Carly and Kurt Wedding Sneak Peak

Here is a quick sneak peak from Carly and Kurt's wedding last weekend! As you can see, the drizzle didn't stop us from creating some incredible photos in downtown Greenville!

And the winner is...

Brandi and Andre! When these guys entered the wedding photography giveaway they just blew me away. Their story, their ambition, their drive even though tough times. If you haven't had a chance to read their story, you need to check it out. They will be receiving a complete wedding photography package valued at over $2500. It includes:

• A one hour engagement session
• Wedding Photography throughout their entire wedding day (8 Hours Max)
• DVD of all the high resolution images
• Full digital retouching of all images taken
• A 8x10" Hardbound premium album

And they aren't the only winners either! I wasn't going to do this but because the other two finalists were so awesome they will be receiving:

• Photography throughout the wedding ceremony
• Digital Retouching of all images taken
• DVD of all high resolution images

Congrats to everyone who won, and thanks for everyone that wrote in and entered!

Wedding Photography Giveaway Finalist # 3

My third and last finalist, Casey and Brandon, have been though a lot. Casey got mixed up in the wrong crowd but totally turned her life around, and Brandon has been struggling financially for a long time. It's good to see people turn their lives around for the better! Enjoy their incredible story!

Stay tuned... the winner will be announced tomorrow!

"When I was young my mother would cut my jeans off during the summer, jeans that had been passed down from a stranger to people in need: that was us. I found new friends at new schools every year as we moved from one shelter to another. Sometimes family would take us in, only to feel “crowded” shortly after. It wasn’t a hardship for me: it was all I ever knew. This was life.

I always excelled in school from the very start. Advanced classes found me at every school. This continued until my 3rd year in high school. My life of instability had caught up with me. I turned to peers that pulled me down with drug addiction and bungled priorities. I had moved out on my own, with the logic that I was freer. I quit school after acceptance and scholarship to College of Charleston. That time of my life is a blur: it’s nothing that I want to retain, and also because I can’t. I became dependent on cocaine, though any drug would do. It had taken power over me. Amidst this time I overdosed on cocaine four times; I was aware of the severity and I could sense it happening but I couldn’t stop. Looking back to this I breakdown; I threw away an age of my life. I don’t know who that person was. I lost contact with family as they “could never understand” though I now know I was embarrassed. I had long lost respect for myself. I slept anywhere I could find, often at a cost. I was 17 when I was arrested on a felony cocaine charge. My friends were moving into dorms while I was in a cell. Even then, I wanted to destroy myself in everyway I could. People took advantage of me and left me torn apart; all I could do was numb the pain with another hit. I began a relationship with my dealer, someone that I was less than in love with but always had what I “needed.” Shortly afterwards I became pregnant.

I was dead to myself; how was I going to bring life into this world? A life relying completely on me. How was I to support a child when I had nothing: no job, no money, and no respect for myself? There was no deliberating. I didn’t think about whether I should do this, but rather what’s the best way to do this. The drugs and alcohol ceased instantaneously. I even cut out caffeine. I did not learn of the pregnancy until about 6 weeks into it. I constantly worried that I had harmed my baby by using those first 6 weeks while she grew inside me. I stayed with the father for the stability of a home, and used what I had to make the best life possible for my child. December 2005 I gave birth to my baby girl, Haylie Grace. She was beautiful. We prepared to go home from the hospital but were stopped short: Haylie was born with a hole in her heart. I have never felt as broken as I did that moment. A perfect, pure angel and I had already taken so much from her. The doctors assured me that many things could cause a defect like this but I will never forgive myself. We visit the pediatric cardiologist annually and it has yet to interfere with her life, which I thank God for.

I knew that I had to do something to be able to provide for my daughter. I got my GED and scored in the top 3% in the state. I continued on to Greenville Technical College for evening classes in Accounting. During this time I was doing landscaping with Haylie’s father, cleaning houses for extra money, bookkeeping for the landscaping, going to school full-time, keeping a house for my family, and using every spare second to make a relationship with Haylie. Often I turned on auto-pilot and coasted. I was 20 years old, exhausted beyond my years. I decided that the life I dreamed about Haylie and me was attainable but I would have to work for it. I moved in with a roommate to get on my feet. I got a clerical job so I could support us and continued school. Custody of Haylie became an issue shortly after. Haylie’s daddy got angry with me for leaving. He came to our home one night and assaulted me while Haylie watched and screamed. I filed criminal domestic violence charges which he was convicted of when he did not show up to court. Without any discussion he took me to court and took her away. As usual I had no money and no time to plan. When we got in court he filled the room with lies about me and my parenting. The judge ordered him temporary custody and I supervised visitation 6 hours a week. It took a long time for me to come to terms with the fact that I had lost her. I knew that I had to get her back. I finished school; got a second job with the extra time I didn’t have her; and was able to get a one bedroom apartment. It wasn’t on the best side of town but it was ours. I wanted something that would good enough for Haylie. After a couple months the guardian in our case ordered that I get standard visitation at least until the permanent custody hearing. I quit my second job so that it would not conflict with my time with her; there are many times I don’t know how I got by with the income I had versus the expenses that were coming in. God just made it happen.

I had eventually set enough aside to get a two bedroom apartment for us. I had no time for anything except work and Haylie. My only happy time was with her; I lived for those 48 hours every other week she spent with me. My boss said that I should meet this guy, Brandon, she knew through her nephew; she said we were alike in so many ways. I was a bit resilient as I was so far from having room in my life, or my heart, for love. He came by the office one day and I was blown away. My heart forgot every worry. Brandon was MORE than I had ever imagined in a man, especially someone that would be interested in me. I had never conquered my feeling of inadequacy or low self worth, and I knew he was beyond my reach. The only thing I had worth anything was my child and what would someone as amazing as him want with a child that belonged to someone else? We introduced ourselves and began talking…in person, on the phone, online, through text. We fit together so perfect. Men had always take advantage of my vulnerability. I still have a hard time adjusting to his desire for my heart. He wants a part of me that no one else ever has; it’s a part of me I had completely closed up to keep from getting hurt. I never knew a love like this was possible. I never knew someone could appreciate you and care about you so much. The relationship that he has with me and my daughter I am not worthy of. I am truly blessed.

Brandon proposed to me on the Falls Bridge downtown. Neither of us have much money nor do we come from money. My grandfather recently passed away and left my parents a little inheritance; with this they are going to provide my sister and me with $5,000 each for our wedding. This is more than I would have ever imagined, and being the “penny pincher” I have learned to be I can make this enough for a small, yet beautiful wedding. This is a day that I feel goes against my entire life; it feels, almost, out of place. I bought a used dress off ebay and my ring is a moissanite rather than a diamond. These things are not imperative to me. I have a family I love and that loves me back. I just want the memories of a day that I have worked so hard to get to. I have been able to cut corners everywhere for the wedding, and most of the things I will be making myself to save money, but photography is something that doesn’t go on sale, you can’t use a coupon, and I definitely cannot do it myself. My whole life has been the used, economy version of everything. I want to show Haylie what I worked so hard for when we are looking back on my wedding in the pictures. I want her to know that it’s worth the fight and the work you put into it.

Casey"

Wedding Photography Giveaway Finalist # 2

Here is finalist number two! Andre and Brandi are an awesome couple from Columbia, SC who have an INCREDIBLE story. These guys are troopers. They have gone though enough tough times to fill a book but have still marched on, head up, and are using it as motivation to continue to improve. I'll let you read their story to learn the rest!

"When I read about this contest, my heart literally fluttered in thinking about how wonderful it would be to actually win. I’m a bit nervous, on the other hand; I’m not usually a big believer in big competitions where there is a 1/1,000,000(s) chance that I would win. And if I get my hopes up, I’m almost certain that I will come out disappointed.

But this is different! I know that the chances are just as slim here, but I am willing to take the risk—nothing in this world would make me happier than to marry this angel and make her day---OUR day—as special as possible. She is my world, and I love her more than I ever thought I was even capable of loving someone. One thing that being with Brandi has taught me about love, is that whenever love is involved, a substantial amount of risk is present—if not necessary! SO I AM GOING TO TAKE A RISK, and enter this competition, not just for me, but for my baby.

What is it about Brandi that I love so much? Why and how is it that she makes me feel the way that I do?—These are questions that I have to ask myself everyday! It’s weird to always feel like you are floating on cloud 9 ALL THE TIME…every time I hold her in my arms, and close my eyes, I spin into infinity as if I’m not even grounded on this earth; every time she smiles at me, the dark cloud of life disappears, and my world becomes even more complete; every time she holds my hand, she carries me closer to God, and if during this time I am down, she consummates our intimacy with a prayer, asking God to come in our midst—and you know how GREAT the love of God feels! Every time I look into her eyes, I see heaven, and I think to myself how wonderful this life and the next life (the afterlife) will be as long as she is there.

I know that this sounds like a bunch of sappy stuff, but I tell you that I mean every word from the bottom of my heart. The answer to my two questions written above (What is it about Brandi that I love so much? Why and how is it that she makes me feel the way that I do?) , the answer is GOD! GOD—Brandi’s love for God is phenomenal, and it’s that same type of love that she gives to me. Anyone with the ability to love the ALMIGHTY sincerely and truly, has the innate ability to love HIS children even more genuinely (even from a logical standpoint--it’s much harder to love someone that you can’t see, but once you can do that, your ability to love someone visible is a mastery of sorts). Brandi’s love for me is a reflection of God’s grace. She is proof to me that God exists—because it takes awesome and great power to create such a delicate beauty (Brandi).

HOW WE MET:

And when I consider how Brandi and I met, I knew it was God that put us together. We met at Wofford College (Spartanburg, SC)—except Brandi was and is a year older than I. I saw her on campus one day and thought to myself, “Now that is beauty—she is beautiful!” When I found out that she was a year older, I thought that maybe she would be out of my league, so I left her alone.

But then something AMAZING happened. I was considering becoming a French major. My professor (Madame Schmitz), came up to me one day and said, “I really think you should consider becoming a French major—you speak very well, and your work is outstanding…if you are serious about doing this, I can move you up to the 300 (upper-level) French course which will put you ahead by ONE YEAR!!” Of course, I jumped on that opportunity soon as it came.

LO and BEHOLD, when I stepped into that upper-level French course that next week, it did my heart good to see Brandi sitting there (the only other black person in the class, so I couldn’t miss her). Come to find out, Brandi had a great aptitude for French as I did---sooooo, to make a long story short, we ended up studying abroad in Rennes, France together, we graduated from Wofford in 2008 together, and now we are attending the University of South Carolina School of Law together, class of 2011.

We’ve actually been engaged since October 16th, 2006. So as you can see, it’s been a while since I popped the question. The only reasons we have not gotten married is because of timing and money—moreso money. Of course, the first year of law school is the toughest, so it’s hard to up and plan a wedding. Plus, since we didn’t have the funds, we didn’t have the ability. Even now, we don’t truly have the ability to pay for a wedding, we are just taking a HUGE leap of faith because of our strong desire to be wed.

OVERCOMING TOUGH TIMES:

Brandi and I have overcome so many obstacles in our relationship financially, emotionally, and physically. Of course, being students (graduate students at that), money is always an issue. We have been and are currently living off of loan money—which is NOT easy. To offset the cost of living that aren’t coverable by loans (i.e. unexpected leaps in the light bill, used car maintenance and payments, insurance, and medical bills (I’ll explain later)), we’ve tried to get jobs as law clerks during the summer of 2009. Things were good—until I lost my job during the semester. Even though things are far from awful, we had to face some financial hardships that has put us in EXTREME debt (nearly $15,000 in credit card debt—of course this does not include the loan debt that continues to accrue). As we spiral deeper and deeper in debt, we are a little nervous about our future. When we finish school, we will have (collectively) nearly $250,000 in debt (not including credit card debt) and who knows how much we will have accrued in credit card debt by then. Things were a little more promising when I had my job, but I’ve become much more apprehensive.

Of course, as the man of our household, it has been very emotionally taxing not being able to work. Brandi was fortunately able to keep her job—but I’ve had trouble coping with my job loss. I am constantly searching—but as many people are experiencing in these tough times, not many people are hiring (especially an inexperience student with average performance records). In addition to this emotionally taxing situation, my fiancee’s father is and has been sick for a long time. Even while we were in undergraduate school, as our relationship began to blossom, Brandi and I were in and out of the hopital visiting her father who had an issue with his blood, diabetes, and lungs. Things got a little tough when he was pronounced clinically dead (he was revived—THANK GOD) in 2008; Brandi was afraid that he would not make it to our wedding to walk her down the aisle and share the father/bride dance. Things got much better over the past year—HOWEVER, she and I are now trying to cope with the fact that her father may have asbestosis, deriving primarily from when he used to work with Waste Management many years ago where he dealt first-hand with asbestos. This finding in addition to our longing desire to be married AND the fact that the next couple of years will be too hectic to plan a wedding as we prepare to take the bar has basically compelled us to get married this year. We have the utmost faith that God will heal my future father-in-law, but it would mean the world for him to be present at the wedding and to walk her down the aisle (especially since her father has now gotten to the point where he can actually walk with a little more ease).

WHY HAVING A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER IS SO IMPORTANT/WHY WE DESERVE TO HAVE THIS SERVICE PROVIDED FOR FREE:

We are firm believers in the notion that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” This is especially true for Brandi because of an unfortunate event that happened in her past. When she was a little girl, the day after her 10th birthday (the day before Valentine’s Day), she came home from school only to find that her house had been burnt down. Her mother was unable to grab but a few photos, and as a result, brandi has little to no recorded memories of her childhood. To this day, Brandi cries whenever I show her my baby pictures because she has none. As a result, Brandi holds any memories or pictures near her heart. At a church picnic, we were playing a couple’s game, and the question was “if your house was on fire, if you can only grab one thing, what would it be?”—Brandi’s answer wasn’t her wedding ring, or her purse (like I thought she would say)—it was “the photo albums and scrapbooks” that she and I have put together over the course of our relationship. I’m telling you all this to show you how important photos are to her. She CHERISHES our photo/memories. She especially loves when our photos are candid—showing where we are and whatever kind of mood we are in.

She has expressed to me how she wants the majority of our wedding photos to be as candid as possible—more natural looking photos that not only capture the memories but also exude the joy of the day! Brandi deserves to have exactly what she wants, and I want to give it to her.

Unfortunately, because of our fiscal ineptitude, we are unable to fit quality wedding photography into our budget. We are honestly considering using one of our friends from school (who has a pretty expensive camera and has offered to do it for a low price—basically free) to take our photos—it’s not what we want, but it’s all we can afford. Brandi is a young, beautiful, ambition, generous, God-fearing woman with big dreams without the means to fulfill them. Please help us to take our relationship to a new level. It would be my heart’s joy to marry this woman and give her the memories of this day that she has dreamt of her whole life. To be honest, the wedding doesn’t matter as much as the love that is there—In the case where we couldn’t exactly have the wedding of our dream, as long as we do it before God, it wouldn’t matter to me. But the thing is—I want to give Brandi the wedding of a lifetime…I want our wedding to be as fascinating, as great, and as massive as the love that I have in my heart for her—and the memories that will last a lifetime. She deserves nothing but the best, and the fact that I am not able to give it to her is devastating. I wouldn’t trade what we have for all the world’s riches. But if you can help us make this day even more special, I…WE will be forever greatful.

Sincerely, hopefully, and prayerfully yours,

Samuel Andre Small Jr.

(Dré)"

Wedding Photography Giveaway Finalist # 1

Well I've picked out the three finalists for my Greenville Wedding Photography Giveaway. After over twenty awesome entries it was extremely difficult to pick just three of them. I wish I had the time to shoot everyone's wedding for free, there is just so much need out there. Regardless here is my first finalist: Kelly and Christian. They are an awesome couple who have had to deal with a lot. Christian is in the Army and has to be away for months at a time. Kelly is struggling to pay her way through college, and pay for a wedding. I'll let their entry, written by their friend Chelsea tell the rest of their story:

"My name is Chelsea and I know it's a long shot to win such an awesome contest, but I had to try it. You see, my twin brother is getting married soon. And when I say soon, I realize their wedding date alone may disqualify them from your contest. Their final date is set for January 30th, 2010. My brother's name is Christian, and his soon-to-be bride is Kelly. Christian is in the army, so even though they were planning the wedding for late February, they knew the army would have the final say. They met here in Greenville, and Kelly will complete college here in May. Christian is stationed in Louisiana which has been a challenge for them personally and especially with the planning of their wedding. Therefore, the rest of the family (like me!) have gotten involved to alleviate stress and make this season in their lives enjoyable. It's a twelve hour drive for Christian to come home, so he was able to make it home for Thanksgiving and will be back at Christmas. Then the next time we see him will be the wedding weekend. Even after they get married, they will still have to deal with the long distance thing for a short time while Kelly finishes school and Christian has pre-deployment training, but then they will live together in Louisiana. They are excited about the chance to actually live like newlyweds for a little while. Originally it looked like he would deploy to Afghanistan in the spring, but that has now been pushed back, so they will have a few months to enjoy each other before he goes.

A little background on each of them. Christian is strong and quiet, unless you bring up a topic that he has strong opinions about, and then he can be quite talkative. He is the kind of guy that when he sets his mind to something, he will complete it well without being swayed. The military was one of these missions for him. When he felt called into the military, he was driven to finish school and begin serving. Relationships were another area that he felt strongly about. He went through high school and college without dating. (Actually he had one relationship that lasted a couple months, but he quickly realized she wasn't 'the one' and ended it). He knew that he did not want to waste his time dating. He felt that dating was intended to lead to marriage, and if he wouldn't think of getting married right now, or to her (whoever she was!) then he had no use for it. He worked for a couple years during college so he was 25 when he graduated Clemson. He had lived on his own and supported himself during that time since high school, so by 25 he had developed many opinions about things. I liked to joke that it was taking him so long to find the right girl because God had a lot of work to do to build a match for him! Little did I know how true that ended up being.

Christian and Kelly met the month he graduated. It was the same as all his relationships- a group of friends hanging out in their free time. Kelly was just a friend of a friend. But he knew immediately that she was different. He worked at Furman as a recruiter initially which allowed time for them to get to know each other (and us to get to know her too!). They were dating within a month, and it was not long after that when Daddy said that if 'Christian were crazy enough to let her go, we were going to keep her anyway'! Their relationship was a joy to watch. We had been afraid that when Christian finally found someone, he would be head-over-heels. And he was, but in a healthy way, without all the drama. We were so thankful that they still made our family a priority and would come to hang out with us (my husband, kids, and I), Daddy and Mama, and Jordan and his family (our older brother). We loved the opportunity to get to know her alongside him. By the time Christian headed off into service, we had all built relationships with her. And we absolutely love the fact that while he's gone, she still participates in family meals and activities and joins in like family already.

Kelly is much younger than Christian, five years to be exact. And it is amazing how much God has worked in her life. She has a unique living situation; her parents divorced when she was small and her dad lives in Chicago. Her mom got remarried when Kelly was in high school and moved to NC with her new husband. Because Kelly was in school and had a job here, she stayed and has payed rent to her grandparents and supported herself ever since. Her mom is still involved, and comes down weekly to visit, but Kelly has carried a much higher level of responsibility than most her age. She complements Christian so well. She is sweet, level headed, even tempered, sensitive and loving. She understands him and responds to his different attitudes in a way that somehow makes him kinder and gentler also. We just feel like she is an answer to prayer, and it is amazing when two people are willing to trust God with their lives, how He can build a relationship that is so balanced between each partners' strengths and weaknesses.

Christian and Kelly continued to date and get to know each other, and eventually Christian began to devise a plan to propose. At this point he had already spent seven weeks in training in Oklahoma (and the time away just secured their feelings for each other) and he was back in Georgia for Airborne school. This meant he was able to come home some weekends. Daddy and I were so blessed to be cohorts in this scheme, and we were there ahead of time hiding in the bushes to get some coveted engagement pictures. I'll include some in this email, but it was awesome. I was so nervous- not that she would say no, but that she would see us and that would give it away! Since then it has been a flurry of wedding ideas and options, and finally now that the date is set, putting stuff into action. They have a limited budget, so trying to allot an appropriate amount of money to each area has been a challenge.

I would absolutely LOVE for them to win this giveaway. To have a professional photographer who actually takes professional looking pictures at their wedding would be such a blessing. Life is such a challenge with being so far away from each other that I would just like the time they have together and the wedding itself to be enjoyable. I think right now they are in a 'last resort' type of mindset, and that makes me so sad! I don't want them to have to 'settle' when it comes to a photographer. I know from personal experience that your wedding pictures are treasures that hold your memories for a lifetime! Our kids love to sit down with us and our wedding album and have us tell them the story again. And back then was before the candid type of photography was big, so we've only got a few that really capture our characters. I think good photography is the most important part of the wedding day (although Christian would probably argue and say the food comes first).

So let's see, some details... the wedding is at Greer First Baptist at 2:00 on the 30th. The reception is at the Sawmill at N. Main St. Greenville.

I'm sorry that this ended up being so long. I didn't intend it to be, but I guess my excitement flowed though my fingers. I think this is a great thing you are doing, it's very generous. I expect you will hear a lot of great stories, and I know it will be a blessing to whoever you choose!
Thank you for the opportunity,
(THANK YOU!)

Chelsea"

Top Five Wedding Shots of 2009

Wow! What an awesome year in wedding photography. Not only did I have the awesome privilege to shoot more weddings this past year than I have ever done before, I got some truly incredible shots of people at their best. Needless to say it was extremely difficult to pick out the top shots, but here are my favorites from last year.

Top Five Nature Shots of 2009

I've always loved doing nature photography. There is just something fun and relaxing about capturing God's beautiful creation. This year I got some especially awesome shots, check them out!

Free Greenville Wedding Photography Giveaway: One Day Left!

Thats right, there is just ONE more day left to enter for a chance to win your wedding photography for FREE. All entries are due before midnight Jan 15th, 2010! Click here to find out more info on how to enter!

Top Five Architectural Shots of 2009

This year I had the awesome chance to take an Architectural Photography class at RIT. It definitely helped as it brought my architectural skills to a whole new level. Here are my favorites from the year!

Top Five Portraits of 2009

I did a lot more people photography this year than I have ever done in the past. It so much fun to capture people's moments forever. Here are my top five portrait shots of the year!

Top Five Automotive Shots of the Year!

Now that 2009 is more than over I figured it would be a good time to go through all my photos and sort out which are my favorites from the past year. Last year I picked out my top 20 photos, but this year I'm gonna do something different; pick my top 5 from every category. Here are the top 5 automotive shots of the year!!

Molly and Michael's Wedding!

I love weddings around the holidays. Having all the excitement of Christmas along with a celebration of two becoming one makes for an awesome time. Molly and Michael's wedding was stunningly decorated in reds, whites, and blacks.

The ceremony was at the beautiful Hopewell Baptist Church in Blacksburg, SC, and the reception was held just a few miles down the road. After some food and dancing, Molly and Michael left the reception in a shower of bubbles. Thanks again for having me! Enjoy the photos!