Solar Decathlon - Washington DC

Solar Energy Homes - Solar Decathlon

One large tour bus - about 45 High School students - 8 adults - a load of iPods, cell phones all into one 15 hour day for a trip to Washington DC. It is hard to believe that Sara will be graduating shortly - December 18Th. So when I was asked to help with the students that were going to Washington to see the Solar Decathlon, I immediately said yes. One of our last field trips together OK, I won't go down memory lane here - but there is something energetic about that many kids on a bus.

The Solar Decathlon were houses that were completed created and built off of solar energy. The Solar Decathlon site describe it best "The Solar Decathlon joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build, and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house." Quoted from the Solar Decathlon site. Some of these homes were amazing - if you want to know more about solar engery homes or who competed and won the contest - just click the link above!

A quick group picture:


Enjoying lunch in front of the Washington Monument


One of the many houses we got to visit - it was amazing some of the designs that they came up with.


Sara and her friend

Washington DC - Raleigh Greensboro Photography

The girls



A couple of students convienced the staff at Golden Corral that it was one of the teachers birthday.

Thank You Janice

I recently meet up with Janice who is the mother of my bride Mary Jan. Janice was so wonderful to work with and one of the things I love about her is that she really wanted those Photojournalist moments. So it was really a joy to sit down and have coffee and deliver her prints. Right before we were leaving she pulled out some beautiful flowers to give to me to say "thank you". I was just so unbelievably touched by her kindness. I went home with the biggest smile on my face and now they sit on my office desk to keep things colorful on this gray day. Thank you so much Janice! You can view Mary Jan and Foster's wedding
here.

Hope you have an awesome day!
Ciao,
'Chele

Happy Halloween

It is that really fun time of the year. Where the air is starting to turn crisp - the fall colors are robust... if there are still leaves on the trees and time for wonderful treats. My daughter had a costume party to go to - so we thought it be nice to make some cupcakes for her to bring. We love baking in the fall and especially during the holidays. So I thought I share with you a few pictures of our tasty treats.
Enjoy the night, be safe!
Ciao!
Chele

Forever Bridal Show - Durham Hilton

Bridal Show: Forever Bridal Show
Canvas's: Simply Canvas
Flowers: Gallery Florist and Gifts

We made our first appearance at the Forever Bridal Show in Durham this past Sunday. What a wonderful show to participate in. The brides were amazing, friendly and fun to talk with. The show was a little smaller than Forever Bridal's larger shows and we were grateful as we got to spend some quality time with the brides that visited our booth.

Our booth was built by my husband Joe and my son Matt. They decided to make something rich, warm and inviting. Using a bit of my Italian heritage - they come up with the following:



These columns were refurbished by Matt - which took over four hours of preparation. Then Joe and Matt created a special top rail piece to content the two columns together. There we were able to create some spectacular way of hanging our images. Matt also made the backdrop that hangs behind all of the prints. It took him over 8 hours of pinning, two hours of sewing and yards upon yards of fabric to make. We hung some beautiful canvas's which included - two 16x20's, two 20x30's and three 20x24's. We were amazed at the fantastic quality of our canvas maker: Simply Canvas. They simply made us look fantastic! We also had many albums our for display among some beautiful rose petals from Gallery Florist and Gifts, Inc. From our custom designed Guest books, Coffee table books and our signature leather albums. It took over 3 months of preparation to prepare for everything we wanted to do for this show. Matt spent the day Saturday, while I was photographing a wedding, with Joe, prepping the booth for Sunday.



We also offered a drawing for a free engagement session, we were thrilled on how many brides entered.






So who won? Check your email!

Our next with Forever Bridal show is in January 2 & 3rd. For more information on the show - you can contact them with the link above. Expect to see a few changes to our booth, but we would love it if you can mark your calendars and see us there!



Until next time.....
Ciao Bella!
'Chele

Welcome to our newly designed Blog

Thanks for stopping in and checking out our blog. It is a wet chilly mornin today. Grab something warm to drink and spend a few moments with me. I want to welcome you to our new beautiful blog. It has been in my mind for so long but only through the wonderful talents of Jackie of Memories By Design, has it become a reality. She was awesome to work with and if you are in need of a blog, I highly recommend her.

So now that I have this wonderful new blog there are so many things I would like to share with you. I promise if you keep coming back - there will be lots of weddings from Duke Garden, Castle McCulloch, Revolution Mills - just to name of few. Engagement photographs of Meagan and Jeremy, lots of Bridals including Emily from Duke Gardens to view, some stories of my couples, my family and a little bit about myself along the way also. But I would LOVE to hear from you, so just leave a comment or two for me, I promise to read each one!
Ciao Bella!
'Chele

Castle McCulloch, Jamestown NC Inspirational Board

Real wedding details - There are so many beautiful details that go into a wedding - like Megan and Skeeters wedding. So I thought it would be nice to do an inspirational borad from their wedding. Enjoy!