This is our fourth time doing this type of post, and this might have been our best year yet! Click below to see some of our best memories of 2019!
Personal
Our favorite photo of 2019
This had to be it. This image won second place in Belle Lumiere’s summer image competition and we couldn’t be more proud of it! The fact that it features our sweet friend, Muriel, is the icing on top of the cake!
Radhika’s favorite images of Ian
Taken in Savannah on film, I love how this image has Ian in his dumb white hat 🙂These two are just quintessential Ian and Everest. I often joke about how much it annoys me that Everest loves Ian sooooo much, but I secretly think it’s adorable.I took this image in Wilmington. Ian drove after work to meet me there for the Return to Beauty workshop with Yan Palmer because he’s amazing.This is one of my all-time favorite images ever. Taken when having fun with the last few photos on a roll in Everest’s room at bedtime, I wasn’t expecting anything amazing to come out, but loved this candid moment of Ian and Evs playing together.
Ian’s favorite images of Radhika
I love this double exposure I caught of her babywearing Evs, one of her favorite things to do.This image that our friend Lauren took at our branding session from earlier this year is so very Radhika!Yan took these images at the Return to Beauty workshop in Wilmington. I love them both.People say he looks like me, but then you see photos like this…
Best travels
We were lucky to be able to travel so much this year, but we actually started this year with a fun trip! We loved going to Turks and Caicos with close family friends and taking Evs out of the country for the first time.We also got to go to Savannah for our anniversary this summer! While this was supposed to be a 30th birthday present to me, I got mono in April 🤢 We turned it into an anniversary trip instead, left Evs at home with his Nana for the first time, and had so much fun!
We loved how this image came out, even though it was somewhat of a mistake! Amy and Thomas’s whole anniversary session was a stunner, but this perfectly imperfect image stole our hearts. See part 2 of this category later in this post!
Best wedding gift
By now, you’ve probably heard the story of how Daniel surprised Victoria at their wedding by gifting her the vintage ring she fell in love with when they first started dating.
Best ceremony location
Carrie and Catherine got married on the rooftop of the Durham Hotel in downtown Durham! It was a lovely summer day!
Best portrait location
Last minute on their wedding day, Liz and Trey decided to do portraits on Boylan Bridge and we are SO glad. The light was amazing!
Coolest Couple
Emily and Burke whipped these shades out during portraits on their day, making them our coolest couple of the year 🙂
Best hot weather troopers
Muneeb and Allinah had their reception on one of the hottest days of the summer — can you even tell?
Best rainy session
Speaking of “bad weather,” we loved how this session turned out with Katherine and Colby. It ended up raining, but we are SO glad because we had been wanting to do a session in the rain!
Best first look
Check out this adorable first look! Penny has a little habit of pinching Rob when they get home, so surprised him like this!
Most sentimental bridal session
Frances’s bridal session was so lovely. She incorporated family member’s dresses and old photos at the Merrimon-Wynne House, making her bridals so meaningful.
Best dressed
It’s no secret that we were obsessed with Lindsay and Jacob’s look for their engagement session at the Old Lystra Inn. Can’t wait for their wedding there next year!
Most fall photo
Gordon and Katie’s engagement session in Greensboro, NC was so wonderful! We loved getting to photograph Ian’s brother and his new fiance and are excited to celebrate at their wedding in early 2020!
Best team huddle
Sarah and Alex brought their two pups to their engagement session and we were able to grab this fun shot of them with all four “paws”!
Best reaction
Rohan’s proposal to Kavita was so cute, as was her reaction!
Two sessions had to get this award. The first was this fun session with Holi powder in the spring of 2019! Fun fact — you’ll see more of this family in 2020 because they’re expecting baby #2!We always love a session with the Shelley family and this one at the NC Museum of Art was no exception!
Best mama/son moment
Sweet Lane was so excited about his new baby sister!
Best accident, part 2
Continuing on from the best accident in the wedding section is this image from the Hortons’ session on the beach. We accidentally forgot to turn the double exposure feature off and ended u p with this image, which we happen to love!
Best brother/sister moment
Ian met the Sheikh family when we lived in Chapel Hill and he was crossfitting over there, and it’s been fun to watch these two grow up!
Best Sunday morning
The Selig family and their four kiddos were all home over Mother’s Day and we celebrated with them! This rare occasion called for mimosas over a game of cornhole!
Cutest fake announcement
When we asked Instagram what we should caption this, someone wrote, “I’m going to get a baby brother or sister soon!” We couldn’t stop giggling. Love this family so much!
Best double exposure
Ooookay, so maybe we have more than one favorite double exposure. This one of Callie at her maternity session in Savannah just completely encapsulates what motherhood feels like to me.
Best family cuddle
The Tan family allowed us to capture them at home on a typical Saturday morning, which included reading time in bed. We loved seeing how they spend time together!
Best surprise
Elisa of Lake and Lavender planned her mom’s surprise birthday party at the Bridge Club and we were honored to be asked to photograph! What a wonderful celebration!
Best toes
Our friends, Alex and Graham, had their first little one this year, and we were so happy to capture Eloise — especially her teensy toes!
Cutest twins
Cora and Luca at one year are SO cute! We were able to photograph them at a mini session in 2018 but were glad to be able to spend more time with them this year!
Most spirit
This is one of Everest’s friends, Charlotte! When we asked her to smile over at us while holding her parents’ hands, she crossed those legs and gave us this little hip pop. CAN YOU BELIEVE?! We need more little humans like her in this world.
Best in flight
The Lochridge family’s session was one of our last of the year and we lucked out with gorgeous weather, AND caught sweet Ellie jumping into her dad’s arms at Duke Gardens!
Most stunning mama
Saranya and Ravi are going to be new parents in the new year! Their maternity session was so peaceful and we loved this image we caught of Saranya!
To see journal posts from these sessions, head here.
That’s all for 2019, folks! Thank you all for being so wonderful, so easy to photograph, and so caring! We’ll see you in 2020!