glessner family photos :: greensboro wedding photographer

This fall, I was itching to have some new photos taken of me and Josh. Other than snapping a shot of each other here and there, we hadn't had our pictures made since our own wedding back in 2009 (by Nashville's lovely Sarah Beaty of Eyeris Photography... HOLLA!). Sidenote: I recently learned that to have your picture "made" is an exclusively Southern phrase that APPARENTLY doesn't make sense and unless you want to be made fun of by every yankee within hearing distance (i unfortunately, live with one of them, and am therefore constantly teased because of my creative verbiage), you better say you're having your picture taken.

So in November, I called up my girl Alicia White in Charlotte, who I got to know at WPPI U this summer, and asked her if she'd be willing to take some family portraits of us. Alicia is an amazingly talented photographer and a beautiful person, inside and out. I have to admit, this being the first time we were in front of the camera since becoming a full-time wedding business, it was very intimidating and slightly awkward, but it gave me so much great insight into how I relate to my brides and grooms while photographing them. In fact, I think we just might make the Glessner family photos a yearly tradition so we remember what it's like to be on the other side of the lens.

I had a really difficult time picking just a few images for this post, but here are a few of my favorites...

Love it when my sweet husband makes me smile <3

I am absolutely obsessed with this Chelsea+Violet dress... for real.

Monty... our little, starving artist...

Alicia - Thank you so, so, so much for giving us some amazing photos!! You truly went above and beyond! I am so blessed to be able to call you a friend, and I look forward to more photo sessions in the future ;)

a belated merry christmas :: greensboro wedding photographer

I hope you all had a merry Christmas, a cheerful Chanukah, feliz navidad, and a very happy holidays! The sentiment is better late than never, right?

After having a very busy early December trying to tie up lose ends and get photos to our fabulous clients in time for the holidays, I took a much needed week off to spend time with my family and soak up all the Christmas cheer I could possibly fit into seven days. My parents were in town for the holiday, and we filled our time with lots of last minute shopping, plenty of Christmas movies, wayyyy too much food, and our annual driving tour of the local Christmas lights.

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

Monty joined us on the light tour this year. He's usually pretty critical, but he concluded that these Greensboro folks really know how to decorate for Christmas :)

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

Beautiful lanterns lining the sidewalks around the Catholic church...

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

Your eyes do not deceive you... that is, in fact, A GINGERBREAD MARSHMALLOW. Why didn't I know these existed til now?!

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

We must have been very good this year because Santa brought us lots of great loot! You don't believe, you don't receive, y'all!

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

My hubby went rogue again this year and bought me a beautiful pearl bracelet... he's such a good gift-giver! Other favorites included a new watch, way too many clothes from Anthropologie, and for him, some fab Warby Parker sunglasses, a Penguins jersey, and some new luggage for us both. Oh, and in case you were wondering, we didn't get my grandfather's gift mixed in with Josh's... my husband just has 80-year-old man tendencies. Such as loving plaid. And wearing argyle socks. I fully expect him to progress to white nylon tube socks with black patent shoes and shorts within the next 5 years. Get ready for it.

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

Christmas in Greensboro, NC

I'm so very thankful to have been able to spend so much time with my family over the holidays, and we're looking forward to celebrating Christmas with Josh's family in Pennsylvania at the end of this week!

inspiration :: nashville wedding photographer

There's something so inspiring about going to a place like The Bluebird Cafe. In that small, strip mall restaurant that only holds about 40 people, you can just feel that you're in the presence of greatness. For those who aren't familiar with this Nashville landmark, it is hallowed ground - the place where struggling songwriters who've moved to the music city with barely enough cash to get by and a dream of just having someone hear their song have their prayers answered. 

I can't pick a guitar or carry a tune in a bucket, but music has always had a near and dear place in my heart. The right song can move me to tears, and a melody can arouse emotions I didn't know I had. And just being in the Bluebird brings back memories of my childhood... traveling back and forth from small town Mississippi to Tennessee with my mom for songwriters seminars and conferences and just to breathe in the dream-filled Nashville air.

This past Thursday, I had the pleasure of going with my dear friend Kaley to hear some of Nashville's great writers, including Lari White ("I Will Not Say Goodbye" - Danny Gokey), Marc Beeson ("When She Cries" - Restless Heart), Bernie Nelson, and Allen Shamblin ("The House that Built Me" - Miranda Lambert, "Where the Blacktop Ends" - Keith Urban). These people are just simply amazing, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly jealous of Shamblin's ability to write such beautiful music as Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me."

If you are a musician, an artist, the creative type, or a dreamer, and can step foot into this place without leaving feeling like life has just been breathed into you, you're  a stronger person than me. It is pure inspiration. It is courage in the form of hearing someone sing from the heart the song they gave life to. It is the will to keep on chasing your dream, despite the fact that it may be a little harder to make ends meet. It is feeling the butterflies for that 20-something writer singing their first song at the place they know could make it all happen. It is the strength to keep pushing yourself every day to create the life you want. It is the proof that dreams do come true.