been a while

since I last posted b/c I am a little bit backed up right now but slowly & surely I am catching up. (Whew... or so I hope:) Well, here they are... the ZAWTOCKI family... it was all smiles for this FUN family last sunday in freedom park. It as a beautiful day & I was having so much fun shooting them. Too much fun, really. I took so many pictures that my CF card ran out & I ran all the way across the park to get another one b/c I just couldn't stop! I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them...

a very big surprise...

last weekend was amazing! This was my last hoorah with Sharon (Smitten Photography) before she has her baby so I was super excited to learn & work with her one last time. When I first got there she told me that she had a surprise for me that would be arriving in about 30 minutes. Huh? Who could it be? Chris.. no, he was home with the kids. No clue. About one hour later the mother of the bride pulls up to the church with rollers in her hair (no lie) & out of the back seat pops the bride & who else??? MY BFF FROM HOME (Charleston)!!! I was freaking out!!! I have not seen Allison in FOREVER since she took a new job in Hotlanta as the Young Life area director (you go girl!). She grew up in Concord, NC & I had always heard about her BFF from high school, Stacey, but had never even met her. This bride was none other than the infamous Stacey herself with Allison by her side as her maid of honor! What an aweseome day & what an AWESOME wedding.. I think these pictures speak for themselves & tell the story of those two lovebirds.. they are precious! Be sure to click down below for a full slideshow... enjoy my BFF & her BFF & her beautiful wedding.....ha ha!

CLICK BELOW TO VIEW A FULL SLIDESHOW....

http://gallery.me.com/hopebray#100066

bursting with personality

is the best way to describe Mary Helen. WOW! This girl was AWESOME!!! MH is going to be a leader for sure when she grows up  - nothing is stopping her, & I mean nothing! I picked up MH to place her in the grass for my first shot & walked away. When I turned around all I could see was dust... and she's off...:) She had a crawl that resembled a crab or a spider but was as fast as a roadrunner. This kid has spunk!! I LOVED HER! Lookout world.. here comes MARY HELEN....:)

homerun

is what I feel like I hit when I shot this wedding...

Sharon (smitten photography) let me come along w/ her once again as a second shooter & boy was it fun!!! Everything was perfect... the bride had arranged a surprise "first look" private moment with her fireman future husband before the ceremony & he had no idea!!! I can't think of anything that would make better pictures... they really were precious together. After the ceremony, Chris took his bride out in his firetruck for a ride around the block. It was SOOO cool!! Click on the link at the bottom for a full slideshow.. enjoy! 

Click below to view the full slideshow....

http://gallery.me.com/hopebray#100040

have you ever....

seen a little boy so cute in your life???? I was really excited about this photo shoot because I had heard so many wonderful things about Lauren & her son, Jack. Boy were they true! Jack was as cute as a button & Lauren was so much fun to work with! If Ellison will let me set her up when she is older (a LOT older) then Jack will be at the top of my list:) 

new families

I absolutely LOVE getting referrals. I did not know that meeting so many different people would be so much fun when I started this business! I think that is one of my favorite things about this job now. I met this precious family through a referral & spent one Saturday morning with them. These pictures of their family really make me smile:).......