Several years ago, I photographed then 16-year-old Anna Gerberich for a story The Charlotte Observer was doing on her joining the North Carolina Dance Theatre.

Melissa Anduiza is another incredible artist I’ve photographed numerous times and it was a pleasure working with them both. I have so much respect for their talent and professionalism.

Both women are incredibly photogenic and I took the opportunity to try out a few new portrait lighting techniques.

A big thank you again to Kevin and Teresa Chelko for giving the opportunity to work in their studio. They are incredible professionals who pay attention to every detail, which is a good reason the space is utilized in major television and still productions. Thanks also to my former Observer colleague Phil Hoffman, who came along and filmed the shoot. We’ll be sharing that here at some point.

Be sure to check out NCDT’s final show of the season, which includes the choreography of Sasha Janes in Dangerous Liaisons and Dwight Rhoden’s Artifice. The performances are  this Thursday through Saturday at the Knight Theater in Charlotte.

Anna Gerberich

Melissa Anduiza

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At the time, much of my time was spent photographing Atlantic Coast Conference and professional sports. But I was immediately taken with the artistry and athleticism of the dancers. A passion was born.

Fast forward to the present and much of my time is spent photographing brides and grooms, marketing materials and corporate executives. But, as anyone who has followed our blog for a period of time would note, I’ve never stopped photographing the amazing dancers of North Carolina Dance Theatre. It is one of few things I do purely because I want to.

While I’ve always enjoyed the challenge and discovery of photographing live performance, I have also wanted to experiment with capturing some of these amazing athletes in the studio.

The planets aligned and I had the opportunity to work at a friend’s amazing studio and the idea came to life.

I want to thank my friends Kevin and Teresa Chelko for giving me the opportunity to work in their beautiful studio. Kevin is one of the premier food photographers in the region and Teresa is a talented food stylist - what a great combination. And we all attend Lake Forest Church in Huntersville.

And I also had the good fortune of working with two amazing NCDT dancers: Alessandra Ball and Sarah Hayes Watson. Both have appeared on this blog many times and we are very excited to be photographing Alessandra’s wedding to Michael in May. You can see some of their engagement photos here.

Thanks to you Alessandra and Sarah: it was such a pleasure working with you.

Keep an eye out because we will be doing some more of these shoots in the near future.

Alessandra Ball

Sarah Hayes Watson

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It’s a tale of good winning over evil and it includes a beautiful princess, a dashing prince, gorgeous costumes, wonderful sets and an amazing score from Tchaikovsky. They even threw in a couple of other fairy tale scenes for good measure.

Alessandra Ball, whose wedding we are excited to be documenting in May,  does a wonderful job as the lead character Princess Aurora.

Alessandra Ball takes center stage in NCDT's Sleeping Beauty

The show is a visual delight with classic movement and colorful costumes

NCDT2's Christina LaForgia

Sarah Hayes Watson floats

Kate Ann Behrendt charms the audience

Jamie Dee makes a point

Melissa Anduiza is the fairy who helps revive Sleeping Beauty

Colorful symmetry

David Ingram portrays Carabosse, one scary character

It was nice to see the talented Kati Hanlon Mayo, a former NCDT principal dancer, back on stage portraying Sleeping Beauty's mother

Amazing colors and movement

Princess Aurora falls under the spell

Addul Manzano and Melissa Anduiza

Alessandra Ball and Addul Manzano

Floating in unison

Aurora awakens

Amazing kick from Melissa Anduiza

Sarah Hayes Watson takes flight

Another fun moment

Jordan Leeper soars

Jamie Dee

Naseeb Culpepper is the fox chasing Little Red Riding Hood, portrayed by Kate Ann Behrendt

Boys overtake the ogre, played by David Morse, in NCDT's version of Tom Thumb

The ogre is down for the count

Alessandra Ball commands the stage

Ball and Manzano finish a daring drop

Addul Manzano knifes through the air

Jamie Dee watches the rehearsal

Aurora takes a bow

So it was really nice to be able to photograph a wedding very close to home at Lake Forest, the church my family has been attending for the past several years.

And it was an especially joyful celebration as Michael, one of our excellent ministers, married Mandi, another member of the church family.

The first thing you notice about Michael is that he is tall…really tall. But once you talk to the Davidson College grad a bit you also recognize that is incredibly smart, and he infuses his sermons with wit and wisdom.

Mandi is friendly and personable and she has worked extensively with the youth of the church. Betsy and I also had the pleasure of serving for a time on the hospitality team with Mandi.

The couple opened their invitation to all the church members and a large number turned out. Lead Pastor Mike Moses and Mitch White, pastor of spiritual growth, teamed for the service for their fellow minister. Michael leads the mission efforts at the church and preaches on Sundays at our new location in Davidson.

Tracy Grubbs, head of creative production at Lake Forest, always comes up with interesting sets for our Sunday services and she created a beautiful candlelit setting for the wedding. Musicians Kyle Dillard and Matt Glass added their talents to the ceremony as well. Helping pull it all together was Lake Forest wedding coordinator Tracy Frank.

Highlights included an improvised step stool used in the service to help Mandi get a little closer to Michael for their kiss and a frenzied finish to their first dance.

Congratulations and all the best to Mandi and Michael and their families.

Mandi and Michael

A beautiful afternoon at Lake Forest Church

First look

Taking a few moments before the ceremony

Mandi with her flower girls

The bride

Waiting with family

Mandi gets a kiss from her mother

Michael's footwear of choice

Lead pastor Mike Moses waits

Michael's brother and brother-in-law and ministers Mitch White and Mike Moses gather to pray with the groom

Flower girl gets a little stage fright

Lake Forest's Mike Moses and Mitch White greet the guests

Exchanging rings

Michael is very tall...Mandi is not. Pastor Mitch helps even things up a bit

Stepping up

Kiss

Enjoying the moment

Time to celebrate

Mandi and her sister Sherie

Double hug

Celebrating with grandparents

Happy couple

A few minutes alone

After starting slow, the pair broke into an energetic dance

Fun finish

A large number of church members joined the festivities

How low can you go Billy?

The couple gets showered in lavender buds

Saying goodbye

I had photographed her sister  Ellen’s wedding a few years back at the same venues and I welcomed a chance to work with her wonderful family again.

It rained heavily much of the day but there were a few breaks that allowed some outdoor photos. This was my third-straight wedding at First Presbyterian and I always enjoy the beautiful architecture of the historic church.

Everything was in place for an excellent event including a wonderful service by the Rev. Katherine Kerr, great work by Elizabeth Pearson Frost and the staff at Quail Hollow and another amazing cake from the talented Kathy Allen of Kathy Allen Fine Wedding Cakes. Company photographer Laura Mueller was on hand and created some beautiful images.

It was such a pleasure working with everyone and congratulations to Emily and Patrick!

Emily gets ready

Portrait at Quail Hollow Club

Beautiful bride

Quick group shot at home before Emily got dressed at the church

Emily's nieces got a bit impatient as their mothers were photographed

Custom attire for the bride

Heading to the church

Emily took everything in stride, including a little spelling snafu on their sign

Patrick and his father arrive at First Presbyterian

The ladies arrive

The bride makes her way to the church

Laura captured Patrick, his father and his brother with the groomsmen

The groom heads out for a few pictures

Family portrait

Sister Ellen gets ready as Emily waits

Bridesmaids discover a hair issue

Heading to the chapel

A misty night at First Presbyterian

Patrick watches his bride enter as the Rev. Katherine Kerr and his father look on

The Rev. Kerr has the wedding party turn to see the guests

Ruth hugs her new son-in-law

Emily's father, Paul, congratulates Patrick

Time for pictures

Emily has some fun during the family photos

Emily and Patrick

Heading to the reception

The trolley gets ready to head to Quail Hollow in this atmospheric shot from Laura

Making their entrance

Patrick's parents enjoy the dance floor

Getting ready to cut into an edible masterpiece from Kathy Allen Fine Wedding Cakes

Emily's grandmother, right, got into the act as the ladies took to the stage

Emily sings with her sisters and mother as her grandmother adds some backup vocals

Patrick did a little performing too

Escaping through the flower petals

Sendoff

I love the historical setting of First Presbyterian, which stands in stark contrast to the gleaming uptown buildings that surround it.

Michael’s family has deep Louisiana roots, but even a loss by their beloved New Orleans Saints couldn’t put a damper on this day.

The service was followed by a wonderful party at Charlotte Country Club.

The Rev. Kirk Hall conducted the ceremony and Jean Cochran served as wedding director. Thanks to company photographer Laura Mueller for all of her beautiful work and to the excellent staff at Charlotte Country Club.

And congratulations to Hunter, Michael and your families.

Hunter and Michael

First Presbyterian Church

The guys were keeping a close watch on the playoff game between and Saints and the 49ers

Michael with ring bearer Cameron, his nephew

Michael with his sisters

Hunter with her brothers

Getting some help with the dress

Hunter has some fun while getting ready

Hunter with her father, Laurens

Placing the veil

Hunter's mother, Libbie, makes sure everything is in place

Hunter spots a friend

Waiting

High-five for flower girl Natalie

Hunter hugs her grandmother

Almost time

Laura captured Hunter's grandparents being greeted in the church

Hunter's brothers prepare to escort their mother into the service

Entering the ceremony

Michael watches Hunter and her father arrive at the alter

Beautiful historic setting at First Presbyterian Church

Newly married

Libbie hugs her new son-in-law

A little touch-up before group shots

Quick kiss from Mamie, Hunter's grandmother

Making their entrance at Charlotte Country Club

First dance

Father/daughter dance

Hunter and her grandfather, another nice moment from Laura

Hunter's parents enjoy the night

The bride and bridesmaids entertain the crowd

Flower petal finish

And as Gretchen told me, “Mark and my story is one of joy, grief, and many, many, blessings.”

The couple, who have known each other for many years, both lost a spouse to cancer. Gretchen’s first husband, also Mark, was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer in 1988. “He was an amazing man who dealt with his illness with tremendous courage,” Gretchen noted.

Mark’s wife Louella was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005. Gretchen and Mark would speak every so often about caring for a spouse with cancer. Mark lost his wife in April 2008 and Gretchen’s husband passed away in August 2008.

Gretchen said, “There are not many people widowed in their 40s who are raising children, so Mark and I continued to talk every so often.  We both loved our spouses very much and grieved their loss very hard. In early 2010 Mark and I met for a business lunch and spent two hours talking about our spouses.  A few weeks later we met for a not so business lunch and that was the beginning of our life as a couple.”

She added, “He has two wonderful boys, Russ and Luke, and I have two great kids in Alec and Gracie.  We are incredibly blessed in that despite having lost so much so young, the kids recognize that our relationship makes their parents happy and they have been really supportive.  This doesn’t mean we haven’t had bumps, but so far it has worked well and Mark and I are very excited about our new life as a family.”

Gretchen’s friend, the Rev. Katherine Kerr, led the service at First Presbyterian Church in Charlotte . They had become close during Gretchen’s husband’s illness.

Following the ceremony in the church’s chapel, the group moved to Myers Park Country Club to celebrate. Thanks to Karen Litton, event coordinator at the club, and the Rev. Kerr for their help.

It was a privilege to play a small part in this special celebration and best of luck Gretchen, Mark and their children!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year to all!

Gretchen, Mark and their children, Alec, Gracie, Luke and Russ, follow the Rev. Katherine Kerr's invitation to greet their guests during the service

Gretchen waits with her father, stepmother, sister and daughter before the wedding at First Presbyterian Church

Gretchen and Gracie share a quiet moment while waiting

Mother and daughter laugh as they prepare for a big life change

Gretchen and her father

The ceremony

Gretchen celebrates with her sister and her mother

Mark's sons Luke and Russ with their grandmother

Gretchen and Mark

A festive holiday setting at Myers Park Country Club

Some tasty dessert

Finishing off a wonderful night

Here’s hoping that you have the happiest of holidays!

From Christopher Record Photography and the Record family - Chris, Betsy, Alison and Sean.

Wishing you the best for the holidays and in the coming year