STEPHANIE + ZACH - Castle Ladyhawke Wedding

Stephanie and Zach were married on a STUNNING October day in the mountains of North Carolina at Castle Ladyhawke. The light and love was in abundance. : ) I know I use "love" a lot to describe things, but I can't help it... I LOVED shooting this wedding and witnessing the magic between this couple.

Bride's dress: Danielle Caprese Bride's shoes: Christian Louboutin Bridesmaids' dresses: Jenny Yoo Groom's attire: Calvin Klein Groomsmen attire: Vera Wang Makeup: Shantel The Make-Up Artist Hair: Tiffany Kardos Florals: Occasions By Emily Coordinator: Michelle Nelsen of Occasions By Emily Ceremony music: Allegro Music Cake: Icing on the Cake Band: Empty Pocket Videographer: Aaron R. Morrell of Grae Skye Studio Caterer: The Colorful Palate Invitations and programs: Sofia Invitations and Prints Rings: Tiffany & Co. and JB Lacher Jewelers Transportation: Elite Limousine

From the very beginning, I just knew I was going to be friends with these two. Stephanie was so bubbly and authentic and sweet. Ever since that first Skype chat, through the dozens of emails we've shared, Steph always remembers to wish me a good day/week/month. : ) During that first chat, of course I remember her telling me about the plans for their wedding, but above all else, I remember the feeling that I took away from that talk: she was SO EXCITED to be marrying the love of her life and for friends and family to be there to witness it. I mean... what else are weddings all about?! After I met Zach at their engagement session, I understood why she was so excited: he was so kind, thoughtful, funny and CHILL. They are a perfect match, IMHO. ; )

Zach and Stephanie's wedding day was so perfect. The personal vows they exchanged, the florals, the quiet moments during the first look, the GORGEOUSNESS of the fall leaves, I could go on and on... It was breathtakingly beautiful. Please enjoy my many favorites (so hard to narrow down!) from their wedding. And thanks so much to Jenny Tenney for helping me capture their day!

I LOVED STEPH'S OUTFIT! Her dress, her shoes... So many of the details had sentimental value. For example, the earrings she wore had one diamond from her grandmother's engagement ring and one diamond from her great grandmother's engagement ring. The lace wrapped around her bouquet was from her grandmother who passed away, and the handkerchief was from Zach's paternal grandmother. So special.

Such a thoughtful and fun groom's gift!

Steph, you are so gorgeous!

The girls were looking at the drone flying above in this photo. : )

The first look was so incredibly sweet!

I LOVE that I caught Steph winking at a guest here!

Somebody loved that the cake had THREE different flavors...

KATE + THOMAS - Ocean Isle Beach Wedding

Kate and Thomas. LOVE LOVE LOVE these guys. They got hitched in mid-October at Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. There are so many things that I loved about this wedding day. More on that later... : ) First: a little bit about how I know Kate. I'm so incredibly lucky to be able to photograph friends, especially uber-talented friends who are also photographers (check out Kate's awesome humanitarian photo+films HERE and her wedding photos HERE). : ) Kate and I have been friends since our senior year in college at UNC (8 years ago WHAT), when we were assigned by our photojournalism professor and the Special Olympics to produce a mini-documentary in Dublin, Ireland about Aisling, an athlete who later competed in the World Games in China (where Kate and I also worked and traveled together!). After we graduated, we led twin-job lives (as Kate would put it), working at the same N.C. daily newspaper (where we were roomies!) and as multimedia content managers at NBC in New York. I'll always cherish the years I spent with Kate post-college, as we were finding our voices in our work and growing up. : ) She's SUCH a sweetheart of a human being and I love her to death. Thomas and I didn't spend as much time together : ) BUT he's one of the most hilarious, kind people that I know and loves Kate to his core. So he's awesome too. : )

Back to the wedding day! It. was. perfect. My favorite things about the day included: 1) The story behind the inscriptions on their wedding bands. From Kate: "One time when we were first dating (like 9 years ago!), we were having a board game night with all of our friends. Thomas is super competitive, so I decided to team up with one of my friends, but told him that we're "teammates in the game of life." So in his ring, I wrote "Partners in Game of Life," because "Teammates" wouldn't fit. But to my surprise, he wrote "Teammates in Life," in mine." They revealed the inscriptions to each other during their ceremony and their reactions were the SWEETEST THING EVER. 2) The life-sized animal costumes their friends dressed up in and surprised them with during the reception. 3) The unique favors. Thomas and Kate chose individual photos of each of them with each guest and put them in photo coasters as gifts. How amazing is that?!

Kate and Thomas, y'all already know this... but I think you guys are SO wonderful and you both are special to me. I feel incredibly honored to have been the one to document your love day. : )

Bride's dress: Maggie Sottero Bride's shoes: Steve Madden Bridesmaids' dresses: Dessy (MOH); After Six (bridesmaids)Groom's attire: Polo Ralph Lauren Groomsmen attire: Men's Wearhouse Makeup: Jacqueline Ross, bride's cousin Florals: Shallotte Florist Ceremony music: Steve Barker, groom's uncle Cake: Cakes by the Sea Caterer: The Isles Restaurant Programs: self-designed by bride; printed via MOO Rings: Blue Nile Reception decor: bride's mother Photo Booth: ShutterBooth

Kate's friends gave her a photo book of her and Thomas's relationship. I loved her reaction(s) to it.

Because every good MOH draws a diagram of how to bustle the bride's dress. : )

Sorry, I had to...

Bridesmaids cutting off the stems of the bride's bouquet with a kitchen knife. I was SO SCARED there was going to be an accident. Thankfully, crisis averted.

Best man/MOH hugs following the ceremony. Love.

I absolutely love these wedding party shots. SO GOOD.

Featured: Heart Love Weddings -- Melanie + Collin's Wedding

I took the day off today to visit the hubs at work with Brooklyn, and I completely forgot that Melanie + Collin's gorgeous summer wedding was published on Heart Love Weddings. I LOVE their love story. Thank you, Alexandra, for choosing to highlight their special day. Go check out the full feature HERE!

LAURA + WILLIAM - Edenton, North Carolina Wedding

Laura & William's wedding was my first wedding back after giving birth to Brooklyn. And I'm not gonna lie... I was a mixed bag of emotions! I had a lot of anxiety going back to shooting as I hadn't shot a wedding in over 7 months (!!!). But as all of my working (photographer) mom friends had told me -- it was bizarre only for about the first five minutes and then it felt completely natural to me again. I was so happy to get back in it and do what I love (even if I did miss my child the entire time; but I knew she was in good hands with her Daddy!).

I'm so happy that Laura & William asked me to shoot their wedding -- it was such a beautiful day! I shot Laura's sister's wedding in 2011, so I knew the whole day was going to be a blast and a half. They got married at Edenton United Methodist Church and the reception was held at the historic, waterfront Mulberry Hill Inn. A fun fact about their wedding date is that William's grandparents AND parents also got married on June 21. How awesome is that?! Enjoy my favorites from this lovely day.

Special thanks to Jenny Tenney for helping me shoot and giving me lots of great "working mom" advice. Thanks, Jenny. : )

Bride's dress: Monique Lhuillier, purchased from Alexi's Bridal Bride's shoes: Kate Spade Bridesmaids' dresses: J. Crew Groom and groomsmen attire: JoS. A Bank (suits) & Coffman's (bow ties) Bride's hair: Sunshine Nelmida of JDM Salon Bridesmaids' hair: Brooke Harris of Jus Teezn Florals: Wholesale Flower Market Band: The Reality Show Band Caterer: Kelly's Transportation: Britannia Coach & Edenton Trolley Invitations: Downtown Diva

FINE ART CANVAS SPECIAL!

Canvases are probably my most FAVORITE way to display portraits. We already have two from our wedding and intend to order more from our maternity session and once baby girl Tuck arrives. My goal is to have a full-on collage wall displayed in our home. : ) Because I didn't run an album special over the winter like I normally do, I've decided to offer my fine art canvases in select sizes at a reduced price until the end of March! Each canvas is hand-stretched on a custom-built frame, printed with ink rated to last 100 years and then spray-sealed with a UV protective coating. You can order one that is 1.5" deep or 0.75" deep (examples below).

The details (pretty similar to the one I ran in fall 2012 but an even better price):

-16x20" ready-to-hang canvas gallery wrap: $169 (normally priced at $225) -16x24" ready-to-hang canvas gallery wrap: $189 (normally priced at $250)

Your order is sent directly to you -- shipping cost included! All you need to do is email me (mel [at] melissatuckphoto.com) with the following details by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 31st:

1) Let me know which photo you'd like used, and I'll re-touch it, if necessary, before ordering. 2) Indicate what size depth you'd like (1.5" thickness or 0.75" thickness) 3) Mail payment and GET PUMPED FOR YOUR BEAUTIFUL CANVAS that people will be sure to admire. ; )

Please note that I have a limited number of canvases to offer so hurry and get your order in before someone else snags up this deal! Happy Wednesday, y'all. : )

The photo on the left of us on our wedding day (taken by The Schultzes) is the more traditional 1.5" depth, and the bridal party photo on the right (taken by me) is the 0.75" depth.