No photographs for this entry but I really needed to get something new on this blog. I am feeling guilty about being so remiss in adding information.

 I was just helping my wife grade the Blogs her students are writing and it made me realize how this one has been neglected for some time.

 We have finally made our move to California, sort of. Casey is still spending most of her time in North Carolina until the end of UNC’s semester. But we have taken up residence in Coronado. What a beautiful place to spend your life. In fact, on my website and in this blog any photos you see of the San Diego skyline were shot from the deck on the back of our home.

 Never thought we have to contend with so much rain out here, though. I seem to recall something about it never raining in southern California. That song is out of date with these recent events. I’ll give it this, though, it has made for some beautiful scenes of the SD skyline.

 I have started booking weddings for the 2010 season and am looking forward to working at the Hotel Del Coronado and well as some of the wineries in the Temecula area.

 I guess I just cannot do this without a picture or two so here are just a couple from Coronado and Point Loma.

With a few open weeks on our hands, Casey and I trekked out to paradise (aka the San Diego area) for another visit. Just like Mark Sanford gets lured back to Argentina, I head to San Diego whenever I can. But my love affair is different: Ah! The beaches, the vineyards, the Hotel Del Coronado, the Del beach, the Coronado Landing with the San Diego bay and skyline as a backdrop, La Jolla, the beaches, Balboa Park, Temecula, Chuao Chocolatier, Karen Krasne’s perfect wedding cakes. Did I mention the beaches? Resistance is futile, so we have decided to move the entire S Dill Photographic Design operation out to California in the fall. San Diego and its surrounding areas provide so many venues for spectacular weddings that it is just too much to pass up. Truly one of the destination wedding capitals of the world, Southern California is a photographer’s paradise. We will start booking weddings, engagement sessions, portraits, commercial shoots, and more in the fall for the spring season and beyond. I’m looking forward to some great new opportunities opening up there and I expect my tan to improve too. Just a few recent images with more to come. 

When you live in Hawaii, what do you do for a honeymoon?
That was the question on the minds of many at Charlee and Riley’s wedding this
last weekend. They are both stationed at Hickum Field on the islands, but with
many friends and family here in North Carolina, they decided to have a
destination ceremony instead – leaving Hawaii and coming to the Triangle Area.

Both the wedding and reception were held at the Wagner
House, a pretty little turn-of-the-century historic home in Cary. With lots of
nooks and crannies, the house had beautifully decorated rooms for guests to
explore and to mix and mingle within. The Wagner House has a huge wrap-around
porch and the guests took advantage of it to enjoy the gorgeous North Carolina
day. A wonderful blue sky with great big white puffy clouds floating by, a nice
breeze, and not even a hint of rain for a change made the day close to perfect
for the outdoor ceremony. Just a few degrees cooler would have been nice, but
it was a day no one could complain about.

Charlee choose her sisters and her closest friends as
attendants and Riley brought Air Force buddies to represent him. All together,
they made a great group supporting the bride and groom, who were surrounded by
many more happy throngs to cheer them on.

So, where does one go to honeymoon when you are from
paradise already? Why, Maggie Valley, of course. After the nuptials, Charlee
and Riley were off to explore the mountains of North Carolina, to do a little
white water rafting, and to enjoy some hiking and relaxing in another paradise
before heading back home.

Here are just a few images from their day:

North Carolina – the perfect destination for a wedding, even when it is raining.

Katie and Charlie wanted an outdoor ceremony on the lake. The weather gods seemed to want otherwise, but as is usually the case the belle in the white dress won out. The rains put in a brief appearance prior to the ceremony, but the clouds broke and the sun beamed out, painting a beautiful backdrop for the lakefront nuptials.

Then it was time to party down! Great friends helped the couple celebrate their first day of married bliss at the Five Oaks Club in Durham. Friends and family alike got a kick out of seeing Katie and Charlie pre-adulthood during the slideshow. The bride and groom were thankful the naked behind photos were left out of the mix. Eventually the “Blues Brothers” put in an appearance, to the delight of all. Some wise sage once said, “Fabulous food, fantastic friends, funky music, and a beer or two; who could ask for anything more?” Truer words could not have been spoken when Katie and Charlie brought it all together May 16, 2009.

Rain and outdoor weddings do not mix well and, boy, has it been raining a lot here in North Carolina this spring. With all the rain and the stormy forecast for May 8^th, Tabitha was expecting rain on her wedding day. As a matter of fact, so was I. But our fears were for naught. The skies cleared, the sun peeked out, the birds started singing – just like in Disney’s Cinderella -- and the day grew beautiful as it moved toward evening.

 

Tree-lined gardens, ponds surrounded by wrought iron hangings, and spring flowers galore make for the perfect outdoor ceremony and reception. And the house at Barclay Manor is like the Asheville Biltmore Estate in miniature. Everything was being done at Barclay just outside of Angier, NC, -- and, believe me, the staff goes out of its way to foresee the couple’s every need.

 

I had not met Jonathan prior to the wedding day, but he was easy to spot. He was the one practicing his first-dance moves in the middle of the dance floor. He wanted to have his every move just right for his bride.

 

A beautiful bride and groom, perfect location, great weather, and close friends and family all came together on May 8^, 2009, to create some great photos and give Tabitha and Jonathon a day they will treasure forever.  Here are just a few shots of the day:

October 25th and the rains finally went away and left us with a sunny afternoon for an outdoor wedding. We were at Spruce Pine Lodge, a part of the Durham park system, with Kendra and Terri. And they had a memorable ceremony filled with lots of symbolisms tied to Terri’s Native American heritage. All the guests were invited to come forward and place some small token of their choosing on the alter as a remembrance. Kendra was a stunning bride and together with her groom, Terri, they are quite the pair. They have worked together at Duke for some time and now they have committed to a life together as well.

With the ceremony over we all kicked back for an evening of dance, dinner, good cheer and a photo booth. Everyone had the chance to get instant photos that they could take with them or cut and paste into a book of remembrance for the happy couple.

Finally, Kendra and Terri left on Harleys for a wedding trip to Salem, Massachusetts for a Halloween honeymoon.

Mauricia and Daniel a couple of nice down home young people. We were invited to work with them for their special day on the 4th of October. And the day was special in so many ways. What a wonderful breeze that kept the heat down for an outdoor ceremony out in the farmland around Mcleansville, NC. Maricia commented to me today that there never seems to be enough time on a wedding day for all that has to get done. But we made the best of it and got some great photos of their wedding at the Hayloft. It is a converted dairy farm just out of town and was a neat setting for this event. Surrounded by all of their friends and family the day fairly flew by before they had to leave for their honeymoon in the Bahamas. Take a look at these to get the flavor of the day.

I finally got back to Raleigh to shoot this last week-end. It has been a while and I have been seeing a lot of beautiful North Carolina this summer. But Raleigh is one of my favorite places to take wedding photographs; that and St. Louis.

This week we were working at Sacred Heart church, which is a small but very pretty Catholic church downtown and then we just walked down Hillsborough street to the Second Empire restaurant which is second to none as a venue. Angela could not have asked for a better day. As we walked a number of passers-by honked at us and shouted out "you go girl" to congratulate the couple. The temperature was perfect with a slight breeze that kept the fall leaves moving just enough. She choose a soft garnet color for her bridesmaids and each had the style that flattered them. As everything wound down I stepped back for a moment and the beauty of the day mixed with the rich aroma of steak was a great send-off. I look forward to the chance to get back there to enjoy a regular menu meal at Second Empire. Tracy, the manager even let us in to the wine cellar for some great shots of Angela and Chris.

Angela and Chris are from Chicago but came back here for their wedding. Since we all have ties to the Midwest, St. Louis and Chicago, I found the day very enjoyable. Not to leave out the fact that this was a great couple to work with and it ends up reflected in their images. Here are just a few.

Britney and Brian got married this last weekend in Zebulon NC.
Following the wedding we moved on to the Marriott in Raleigh for the rest of the evening.
It was quite a task to concentrate on wedding day activities with the East Carolina Pirates were playing football on Saturday and this group were all fans.
But they kept their school spirit in check for the afternoon and made room for the wedding.
I know they were all happy they did.
A gorgeous bride, outstanding looking groom, and 11 attendants and escorts all in black made for a striking wedding entourage.
Here are a few images from a lovely afternoon and evening in North Carolina.   

The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond VA is a gorgeous site for a wedding and reception. Last weekend Shana and Darryl were united there and they and their guests enjoyed a fun filled evening. The Jefferson was built and has been in continuous operation since 1895. That is longer than the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. And they are on a par with each other when to comes to décor and beauty.

Shana and Darryl are from  the Fort Lauderdale area but with family in Richmond chose to get married there. Here are a few images from their wedding day.