We met up with the bridal party at the beginning of the day where they were getting ready at Embassy Suites at Brier Creek.

All of the groomsmen had their own personalized belt buckle with their names on it. What a cool keepsake from a day that no one is soon to forget!

Ashleigh and Lawrence had the most unique floral pieces and arrangements that I have seen as a wedding photographer. They were actually made of all dried flowers and the big white flowers were made of balsa wood! They were gorgeous!!! I loved the cotton added to the bouquets as well!Ashleigh had the most gorgeous ruffly wedding dress! It reminded me of a modern version of the ruffly, fancy dresses that the women would have worn in old cowboy movies! It was amazing and suited Ashleigh perfectly! I bet that Lawrence would agree! I love these next two pictures because when I look at them, I can hear the sound of Ashleigh’s excited laughter as she bounced around the bridal room after she was finally in her dress! It was awesome! Nothing like having a pre-game toast in the bathroom! Ha!Seriously, Asheigh?!? You were STUNNING!!!Ashleigh and Lawrence opted to do a first look… WHICH I LOVE!!! It is so nice for couples to be able to have a few quiet moments together before the ceremony. It is also a nice time to do some relaxed portraits before the day takes off! I positively LOVED Ashleigh’s dad’s reaction when he saw her for the first time in her wedding dress! Those are the types of reactions that a photographer waits and waits for! It was classic! And her dad rocking his own belt buckle was classic as well!!

Unfortunately, Lawrence’s dad passed away a few months ago. Ashleigh described Lawrence’s dad as the “last REAL cowboy” and I loved seeing the pictures that they had displayed at the wedding. They also had Lawrence’s dad’s cowboy hat sitting on the chair where he would have been seated and I think that everyone would agree, that Lawrence’s dad was present there with them on their big day. I know that he would have been extraordinarily proud of Lawrence!Seriously?! Aren’t those flowers amazing!?!? I am in love with the wooden ones!These two pictures of the ring bearer crack me up! The first one he smiled so nicely for Dave but then the second one, he looked at Dave like, “Ok, I smiled for one of them, what more do you want from me?!” Haha! Dave got the official cowboy “Stank-Eye”! But he is still awfully cute with those little cowboy boots! Ashleigh and Lawrence filled an hourglass with a different twist on the traditional sand ceremony but it was so funny because the sand did not fill the hourglass quite as quickly as they were anticipating! Haha! There were a few moments filled with just the sounds of laughter as they waited patiently for the sand to drop so they could finish filling it. 

Because they were married on St. Patrick’s Day, Ashleigh and Lawrence hired a leprechaun to take pictures with their guests at the photo booth (which we are now offering to our wedding couples) and it made for some hilarious photo ops! I love his face on the second image where they are stealing his gold coins!

After we took a few more serious portraits of Ashleigh and Lawrence together, I could tell that they were itching to do something more goofy so I took a couple goofy shots of them both together and then gave them each about 15 seconds to fire off as many goofy faces as they could manage. I had the following collage in mind when I had them do this and it turned out even more hilarious than I had envisioned! They crack me up!!Thank you to Teresa Porter for this gorgeous wide angle shot of the Pavilion all dressed up for Ashleigh and Lawrence’s wedding! Teresa also ran our first photo booth (AKA The Cackle Box)! We GREATLY appreciated the help and were so thankful she was there! She did a GREAT job! I loved that Ashleigh and Lawrence chose to use mustaches and lips on a stick as their place cards for seating at the reception! I also love the awesome stand that Lawrence made himself to display them all for the guests! I also love the old bathtub that the Angus Barn provides to collect the wedding gifts!When the bridal party was announced, the ring bearer can in “guns blazing”… I think he was on the hunt for Dave!
I have always loved images with light flare. There is always something that reminds me of heaven or something angelic and I can’t help but think of Lawrence’s dad being with him in this picture.

We were so extremely glad and honored to be a part of your big day, Mr. and Mrs. Garcia! We are sad it is all over! We wish you the most happiness as you start your lives together!

Wedding and Reception: Angus Barn Pavilion

Angus Barn Coordinator: Ashley Whittington

Flowers: Faye Zierer

Cake: Tartlette Treats

Officiant: Perri

Leprechaun: Seasound Studio Entertainment (Paedre O’Leary)

Band/ Ceremony Musicians: Sam Hill Entertainments: Drivetrain

Cooper took his time getting here and we thought that he was going to be induced on January 24, 2012. I already had a sitter lined up for our boys in preparation for heading to the hospital later than morning to photograph Kristen’s labor and delivery, but things got started a little earlier than anticipated. Quentin called me bright and early in the morning and told me that Kristen was having contractions and they were on their way to the hospital. I told him that I would get up and get showered and to call me as soon as she was checked by a nurse to let me know who far along she was. I was only out of the shower for a couple minutes when Quentin called to say that Kristen was already 8cm and that I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible. I threw my wet hair in a pony tail and jumped in the car just in time to catch the morning 7am traffic in Apex. I was in standstill traffic at 7am and posted about it on Facebook. (I know, shouldn’t be on FB in traffic!) Haha! At 7:22am, little man Cooper arrived, yes, that would be only 22 minutes later and I had to travel from Apex to Wake Med in Cary! Made it just in time for Kristen to start pushing because she was 10 cm when I arrived.

When I had talked to Quentin the second time, he informed me that Kristen was about to get an epidural, but I found out after the fact that Kristen was too far along to get it, so she delivered little Cooper in three pushes without any pain meds! I was in shock! You have never seen a more beautiful, and peaceful mother pushing an 8 pound baby out without ANY pain meds! She was super woman and super mom and I wouldn’t expect anything less of sweet Kristen! It was so sweet and touching to also watch Quentin as he encouraged Kristen during the short delivery. The honest and pure emotion that he displayed when he saw his son for the first time was a beautiful and touching thing to watch. Kristen’s entire family is amazing. They were all there at the hospital, anxiously waiting to meet little Cooper, and they showered him with love and affection and welcomed him to the family. It was truly an honor to be there to witness and document the growth of the family. Thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of it! Love you guys!

Here is a slideshow of highlights of the day…

(To watch in HD, click on HD at bottom right, hit pause and wait for it to load all the way before pressing play.)

Cooper’s Big Day from Tara Parker on Vimeo.

And here is a handful (or two) of my favorites…

Thanks Kris and Aubrey!! It was a blast as always!

Once Lauren and her husband Chad were all checked in at the hospital and they started the induction, I headed that way, fully expecting to be there for a good portion of the day. When I got there, the atmosphere was nothing like what I expected. I expected Lauren to be in a lot of pain, so maybe not as sweet as she had been every time I had talked to her (normal expectation during birth, right?!). Instead, I found Lauren in such good spirits and we spend the next couple of hours chatting about our sons and about photography and telling funny stories between contractions and we had a lot of fun! I never thought that I would see someone so calm and happy and smiling while in labor! Lauren was amazing! I did feel badly at one point because Chad and I were making her laugh during some of her contractions because we couldn’t stop laughing ourselves (imagine that? Tara can’t stop laughing?), and I know that it must have been SOOOO painful! It was kind of like when you got the giggles in church as a kid and you knew that you were not supposed to be laughing but that made it even worse and you laughed even harder! It was horrible! We spent so much time laughing and actually having a pleasurable time that I think everyone was a bit shocked when three hours after I arrived, the nurse said that she was going to get the doctor because Lauren was ready to start pushing! I think we were all a bit stunned! Lauren pushed for about 20 minutes and Alyssa joined the world!

I seriously could not imagine being a part of a more amazing moment or time! I feel like I missed out on a lot with the birth of my own son because I had a C-section, so it was so magical to be there for Alyssa’s birth! I started to tear up when they laid Alyssa on Lauren’s chest immediately after she was born because it was such a magical and amazing moment! Their lives are forever changed and I was there to see and document the very first moment of Alyssa’s life and their new lives as a family! It was truly a blessing to be there and I couldn’t have been more honored to have been asked to be a part of it!

Here is a tiny slideshow of a handful of the images from the amazing day. Thank you Lauren and Chad for letting me be a part of it! It meant more to me than you will ever know!