Neil Boyd Photography

On Monday I participated in the Raleigh "Photography Shootout" organized by Rob Nicholson. We had a great attendance of about 20 photographers from all over the state. I had an hour to show how I shoot brides in unexpected adverse conditions. It had been raining all day so rather than do a beautiful outdoor shoot at Meredith College we had to take the group indoors in the Royal Bakery. One of my Ex-brides Jeanie Stasko volunteered to model and did a great job. My Friends at Tre Bella bridal provided Jeanie with her dress, jewelry and flowers. Ginger Mullins did an awesome job with her hair and Jennifer at Make Up For Your Day also did a great job on the make up.

It was quite stressful trying to photograph with 20 other photographers watching while at the same time answering their questions, but it was a great experience.

Thanks to Jonathan and Cara at F8 for organizing it all.

Here are some of the images........

Last week i had the privilege of shooting some new bridal gowns for the upcoming edition of Southern Bride & Groom
The shoot was at the historic Matthews House in Cary. Throughout the day the staff there really looked after us supplying the whole team with a great spread of food. Donna, from SB&G had put together a great team of make-up artists and hair stylists and their work really helped the shoot run smoothly.
Unfortunately, as the publication is not yet out (and we really don't want to steal their thunder) we aren't permitted to show images from the shoot. However, after a bit of begging, on my part, Donna has allowed us to use this one image. It really was a great shoot and this image truly reflected the culmination of everyone's hard work.



Photographer Neil Boyd
Model: Jeanie Stasko
Dress: Tre Bella
Hair & Makeup: Douglas Carroll Salon
Venue: Matthews House

I've just finished editing Carissa and Michael's wedding from a couple of weeks back and thought I'd share a few of the images with you (and them). this was an awesome event which was held at the Matthews House in Cary, NC.

The Bridesmaids had lot's of fun helping Carissa get ready:



And when she was, she looked stunning!



Michael and the guys weren't too shabby either.



Michael waited in anticipation for his lovely bride.



Together they sign the Ketubah



It was a wonderful colorful ceremony.



And the happy couple moved off, hand in hand.



Michael & Carissa had lots of fun at the photoshoot....



They started off the dancing at the reception with their first dance...



And everyone joined in for the Hora!



When it was finally time to leave, everyone was there for a "Sparkler" send off.

Just finished editing the wedding of Jessica and Justin at the beautiful Carolina Inn, so I thought I would share some of their wonderful images....

The fun started in the early afternoon when my good friend (and great Make Up Artist), Stephanie Sevilla arrived to start the getting ready process.



Jessica's Dog decided to make a guest appearance, so everything stopped while he received a few cuddles.



Joy (Jessica's Mum) put together the final touches.....



...and the transformation was complete.



Jessica looked absolutely stunning.




All we needed now was the arrival of the groom (Justin) and as we were shooting him Jessica decided to sneak a quick peek.



The ceremony took place in the beautiful Bryan Courtyard and was directed to precision by Cori Stocum



Afterward we had lot's of fun shooting around the Inn....





Chris Kingsley got the dancing underway as we started at the reception.



And at the reception, Jessica had ample opportunity to show off her beautiful ring. And of course the wonderful Julie at the Inn kept everything ticking along smoothly. And lots of fun was had by all who attended!!!

Last week we got to shoot Ebony & Derek's wedding. We first met with them over a year ago and the big day finally came! The wedding had been organized to perfection by Barbara Clarke owner of An Elegant Affair. Ebony and her maids of honor got ready at the Sheraton RTP. There was quite a gathering in the hotel suite, but we managed to get some great shots of the woman of the hour!



The ceremony took place at Union Baptist in Durham and it was extremely well attended. After the service the couple ran to their car amidst a shower of bubbles! It was a very lucky escape as there was a storm of Tropical proportions during the ceremony itself, but luckily everyone was in the church at that time.



After the traditional family portrait shoot we then proceeded to my favorite part of the day, photographing some fun shots with the couple and their bridal party. Most of these shots took place at the reception venue, The Hilton RTP.



The Room layout at the Hilton was perfect and the supplemental lighting by Rick Brida really gave the room that Wow! factor. As always Mel Day (Dogwood Tree) did an awesome job with the floral arrangements this wedding is going to look great in Janet Blood's (Event Coordinator at the Hilton) portfolio.



After Dinner the party really took off as Greg Ramsey from the Bunn DJ Company really got the party rocking. we had a short interlude for speeches and to cut the beautiful cake provided by Donna from Sweet Memories. After that it was everyone back on the dance floor to finish off what was a great day!

As we've started into our new wedding season, I thought I'd take this opportunity to restart the blog. I've been really slack with this, but have been swamped with work over the last year.

Bridget and I had great fun last weekend shooting Courtney & Derek's wedding.

The event was at the Carolina Inn (one of our favorite venues), and was directed by Anne David from An Elegant Affair.

Courtney looked spectacular in her dress from Victorian Rose. After the nuptials, the whole wedding party were up for a fun photo shoot and we even stopped the Traffic on Franklin street!

At the reception, the party really kicked off as DJ Mel Manning from The Bunn DJ Company had everyone on the dance floor. I think they had to physically pull Derek away at closing time!

Julie McCay, Banquet Manager from the CI, as always, did an excellent job (I love eating there )

What a blast!

but still a great day for a wedding!

Last weekend Neil & Leah photographed Anna & Tim's wedding at Duke Chapel. Despite the downpours they were still able to get some beautifully lit shots outside of the happy couple.

Don't they say rain on the wedding day is good luck?

And another HOT one!

Neil and Bridget were busy shooting a Morgan & Brandon's wedding in Rocky Mount, (pictures coming soon!) while Leah and Katie were in Greensboro for Laura and Matt's wedding. Luckily none of the ceremonies were outside with the 100 degree weather but we did intermittently make it outside for some great fun pictures. Laura and Matt were such a blast to work with and their families were such a pleasure to be around.

Thanks guys for such an excellent time!

Yes, we know. It's been awhile, but we have been busy!

Some updates on us...
Katie has left the studio to pursue her own business back in Boston and we're very excited for her! Leah has taken her place in the studio helping with editing work, shooting children's portraits, as well as being busy photographing weddings.

This has been a busy season so far for us and we're really enjoying it! We're also trying to beat the North Carolina heat with all of our weddings and outdoor portraits. Neil was enjoying the weather this past weekend as it was his first weekend off in quite awhile, now he's nice and rested.

Leah photographed Carolyn & Brad at Duke Chapel on Saturday, the hottest day of the year so far, but that didn't stop them from creating some amazing images, here are a few of our favorites...

Check back in soon! We'll be updating our blog every Monday.