‘BLUE’ Session (Bridgette Bardot as Inspiration)

With a little inspiration from classic beauty Bridgette Bardot and the haunting vibe of film noir…we began working on our next project and practicing up some on new lighting techniques and playing with new lens…  Think boudoir (but less ‘in your face.’)  Think classic, rich black and white images…  Think grain and texture.

Our goal with this series of images to capture  the ‘ordinary amazingness’ of women of the non-professional model variety and make them feel gorgeous, sexy and truly comfortable in their skin.  We will be officially launching our take on boudoir in February and plan to incorporate some of this style into our work and make it our own.

My fabulous friend Courtney volunteered to be our subject for this first session in the series and brought it on home with her ‘inner Bridgette.’ :-)

Are you A BlueSky Bride Contest!! And the Finalists are…..

We had such a great time reading through the entries and choosing our (2) finalists.  –It was a tough decision but there were two couples who really seemed the best ‘fit’ in terms of  the ‘fun and fabulousness’  that allowed them to be chosen.

Voting’ begins now and your may select the couple you would like to see win a FULL WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY COLLECTION (valued at $4200) in celebration of our anniversary on February 14!!…just leave a comment below with the # of the couple you are selecting!! Easy-breezy! (liking our Facebook page never hurt either..but does not actually count in the  voting:-)    Note-you may only vote 1 time per verifiable email address)

Without further Adieu meet our finalists!

 

Couple # 1: JESSICA & CHRIS!

Jessica and Chris are adventurous spirits and fellow dog lovers!  In addition to the wit behind their portrayal of their story….Jess has red hair! :-)  We loved that Chris is a ‘wedding crasher’, that they have not one..but 2 rescued dogs, and they are incorporating very personal elements into their wedding day!  All things BlueSky Couples are made of:-)

In their words:

-Chris is a teacher (AP World History and Civics) and a football coach at Lake Norman High School.  His students are very interested in his wedding plans have been known to Facebook stalk Jessica and once made her a “Happy Birthday” banner.

-Jessica is a Marketing Manager at Blumenthal Performing Arts and spends her days working on Broadway shows and frequently making jazz hands.

-They have two adorable dogs that they are absolutely obsessed with and refer to as “the girls.”  Lola and Nikko.  Both are rescues – Lola has been with Jessica for almost 8 years and Nikko for 2.  They upload an obscene amount of cute photos of them to Instagram like it’s their job.

-Chris is originally from Indianapolis, Indiana.  His father was the first patient to receive a drug trial for testicular cancer – he went from having almost no chance of survival to miraculously recovering.  This drug is now used to treat and cure almost 75% of patients with the disease.  His father has met Lance Armstrong and got to carry the Olympic torch in 2000.  After he was cured of cancer he and his wife Judy couldn’t wait to have kids – Christopher Blaine Cleland was their first child and was named after two friends who helped his father through the treatments.  (this is obviously Jessica’s FAVORITE Cleland Family story – if you’re ready for a tear-jerker, read this: http://www.friends4cures.org/cure_mag_article.shtml )

 

The Big Day

We’ve decided to be married on December 8th, 2012 – just before the apocalypse.  We’re getting married at Homewood in Asheville , NC.  We fell in love with the venue, which was built in 1928 and has TONS of charm.  It also looks like a castle and who wouldn’t love that?  Their good friend John (the reason Chris moved to Charlotte) has been ordained online and will be officiating the wedding.  Jessica’s dad builds and restores custom hot-rods, so they’re getaway car will be his 1934 Ford Sedan that he’s feverishly working on to finish building for the big day.

 

COUPLE # 2: TAYLOR & ADAM!

Taylor and Adam…high school sweethearts. (whose parents have both been happily  married for over 25 years!) Just plain old sweet as can be!  We loved their sense of appreciation for just how lucky they are to have found each other.  (and they ‘get’ our story-telling style!) We loved their wedding party is made up of folks that have known them through their entire journey!

 

In their words:

 

 

Only Fools Rush In…

We started dating when we were 14 years old and 9 years later here we are!  I now wear the ring Adam designed which includes diamonds from my parents’ engagement ring.  Both of our parents have been married for over 25 years so we understand and appreciate the true meaning of love and family.

To say I am a lucky girl is an understatement- I get to marry my high school sweetheart and I could not ask for more!
Why do you match us?  Your style tells a story and we have such a story to tell!
We have 16 people in the wedding party who have known us since the beginning of “us”, twin flower girls and a ring bearer. We will have a traditional church wedding with lots of non-traditional elements. The reception will be at Revolution Mills (Greensboro NC).

We love these 2 couples!!  Now….LET THE VOTING BEGIN!!!

The Charlotte, NC Bridal Showcase! (A timelapse video from BlueSky Studios)

Want to see what actually goes into setting up/meeting & greeting/booth take-down at a bridal show?? Well check out our 3 minute time lapse video from this past past weekends Charlotte Bridal Showcase held at the convention center! Note: You may want to pay special attention to the following:

1.) Which of us is most ‘camera-aware?’ (Hint: STEPHEN!!!)

2.) Which of us files her nails, reads Carolina Bride and lounges on a sofa during take-down (ooops..forgot about that dang camera!)

3.) Watch for the fashion show in the background…it makes me lol at this speed…

Let us know if this makes you laugh half as much as it did us!!!

PS-Super big thanks to Stephen (my shooting partner extraordinaire!), his lovely wife Lisa Wilfong, my good friend, Sandy Mares, and my fiance’ (I still can’t get used to that word!) Brian Bradley for all of their help with the show.

Engaged! Joannna & Tyler (Dairy Barn Engagement Session)

The Story:

Joanna & Tyler love the mountains. The are laid-back, down-to-Earth and in a word…gorgeous. (both inside and out)

On a weekend get-a-way to Blowing Rock, NC,  Tyler gave Joanna the sweetest little gift. A small leather bound album filled with images of the wonderful memories they had made over the years.

Joanna flipped the pages as Tyler spoke of the various events they had experienced with one another and how much they all meant… at the end of the album was a little surprise. ‘Joanna…will you marry me?’ ….and, of course…she said ‘yes.’

Its my BDAY! (Its my ‘party’ I’ll collect coats if I want to: A 40 Random Acts of Kindness Update…)

Happy Birthday day to me. …thus far spent:

  • sleeping in late (after staying up way too late thinking of all of the awesome re-branding we are working on at BlueSky…:-)
  • having copious amount of coffee
  • reading all of the facebok bday wishes posted from friends from all ‘stages’ of my life
  • receiving an awesome bday watch from BB
  • having lunch with one of my favorite girls, Sandra Lynn Mares…

All and all, its been an awesome day and I am very much looking forward to spending the evening celebrating quietly with a few awesome friends who decided to gather with me for dinner.

A quick update on the ’40 Acts of Kindness’:  I have been trekking along with my fun little bday gift to myself involving Random Acts of Kindness (Mentioned here and updated here..)   I will do a full post once all 40 have been completed.  However, I did want to mention one that is really special to me.

Last week several of our client/friends joined in an collected/donated warm, winter coats to be sent to 2 efforts to assist those in need:  Crisis Assistance Ministries here in CLT as well as sending children’s coats to a group in Philadelphia, PA.  (thank you Sarah Bardo for making us aware of those in need!)  Thank you all for yoru help and making my bday special.

Special thanks to both Patty Green and  Martina Patrick who collected amongst their groups of friends and brought bags full to donate! (iphone alert..)   Thank you…thank you…thank you!

Martina (you may remember her from our Mother’s Day image Contest:-)  also gave me a very special gift…a beautiful small box she suggested I fill with small slips of paper with the 40 acts (and perhaps the acts others have listed on the blog as well..)  printed on them.  Wow.  super thoughtful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Isn’t it pretty??  (it is so going on the shelf in the studio;-)

 

 

Thank you all again for helping make my bday awesome by performing your own Random Acts of Kindness!  (And I LOVE the ones you all have posted..keep em’ coming!)

Now its off to spoil myself just a little…mani/pedi anyone??

 

xo

M o r e   i n f o