Valerie + Ryan
Wedding
October 13, 2007
Huntsville, AL has been recognized by various money magazines as one of the best places in the country to live & work. Valerie + Ryan thought it was the best place in the country to get hitched! Here are a few images from their wedding day!
~ Charles
I started my morning with Ryan & the boys.
Meg joined us at the Huntsville Botanical Garden to photograph the crew together…just a few moments before Valerie + Ryan had their first glance!
The giant lilypads made for amazing scenery!
Valerie with her girls.
After we wrapped up the formals, it was time to head over to the church.
Check out these next two shots that Meg grabbed just before the ceremony. I love the first shot on its own…the nervous anticipation from Ryan’s mom is so sweet! But if you look inthe background…can you see what was happening?
Ryan & his brother were having a word just before the ceremony. Same moment…two completely seperate & amazing story lines.
Valerie & a proud papa escorting her down the aisle.
All these stunning images…and wouldn’t you know that Valerie stole the show with this shot! 
Priceless!
I loved this little moment during the first dance.
I love this shot that Meg grabbed at the reception…this is one of those perfect images that becomes an “instant classic”!
Some wicked air guitar going on here.
Valerie + Ryan
Rehearsal Dinner
October 12, 2007
Huntsville, AL
Valerie + Ryan drove over to Pensacola for their engagement session where Valerie schooled Ryan in a mean game of mini golf. Here they are kicking off their wedding weekend festivities in Hunstville, AL!
~ Charles
Valerie & the girls enjoyed a nice luncheon overlooking a beautiful golf course:
Pictures from Valerie’s youth were incorporated into the centerpieces.
I liked this shot of Valerie’s grandmother holding her hand as Valerie welcomed her guests.
And what is a good luncheon without some hilarious roasts?
And touching toasts…
Cake charms have been all the rage at our recent weddings:
Ryan & the boys pretended to golf after a quick lunch at BW3. (kidding, Ryan)
Cotton was growing all around the perimeter of the course - I don’t think I’d ever seen cotton growing up close before that day:
four.
In the brush:
After the luncheon, Meg made a quick stop at Valerie’s house. She had the privelage of meeting Captain (Ryan’s dog). Captain would best be described as…what I am looking for…hyper?
The party continued later that evening at Rosie’s Cantina.
Rosie’s has a cool mariachi band made of welded metal. We lit it up!
Meg + Charles
R&R in NYC
September 26 - October 4, 2007
New York City
… New York … NEW YORK! Da da da da da.
OK — maybe I better stick to blogging and stop singing! This past October, my best friend Tim (who also happened to be my best man in our wedding) got married in Leesburg, VA. En route to the wedding, we decided to make a little stop in NYC for some r&r. We only took the camera out for ONE photo excursion, but I think you’ll enjoy the results!
~ Charles
How do you photograph a city as amazing as NYC…I guess you have to start with Times Square. We stayed steps away from this madness at The Time Hotel in our super tiny room.
We have SO many of these shots - Meg was a theatre major in college and went a little shutter-happy taking photos of theaters and theatrical posters/billboards. I could fill about six blog enteries with those alone, I imagine - but I’ll let it rest with these few.
We saw 12 musicals in 10 days. Did I mention Meg is a self-proclaimed theater geek? This trip was definitely all about feeding her need to see good live theater. Among the highlights were Wicked, Mary Poppins (Meg got to see Mary, played by Ashley Brown, at the stage door - they did community theater together back in high school), Les Miserables (Meg has seen this before - but said I *HAD* to see it first so that I would always be able to say that ‘Les Mis’ was the FIRST show I ever saw on Broadway - something about it being a ‘classic’), Legally Blonde (surprisingly enough - this was one of my favorites), the amazing Spring Awakening, and a handful of others I can’t think of immediately.
Meet Milton…he was our Big Apple Greeter tour guide. Not familiar with Big Apple Greeter’s? They are incredible! Be sure to check them out if you visit the city.
Something about this sign being strapped to her walker - made me chuckle.
Our tour guide, Milton, insisted that we go inside just to view thier magnificent lobby.. despite the ‘no tourists’ sign at the door. I’d like to note that he stayed safely outside 
This image really tugs at my heart strings. It is part of the memorial at St. Paul’s Chapel in NYC. They have converted the facility into a 9/11 memorial.
There are holes in the tarps covering the fences surrounding ground zero - all around the perimeter you could see people trying to peek in…
The corner of Wall St and Broadway - it’s like a geographical representation of our relationship
The icon of American industry!
Tourists.
Meg planned this entire trip - top to bottom - so I must give her credit for planning time for an amazing afternoon in Brooklyn, including lunch reservations at The River Cafe - this place offers the best views of Manhattan - see for yourself!
From our table:
Notice our Brooklyn Bridge dessert:
The view from the patio:
Meg grabbed this shot right after lunch. It is my most favoritest personal travel image at this moment!
A trip to NYC would not be complete without a romp through Central Park. Armed with our fresh bagels from H&H, and our fresh spreads from Zabar’s, we were ready for our afternoon picnic under the trees!
You’ve got to understand that Meg gets a little camera-happy now and again and simply WILL NOT STOP TAKING PICTURES. Now, it wouldn’t be a problem if it were purely scenic stuff, but she insists on taking about 100 images with me in them (I wish I was exaggerating) - so this shot came somewhere toward the end of that series when I was ‘over it’… heh, heh. (WARNING: this next image may be disturbing for small children, pets, and woodland creatures.)
Meg was only slightly annoyed when I turned the camera on her for revenge:
We got lost trying to find our way out of Central Park (go figure) and ended up racing by Bethesda Fountain - stopping just long enough to snag this overview:
The view from 30 Rock Observation Deck:
Rockefeller Center:
Things that were super cool that we didn’t photograph - Cafeteria (trendy 24/7 spot - try the Mac-n-Cheese!), Popovers (totally awesome with great popovers, as you might suspect), NYMTF (New York Musical Theater Festival), Don’t Tell Mama (cabaret bar we visited), An Evening with Stephen Schwartz (Meg adores this composer/lyricist who has penned the music for musicals such as Wicked, Pippin, Godspell, and Children of Eden, to name a few - and he you might also know him from his work on the music for Disney’s Pocahontas or The Hunchback of Notre Dame, or his Academy Award-winning work on The Prince of Egypt (song: When You Belive). Anywho, Meg is a huge fan, and after this concert/interview - I am too! It was sort of like an ‘Inside the Actor’s Studio’ talk with an awesome concert of his work mixed in - a definite highlight of the trip), and Meg managed to win us tickets to see David Letterman (my only request of the trip) - so, of course, I had to mention that!
I know I’m forgetting tons of stuff - but that’s what being SO FAR BEHIND on blogging does to you. I’ll keep trying to get you caught up over the next few weeks.
~ C