Hard to believe it’s the fall already…which means the holidays are quickly coming around again and I’m going to have some incredible holiday card templates this year. Here’s all the details for my fall portraits promotion that I’ll be running. Please email or call right away to set up your appointment. The slots will be VERY, very limited due to my schedule.
Thanks so much!
Well really a makeover – I’m super excited to launch my new logo today! Up until now I’ve always designed my own logos, something I’ve struggled with and never really thought they truly “fit” me. Well, I finally had a few designers work on one for me, had a whole bunch of fun designs to review over the past day or so and I finally have it. So I’ve spent the past day updating my website, blog, etc. etc. So…here it is, do you love it?! I hope so.
The little symbol…that’s my new watermark which will pretty much appear everywhere on my blog now on my images, so you’ll be seeing a lot of it 
1 comment
This Saturday I was in Charlotte for Laddy & Craig’s wedding and I truly consider it a tremendous honor to be a part of this incredible event. I’ve know Laddy for a while now as she’s actually a photographer as well This is going to be another long post as their wedding was full of custom and tradition as it was a Laotian wedding, a first for me, but something I really embraced and enjoyed. And I just loved that I got to travel, definitely something I look forward to doing more.
First we start with not one, not two but three gorgeous pairs of shoes for this amazing bride. After all she did change three times…
Of course there is a lot that I’m omitting here as it was a long day filled with a lot of details, photographs, prelude and ceremony. We then moved on to the ceremony.
The tying of the strings was to give them well wishes, it was very moving for me to see…
The absolutely wonderful, new couple…
Shortly after this, Laddy changed into her 2nd Laotian dress, she and Craig then had their first “traditional Laotian hand dance”…
One more photo of the amazing cake, especially for you Laddy
Finally, Laddy changed into a “traditional American” wedding dress and they had a “traditional” first dance as well (which was absolutely beautiful).
I loved her hands sitting so peacefully in her lap as she was getting her hair re-done for her 3rd change of clothes. Especially with all the “well wishes” tied around her wrists as well.
Laddy & Craig, thank you so much for allowing me into your lives. I hope you have the most amazing time in Hawaii…A hui hou kakou, Mahalo!
no comments
I’ve decided next week I need to close the office. I’ll try to keep up with emails but I’m not going to do anything photography related (although all appointments will still happen and I’m happy to have consultations & final meetings with my current couples). I’m hoping that everyone that is patiently waiting on work from me can understand the need for a break – I’ve had a very long summer and I’m ramping up for another 10 weddings between October 1-November 7. I’m hoping to organize my closets, maybe get a massage, and take a few naps…
But something awesome I did today was get a dry erase board and write out the weddings that have work outstanding and everything it takes to get a wedding out the door from my side of things…it was a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders and I just have to share this!
Thanks everyone! I really appreciate your support, understanding…and your goodness!
no comments
So after Jennifer’s bridal I decided to treat myself to something yummy. It was a gorgeous day and I wasn’t in a huge rush (for once). So I walked on Franklin St. just for a bit and stumbled upon Chill Bubble Tea. I decided, why not?! I’ve always wanted to try it, so I went in. They had lots of different options and you don’t have to get the tapioca pearls (but I did). I got the pineapple which was super yummy and I have to admit, the tapioca took some getting used to but it was pretty good – I’d definitely get it again but probably ask for a little less next time.
no comments
no comments
On Monday evening I met Allie & Joe at the American Tobacco Campus in downtown Durham for their engagement session. I’m super excited about their November wedding as it will be at the very cool Bay 7 in the American Tobacco Campus which will be VERY fun.
Allie and Joe are great, fun, just awesome to hang out with. I hadn’t met Joe before and I’m glad I broke the, well, let’s just say, not the best impression of photographers he had 
no comments
Now here’s your chance! We actually have two pretty big events this week at our building:
Wednesday, September 17 from 6-8pm
Opening of the Jacob Lawrence exhibition “The Migration Series Revisited”
Friday, September 19 from 6-9pm
Third Friday from 6-9pm
(I’ll probably be there until 8pm)
held every 3rd Friday of the month – a fun evening of music, etc. – the artists open their doors,
just a great way to see everyone!
no comments
This afternoon Kristen, Stewart and I got together on UNC’s campus for their engagement session. The lighting was PERFECT and it even cooled off just a smidge to reasonably tolerable. I haven’t seen either one of them in a long time so it was great to reconnect with them and I’m super excited about their wedding in November at the Highgrove.
3 comments
So last weekend we went to Meadowmont Pool in Chapel Hill and I realized we had our stuff next to a family with a very similar last name as the family I was supposed to photograph today (they had one of those tote bags with their names on it). This morning I was going over everything and I realized I think it was them, sure enough, I asked and it was! And they even remembered I had a pretty good looking sandwich from Cafe Carolina for lunch that day. It’s a small world (which is a reminder I should not go out in a baseball hat)
But I digress, I had a fantastic time with mom, dad and the adorable two boys this morning. They told me they were not fans of “posey posey” type pictures and well, that’s even better for me as that’s very much not my style. So we just walked around UNC’s campus this morning, eventually made our way around to the Arboreteum and just generally chatted. I can’t thank you all enough, you put a smile on my face and made my morning!
I LOVE when moms & dads still want some photos of them alone. And they always reminescence about their weddings….
no comments
I had the incredible pleasure & honor of being a part of Meredith & Daniel’s wedding yesterday beginning at the beautiful Washington Duke Inn and then continuing on at the Doris Duke Center at Duke Gardens. Meredith & Daniel are absolutely a blast to be around. They have the most incredible chemistry together and I knew their wedding would be memorable and gorgeous.
I arrived a little early to hopefully catch Meredith before she got dressed and luckily for me, she wasn’t dressed just yet so I was able to get some beautiful shots of her dress and shoes.
And the absolutely breathtaking Meredith…(who was the most sensible bride I know and selected a gown with POCKETS!!!)
The initial plan was that I was going to spend a little over an hour alone with Meredith & Daniel walking from the Washington Duke to the gardens and have a nice, relaxing portrait session (this was their idea and I LOVED it) – alas, due to the extreme heat and humidity, we just drove over to the gardens and instead walked around. We still got to spend about an hour together and (in my opinion) got some amazing photos of the two of them. What I really loved is that I really did absolutely very little posing. Both of these are completely their own doing…
Meredith & Daniel decided to have lots of special “little people” in their wedding (and a maid-of-honor & best man). I cannot tell you what a smile this brought to my face when I was editing last night…(note they are wearing little Crocs too)
And I loved that both sets of parents escorted both Daniel & Meredith down the aisle…
And now we dance…
And of course, the details…the other amazing people I got to work with yesterday included Cori Stocum with Stocum Consulting, the gorgeous flowers by Tre Bella, cakes by Fosters Market and Guglhupf Bakery catering by Durham Catering Company and music by John Brown.
Meredith & Daniel, you know I absolutely adore you guys and it saddens me knowing you live so far away. I’m happy to send you all the cookies you want whenever you need them. I hope you have an absolutely dreamy honeymoon and the best life ever!
no comments
Effective immediately, I’ve restructured all of my wedding collections & prices for 2009. All of these can be viewed in the “Investment” section of the website or emailing me for pricing and availability. Again, I will NOT be taking as many weddings in 2009 as I have taken in 2008 (so don’t wait)
And, as a reminder – as much as I would love to hold or reserve dates – I just can’t. It really is a first come, first serve basis. To secure your date, you must have a signed contract & retainer paid.
Thanks!
no comments
Lindsey & Vikas’ wedding was two-days of intense shooting for me over the Labor Day weekend and it was absolutely amazing. We were at three different venues – starting with the engagement ceremony and reception at the Durham Arts Council. Then on Sunday morning several smaller ceremonies were held before the main “wedding” ceremony at the Durham Marriott. Finally, a traditional Western reception took place at the Doris Duke Center at Duke Gardens. It was truly incredible to be a part of this and I can’t thank Lindsey & Vikas enough and a very heartfelt thank you as well to both of their families – everyone was so kind and gracious to me.
Now realize, I shot for about 17 hours over the two days, so this is a much longer post than normal and when I first starting tagging images to blog I had way more than even this
(just a side note — looks like to see this whole post, at some point you need to click “continue viewing – PLEASE DO….you have to see the WHOLE thing”!)
The weekend started out with the family henna which was open for all family & guests – Lindsey’s henna was amazing!
After the henna, we proceeded to the engagement ceremony. I should say, almost none of the ceremonies the entire weekend were in English. But really, that isn’t a problem for me. Lindsey’s family did an excellent job preparing me for what was going to happen (this also wasn’t my first Indian wedding either). Additionally, I don’t really need to understand what’s going…part of why I love what I do is just feeling the emotion and sensing everything around me, you get very caught up in it and words become very unnecessary.
After the ceremony, we had a reception, full of fabulous food and fantastic dancing. There were several different types of dancers & musicians that came in to perform…it was just amazing to document and watch!
Sunday morning started bright and early with our first ceremony with Vikas. My general (and please forgive my only cursory knowledge) understanding was that Vikas was now having second thoughts of marrying Lindsey and now it was up to Lindsey’s brother-in-law to convince him otherwise (this is my very brief recap, there was much more to this).
Then we saw Lindsey, who truly looked like a goddess. Her ceremony was very moving and many tears were shed by her family…
We now moved on to the “main” ceremony which lasted about two hours. It was an incredible ceremony. Lindsey & Vikas could not see each other until they were married, they were separated by a “curtain” during the first part of the ceremony.
Vikas is instructed to hold out his hands to take Lindsey’s…
And Lindsey places her hands into his (and the coconut is symbolic of fertility)…
Shortly after that they were married and the curtain came down. Their family was then invited onto the mandap to throw rice as part of well-wishes (and I so much love this shot)!
And then Lindsey & Vikas take turns playfully throwing rice, flowers & jewels on each other as well (I might even love this shot more)!
Of course there was much more to the ceremony after that…but now we’ll shift to the Western reception at Duke Gardens. It was absolutely beautiful. When I was driving over I was hearing thunder and thinking just please hold off for a while and fortunately, the rain held for us until we were inside (we never did get really bad rain that night). The gardens were absolutely lush & green and everything looked beautiful and just made for a gorgeous backdrop for this breathtaking evening.
Lindsey, she just looks beautiful…
Click to continue reading “{Lindsey + Vikas} Wedding – Duke Gardens”
3 comments
My apologies for being so quiet this week, it’s been a crazy week here as I’m really trying to make progress with the backlog of weddings I’m trying to get edited and out the door to my wonderful couples. And as a teaser, I shot the most amazing two-day wedding over the Labor Day weekend, I feel terrible that I haven’t blogged it yet – but I can’t wait to show all of you…it was UNBELIEVABLE!
So…on to some updates (I figured we are all going to be stuck inside with Hannah this weekend so it’s a good idea to post some updates now):
~ BRIDAL SHOW OPEN HOUSE – this Tuesday, September 9 from 6:00-8:00pm at the studio. We’ll have some yummy treats, lets chat about your wedding…and we are having some fantastic specials right now for those that book before October 15.
~ OPTIONAL PICK-UP FOR PRINT & PRODUCT ORDERS! Now that the studio is open, you have the option when checking out to check “pick-up” and the shipping charges are waived so no more shipping fees! I’ll let you know when your prints are ready and we’ll just arrange a time to come in and pick them up.
~ FALL PORTRAIT PROMO IS BACK! Our 3rd year in a row and we’ll be having it again. I usually do this over a few weekends in October and unfortunately this year I’m going to have to push this into November because I have 6 weddings in October (yes, 6 to those who are counting). I haven’t decided the exact dates or details but if you want details – just send me an email to robin@robinlin.com and I’ll add you to the list when it goes out).
and lastly……….
~ WRAP YOURSELF UP FOR THE HOLIDAYS! My first “Oooh La La” marathon. This will also be in November…I’ll be having it at a local hotel…talk about a great gift for the holidays for the special someone in your life….email me for details (robin@robinlin.com).
Have a great weekend everyone!
no comments
no comments