This year, we have our CLASSIC Christmas and MODERN Christmas scenes. We've made a few adjustments to our classic scene and I LOVE IT this year!!! Dress your little ones in their Christmas best for an adorable portrait you'll treasure! For our modern scene, we suggest colorful, playful Christmas clothes or even cuddly Christmas pajamas! Check out our AMAZING Christmas Specials!!! You are going to LOVE these! We are super excited to photograph your little ones all decked out for the holidays! :)

We hope everyone is having a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving! Our Christmas Specials at Blue Bear start tomorrow (Black Friday). Check out the amazing deals we created for you to SAVE Money & Get BETTER Photos (not to mention check a few names off your list)! The studio is decorated and we are super excited about photographing everyone's Christmas Portraits!!!

Please come downtown tomorrow and support our local businesses. Our Downtown Light Up the Season Celebration is 4 PM at Bear Plaza. Santa will ride into town on a horse-drawn carriage to greet everyone! You definitely want to bring your kids out for this!!! For more info click here. We can't wait to see all the children's excited faces. While you are nearby, please stop in Blue Bear Portraits, see our Christmas scenes for this year, and pick up our specials and pricing guide. You will be thrilled with the money you can save on your Christmas portraits (and the ease of coming to a family run business versus a corporate studio).

See you all soon!!! Enjoy this wonderful holiday season!

Brandy, John, Caroline & Mia

We had the pleasure of photographing Laura & Kory a few weeks ago! Laura was working for The Hilton in New Bern at the time, so we had previously worked together to cross-promote for weddings. (Side note: for brides still searching for a venue, check out Ashley & Stephen's Wedding post to see The Hilton, New Bern) Like every groom-to-be, Kory was not thrilled about a portrait session, but we quickly turned that around and all had fun together!

I was so excited to find this video online! It discusses some of the reasons why it is so important to hire a professional photographer for your wedding. So many brides try to cut their budgets by hiring a family member or friend to photograph without realizing that the photographs will be the only tangible part of their wedding left after that day. A professional photographer is the only photographer you will find with the skills necessary to capture every moment of your special day beautifully and preserve those priceless photos forever. The link, http://www.ppa.com/weddingphotographer/, also has a lot of helpful information for you such as questions to ask the photographers you interview and what to look for in a professional photographer. I hope this helps those of you still searching. ...and if you are still searching, give John a call at 633-3755 to discuss your wedding photography! He will answer all of your questions and concerns and provide a custom quote. HAPPY WEDDING PLANNING!

We had a wonderful time with Morgan and Jason at their November wedding! Morgan was so calm and collected, no stress at all (we love a chill bride)! They were married at Centenary United Methodist Church on Middle St. in New Bern and had they reception at The Chelsea. The upstairs reception area was decorated with fall flowers and dried fall leaves; very simple and beautiful!

If any brides are looking for a reception site or caterer, please check out The Chelsea... seriously you cannot go wrong! http://www.thechelsea.com/

Ashley and Stephen had a truly beautiful wedding! They were married at First Baptist Church in downtown New Bern and then rode the trolley around a bit before it dropped them off at their Hilton reception. They danced the night away on the veranda of the Hilton overlooking the river. Thank you so much for letting us in on your special day... we have enjoyed getting to know you both and wish you a lifetime of happiness! Maybe we'll bump into you next time we're at Ocracoke!

Lindsey and Brad were married at St. Paul's Catholic Church in New Bern, NC with their reception at Carolina Colours Pavilion. We photographed Lindsey and Brad's engagement session and Lindsey's bridal (you can view both are on previous blog posts). Every time we photograph this couple we capture memorable images; they are just so comfortable in front of a camera! These are a few of my favorite wedding moments from Lindsey and Brad's wedding. I think these photographs speak for themselves, but since I like to over-elaborate on everything, I have to tell you that I was so surprised and LOVED the garter removing. Brad is a shy guy, he barely spoke during their engagement session, so when "Danger Zone" began playing for the garter removing and he whipped out his aviator sunglasses, it was a great moment! Who doesn't love a Top Gun moment (for those of us born in the 80s)? ... and yes Brad is military, so thank you Brad!!!

After meeting with Jessica and Mario about their wedding, John spent 15 minutes photographing them in downtown New Bern. They live in California and were only down for the week of their wedding, so we made the most of our time together with a quick engagement session. This session may have been fast, but I love the images John captured. I met the couple at their wedding the following weekend and can honestly say, these images don't lie. You really can see what a fun, loving couple they are!!! Wedding to come soon!

I had a great time photographing little Gracie! She is such a doll and very easy-going. I just love how her session turned out... especially the "little ballerina" portrait! Thanks Amy for letting my photograph your sweet little girl!!!