckham cottage, but the lightbulb never went off that I didn’t hear them right. Instead, I speed out of the church and hurry to find a parking spot at the reception so I can meet my second-shooter and prepare for their arrival. After about 30 seconds, someone in the family says “Hey, that was fast, weren’t they doing photos with you at the beach?” After connecting the dots, I ran back to my car and back over to the church and see them across the street on beach side looking for me. I was flabbergasted in how I could have messed up so badly, but you live and you learn right? Now I’m extra thorough and ask all the detailed questions in a pre-wedding questionnaire.

3. In the summer of 2017, I booked a 20-person sunset session with a large family I didn’t know. One of the daughters had e-mailed me a few days prior saying there was a divorce in the family and to not ask her mom and dad to be photographed together. Her dad was in town for one night so they could get a family photo taken together. Come the day of portraits, I introduce myself to three different sets of grown-up couples and their children and I misheard the names so what did I do? I asked the mom and her ex-husband to give me a big fat kiss. Well, that tension could have been sliced with a dull butterknife. The mom turned plum red but I promise I was a shade darker.

4. This story is from two weeks ago when I was meeting a potential bride and her mom at a local coffee shop. I had rushed out of the house and forgot my purse, which carries my extra implant batteries. I didn’t think anything of it until my cochlear implant dies halfway through the meeting with them. Trying to win them over and gain their business, I proceeded to rely on lip reading for the next 20 minutes. I just asked them a lot questions so I would always know what the context was. I was scared that that if I told them what was going on, that they would wonder: “What if she shoots our wedding and her implant dies during it and she forgets her batteries and she won’t be able to hear anything. Is she responsible enough?” They are so sweet though so I should have given them the benefit of the doubt. All that lip-reading worked though, I’m happy to report that I’ll be photographing their wedding this Fall with a camera bag full of extra implant batteries.

Having significant hearing loss brings embarrassing moments, sure, but they eventually become great dinner table stories. Having a sense of humor about things like that is SO important if I don’t want to crawl into a dark hole and stay there.  On the same token, my imperfections also helps me in my job sometimes—especially during weddings with a lot of drama or in photoshoots involving divorced couples. The oblivion to the details that most people would get from eavesdropping sometimes helps me stay uninvolved and provide a sense of nonchalance and carefreeness. My oblivion to the temporary reality seems to sometimes helps people feel normal despite their insecurities and worries.

Yes, I wear a hearing device that help me hear so much better, but they aren’t human ears—I don’t hear everything and and I sure don't hear everything perfectly. Because of that, it took me a long time to get over being socially self-conscious about the side effects of my imperfections. My confidence has grown to the point where I’m telling the world about my hearing loss on this blog but there are always days where I wonder what it’d be like to be following along conversations with graceful effort. My husband has asked me why I'm always more tired than him after events and I tell him “Because I have to work harder to listen and make sure I don’t say something completely out of context.” He usually replies with a sweet laugh “It’s usually so funny though Helen, don’t even worry about it.” I literally have wrinkles on my forehead from concentrating so hard on conversations in the last 27 years but I’m just so thankful I can even be a part of conversations. Technology has enriched my entire life and has allowed me to hear my husband and my family say the three most beautiful words in the English language: I love you. One man is responsible for that...Thank you  Dr. William F. House, the inventor of the first cochlear implant for braving skepticism and trial and error to restore a vital human sense. Essentially, his invention has restored the quality of life for 324,000 people and counting.

​Confession: I just put Belle in the video just to brag about how cute she is. She's usually the only company I keep in my everyday work life and she's the best co-worker a girl can have (even though she just sleeps all day). Yesterday, I skimmed the surface of how deaf I am and already got tired of talking about my hearing loss so I’m moving on to the money makin’ stuff. Obviously, my hearing loss limited my job options when I was fresh out of college in 2013. With an economy that had also gone to sh*t, this artsy English major struggled to find a stable job to be proud of. No sense in sugar coating that because I know about 80% of you may relate to that time in your life. After doing some soul searching and teaching art at a school in Atlanta, Georgia for a year,  I decided to move back to the Outer Banks and  gamble on myself by starting my own business. In the Summer of 2014, Visuals by Helen was established. Best decision I ever made.

Creating a generic business name like Visuals by Helen was intentional: I wanted to be able to open myself up to additional visual opportunities beyond photography like graphic design, videography, marketing, etc.  I wanted more than one thing to be passionate about. I had learned some of the ropes from another local photographer on the Outer Banks throughout high school and college and then I dipped into graphic design when I was in Atlanta so that opened a whole new niche I was fascinated with.  After watching You-Tube videos, subscribing to every Adobe software, and taking an online business certification course at the Kenan Flagler Business School at UNC-CH, I was the owner of my own company in three months time.  Now, I label myself as a self-taught photographer, graphic designer, and marketing guru. Funny how that happens right?  I always had the belief: if you make something your homework, it takes all the fun out of it.

The first thing I do when I brand Visuals by Helen? I ordered about 3,000 beer koozies with my logo on it and made a promotional video because koozies and videos make everything look legit right? My theory was everyone likes free stuff and something pretty to look at. After rallying a gorgeous model named Katie, a talented hair stylist named Chelsea, and an amazing videographer named Jess, we went into the marshes of Wanchese, North Carolina and I took bridal portraits of Katie in a wooden rowboat. Looking back on it, it sounds nuts, but it was some of the best memories in my business! That video got me through two years of wedding expos with the Outer Banks Wedding Association —it was the perfect icebreaker with engaged couples I had never met before.

​Check out the video:

So the question of the day: Would I hear you and turn around if you were standing here in the office with Belle and me? Yes. I'm hard-of-hearing, not oblivious. Some days I actually forget that I’m 90% deaf but then little things happen and I’m like oh yeah, my ears don’t work. I have embraced it as a part of who I am and even introduce myself everywhere I go as “Helen... like Helen Keller” because well... I AM almost deaf and have -2.25 vision in both eyes so I basically am Helen Keller. Only not as accomplished since I can’t communicate through sign language or read Braille so definitely not as decorated as her but that’s by personal choice. ​

Let me first say, every hearing impaired child is different— they can have different reasons for hearing loss, different audiograms, different parents, different schools, different lifestyles, different resources, different decisions so every outcome can be unique for each person with the same diagnosis. So for those of you that have hearing loss or have family members with hearing loss, know that you need to take this post with a grain of salt. This is not a success story or a horror story, it’s just story that happens to be mine.

December 1990 was a big month for me—coming into the world and all. A couple months later, the whole chicken pox incident happened.  Mom and Dad say it was pretty bad but of course I don’t remember. It was life-threatening but my immune system won that battle. However, the pox was strong enough to eradicate the hair cells in both ears leading to a progressive loss of hearing over the next six years. This was before hearing screening tests were required for small children so my parents didn’t think too much of my slow response and development as an infant. They were trying not to compare me to what society thought was normal. Then one day, a family babysitter took my brother, sister and me to a parade and noticed how soundly I was sleeping during a marching band performance —triggering some red flags and an eventual conversation with my parents. By the time I was a year old, my young parents had to make a life-changing decisions while working and raising three young kids:

1. How were they going to treat my hearing loss?
2. Was I going to do sign language or learn cued speech?
3. Where was I going to go to school?

They decided to move to Kill Devil Hills on the Outer Banks because the schools there were supposedly excellent for an Eastern NC town and the undeveloped beach town was ripe with business opportunity. They tried supplementing my residual hearing with hearing aids for a few years but my language and speech development remained stagnant and unprogressive. By the time I was eight,  Mom and Dad decided it was time to try cochlear implants. Because I had “too much hearing,” I was considered a guinea pig for this surgery. Until me, doctors at UNC-Chapel Hill had only performed surgery on individuals that were more deaf than me.

For those of you who don’t know— a cochlear implant is an electronic medical device that was invented in the early 80’s, that helps mimic the function of normal hearing. Unlike hearings aids, which amplify sound (make sounds louder), cochlear implants do the work of the damaged parts of the inner ear (cochlea) and provide sound signals to the brain.  There is a tiny receiver that is surgically placed under the skin in a bony part behind the ear that also has a magnet attached to it. On the outer surface of the head, the individual wears a microphone that harnesses the sound from the environment and transmits the sound as a signal to the tiny receiver underneath the skin and sends the signals down a flexible man-made fiber that’s connected to the cochlea that helps tell the brain: “Hey you just heard that.” I know that sounds terribly scientific and complicated—perhaps a visual video could help explain things better than I can…  I practically failed Bio 101 at Carolina for a reason, your girl is not science-brained AT ALL— so don’t be embarrassed if you have no idea what I Just said. Just know, technology is amazing and I’m genuinely grateful to be born when I was and to be born into my incredible family.


Long story short, technology, my family and my speech therapists have helped me feel as “normal” as I do. My family was a testimony of patience as there was not one single person on the Outer Banks that had my type of hearing loss or cochlear implants when I was growing up. They didn’t have other parents to talk to, there weren't facebook community groups, cochlear counselors, nothing —they had to figure it all out on their own. They eventually introduced me to an incredible speech pathologist named Kathryn Wilson and she literally changed my life. She and her husband even came to Jess and I's wedding this year because she means that much to my family and me. During the language development days, Kathryn helped me identify the way words were supposed to be spoken. Because of my time with her coupled with patient teachers and modern technology, people tell me almost every day “Wow, you don’t have any deaf speech.” Hearing the shock behind their voice when they say this always amuses me. The reason I don’t have “deaf speech” is because I can hear myself well enough and auto-correct my voice.  My husband and mom both say I have a very slight deaf speech and talk more quietly when I take my implant out—which makes sense because I can’t hear myself.

So how deaf am I? Well, let me put it this way, I will enjoy sleeping peacefully at night for as long as I can until babies maybe come into the picture. Until then, my poor husband will wake up every morning to a vibrating alarm clock (click here for a photo of it) that shakes the bed to wake up us both.  That is usually the only time in an average day that I think about the silence around me. Sure phone conversations, loud restaurants and parties are more challenging to me but that’s just part of it—I just tell folks my situation so they know I’m not being a b*tch and ignoring them and people tend to adapt politely.

From my first surgery in 1997 until 2011, I wore a body-worn processor... You'll see it next to my right breast in the above photo from my Camp Trinity days in 2007. I called it my third boob. Technology has evolved significantly in the last ten years that it has drastically changed my lifestyle for the better.

In the Summer of 2011, I had surgery for a second implant on my left side and with that came more modern technology. The one you see in the above photo is called a B.T.E (Behind-the-Ear) cochlear implant. Having the ability to not wear a special bra, not have three boobs and be able to hear was an incredible milestone for an awkward and socially-growing twenty-one year old. It was my first semblance of independence to be able to wear a bathing suit and continue to have conversation. It's the little things that make this beach girl happy.

In the present day, I get goosebumps thinking about how much my life has changed since 1997. Now I wear a magnetic Med-El Rondo that is completely wireless on my head and away from my ears. This device change was crucial for me because my ears would get so sensitive and sore after long hours. Wearing my glasses with my B.T.E. was unheard of because it felt like 10 pounds were sitting on my ears. Being the active person I am, the B.T.E and its batteries could not sustain the sweat I was producing from my workouts. (Sweat weirdly sits around my ears versus in the top of my head). Don't ask me why.

In a nutshell, God knew what he was doing when he gave me a 'fro during puberty so I could cover up my implant even though I have nothing to hide. Sometimes it seems like it would be easier if people saw the implant and would immediately understand that I don't hear well versus having to explain it. But I like feeling like a normal person in society because I am a normal person. Drawing attention to myself is not my cup of tea because that's how my personality is but I'll talk about it any day of the week if you ask. Nothing you ask me can offend me.

So with all that said, it should make sense that I’m in a visual industry. My ears don’t work so I use my eyes.

Tomorrow’s Blog Post: “How do I make a living doing just photos?” Well that’s the thing, I don’t. There’s more to what I do than just photography. I just didn't really broadcast it… until today.

#30dayblogchallenge

Amy McGraw, the coordinator and owner behind Do Me a Favor Weddings had an idea for a styled shoot. The vision behind this shoot was to be unique and out-of-the-ordinary with a confident bridal party. She recruited a team of amazing wedding vendors to bring this idea to life. Between the bridesmaid "bouquets" tied around their ankles, the modern atmosphere from Wrightsville Manor infused with the vintage furniture from Relic Vintage Rentals, the eclectic and colorful yummies from A Thyme Savor, the bow-tie loosely hanging over the groom and the sassy bridal gown from Coastal Knot, Amy wanted to show her future and current clients that you don't have to have a "normal" run-of-the-mill wedding. In fact, you you can have your bridesmaids in shorts or a gorgeous gown that dips so low that your grandma would raise her eyebrows. The fact remains: it's your wedding and it's time to make those dreams come true. One of the biggest regrets couples have after weddings is not having more of a say because they are pleasing so many different family members. Don't have that regret and make your once-in-a-lifetime wedding, a happy memory you'll cherish forever. A big thanks to everyone in the dream team for being amazing to work with!

Dream Team
Coordinator: Do Me a Favor Weddings
Makeup: Do Me a Favor Weddings
Flowers: Do Me a Favor Weddings
Bridesmaid Outfits: Do Me a Favor Weddings
Catering: A Thyme Savor
Rentals: Relic Vintage Rentals
Venue: Wrightsville Manor and Gardens
Dress: Coastal Knot Wilmington
Photography: Visuals by Helen

I'm so blown away with how many amazing families I have had the honor of capturing this Summer so far. I wanted to share these gorgeous summer nights with you. To book your family session, send an e-mail at helen@visualsbyhelen.com!

Ashley and her mom made the trek from Greenville, NC to Wallace, NC for her bridal portrait at River Landing and my goodness, it was worth it. Everything about the backdrop complimented Ashley's radiating beauty. She got married last night to her husband Tyler so it's only fitting that we celebrate her today! From the words of Stevie Wonder, Isn't she Lovely?

Shannon's bridal portrait session has a special place in my heart for two reasons:

1.She is one of my oldest and sweetest college friends from our days at UNC-Chapel Hill. We literally met the first week of school as baby freshmen and we instantly hit it off because of our similar hair. Shannon's smile and warm personality made it easy to be instant and lifelong friends. As we went through the roller coaster of college and post-college life, we still stayed in touch. I also met her now-husband Matt in college... we were all buddies making memories mostly at Granville Towers—a notorious freshmen dugout where we mostly slept, drank and ate. I watched Matt and Shannon be friends for years before they dated and when they dated, they were the the kind of sweethearts in romantic comedies. He always doted on her for how confident, smart and beautiful she was and made her laugh constantly. He's the type of guy that wore a speedo under his graduation gown and at their wedding. Funny as hell and someone you need to have in your life. Now here they are... husband and wife. 

2.Reason number two on why this shoot was special to me is the fact that this was my last photoshoot as a Woolard. She and I both had crazy schedules so the only day that worked was the Thursday before I got married. It was a beautiful get-away from the wedding chatter to be able to capture and watch one of my best friends get into her dress and twirl around. We also got to bring our mutual wedding planner with us so it was really just one big girl date on the beach, playing dress up. It is one of the best memories of my career. We literally only had a short amount of time at an awkward hour of sunlight but she ROCKED it—she is absolutely glowing. 

Shannon and Matt got married in Caswell Beach on the Sunday of Memorial weekend and unfortunately I was unable to go because my husband and I were on our honeymoon (I cried).  We celebrated from afar with dubious amounts of wine. They are moving to Seattle soon for Matt's new doctor job saving lives so this posting is a double-fold congratulations on two huge milestones in their lives. Congrats to the Murphys! Shannon, you are one knockout of a bride. 

Dream Team:
Hair + Makeup: Silver Ceiling
Bouquet: Designs by Dillon
Wedding Coordinator: Amy from Do Me A Favor Weddings
Photographer for Bridals: Visuals by Helen
Photographer for Wedding: Brandon Hunter

Our engagement session took place at Masonboro Island, a little slice of heaven adjacent to Wrightsville Beach. It was balmy for a February afternoon and we had a crew with Matt McGraw on our skiff to get our photographs taken. I borrowed a dress from a close friend, hoping to cover up my white pasty legs. I think it worked. Despite what it may look like in the photos, I was super duper awkward... to the point that I was giggly and had spasms. Jess couldn't believe it and was asking what was wrong with me. It was ironic really, that Jess was better at this whole modeling thing than me, but I shouldn't be surprised. With those looks, my husband is made to be in front of the camera. *Flirting emoji* Throughout the session Matt embraced my awkwardness and captured us with some of our favorite things: our dog Belle, the water and the boat. As I've told most of my clients, an engagement session is a chance where you get comfortable with the camera and get used to being photographed as well as a chance to flirt with your significant other. This rang very true for me. By the time Matt and I met back up in March for my bridal portraits, I was ready to go, rocking my big white dress around downtown Wilmington in 30 degree weather with my mom and aunt in tow.  Jess and I decided to use these amazing photographs for the guest book at our wedding so we wanted it to be a surprise for our guests. Now that we are married and have some hilarious notes in the book, I wanted to share a collection of photos with you. We will cherish these photos forever. Thank you Matt.

This drop-dead gorgeous bride, Haley, got a new last name last night so it's officially time to show off her beauty through her bridal portraits. Haley wanted to do her portraits at the J.C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC and my goodness, the location made every photograph look like a idyllic dream.I feel extra connected to this sweet person because she's from the same town that my fiance is from and has that sweet Southern charm to her. Everyone that knows her speaks so highly of her so  I was honored that she and her husband asked me to capture their special day. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Wilson Day!!! I wish you both a long life of happiness, health and love. 

This GORGEOUS couple gets married tomorrow so I'm going to serenade you with photos of them just because I'm so excited and honored to capture their special day. Their engagement session took place last August at Wilson's family home so there was a personal touch to the location, which I just LOVE. Everything about this session is also very green, which just makes makes me all warm and fuzzy inside and ready for Summer. Cheers to Haley + Wilson! I know everyone will have the most amazing weekend, celebrating you two. 

Kirsten and Joe's intimate rooftop wedding in Greenville, South Carolina on April 14th was unique and absolutely stunning. I am obsessed with the twilight photos from the evening. CONGRATS to the beautiful couple!​

So it's not often when I get a behind-the-scenes shot, but when I do, I cherish it because it helps me see how I can improve. Yes that's right, I said improve—admitting I'm not a perfect photographer and that there is always room to grow. For example, when I look at the above scene, I think, "Hmmm, I should've taken them off the cross a little bit so that we could see more of the beautiful cross in the background." Perspective is everything and can make a photo pop that much more. I do love that I went up close and personal on this family shot below because it's more intimate and you feel the colors from the clothing, city skyline, flowers and lime green grass. I also like offering these photos as a chance for you to see that I exist, that I might not be the most active social media user but I work hard in the background to give you the best I can give.

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Katy and Keith's lives changed for the better on March 12th at 9:29pm and I could not be happier for them both. Look at this beautiful baby girl named Wilder—isn't that the most beautiful name you've ever heard? I was blown away with how alert she was the whole session and the fact that she didn't cry once! She's an angel with the most perfect lips. At the time these photos were taken, she was only 14 days old. Congratulations to this new family of three!

Summer is officially around the corner...time to book family portraits! Calendar books up fast.

HALF-PRICE Early-Booking Special if you book before April 15th*:
-Only $100 for 30 minute session plus high resolution images!
-Only $150 for 1-hour session plus plus high resolution images!

*Session must be in Wilmington area for special to apply.

To check out more portraits, click here for the portrait collection.

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Carin got herself a sweet 'ol husband on March 24th at the Battleship so it's officially okay to post a few photos from her bridal portrait session. The photos took place at a beautiful lofty space called Belle Vue and all the natural light made her radiate. The coolest thing about this location is that the building is right across the river from the Battleship where she got married so she was able to do some photos in front of her wedding venue as well. Carin is an  absolutely breathtaking bride so the camera loved her of course. Wishing Mrs. Beam a thousand congratulations for her marriage to Mr. Beam!

Kelsey + Rocci are getting married on July 21 and by the looks of these photos, they are so ready! They are so undeniably cute and just treasure each other through their body language. They live in Winston Salem but made a fun weekend out of coming to Wilmington for their engagement photos back in February. How sweet is that? I loved getting to know them through this morning session by the river and feel like we're best friends already! Looking forward to capturing the real thing in July. Congratulations again on your engagement, you two beautiful lovebirds!

I met Marion when I was living in Charlotte. We just happened to be on the same Bocce bowling league and hit it off over this nerdy sport. When she reached out to me about doing her family photos I was immediately humbled.  She is a kind and beautiful soul and the fact that she wanted to gift her family some photos for Christmas last year says it all! It was so hard to keep these photos a secret for so many months. I love when people think about photos as a gift because most people don't take the time to capture growth as a family. September 16th brought some beautiful golden sunlight creating the perfect backdrop for this mini session! Thank you three for such a great evening in Charlotte.