Traci Arney Photography

Treyci and Brandon were best friends for fourteen years before they finally realized they were meant to be together. Actually, Brandon loved Treyci from the very start but sometimes we have to wait for it. Their life is centered around faith, a touch of chaos, and a great sense of humor. They are playful, kind, and boisterously happy. To put it plainly, they are a joy to be around. I love this couple.

Oftentimes when we are driving back from a wedding, {Marissa} and I will discuss how the wedding made us feel and not just how we did (although we do tend to obsess over that particular point). What was the highlight? What made us cry? What made us laugh? What was the hardest part? Coming back from Treyci and Brandon’s wedding, we said, almost at the same time, “I want to be adopted by these people!” There was not one ounce of family drama. Just a sincere joy for the couple, acceptance of one another’s families, and a lot of laughter. Treyci and I are already dear friends. Brandon, you’ve got to share her…just accept it.

Ring on Blue shot by Marissa.

Treyci’s dad gave Brandon this beautiful pocket watch that has been handed down for generations.

Each guest received an acorn pin, a reminder that love has humble beginnings and must be tended.

Shot on top right by Marissa

My favorite moment in a wedding is when the couple sees one another for the first time. Every bride wants to be looked at the way Brandon looked at Treyci – with longing, joy, and complete serenity.

Shot by Marissa

Both shot by Marissa

Whenever possible, allow a photographer to hide up front during the ceremony. There are private moments-a touch, wink, or a gaze-that are invisible from the back of the church. I’m so glad Marissa captured these.

There were many acts of love throughout this ceremony but the one that was most important was serving Communion. Just after they were announced husband and wife, even before the kiss, Treyci and Brandon committed their marriage to be an act of service.

Shots on left by Marissa

Brandon’s twin brother crying during his speech to the happy couple.  I must admit, I cried a little myself.

Chest hair ² + Limelight = Awesome!

Shot on left by MarissaCongrats to the happy couple!!!

Before they headed to {Asheville’s} {Biltmore Estate} on their honeymoon, friends and family gave a benediction. I’ve never seen this at a wedding before. Considering the couple’s commitment to faith and service, it was a perfect ending to a heartfelt day.

Many thanks to {Marissa} for acting as my second and getting such beautiful shots!  And {Twigs Tempietto} in{Greensville, SC} did a stellar job handling everything from the venue to the food.  You were marvelous to work with!

You may remember that I recently got the heart-jolting news that Mona and John's wedding was {published} in {Weddings Unveiled Magazine}.  I was lucky enough to be acting as {Abigail Seymour's} second on that beautiful September day and today would be perfect to share a few of my personal favorites.  For more images, be sure to head over to {Abigail's post}.

This wedding was all about family. Mona's dress was made by her mother.  John's children begged that the celebration not stop at the originally planned departure time.  There were so many little touches that embraced this feeling of family.  One of the more original (and my personal favorites) was the music for the event.  There was such a wide variety playing that I questioned Mona about their very broad taste.  She told me a little tidbit I'm going to encourage every bride to do from now on.  They asked family and friend to submit their 5 favorite songs - all of those personal favs became the playlist for a perfect evening of dining, dancing, and just a little bit of cavorting.

A special word of thanks to all the amazing vendors - they are a perfect storm of awesomeness...

• Dress:  {Mona's Sweet Mom}
• Ceremony and Reception:  {Claxton Farm}
• Event Coordination:  {Weddings with Tara}
• Photography:  {Abigail Seymour), seconded by {me}!
• Flowers:  {The Bloom Room}
• Vintage Props and Details: {The Darling Bee}
• Make-Up:  {Wendy Balance}

I'll never be sure how the past year has passed so quickly.  That Baby, once only a 9 lb, 11 oz. little sweetling, has now blossomed to a 22 lb mass of energy, laughter, and bull-headed sweetness.  He is the absolute light of The Boy's eye and when The and That are in a room together, it is a cacophony of giggles, belly laughs and squeals of delight.  (This is far-and-away my favorite sound...)  Adam and I, though still sleep sleep deprived, are so happy in our unexpectedly blossomed life.

So far, here are a few lovely little details of life with That Baby:

• He wakes up at 7:15 sharp every morning.
• He has been officially declared "stubborn" by his doctor.
• When he has bed head, he looks like a little dandelion puff.
• His favorite thing in the world is his big brother.
• He LOVES yogurt, okra, peaches, and beets and bananas but could care less about potatoes.
• He still hasn't said a word yet but has the imperial wave and regal point down pat.
• He adores the grocery store and hates the car.
• He fake coughs for attention.
• He like it best when I sing Sam Cooke to him.

We had a small birthday party for Thatch at my Momma and Daddy's house with just close family.  Momma and my sis, Jennifer, made the cake.  Thatch (and Jobe) had a great time destroying it.  While it was messy work, it was perfect photographic fodder followed by a long bath (several changes of water were required...)

Welcome to day two of Jen and Jeff's oh-so-beautiful wedding.  If you missed yesterday's coverage of the ceremony at Old Salem, be sure to {take a look} - it is not to be missed!  When we walked into the Millennium Center, my heart skipped a beat.  This is lighting done right and I knew it was going to photograph beautifully and it did.  Then as we began photographing the special details, we realized that the heart and personality from the ceremony was going to be just as much a force here.  Everything about this event screams, "Welcome! Enjoy! Party hard!  We love you all!"

Can we just talk about this cake for a minute?  As a wedding photographer, I see A LOT of cakes.  I have a fascination with them actually because the cake, more than almost anything else, tells so much about the couple.  But THIS cake took that to a new level.  From top to bottom, this cake has the story of Jeff and Jenny literally written all over it.  It was elegant, beautiful, funny, and charming all rolled up in fondant and icing.  Dear {Ketchie Creek Bakery}, you guys did an phenomenal job!!!

The backdrop for Jenny and Jeff's beautiful fall wedding was a photographer's dream!  Think fall leaves, orange hues, pumpkin centerpieces and extravagant, historic locations.  The ceremony took place at {Old Salem}, a beautiful Moravian living history village in {Winston-Salem, NC}.  Communal buildings, shops, churches and houses showcase what the Moravian settlement was like during the 18th and 19th centuries.  I've been to Old Salem on several occasions for school trips, afternoon wanderings, and for dinner at the {Old Salem Tavern} (go eat there now - its amazing!) but I have never had the honor of shooting a wedding there.   We had fall leaves, cobbled streets, perfect light, and a crazy-in-love couple to work with.  The results are simply magical.

There was so much about this wedding to love.  Jeff and Jen, along with wedding coordinator, Ashley, we able to create an event that was as much about family and friends as it was about the couple.  It was a thoughtful, heartfelt, passionate celebration that turned into a raucous nightclub style party by the end.  With too many beautiful images from the wedding, I'm doing this post as a two-parter.  Enjoy and come back for Part II!

I also want to extend a huge thanks to all of my fellow vendors. You guys made a beautiful day perfect!

• Ceremony Venue: {Old Salem Museum and Gardens}
• Reception Venue: {The Millenium Center}
• Event Planner: {Something You Weddings and Events}
• String Quartet:  Natalie Parker
• Florist:  {Clines Florist}
• Horse and Carriage:  {Heritage Carriage}
• DJ:  {Friendly Neighborhood DJ}
• Wedding Cake:  {Ketchie Creek Bakery and Cafe}
• Catering:  {The Painted Plate}
• Entertainers: {The Clef Hangers}

I was lucky enough to have {Marissa} as my second and she and the guys began the day at the Tavern Woodshed and Tavern Green.  She got some fantastic shots of the guys that really exemplified the playfulness of this group.

 The girls got ready at The Millennium Center in downtown Winston-Salem.  It is a stunning venue complete with a beauty shop for the girls!  And just wait until you see how its decorated for the reception!!!

This is one of those little details that brought tears to my eyes. Jenny stitched "ILYD" on her dad, Mike's tie. I love my daddy too - wish I had thought of such a charming and thoughtful touch...

Here are just a few of the yum details from Old Salem and the ceremony on Tavern Green.

There were two very special forms of transport at Jeff and Jenny's wedding - school bus and horse and carriage.  I love the personal and charming connection between school bus and Jenny's career as a teacher.

Putting your pet in the ceremony?  Yes, please!  I love the way it looks, how it tells me that the couple is playful and doesn't take themselves too seriously.  Plus, look, Jolly's wearing a bow tie!!!!

Instead of doing a unity candle, Jeff and Jen opted for a unity plant.  This type of individual and unique touch really exemplifies this couple.

We decided to forgo the majority of the formals until the reception and spend some time doing the romance session while we still had the light.  I am so glad we did!  We got loads of sweet images...

Marissa and I shot basically the same shot at the same time with two very different lenses.  I love them both.

I wanted to do a portrait of Jeff and Jen in keeping with their ceremony location.  Thus the deep sepia and the heavy grain that was so indicative of many images from the late 1800's.

Don't forget to head back here for part two.  Like us on Facebook so you can keep track of all the goings-on as well as upcoming sneak peaks!

"What you do at New Year's, you will do all year." If that's true, then I'll be awash in love, laughing a ridiculous amount, witnessing serious silliness, and flatfoot dancing - not a bad way to spend a year.

This New Year's Eve truly was a night of new beginnings. Jeff and Katie began their married life in Katie's childhood church in Spencer, VA, followed by their rockin' reception at Martinsville's Chatmoss Country Club. At every turn, I was struck with the ease and simple joy that this couple, their family and friends just oozed. Many thanks to my second photographer, {Jamie Lynn}, for capturing so many beautiful images and keeping me company on the drive. And a big thanks to all my fellow vendors for putting together such a beautiful party.

• Hair and Makeup: {Creative Hair Designs}
• Wedding Dress: {Vera Wang White}
• Ceremony: {Old Well Christian Church}, Pastor: {Ron Hennis}
• Reception: {Chatmoss Country Club}
• DJ: {ME Entertainment}
• Table Scapes Designer: {Sue Smith}

Enjoy! (We certainly did!) Congrats to the new Mr. and Mrs. Spaugh!

{Wanna see the rest of this yummy wedding??? Check it out here.}

It is always such a heart-palpitating experience to find out your work has been published and this weekend I got just such a thrill!  {Weddings Unveiled} featured John and Mona's charming, romantic wedding at {Claxton Farm}.   The wedding was elegantly styled by {Weddings with Tara}, with all the beautiful touched provided by {The Darling Bee}.  Photography by {Abigail Seymour} (and me!!!).

I was going to write my own post about the {Graylyn} Event hosted and designed by {Rebecca Rose Events} but after I read Becca's post, I knew there was absolutely no need.  Perfection...  Many thanks to Becca and Amy for putting together such a beautiful event.  I was honored to photograph all the lovely details and meet so many wonderful brides.

Please enjoy!

When Lindsey first contacted me about shooting her wedding, I had no idea what I was in store for.  She and Phil were gonna do this thing themselves and did they ever do it right.  Lindsey wants to be a wedding planner and based on what she was able to do, I’d say she is well on her way.  Phil, currently enrolled in culinary school, is dreaming of opening a restaurant or even better, a food truck in Greensboro, NC.  Honestly, I would be a little more than staggered to try to cook for a wedding but to cook for YOUR OWN wedding???  Phil handled this Herculean task with the calm, cool and collect of a military man.  I also got an excellent lesson in the right way to chop an onion. For the record, I’ve been doing it wrong.  I adore the idea and since he cooked everything at the wedding, I got to taste his fantastic traditional mexican fare.  Seriously, he’d better get this food truck off the ground because the food was phenomenal!  Phil, Greensboro needs you!

Lindsey chose Hodgin Valley Farm as the setting for their darling ceremony and since I grew up on a small farm in Rockwell, NC  I felt right at home.  I love all the beautiful little details that add such depth to story of their wedding.  

To see the entire album of images, please go to their online gallery and sign in!  My heartiest congratulations to the happy couple!

Now this is where I would normally list a long line of vendors to thank.  In this case, though, it might sound somewhat repetitive!

• Venue:  Hodgin Valley Farm, Climax, NC
• Photographer:  Traci Arney Photography
• Assistant Photographer:  Marissa Kaplan
• Hair:  Brynn Corbett
• Make-up:  Xavier Velasquez
• Catering:  Philip Flores
• Wedding Planner: Lindsey Flores
• Wedding Cake:  Lindsey Flores
• Florist:  Lindsey Flores

Today The Boy found a wasp's nest in his tree house.  The ensuing family activity included Adam and Jobe capturing the beast and Jobe and I photographing it.  The only way I can ever get this close to one of my oldest fears is for it to be bound in the safety of its glass prison but from this vantage point, I totally see its beauty. Tomorrow, it'll be free and I am glad to have experienced it if only through the partition...