Carla Garrison talks about her gallery’s wedding services, primarily the ‘Borrow an Artist’ program where an artist paints live at your wedding or event.

The Green Rice gallery is also open to hosting your special event in their 2400 square feet of meeting space amongst artist studios and fine art exhibits. (click for full info)

I’m sure you’ll see what fun and energy Carla brings to the gallery, I’m sure you’ll be pleased working with her whether you host your wedding at the gallery or she helps coordinate your artist borrowing!  Thanks for the great chat Carla!  If you know of an interesting, artistic or notable vendor or wedding professional who would like to sit down with Neil and tell some stories…please nominate them in the comments!

View more posts from our theme: “Where Art Lives” or see the multimedia presentation on how to make your art intersect with your life.

My favorite quotes from Amy:

• “There’s perfection in imperfection”
• “Paper is sexy”
• TOAST (listen till you get it)
• “I didn’t care if I got married”
• “I wasn’t the Bridey Kind of bride”

Subscribe to our podcast to receive automatic notification of new episodes.

For more inspiration about Making Your Love real in art, view our themed posts about ‘Where Art Lives’.

Neil & Leisl -

Thank you, once again for truly capturing hte heart of our special day.  It is thanks to you that these special moments have been immortalized.  We look forward to sharing the albums/photos with our families for years to come.  I can’t imagine that we could have found anyone else that could have told the story of our journey more accurately.  Your talents are a gift and we appreciate your sharing them with us.

WIth much gratitude -

Tom & Kelly

Thanks guys – we are so grateful to have you as clients!
For those of you that haven’t been following our blog very long, here’s a summary of their journey:

• Kelly & Tom’s save the date cards
• Snowy Organic Signature Journal
• Kelly & Tom’s Buffalo NY wedding album

Here’s a close-up shot of Heather’s menus at her reception held in Del Frisco’s wine cellar, the menu designed by Neil.  However the story start a year infront of their wedding…

…with their Chirstmas card and save the date combo.  Here is me holding their limited edition Christmas card, custom designed by me:

Heather and Drew were overjoyed with the complements they received from family, friends and even the rescue organization that they got their dogs from that they had me do their save the date cards as well.

From the save the date postcard which used photographic imagery, Heather decided to take the rest of the suite minimalist to match her wedding decor and theme.

Save the date on the right, menu card on the left.  The paper stock is a pearlescent metallic finish that even though chocolate brown, give a shine to the color.

And here’s what it looks like in the placesetting!

Heather wanted a monogram to tie the pieces together, and with 10 years of design experience I didn’t find that hard to accomplish with style.

The name tags and menu blended in wonderfully with the rich chocolate color scheme.

The Invitations

The invitation design used a fashionable panorama fold on the left of the 5×7″ card.

Inside, flowing blocks of text communicate the details to the guests.

Here the response card design is shown front and back (back side blurry) as it was printed in creme white and slipped into the invitation’s fold.

Response card text.

So if you would like one less vendor to work with, if you would like to have the design elements continue from your save-the-date card through to your album.

Just have us do it – contact us above and we’ll get to work on your engagement shoot and talk styling!

Answers will be graded!

Seriously though, leave your approach – or comment if you’ve got a jucy story about ‘attracting’ just the right guy; or falling for a crazy girl.

What do I need a sensual journal for?

Handmade 6×8″ Sensual Journal – buy now

To make a mark, to express your love!

As we point out in our ‘Sense of Touch’ gallery (password=touchable) we work to capture this touchable sense in our pictures and wish for you to enrich your lives with our art.  To that end we introduce the erotic journal product for you to fill with the photos from your session and your own writings, markings and musings.  We hope this product enriches your lives and continues the dialog that a boudoir photo session can create between loving partners.  We hope this journal stimulates your bonding experience and heightens the interaction of your relationship.

More detailed photos:

Handmade 6×8″ Sensual Journal

Portrait Session with Neil – good for any concept, pinup poster or sensual portraits $300

Boudoir Portrait Album Package gets you a custom printed private book $600

Lux Boudoir Photo shoot: hair and makeup included, book and iPod slideshow $900

I’m here in the Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond.
Have meetings with Clients for a Uganda wedding tomorrow.
Keeping my heart eyes open to all the possibilities the world has for me.

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Here are a couple of my favorite spreads:

If you’ll give me a moment to talk about the elements of design we use in our albums – in this horizontal spread, I cropped the images in a tight panoramic 1:5 format to show the tight moments of the bride and groom placing the rings on each other’s fingers. The tight spacing and blurred edges allow for a quick ‘read’ of the eye across the page. That emphasis is heightened by the horizontal bars of color running through the background of the image at the grooms eye height and the bride’s ring height. The lines tie together the separate pictures with implied continuation of line that I ‘felt’ between the photos while laying them out. This extra amount of care and attention brings your album to life telling the visual stories of your wedding.

In this spread we use the design element of a light vignette to tie together and soften the overall page design, can you see the subtle darkening at the coreners?

And if you’re looking for a creative photographer, look at how we tie the action of the day into the album design! We’re wiling to see the whole day for what it is, without presuppositions about what wedding photography ‘should be’ – so we notice the littlest things that make your wedding yours! (did you notice the bee on the clover in the above spread? – I know it’s hard on the web, but we noticed it and shot it!)

Enjoy your album Kelly and Tom.

Gretchen was excited to host her wedding day in her childhood neighborhood in Rochester.  She has taken all her Sacraments at Blessed Sacrament as well as attending school there.  Gretchen’s excitement and energy beamed the whole day.  Thanks so much for having me there guys – enjoy your slideshows!

Gretchen and Dan’s helpers are listed here:

• Church of the Blessed Sacrament
• American Association of University Women – Perkins Mansion wedding reception
• Reception Catering by All Occasions Catering
• Flowers by the (always fun) Jimmy Catalano, Edgerton Floral Company
• Ronda  Wedding gown by Pronovias

The above slideshow is in flash, you may download the podcast show below; here are a couple favs if you can’t do either!

Heather had a lot of great help putting together her wedding:

• Samantha did Heather’s makeup – www.PotionBeauty.com
• Wedding Ceremony music by the Carolina Chamber Players
• Lake Norman waterfront wedding site at Jetton Park
• Wedding reception in the wine cellar room of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse Charlotte
• bridal bouquet and decorations by Huntersville Floral Design
• Desert from Cake Expressions by Lisa
• Wedding hairstyling by Bella Lago Salon & Spa, Mooresville, NC
• Wedding dress shopping and fitting by The Lily Rose, Cornelius, NC
• Wedding Planning and ceremony by Patrick and Dottie Maloy – Calm Blue Water

Leave your comments below!

Today’s small dream,
was ignited by a child
who didn’t want to be photographed
“no flash photography allowed”
she spouted over and over again
looking at me out of the corner of her eye
each time
hoping
running away to be chased
covering her face
for the excitement of being exposed
who knows how needy she was to be noticed
how much her heart needed to feel beautiful
but she brought beauty into my world
with a giant yellow leaf

Sneak peak for Christina and Nick who were married again today in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris!

Congratulations guys!

Pauline plans weddings in the Richmond VA and Brooklyn NY areas, as well as authors the blog Wedding Overdose.

Here’s the wedding details for all you planners out there:

• Flowers by Fioravanti Florist
• Ceremony location, reception location and catering, wedding cake design all by the Burgundy Basin Inn
• DJ entertainment by Go Sound Systems
• Wedding dress was the Chiffon Empire Dress BR1007 by David’s Bridal

Thanks guys for having me document your day!

I’m more than glad to fill you in on the details:

• Nikka ceremony at the Islamic Society of New Jersey
• Wedding Preparation at the Satler Hotel
• Wedding hair and faces done by Makeup On Demand
• Wedding Ceremony at Sage Hall Cornell University
• Wedding Reception at the Williard Straight Hall Memorial Room
• The suburb and memorable menu was prepared and presented by James from The Heights Cafe & Grill
• Wedding cake and desserts by Sincredible Pastries
• The floral arrangements and wedding table decorations made by Michaleen’s Florist
• The mastermind helper and planner Tara Reimer from Terra Rosa
• Order prints and see the complete set of photos at www.MakeLoveReal.com

Thanks guys!

• Wedding Ceremony downtown Lake Placid NY at the Adirondack Community Church
• Wedding Reception at the Lake Placid Club Boathouse by Crowne Plaza
• Flowers and decoration by Trillium Florist, Tupper Lake, NY
• Wedding cake by the Lake Flour Bakery, Saranac Lake, NY
• Slideshow music free courtesy of Amazon.com
• View slideshow without music
• Login to Make Love Real.com to view all the photos and order prints

Penny and Will held their wedding near their first and favorite vacation spot – Lake Placid NY.  Penny and Will are silly and full of love for life and each other while they brought their friends and family together to celebrate this shared love.  Will was excitedly explaining to me how he wanted to drive to the top of Whiteface mountain to take pictures between the ceremony and reception and I was hesitant to make any promises knowing that the weather on top of a 5000ft mountain in the last days of May in Northern NY is as likely to be snow as sun.  Again this day the universe smiled on me and gave us good weather while on the summit of Whiteface Mountain.  Here are a few of my favorites from up there.

When we first came up a cloud was rolling up the mountain, while the sun was still shining over the cloud giving us a mystical and unique light!

The temperature on the summit was a brisk 45 degrees with a stiff 20-25mph breeze. As the cloud rolled over the summit we were momentarily lost in fog and then rested just under the belly of the cloud.

Will and Penny were surprised when I told them on the way to the summit that it would be great to be hit by a cloud, and they were even more surprised when it happened. My wilderness experience in the High Peaks has taught me about the amazing ecological conditions these mountains reside in. If you are yearning for a mountaintop wedding ceremony, Whiteface mountain just North of Lake Placid is an amazing summit. You can drive to within a few hundred feet of the summit and then take either the elevator or stairs to the top. But here is the panoramic view:

The Adirondack Park is really just a big swamp with mountains interspersed amongst it, and this picture captures that quintessential environment with the bride and groom.

Thanks so much guys for bringing me back to the Adirondacks for your great wedding day!

Real Estate doesn’t have to be stale!  Gun show by @BeeRealty – .

So the question is – how many bales can these guns pop?

Personality Portraits for Real Estate Agents by Neil Cowley – Charlotte Real Estate Bar Camp

Find your personality portrait shot today at www.MakeLoveReal.com – should be ready Sunday May 17th.

The wedding took place at the  Glengoyne Highland  whiskey  distillery and we all enjoyed the generously poured high-quality scotch!  wowsa!!

Congratulations Gerry and Jenny – thanks for bringing me to your wedding!

I had an  awesome  time visiting the clubbing scene in Glasgow and partying till 3am – at that latitude the sun rises at that hour and I got to experience my first Celtic ‘time between’ with a beautiful sunset departing Gelengoyne, and a sunrise after dancing all night through the packed clubs of Glasgow.  

I had the kids play with the phones to tell me which their grandma would like best, and after a little waiting the show  definitely  impressed my 10 year old son, who wasn’t thinking he really wanted to be there till he saw guys flying upside down…

Yea that’s a meter of air on top of an adult male with his arms outstretched, so probably a solid 12ft off the ramp, 20ft off the ground.

And here’s what Morgan said about the card:

Thank you so so so so soso much I am so excited to have our beautiful wedding in the paper for all to see! I also meant to tell you that when I sent out our thank you cards, I have never gotten more compliment on anything inmy whole life! My one friends husband had gotten it while she was at work and he put it up on the fridge and when she got home that night and saw it on the fridge she thought it was a jewellery ad! SHe had to look a few times before she even noticed it was me! Another friend thought it was an ad from Nordstroms! Everyone said how gorgeous the photo was. Thank you so much for that!  

For the back of the card I found an authentic antique postcard and scanned it to give the piece a unique believable look.

Carefully captured.

We ask ourselves as visual storytellers, ‘what is the story’?  here it is, in a single moment – captured perfectly as Mindy walks down the isle and John sticks out his  tongue  at her.

I revel in the moment, and capturing this gives me great pleasure – both to work for clients who understand individual expression, and to work so hard to really capture it for them.

There’s a lot of competition in the ‘wedding photography’ market these days, but as I’ve been observing weddings since 2003 – these nuances are easily noticed to my experienced eye.  The WPJA gave me a top 5 in the nation ranking in 2004, and aging has only made me more sensitive to these moments – aware and able to capture them.

I was really surprised when the assignment address came in only 4 minutes from home.

It’s a theme we have rolling here, it’s an answer to ‘what is a photojournalist’, ‘what is a visual storyteller’?

In today’s installment it’s also an answer to ‘How do I get good photojournalistic pictures?’ and how we as intense artists like to burrow into your life to tell these stories….let me illustrate so you can help me find these stories and threads to make your pictures come alive with your own family’s stories. You see I wouldn’t have known to look out for this, had I not ridden to the ceremony with the bride and her father in the classic Rols Royce limo:

In Courtney’s father’s hands is a plastic sandwich baggie of candy:

They are laughing sharing memories of how he would bring candy in his jacket pocket to keep his children occupied during church services.    Courtney’s not to old to demand a few sweets!

So when it comes to the real church service, I know what to look out for….

Grandpa handing out the candy, and grandson eagerly filling his cheeks with it.

These pictures are not technically masterful, or emotionally poignant – but simply show the care and consideration of a grandpa, and a photographer.

Maybe I should remember to sneak some gummy bears into the service to remind me to keep my eye on the story!

So when you’re filling out your wedding information forms, or something pops to mind on your wedding day – share the details with me so I can best be informed of what your family relationships look like.

Piedmont Hunter Jumper Association Horse Shows

A lovely spring day for riding and it was amazing to see this little girls launching the horses over the jumps.  Quite a lot of bravery and skill.

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

A couple of my favorite design layouts feature the close combination of related photographic moments:

I can’t wait until my next Toronto wedding photojournalism assignment!

If you’re wondering why I’m not answering e-mail, slow on voicemails read on – if you’re not ok with my sillyness – don’t read on!!

This is my photographic family – from these minds my career has been molded – and to whom I give my highest gratitude:

FW7 from Vladimir Chaloupka on Vimeo.

Did you catch my multiple cameos?

Each year in North Dallas TX we gather for the most intense, most personal, and most life changing photography workshop on the planet – Foundation Workshop. It was out of this workshop that my wedding photography career was born – and I have been returning for the last three years as a Mentor to the students of the workshop.  The team leaders are Huy Nguyen, Brooks Whittington, Amy Deputy, Greg Gibson (my team leader in 08) and Tyler Wirken (my team leader this year – blonde  spiky  hair in the hotel room edit scenes).  

Recognize that shadow? my opening presentation

There are two unique things about the Foundation Workshop – first, the students shoot assignments like newspaper photographers.  Second, the student to staff ratio is 1:1 to ensure a crazy, intense, and personal level of instruction and connection.  I was  privileged  to lead off the workshop with a talk on creativity kicking off day one’s four lectures and team building  exercises.  Day’s two and three are full shooting days for the participants to shoot assignments.  While day 4 had a dinner deadline to edit all the photos into a short slideshow for a presentation after a  celebratory  dinner.

This year Team Wirken started the week off with a very silly hotel room bonding experience.  After which our team member’s took on assignments like the South Fork Ranch – where Dallas the TV show was fashioned shot by Stacy Doyle.  A chocolatier who just opened shop – shot by Duncan Kerridge.  A local  Veterinary  hospital in Plano shot by Dan Shuman.  An organic tree farm shot by Jerry Yoon. Finally a family caring for their father stricken by Lou Gherig’s disease shot by Joseph Allen.  It was a real  privilege  to be able to speak into these people’s lives and I hope I’ve made a positive impact on their shooting, thinking and feeling pictures.  My role as a mentor is to visit the team members in the field and help them gain new perspectives, think new approaches and generally push them out of their comfortable ways of shooting and thinking.  Then we take it back to the editing suite…..and talk about all their mistakes all night!

Stacy Doyle shooting at the Dallas TV show museum

Duncan at the Chocolate shop above and Dan at the Vet below

Really – it’s just plain brutal honesty about almost every picture.  Tyler Wirken our team leader has a graphically driven taste for images and he can see every compositional flaw within seconds.  He also has the mental energy to talk about it for 6 hours straight!!  A totally revealing experience for the participants and the staff alike as we warm up our creative brains by realizing all the things we should do better!  So as you see in the video a lot of sitting around and talking – that’s us critiquing our work.

If you’d like to see a still image slideshow by  David Pullum and Anna Kuperberg our official staff photographers there’s the link!

So many great ideas flying around and I’m sure what I picked up will improve my creativity and deployment of Make Light Real – my creative journal.  Thanks everyone for sharing!!  And a big thanks to Carlos of Area 15!!!!

I was able to give an ‘Avatar Reboot‘ to anyone who would step into my little photo booth.  You can download your free shot from Flickr on this link<–

Your headshot is free, and I appreciate the link love to http://makelovereal.net – friend me on Facebook – or Twitter!

Here’s the show!

Many of you ask what I do with the head shots, well I make business cards…

Click here to have your headshot made into full color 2 sided Business cards

A totally professional image on your business card has stopping power and makes you memorable to your business contacts – even if it’s only on the back side.  Out of all the business cards I was given at BarCamp only Jose’s card used a memorable image!

Many of you were asking if I photograph families and the answer is I sure do, mostly in a candid way.

Click to purchase The Neighborhood Portrait Package – photographed by Neil or My wife and you will  receive  1 8×10 and 3 4×6 prints of the same image selected from a viewing session at our studio.

Embed the show in your own site or blog….

Embed it in your own site:

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Or use this iFrame

<div><iframe style=”border: medium none ; background-color:3F3F3F;” src=”http://makelovereal.net/shows/barcampclt/iframe.html” title=”Showit Web Slideshow” frameborder=”0″ height=”690″ width=”340″ scrolling=”no”></iframe></div>

This time Charlie contacted me about somehow merging the message of he and Courtney’s wedding song into a print for her office desk.  So the constraint was an 8×10″ image – and the challenge was to personalize it.  To emphasize the personal touch, I suggested Charlie write out the lyrics in his own handwriting – and I only used a little font in the design of the overall image.  The song lyrics are very fitting for ‘making love real’ and how art can participate  in marking a relationship:

[Verse 1:]
There’s no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard,
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart,
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things,
Like a shoebox of photographs,
With sepiatone loving,
Love is the answer
At least for most of the questions in my heart ,
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it’s so hard?
It’s not always easy,
And sometimes life can be deceiving,
I’ll tell you one thing, its always better when we’re together

[Chorus:]
MMM, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, we’ll look at the stars when we’re together
Well, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together

[Verse 2:]
And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they’ll be gone,
When the morning light sings
And brings new things,
But tomorrow night you see
That they’ll be gone too,
Too many things I have to do,
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I’ll be under the impression,
I was somewhere in-between
With only two,
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do,
Or places we got to be
We’ll sit beneath the mango tree now

Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together
MMM, We’re somewhere in-between together
Well, it’s always better when we’re together
Yeah, it’s always better when we’re together

Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm
I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep
Hey now, and when, and when I wake up,
You look so pretty sleeping next to me
But there is not enough time,
And there is no, no song I could sing
And there is no combination of words I could say
But I will still tell you one thing,
We’re better together

Contact us to have us design a multimedia art piece to help mark the love in your life!

The boys all got to try the various aparatus – but Eben got a big candle to light for his birthday.

Eben held the candle to a nice  balloon  filled with Hydrogen from the  Einstein’s  corner demonstration.

The boys thought it so cool that I could capture the explosion with my camera that I thought I’d offer them this:

The last bang had  Magnesium  in it for an extra sparkle!

Boy oh – we have a 10 year old now.  All my clients that have been thinking about buying an album now’s the time so we can start that college savings program!

She’s got a great sense of style and its fun watching her put it all together.  The kids were so excited to give her the Geode from one of their trips over Christmas break and she knew right were it would fit.

My wife just scheduled a time with a busy mom to help her decide which portraits and what type of frames would be best to build their family portrait wall.  So if you get stuck in presenting your photographs, look at some of these ideas – or call My wife at 585.354.2642 to go over your style and decoration needs.  My wife is available for appointments all across the Mecklenburg area including Charlotte, Lake Wylie, Lake Norman, and Fort Mill.

I love your style My wife ~

Bedtime stories with Neil & My wife in HD.

Browse our site from the top – following the numbered sequence :

1. Meet Us (intro to our services and thinking)
2. Enaging Products (a rundown of all the things we make)
3. Click for a Contract (packages and pricing)

But I’ve been keeping my brain filled with the Holiday spirit of Peace with these tunes.

Today’s presentation comes from a site called Noise Trade – you have two options to get the music:

• share 5 of your friend’s e-mail addresses recommending the album to your friend (not spamming them)
• pay what you want, from $5 to $20

First is a group called Sojourn, with a collection called Advent Songs tinged with a light Americanna rock/folk blended between male and female vocals.  Hearing Joy to the World re-imagined is refreshing and engaging way to share Christmas with your friends, and not have them tune it out – like in all the department stores.  The big band rockin ‘What Child Is This’ brings the rock-opera flavor to your christmas party!

Second up is a compilation album out of Nashville with that Wilco or Dylan’ish flavor of stripped down rock/folk.  Their arrangement of Silent Night, mixing vocals in the round and stripped down rock vibe –  definitely  makes you pick up and listen again.  

Last weekend I was doing some painting to Sufjan Stevens “Songs for Christmas” which used to be free but at $15 for a 5 disk set is an absolute christmas classic for me.  So if you’re looking for a big selection of holiday music like you’ve never heard before – that set is  definitely  for you!

One last collection for your Christmas joy – this direct folk sound on ‘The Bewildering Light’

Custom mixed cd – or even tricky series of e-mails with MP3′s attached?

Mix up trackes from these  Free Albums on amazon.com:

• This Is How I Roc: 2008 Yep Roc Label Sampler: MP3 Downloads: Various Artists
• Light In the Attic Label Sampler: MP3 Downloads: Various Artists*
• Vanguard Records And Sugar Hill Records: The Amazon New Music Digital Sampler: MP3 Downloads: Various Artists
• This is Daptone Records…: (modern authentic motown! Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Sugarman 3, Mighty Imperials
• P Is For Panda Mix Tape Vol. 1: MP3 Downloads: Various Artists
• Very Best of Naxos Early Music: MP3 Downloads: Jeremy Summerly
• Badman, Has It Really Been 10 Years?: (Innocence Mission, My Morning Jacket, Hayden)

If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for your favorite wedding photographer artist who just gifted you 6 disks of free music, an Amazon card is perfect!

I would like to get a complete set of Sigur Ros, and the new Helios album!

If you’re considering hiring a portrait artist, we work in two distinct styles:

1. the candid life moment  
2. expressive fine art.

It’s up to you how your have us shoot your session or blend the results for a completely unique portrait session.  You don’t have to go to a different studio or photographer for a fine art canvas painting.  Read more to see the retouch stages:

When you  commission  a portrait from Make Love Real – you can help guide the creative process and it’s results that hang on your walls!

- take a look through my  images in a 3d space!  You really want to click the button on the top right!!

Come back next week, and you’ll see a  different  portfolio of images loaded from my flickr stream.  Enjoy this funky portfolio view and see what images you discover!

She was missing the kids so I thought I’d send her a little love note of lunch a crystalized ginger chocolate bar and flowers.

Here she is getting all shy, and eying the chocolate bar.

Funny thing about her is that she loves to put herself in the spotlight, but as soon as someone else tries to drop off lunch for her at work she blushes and runs straight for the break room….I chuckle as I love

Send in your love notes and I’ll publish your act or note for everyone!

[audio:http://audio.wnyc.org/radiolab_podcast/radiolab_podcast082608.mp3]

Download MP3 of Quantum Cello interview by Jad Abumrad, music by Zoe Keating

Read the article that goes with the performace and fill up your iPod with this ethereal ambience to keep your mind off the lines, traffic, and chaos if you’re out and about today.

Sarah & Jeremy had an  emotional  (men crying during the ceremony) silly (did you see those bridesmaids) and funny (um, ringbearer’s finger in the cake – people eating goldfish) wedding celebration. Entertainment for the night was masterfully hosted by Kevin Colangelo. And is Jamie trying to stalk all my NY weddings, or has she just become the best wedding hair babe in WNY? My wife and I drove up with the family to see friends so Sarah got the bonus as My wife as the assistant photographer. She seems to be sneaking pictures of herself into everyones proofs lately, so if you got one  psychoanalyze  it for me.

• Wedding Location at Belhurst Castle
• Hair by Jamie Lynn
• IPod version music by Jap Jap
• Bridal Jewelry by Something Blue on Etsy

Here’s a quick laundry list…

Did you know Charlotte has a Charicature artist? yep – Joel Kweskin

• The gals from BLUSH – were styling it in black, making me feel at home (like NY)
• Debbie Dos Santos and I traded funky travel stories, she does custom travel I hope she’ll tell her story for ya’ll
• People were raving about Elizabeth’s cakes and what a cute brand Elizabethan Delights  - and she calls herself a food artist – what a bonus!
• Diana Collins – Celebrant and Interfaith Minister sat next to me at lunch
• On my left was Samantha Neal a culinary school graduate managing the Rolling Hills Country Club – (that means she been taught how to plate a dining room when the food is hot, train the servers to serve, and is a stickler for detail=you’ll be treated great)
• Lauren S Ansley got a packet of my postcards for her unique reception venues like the Anne Springs Close Greenway Dairy Barn
• Natasha Watson-Bellamy was the second smiling face to say hi to me, she coordinates events
• and Melvin Wilkes was the first to say hi to me, probably cause he was the only other guy there – I look forward to one of his mixed drinks as he’s a freelance bartender for your backyard event.
• Patricia Minter a Realator for Keller Williams couldn’t believe my photos were real, so here’s the rest of the story Patricia<–click
• Finally we come to our planner Laura Massie who’s slogan is “I Do Done Right” welcoming and introducing the host…

• And for the grand finale, Aliya Constant – Event Manger for the Hilton Garden in by the Carolina Place Mall in Pineville.

Take silly pictures…

What would you do?

Aw, my long arm technique needs work – can’t get our faces in focus!

International men of mystery, the Ontario Place pavillions do look like something out of a mid 70′s James Bond film.

So we better act the part!

And turn it into a fight scene on the precipitous edge where only the strong survive the sunset.

Or maybe it’s a kung-fu movie, who knows – after working a wedding for 8 hours your minds a little bent.

Ok but just in-case this is the first time you’ve met me or Amish – take a look at what I shot that day, and here’s a few of Amish’s images if you’re looking for a Toronto area wedding photographer.  Just moment’s before our silliness:


 
Creative composition above – and being creative with the gel’s from my lights below:

It’s always good to have a second shooter for weddings because there’s often too much going on….Amish got mom coming down the isle:

While I got the bride crying

A nice close up of the ringing of the groom

Other times the assistant can scout areas to shoot when we’re limited for time – like Amish did for these portraits.

Amish also thought up this nice series of shots contrasting the boutonnieres:

Amish is a good natured guy who’s fun to shoot with so check him out for your Toronto wedding.  He’s also got a rich cultural heritage and understanding of Indian wedding traditions if you’re planning something big like that.

Artisan Works Rochester – is a really wild place to have your wedding…so Dan and Meg just had their rehearsal dinner there with their friends and family.

Who’s watching who around here?

Color, form, pattern – the building blocks of the visual arts.

Don’t get egg on your cocktail dress!

The walls speak – and so do the family gathered to celebrate.

You can see Dan and Meg’s amazing wedding photos over on this post!

Tales Of The Forgotten Melodies – by Wax Taylor has had me on the hook since you heard one of the top tracks in the Blogger Search Contest video.

 The kid’s favorite dance tune right now is Alice (Drop The Lime-Heavy Bass Remix) by Moby  I need to grab the video camera sometime when they’ve got the family room stereo cranked — and are rippin new moves to the driving beat.

 I’ve been sleeping to Buddha Nature by Deuter  while My wife is up in New York shooting her weddings.  She’s been away 9 day’s so far and the kids have only missed the bus once (cause it was early) so

Enjoy the sample player – and let me know what was your favorite tune if you buy a couple…

Blogger contest take two and YouTube version

Blogger talent search contest or YouTube version.

Ungodly Fruit – Soundtrack by Wax Taylor

The prize is a free multimedia engagement session by Neil Cowley with a value of $3000. The quest is for a storyteller with heart and humor to tell the stories of wedding planning and engagement from inside their head and out through the web. Submit your journal, blog, video log, or contest entry to the comments here to be considered!  Multimedia submissions will  definitely  score you bonus points!!

What is a multimedia engagement session?

• Sara & Jeremy – dog lover’s extended love story
• Letchworth New York destination engagement shoot slideshow
• Erin + Josh Engagement story at Centeral Park West and MOMA NY
• Where art lives with Courtney & Charlie shows you how a couple designed their engagement session

If you are chosen as the new blogger, I will help you design your engagement session and schedule it for as soon as possible.  Your themed shoot will also produce Save the Date Cards, and a Signature Wedding Guestbook.  You will then be responsible for writing 20-30 posts from your engagement and wedding.

Who else has blogged for you?

Deanna was our first bridal writer who’s creative, heartfelt and zany  posts were a lot of fun!  You can view her multimedia  engagement shoot slideshow, her post reflecting on the engagements, her wedding slideshow, and her post reflecting on the wedding experience and journaling/blogging.  Deanna is planning to incorporate some of her reflections in her album design.

The entries will be judged by Neil, My wife and Deanna on the basis of creative writing, personal presentation and emotional candor.  We are looking for writing style, emotional expression, and humorous visual flair (like Deanna’s barbie page).

How can I blog this, pass on the word, tell my friends?

Click the </>Embed button on the above video and copy the code to your own blog or site – or use the YouTube Version with Neil or My wife.

Paste the link to your post in the comments, so everyone reading here can find your site!

http://makelovereal.net/blogger/

Click this button to post this page to your Myspace, FaceBook, bookmarks or other sites:

A portrait of My wife and Tia shot by me!

A portrait of Me, Tia and Eben shot by My wife

We would like to extend a special portrait package to your family in the nearby neighborhoods so that you can enjoy some casual portraits of your loved ones and get to know us.

Click to purchase The Neighborhood Portrait Package – photographed by Neil or My wife and you will  receive  1 8×10 and 3 4×6 prints of the same image selected from a viewing session.    We encourage you to think ahead to the holidays if you are considering a custom holiday postcard, or greeting card.  

Say hi when you see us around the neighborhood! or add us to your social network on Facebook

Thank you cards illustrated watch in High Definition Video on Vimeo.

Thank-you cards are a fun way to show everyone your wedding style with a lovely photo card.  You can purchase your card set from one of the many types we have in our shopping cart:

8.5 x 5.5 Color Postcards – 250

4×5.5 Folded Delux Greeting Cards

4×6 Color Postcards – 250

5×7 Folded Delux Greeting Cards

The kids were filled with dread.

Eben had such a foul attitude leaving his friends playing on the street that I had to discipline him for what he was saying.

“Art show, music – WHY do we HAVE to go” they whined, feeding on each other’s negativity.

We got them dressed and out of the house, and went for a look through the Gallery Crawl in the North Davidson (NoDa) area of Charlotte which is  loosely  the ‘arts  district’.  We made it to the corner of 36th and Davidson to start our crawl at the Boulevard at NODA where My wife and Tia enjoyed browsing all the jewelry and gifts.  Eben and I wandered and waited for the Lark & Key to open their doors for the evening.  We really enjoyed the quality of work shown at the Lark & Key, here’s their info so you can stop by:

453-B East 36th Street | 704.379.1826 | Sandy Snead
www.larkandkey.com  |  www.larkandkey.wordpress.com

There seemed to be two loosly organized shows on the walls at the Lark, Eben & Tia gave their consideration to the emotional work by  Duy Huynh:

The contrast on that reproduction is a little higher than my memory, but the work is very contemplative even if it’s a little lonely or isolated.  The generously activated surfaces speak well of their studied application of color and development of form.  I enjoyed the unstated narrative of the pieces that quietly spoke of a sly, thoughtful wit.  You can see more of his work on his own website.  Eben & Tia appreciated the snacks which lifted their mood at the Lark (big thanks from the parents to the gallery!).

We then sauntered next door to visit the Green Rice Gallery opening of  ”NOSTALGIA”  Featuring New Works by Kate Vasseur.  I was looking forward to looking through as I was considering renting gallery space from them.  The opening was quiet, but we didn’t get a greeting which we felt was odd.  I enjoyed her treatments of a couple landscapes, but didn’t find a theme or strong  vein  to hold onto.  

Time’s up so we scooted back downtown to park in the Hearst Tower, and the kids began to get excited.

Upon walking out into the downtown streets among the skyscrapers, Eben’s face lit up with a giant grin.

Eben and Tia were captured by the excitement of being in the big city and entering the glass doors of the Bloomenthal Performing Arts Center.  We picked up our tickets from the will call booth and made our way down to our front row seats.  The North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center’s simple directions to the theater  were easy to follow even on my second time to downtown Charlotte.  Eben and Tia were caught up in the late night exploration of the glass atrium and didn’t mind being early while My wife and I people watched and joked with one eye on the kids snapping some pictures….

SCHUMANN PIANO CONCERTO was the headline for the Friday October 3rd  performance.  If you’ve never liked classical music because all you’ve ever heard of it is recordings – let me encourage you to spend $10 and go see a show IN PERSON!

Symphonies were written before recording equipment – they’re a complete 3D sound experience better than anything you’ll hear in your home theater!  Take a listen to the pieces we enjoyed:

Here are some details from the program notes

The Charlotte Symphony performance was a breath of fresh air on a Friday night.  In college I used to sit in the balcony during music student recitals and veg out to the experience.  Eben and Tia were just learning to listen to classical music and the two hour performance stretched their attention span – but was good for them non the less.  After the show we still had some silliness left in us.

Album Delivery by Neil

You’ll be just as excited and enthralled to open your album for the first time!

Order a Custom Design Series Album from our three sizes: 8 Series, 9 Series, and 13 Series

We also have an a-la-carte option that starts at $300 – and you build the album with only the photos you want by starting with an either an 8 inch cover, or an 11 inch cover.  Add each page of your album by selecting ‘album page’ from the photo page in your private gallery on the shopping cart.