and the winners are!

thanks to all who entered the contest to win a free engagement session or a lifestyle portrait session. after a long and tough process of trying to decide which of the three winners are, here goes!

KAREN & SHAWN WASHBURN:
though we never had the opportunity to do an engagement session with karen and shawn,we had the pleasure of photographing their wedding last october in durham, north carolina. shawn lost his job shortly before their wedding, but since has recently started his own business doing custom body work and race car fabrication on porches, located in the triangle. they've also had two mortgages on two separate houses due to the slow real estate market, among everything else. while in st. john, us virgin islands last october, i actually ran into them on a beach near my friend's house where we were staying. they were there on their honeymoon! sadly, it was my last evening on the island making no time to arrange a portrait session while there. i was disappointed we didn't get that chance. karen and shawn entered the contest hoping to get some nice shots of them with their sweet pooch, sparco. i can't wait!



TATYANA YEMETS & FIANCE, RUSS
tatyana happened to stumble across my blog and entered this contest by telling me about their proposal this past valentine's day and how they were saving every penny so that they could have a destination wedding in mexico next may. they met six years ago while in canada and both currently reside in new york. russ proposed to tatyana at castle on the hudson in tarrytown, new york and they are hopeful to have their e-session done here as well. they've also told us about the town of tarrytown, which sounds lovely and so quaint.possibly another location for some creative shots. i think it would be a blast to take a trip up to new york and such great fun to meet this cute couple! i love the idea of going to a new place and meeting new people!!




NICOLE ANDREWS & DAUGHTER, RUBY
nicole is a single parent originally from san francisco and now residing in charlottesville, virginia with her sweet little girl, ruby. when i read (and re-read) nicole's story of raising a child alone and all the struggles she's been through, i just knew. also knowing that nicole is self-employed as a designer, and with the recession as it is, things can be tight at times. nicole wrote to say that she has so few photos of she and ruby together and how she wished she did. ruby, what a beautiful little girl with rosy cheeks. and from what nicole writes, she adores her. I can't wait to meet these two!

news: contest!

soon, i will be announcing the 3 winners to the contest to win a free engagment session or lifestyles portrait session. i'm very excited about the three i have selected!! due to the fact that i will be away from my office and a computer this coming sunday, i will have to wait an extra day to announce the winners here on my blog. so please check back on monday, june 8th. i will have a post up no later than 11:59 pm here on the blog. please stay tuned!

engagement session: samantha+kyle 05.30.09

chapel hill was the location for samantha and kyle's e-session this past saturday. it was only fitting, as samantha is a graduate of unc and a big tarheel fan (as you can see from her tattoo!). we started out in the coker arboretum, then to the well on unc's campus, and finished up on franklin street. thanks to my fabulous "reflector gal" lisa of viva photography for all of your help and your wonderful ideas. lisa and i are really looking forward to photographing samantha and kyle's wedding at the penn house in reidsville this coming august. what a fun, fun couple...we just know their wedding is going to be a blast!

engagement session: opal+eric 05.24.09

this past sunday, i headed up to charlottesville for opal and eric's e-session. we started out in the gardens at the university of virginia and then made our way out to veritas vineyard & winery in afton for more photo ops. opal and eric's wedding will be held this coming october out at veritas. by then, the fall color on the trees should be peaking and the views of the mountains incredible. such a lovely place for a wedding! we are really looking forward to it and i know that opal and eric are very excited too!



















cheers! see you in october!

wedding: katherine+rob 05.02.09

this past saturday, anthony and i headed out to pleasant garden to photograph katherine and rob's late afternoon garden wedding, which was held at walnut lane inn in the rolling countryside of north carolina's piedmont. this was my first time covering a wedding at this particular venue and i was pleasantly surprised by its beauty! the gardens are just amazing, which we took full total advantage of for photo ops. though the weather was threatening rain showers for the day, it held out for the entire wedding.












katherine is so photogenic with her warm smile, it was difficult for me to decide which ones to post of her. here are a just few of my favorites, out of many.











katherine's bouquet was breathtaking and so fragrant! the single black-eyed susan was in memory of her father. such a sweet touch as this was his favorite flower. her mother had one in her corsage as well. flowers created by the super-talented mickey atkinson at sedgefield florist in greensboro.





katherine's fan is a family heirloom and a good way to keep cool!



nothing cuter than flowergirls. here lindsay and avery are looking into the pond for fish. loved their dresses with the purple sashes!









reverend steve horsley performs the ring ceremony.



the kiss!



the kiss continues :-) love the look on rob's face... the very happy groom!



anthony captured this 'aerial' shot of the ceremony from a 2nd floor window. i loved how all the guests turned to wave! fun!









katherine and rob's first dance, music provided by triple C mobile dj service.



the 'second dance' rob dances with his cutey niece, lindsay.





the three-tiered cake was created by dewey's bakery in winston-salem and catering was provided by visions catering. the presentation was nice and the cuisine delicious!













congrats katherine and rob. we had such a wonderful time working with you!

lifestyle session: joni+jason 04.26.09

as promised, here are a handful of favorites from joni and jason's lifestyle portrait session from this past sunday. the gardens were lush, the day was gorgeous, and the mood was sublime.












sweet, sweet rosie (roosevelt) made his way into a few of the shots. love this one! gotta love a lab.

wedding: joni+jason 09.09.06

joni+jason contacted me not too long ago requesting a lifestyle portrait session of the two of them. they were married at jason's family farm on september 9, 2006 and we had the honor of photographing such a wonderful and happy occasion.

with their three year anniversary coming up it was a perfect time to schedule a session with them. this past sunday anthony and i returned to fox run farm in keswick, virginia. it was wonderful to see them again and so much fun to take some casual portraits of the two of them in the garden, out in the pasture, and around the pool. i love repeat clients! stay tuned for my favorites from their portrait session, coming soon.

until then enjoy viewing several images from their wedding, which were difficult to select! perhaps that's why it took me so long to blog their wedding?! better late than never to post! i wish i could remember who their floral designer, caterer, lighting designer, pastry chef, the band (they were from raleigh), etc. were. so if any vendors out there see their work here, please post a comment. would love to hear from you!

joni and jason's wedding was one of my many favorites i've been fortunate enough to photograph throughout the years. from the super cool rice paper lanterns hanging in the tent to the gorgeous hydrangea wreaths on the iron gates... very stylish and chic---LOVED it. and what a fabulous couple!

wedding: terri+morgan 04.28.09

anthony and i had the pleasure of joining terri and morgan for their outdoor garden ceremony on saturday, april 18th at delightful inspirations in raleigh. the weather couldn't of been any better! high 70's, sunny, with a slight breeze made for a fabulous evening. reverend barbara lodge the nc wedding minister, officiated the ceremony. she is fantastic and i highly recommend her to couples in the triangle who are looking for a unique and personal touch.

the indoor reception was held in the grand ballroom immediately following the ceremony. music was provided by randy bennett of joe bunn dj company. not only were they very professional, they played a great mix of tunes which had young and young at heart out on the dance floor all evening.

terri and morgan had many personal touches to make their day come together. rather than the traditional wedding cake, the newlyweds opted for a frozen custard sundae bar which was provided by goodberry's creamery, inc. terri insisted that we try some and i'm glad we did... it was the bomb! all kinds of toppings from strawberries to m-n-m's...what a fun idea!

we had such a joyous time covering such a wonderful occasion with such a sweet couple. we wish them the very best and know that they will have an enjoyable time on their honeymoon in the sunshine state!

happy hour bride: featured wedding

happy hour bride, selected one of our weddings to be featured on their blog...how exciting! happy hour bride is a super stylish wedding planning blog created by kilee, a bride-to-be herself. kilee and i "met" on twitter, where she discovered jessica+kelly's wedding featured on my website. i'm very excited that jessica+kelly's wedding was selected, as this was one of my very favorite weddings as well! please be sure to visit her blog, as she has several very fun and super creative weddings featured. what a wonderful way to start the week off!

contest: win free engagement or family session!

due to the current economy in the u.s. i've decided to offer 3 deserving couples or families who are currently struggling financially a free engagement session or lifestyle portrait session.

this session will include:

lifestyle engagement or family session up to 3 hours
1-3 locations within reasonable distance of each other
you choose the location or i am happy to offer ideas and suggestions
combination of color and b+w images
all high resolution images on a DVD
all images hosted online on a password protected gallery for 9 months
your choice: (1) 11x14 giclee canvas gallery wrap, OR (2) 5x7's and (2) 8x10 enlargements, OR 20 page photo guest or keepsake book (images digitally printed on pages w/ or w/out text)
travel available (included within 200 miles of my office or you may come to me!)

please email (elizabeth [at] elarsonphoto [dot] com) your story to me, along with any details you would like to include about yourselves, how you met (if engaged!), your interests, and so forth. all entries must include the name of the person entering or being nominated as well as a valid email address. please tell anyone who you truly think this would benefit! or nominate yourself! all entries are due by sunday, May 31st, 2009 by 11:59 p.m. the three (3) winners of this contest will be announced the following week on sunday , june 7th by 11:59 p.m. on this blog. the session must be scheduled between now and December 31st, 2010.

Good luck to all who enter!