Wedding Photography in Wilmington NC | Charo Photo »

Feb 25 2012

engaged! Katie + Matt, part one

Oh boy, guys. Get comfy. I have WAY too many images to share, and I can’t help myself. I LOVE THIS SESSION VERY MUCH.

Since these posts are gonna be so image-heavy, I’m going to give you a tiny break on all the word stuff. Suffice it to say, Katie and Matt are incredible, they’re fun and photogenic and can keep smiling and laughing three hours into a photo session (which isn’t easy, I promise). They’re also really tall and athletic, and kind of make everyone happy wherever they go. Yeah, they’re that couple.

We started out at the Dixie Grill downtown… a Wilmington landmark, and Katie and Matt’s old standby… they ate at the Dixie apparently more than any other restaurant, and it was the top spot they came up with that really held meaning for them as a couple.
Wilmington NC engagement session at the Dixie Grill

Then we just sort of wandered around in the alleys, and down on Water Street and the riverwalk…

Right around here is when the light started changing, and I was all “we need to get to some nature!!!” So, we hopped in the car and headed over the bridge to the Battleship Park… stay tuned for Part Two!

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Feb 16 2012

how do you do it?

We just started dipping our toes into the Planning Our Wedding waters. I mean, okay… I’ve been looking at dresses and shoes for a little while now, and we’ve talked vaguely about locations (without once thinking logistics)… but having been IN the wedding industry now for a decade, I just figured planning my own wedding would be a breeze. I could do it in my sleep, right?

NOT.

Sure, I know who the best vendors in town are. I’ve seen things go well, I’ve seen things go horribly wrong. I know the things to avoid, I know what looks good in pictures, I’ve got the birds-eye view down. But now I’m looking at all of these options… damn you, Pinterest, ALL OF THESE OPTIONS. And I’m petrified!!! Centerpieces, ceremony music, floral arrangements, guestlists, happy little poems on seating charts, adorable cake toppers, sprigs of lavender, engraving or letterpress or AAAAUUUGGGHHHH!!!

Seriously… how do you do it? With all the bridal blogs out there, all the incredible weddings that have come and gone before yours… how do you choose the elements that make your weddings decidedly YOURS?

I have a whole new and different respect for what you do, you incredibly decisive and creative brides, you.

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COMMENT

Lesley - February 16, 2012 - 12:04 pm

Ok – so I’m going to give you my 2 cents lady. And take this all with a grain of salt because 3 years ago, there were not all the blogs and websites (and my god – Pinterest!).
1) There are no rules. No requirements that you must have a bouquet, a cake, or centerpieces. Even though I probably wasn’t that much of an offbeat bride, that blog/site did a lot to remind me that people have amazing weddings for hundreds of dollars and memorable events doing the most nontraditional things when you just follow your heart and make it about the celebration.
2) Give yourself an allowance for the amount of time each day you can spend searching for wedding stuff. The internet goes on forever and ever when it comes to weddings – you will never find the end. There is something really satisfying about giving yourself a limit.
3) Never – ever (ever!) go on the knot.com message boards. It’s a sad and scary place.
4) Just remember – no one is ever going to walk away and say “wow, that wedding had the most beautiful ceremony music I ever heard.” Don’t overanalyze the small stuff – years from now, they won’t remember how cool the seating chart was or color palette, they’ll only remember if they had a rocking time and how special it was to see two people’s lives coming together.

That said – I can’t WAIT to see how your day comes together. xoxoxoxo, les

charo - February 16, 2012 - 12:10 pm

Lesley…. you are the best. No, no, don’t argue – you are.

And I am the worst. I’ve written you a response email thirty times in my head, but I don’t think those ever made it to you, right? I’m on it… Let’s talk albums, lady!!!

Oh… and thank you. I need more no-nonsense Les in my life <3

charo - February 16, 2012 - 12:14 pm

Oh, and PS: simply by virtue of the fact that you and Jon did what YOU wanted, in ways that defied tradition… even if you’re not sleeved, there aren’t visible piercings, and you wore a white (and not black or hot pink) dress… you were totally an Offbeat Bride. Your wedding remains one of my very favorites ever. It wasn’t real quirky, there weren’t a lot of details, but it was REAL, and it was YOU. There was laughter and mishap and hangover reality. Everything about it was right.

Lesley - February 16, 2012 - 2:01 pm

oh charo! YOU are the best!!! i fully expect you to be there for the reunion one day (with mike!)

take your time on the albums email…it’s only taken me three years to get to it…so, obviously it’s not an urgent matter

Jan 29 2012

good things are afoot…

2012 is seriously rocking my world right now. We’re finally getting the new website launched… it’s what you’re looking at now, only it’ll be even better once the new portfolio, featured galleries, and info pages are up. Also, kinks. I need to work out the kinks. But that all takes time. For now, I’m just thrilled to death that we settled on a color scheme THAT WE LOVE, and that I finally got up the nerve to replace the old, boring, no-frills website.

Meanwhile, the calendar is filling up FAST. Wow!!! It’s been years since I’ve seen a January this busy with inquiries and bookings! And, for the first time in probably 8 years, we’ve got more local weddings than travel ones! I don’t know if that means anything, but it’s pretty damn nice, let me tell ya.

We haven’t shot since mid-December, and I’m itching to get out there again. Next weekend we’ve got our first session of the year, when Matt and Katie come down from Raleigh for their engagement session. A couple weekends later, Lauren and Randal will be coming into town from Northern VA for their session, and then the season will be officially started… family and kid sessions, engagement sessions, and (finally) weddings starting in April. Whew! The winter is nice for getting caught up and taking a break from the grind, but it gets old fast.

Oooh, and sometime in the next month or so we’ll be shooting a rockabilly engagement session for Nathan and Joanna! Watch for that one, it’s going to be HOT. I think they’re planning on including their motorcycle, some red stilettos, tattoos…. yeah. I can’t WAIT!!!

It’s gonna be an amazing year. Mike and I get to be engaged all year long (we think early spring 2013 for the wedding, but we haven’t quite set a date yet), Ellie gets to be awesome all year long (it’s what she’s good at), we’ve got incredible couples to work with all.year.long… and, hey, a new pretty website!

Now that the new site is (soft) launched, and once we’re done with the back-end stuff, the front-end should get a lot more interesting. More blog posts, and new content throughout. I’ll be sure to post updates on all the social media places (and here!) when we get new stuff published. First will be the featured galleries and portfolios, I think. I’ll keep you apprised.

I hate posting a blog entry without including a picture. Hmm. OH! I know! A couple from 2004 contacted me a week or so ago to find out about getting their files, so I’ve been going through their wedding images, reminiscing, making sure everything’s intact and nothing’s corrupt… so here’s a quick grab out of their wedding. (a farm in Randleman, NC, in case you’re wondering). There. I found a picture for today’s post!

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COMMENT

Gabriel - January 30, 2012 - 9:24 am

Hey! Nice to hear things are that good for you and that you’ll have more home weddings. It’s good for the family

Is that some organic noise I’m seeing in your old pic? Please tell us more about the tech used. Film, scanner, camera?

charo - January 30, 2012 - 9:31 am

Thank you for your comment, Gabriel! I appreciate it!

As for the image – hmmm, it was a digital image from 2004, so I was most likely shooting the 10D. I was shooting jpeg at the time, and it was probably 400 iso. I couldn’t tell you anything else about my processing, it has been far too long for me to recall! And I’m not near my computer at the moment so I can’t access the exif – but my gut says 400 iso, 10D, and probably exposed manually. And I’m sure there’s noise, the 10D wasn’t known for having creamy files!

Gabriel - January 31, 2012 - 3:55 am

Silly me, got fouled into thinking it was film

Dec 31 2011

24,000 miles, ten pounds, and a new ring. 2011: definitely.

It’s 6:49pm on December 31st. Mike and Ellie are sitting on the loveseat a few feet away from me, playing Mario Kart on the DS3. Wait. 3DS. Is it a big S or a little s? I’m so techno-lame sometimes.

I’ve spent the bulk of today going through 2011′s images, picking some out for a year-end slideshow, re-living the sessions and weddings and all the travel we did. It wasn’t the busiest year for weddings… 2012 is already shaping up to be a great deal busier than 2011. But what 2011 lacked in busy-ness, it more than made up for in just about every other way.

In 2011, we put 24,000 miles on the car, traveling to weddings in Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, DC, and South Carolina. We stayed in seven different hotels, ate at countless fast food joints, and became really fast friends with the Gas Buddy app for iPhone. We cooked at home whenever we could, and we each gained at least ten pounds. Ellie started the second grade, turned eight years old, discovered Justin Bieber, and got her hair cut to above her shoulders. I chopped almost all my hair off. Mike grew a beard, hated it, and shaved it off. We all found out that we love scarves and thick, comfy socks. Mike and I ate some AMAZING food in some incredible restaurants, from Aubriana’s right here in Wilmington, to Kramerbooks in Dupont Circle, to Maggiano’s in Durham.

2011 wasn’t just fun and travel and calories. We lost Dino, watched some good friends move far away, and went the entire year without seeing my mom or my siblings. In “this isn’t bad, but it’s kind of weird” news, Ellie gained a stepmother and stepbrother in 2011, along with a hamster named Gibble. Mike started a new job, and I reunited with an old boss who has asked me to do some contract administrative work for him in my spare time next year.

In 2011, Mike and I got engaged. (Squeeeeeee!!!!!)

One of the most significant developments from 2011 was Mike picking up a camera at a session early in the year. He’d spent years pursuing photography as a hobby, but it honestly didn’t occur to me that he might want (or be able) to do it professionally. That is, until I downloaded his images. Holy crap, the man can shoot! And, better still, he LOVES it. I’ve spent the last decade rejecting second shooter after second shooter, for reasons ranging from “your work never rises above awful” to “I can’t babysit you while I’m working” to “you smell really, really, really bad”. A good second shooter is hard to come by; an excellent one (who smells good, doesn’t need babysitting, and actually knows what he’s doing with a camera) is damn near impossible. And I somehow stumbled upon the man that not only wants to marry me (squeeeeeee!!!!), but also happens to be an excellent second shooter.

So, in 2011 I quite naturally began the transition from Charo: Solo Shooter to Charo + Mike: Shooting Team. How lucky am I, to be able to work side by side with the man I love (and am marrying! Squeeeeee!!!!!)… pretty damn lucky. (Along with this change we’ll be launching our new website soon… but… one thing at a time for now!)

And, finally… the real point of all this rambling. The pictures. The pictures of the people who made everything possible for Mike and I this year. Our ~~clients~~ friends, who got married, had babies, celebrated anniversaries and family reunions and birthdays, and asked us to capture their joy. In the slideshow below are 165 images of incredible couples, families, friends, who trusted their memories to us. I don’t know how best to express my gratitude and my pride, other than to commemorate their beautiful faces just one last time this year.

Happy New Year. I love you all…

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Dec 28 2011

yes.

Mike,

You came into my life right when I needed you most (and right when I was most adamant that I wanted to go it alone). You showed me how to laugh without worrying that laughing makes my double chin more like a triple chin, or maybe even a quadruple. You taught me to allow myself to be adored, to be wanted, and to believe that I deserve it. You showed me that every part of me is lovable, even the parts I’ve always abhorred. You’ve been there for times that were amazing, and times that were best left forgotten. Times I was beautiful, and times I was decidedly not. We’ve been poor and rich together, sick and healthy, thin and fat, and always, always happy. From our ramen-and-jammies nights to our high-heeled-dinner out nights, it’s been nothing but joy… and a neverending gratitude for what we’ve both found in each other.

You’re my yin, my counterbalance, my solid ground. I’d be a fool to not say YES.

In case it isn’t clear… we’re getting married!!! After witnessing hundreds of couples commit the rest of their lives to one another, it’s our turn! I could not be happier. I could not be more excited.

Thank you, Mike. For loving me. For being the incredible person you are. And for making an honest woman out of me.

We tried for a self-engagement photo, but I’m terrible at pre-focusing with the self timer, so we got one so-so in focus shot, and two halfway decent but really blurry shots… and then we just took pictures of each other for good measure (and maybe for the bio page). Here we are… your future Mister and Missus B.

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COMMENT

Kristin - December 28, 2011 - 2:31 pm

Oh, I like his face. That’s a good face. Those are good eyes and a good face. On the “boths” of your. I’m so very happy you said YES. BEST AMAZING WISHES EVER!

Christy - December 28, 2011 - 2:32 pm

These are terrific! Congratulations to you both!

Kim - December 28, 2011 - 4:20 pm

Damn straight you said yes. I’m not taking care of you in your old age. BCF.

Shalista - December 28, 2011 - 5:20 pm

Love it. Much happiness to you. You deserve it!

Anna Lee - January 6, 2012 - 10:18 pm

Congrats Charo! so exciting and I absolutely love your ring- the black and white is gorgeous!