Get Engaged Over the Holidays?

I just wanted to take a minute and congratulate all of those fabulous girlfriends that sat pining over the holidays just waiting for their boyfriend to propose with that big fat diamond ring that just took their breath away... (I know I laughed, cried, and took 2 whole minutes to answer yes!  Meanwhile the boyfriend was waiting.... and waiting....)

As you enter into the busy season of planning, registering and pulling your hair out, we have our own little engagement present for you....

During the month of January we would like to give you $100 off any engagement session!  You can book with us right up until January 31st!  There's no need for us to take your pictures in the freezing cold - you can schedule the session for a later date with no worries!  Just print out this picture and give us the code: esesh10 when you inquire.  We can't wait to hear from you!

Megan & Andrew Engaged!

I love my family... I really do.  So when I got a phone call from my little brother telling me that he'd just proposed, the first thing out of my mouth was "Congratulations!!!" the second thing was "I'm SO shooting your engagement pics!"

Megan is Andrew's adorable little firecracker of a finace, and believe it or not, had never owned a hair dryer up until this shoot.  Thanks to my sister Beth and my best friend Dani we dolled her up, and sent her on her way (you may remember Dani from my website... she's the gorgeous blonde by the big oak tree in the "true love" section).

I love these guys!  They were romantic, fun, and let me try out any ideas that popped into my head... even standing in traffic.  Welcome to the family Meg!  Hope the rest of you enjoy!

And of course... my favorite.  This just felt like an old school black and white movie...

Joanna & Vernon's E-Sesh!

Joanna & Vernon were my J. Crew couple of the year (or Banana Republic as Joanna prefers).  I met Joanna and Vernon over dinner one night at Mac's, and we all totally clicked.  When we met they wanted to have a honeymoon in Greece, and get married in Charlotte... then they wanted to get married in Greece... and now they're getting married in Charlotte (and the honeymoon is still undetermined).  Joanna made the decision to sign a contract without having wedding date or location set yet!  I was so honored to have such a high priority on her list!

Joanna and Vernon had the first half of their engagement session captured at Vernon's grandparent's house, and the second half in Uptown.  These two were amazingly romantic and cute with each other!  They were adventurous, spunky, sexy and utterly amazing! ... Check out a sneak peak of their session... (oh, and that adorable dog?  That would be Gemma... she tackled me at least twice during our session!)

... and of course... my favorite... I know it's not of the two of them, but c'mon! 
This needs to be in J. Crew or Banana... Or like Vernon said,
"A 20x24 canvas on my wall" (Joanna disagreed).

Heather & Justin Married!

It was a cold, cold day in the middle of October and I was lost... very lost.  Lemme tell ya... GPS had it wrong folks... I could not find this location, and I was running out of gas... AND I had forgotten the bride's cell number at home!  Not good.  So I called my husband, panicked... and then saw the sign... Villa Franca Estate Wedding (followed by an arrow)... I hung my head.  If I had just kept driving instead of freaking out and wondering if I had gone too far everything would have been okay... sigh.  Luckily when I got there Heather hadn't even started getting ready, and I had 5 hours until the ceremony started for pictures (yay!).  ... Okay, enough about me...  Let's roll back a few months...

I had my website up for all of a week, and I got a call from Heather...

"Is this Rachel Fesko?"

"Yes, it is!"

"I'm getting married in October, and I saw that you still had my date available... can you send me a contract?"

"Uh... Sure!  Would you like to get together for coffee or dinner to get to know each other?"

"No, that's fine.  We can do that later."

So about 5 months later we met, and I finally was able to speak to Justin!  It was about a month later that I received another phone call from Heather...

"Hey Rachel... they double booked my date, and I have to move my wedding..."

... gasp...

Because I have the most amazing clients ever... the bride that had scheduled to have her bridals taken on the day of Heather's new date was able to move her appointments so that I could shoot Heather & Justin' wedding!

I absolutely loved being apart of this wedding day, and apart of the family.  This day was full of adventures, cold hands, and warm hearts... And the quickest outdoor ceremony that I've ever been apart of... Congrats you two... many happy memories to come.

This one was NOT my idea...

And my favorite...

Tai & Heyward's E-Sesh!

I met Tai back in April through Crystal (you may remember her and Ian's E-Sesh... and their fabulous wedding is up & coming!).  Tai and I laughed through most of our meeting, and she was one of the few clients I knew was a lock after we talked.  When I asked her what she was envisioning for her engagement session, she immediately mentioned her son Cameron...

He was only with us for a few shots... but what a cutie, huh?!

And let's not forget the eversohandsome Heyward.... who I had just met, and who totally rocked it out!  Congrats you guys!  And I can't wait to shoot your wedding next Spring!

Enjoy some of my faves! 

And of course... my favorite...

Project Hope Launch!

Project Hope

Project Hope has been something that has been running around inside me for the past 6 months, and the more people I talk to about it the more excited I've become.

I have a huge heart for women that are waiting for their men to come home, and women that want to see their dreams come true but lack the finances.  Here is where Project Hope comes in.  So far, for 2010, I've had 3 brides postpone their weddings due to either finances or their fiance being deployed... and I want to help.

On February 14th, I (along with a panel) will be choosing a couple for a (basically) free or low cost wedding.  You'll at least be getting the photography (me) for free!  If you're fiance is deployed you don't have to have a date set yet, if you are a bride that comes from a low income family you need to have at least a time of year in mind. 

Here are the stipulations:

1.  You must be engaged by Dec 25th
2.  You must come from a low income family, have a low income household, your fiance must be currently deployed or your fiance must be deployed before Jan 1.
3.  Your family and fiance's family must be reachable for interviews

4.  Clients that have already signed contracts are not eligible

5.  Application deadline is Dec 25th.

Just to forewarn you... this is going to be a lengthy process with rounds of eliminations, as well as interviews. 

The Top 10 will be chosen by Jan 1, Top 5 by Feb 1 and the final winner will be chosen on Valentines Day!

Please pass this post along to anyone who fits the criteria.

You can pick up an application by emailing: projecthope@rachelfeskophotography.com.  I will hopefully have a link up soon, that you can download and send in.

If you are a vendor and would like to help, please send an email expressing your interest and capability to: rachel@rachelfeskophotography.com

Our First Child...

So I would like everyone to meet our first child... Ngenzi.  Please forgive the smatters of nonsense through this blog, but I'm writing through tears...

Do you ever have those moments... the moments when you realize that you may have it bad, but not as bad as you thought?  That was me over the weekend.  Doug West, a Compassion International Child Advocate, came to our church on Sunday and spoke about his own experiences with sponsoring a child in Africa.  It wasn't until this moment that forgotten memories came to the surface.

When I was growing up my parents sponsored a little boy from Rwanda.  I don't remember his name, but I remember writing him and sending him a soccer ball every year for his birthday.  Whenever we wanted to send Compassion money to buy him something (because that's how it works :), my Mom & Dad made us take money out of our allowance/savings like we would for any other family member or friend.  This boy wasn't just someone that my Mom & Dad sponsored, he was apart of our family.

I've changed my language about this boy... Ngenzi isn't a child I'm sponsoring... he's a child I've adopted.  In my heart, he's my kid... I want to take care of him and make sure he has a better life.  The high school kids I used to work with will tell you this... they were my kids.  I took care of them, and I promise to take care of this little boy.  If I don't, who will?

We have so much compared to other nations, and we have the opportunity to help in a real and tangible way.  Compassion is an organization focused on relieving poverty one child at a time, and they have a real and true cause with real and true results.  We hear so many times about the charity work that celebrities do...  You may not receive world wide accolades, or notoriety; but you will change the life of a little boy or girl in a way that will be unforgettable to them.  If you have $40/mo, or even if you don't... investing in a child is so much better than going out to eat on a Friday night.

Men at Chess

Yesterday I was sitting at Starbucks in Raleigh waiting for Lisa and Kirk to arrive for their engagement session... and stumbled upon this...

 

My immediate thought was "This is adorable."  And of course my second thought was... "Where is my camera?"  So, I ran outside to the car, grabbed my camera and came back in and snuck a few shots.

But here's what hit me today... Because of the things that have happened in my life I count the word "friend" something priceless and treasured.  The people that I call "friend" I know that I can trust with my raw emotions, and can help me weed them down to something more manageable.  These are the people that I can share my hopes & dreams with, and they won't tell me to get my head out of the clouds.  These are the people that I will cherish for life.  That I will play chess with when I'm 80 (if I ever remember how to play).

To all of my friends... I love you.  Thank you for being trustworthy and a confidant.  I will hold you dear in my heart and in my life until kingdom come.