Sew on patches, to all you tear...

Amazing. 

It's supposed to be a "job". You're commissioned to work for a client, to deliver to them a service. You invest your time, your mind, your all to this one day.... and it doesn't FEEL like work. 

It feels amazing. 

It's as if I feel the need to pinch myself because I was the one chosen out of any number of people to be responsible for capturing the most important day of their lives thus far... it's insane, really. 

Insanely amazing.

I feel so lucky to have been able to capture these moments in time for Ali + Joseph. Congratulations on a beautiful wedding and a happy marriage!

(PS I wish I had video of Ali breaking into song during the prep time, she has an INCREDIBLE voice. This was the song she wanted to sing to Joseph. You should totally play this in the background while scrolling through!)

Early that morning, I headed into Wilmington to the Hilton to meet up with Ali + her girls as they got ready. Three words can sum up the next few hours of photos: sisters, happiness, anticipation!

(Raise your hand if you find it a little unfair that our bride looks like this BEFORE she has her hair and makeup done. Just sayin')

This was a gift given to Ali by her Maid of Honor, Summer. So incredibly beautiful and thoughtful. Because Ali's father is no longer with her, Summer had this anklet made for her so that he could walk Ali down the aisle on her wedding day.

Kala Owens of  Bent Tree Hair Salon in Clayton, NC is a friend of Ali's and she did such a great job with all of the girls' hair and makeup. Ali's word of the day was "ethereal" and I think Kala went above and beyond in creating that look for her.

I adore the shoes by Nina Shoes! They are gorgeous!

I'm going to pause for a second and point out the obvious here:

Does anyone else see the resemblance between Mrs. Bagwell and Ms. Felicity Shagwell (Heather Graham)???

Okay, back from my momentary distraction. 

Elephant in the room is now out in the open ;)

Lashes for miles. I mean really....unbelievably beautiful!

While I was having a blast with the girls all morning, Thor was acting as my 2nd shooter and spent his morning hanging out with the boys. He did such an amazing job. I really love working with him! It's nice to be able to work with someone you trust completely.

Doesn't he look so happy? Love this one!

Family shots always kill me... love this one too!

And before we knew it, all the time on our prep-stage clock had run down and it was time for those BIG moments!

Can't you just tell by the way they're looking at each other that there's nowhere else in the world that they would have rather been? They've found their match. It's so obvious...

(And I'm sorry, but this Father-Daughter shot deserves a close-up!)

Possibly my favorite shot of the day. I love the way her hand lies on his chest. The clarity of her ring. The curl of hair on her shoulder. The hint of their faces smiling at each other just out of frame.The graphic print of his tie and pocket square. Seriously, LOVE this.

STAY TUNED FOR THEIR AWESOME RECEPTION SHOTS in the next blog post update!