Sometimes we just get too caught up with the photos. Take this, take that. Do this, do that. It’s really more about the experience. Just remember that it doesn’t matter who you are, why you’re here. Capturing the moment is really what it’s about.

Danny called me a few days before I arrived, hoping I could make this date for their one year anniversary. All I really knew was he was surprising Rachel with a stay at the Duke Mansion. It was actually where I took them for their engagement photos. Rachel was a bit shocked. She was only told hours before to pack a bag.

He pulls out a blue bag that has the infamous blue box in it. I think the photo on the lower right was my absolute favorite that day. So much emotion and excitement.

Here’s the ring from Tiffanys she got as a gift.

I also surprised them both with a bottle of Dom Perignon. My accountant told me about 5 minutes before I arrived I probably wouldn’t be able to write off the expense on my taxes. I figured as much. This is actually the second bottle I bought this year. The first bottle was when my friend Trey returned from Afghanistan. I also punked the news into believing that the governor was about to step off the plane with his mistress. That’s another story though.

I have to thank Lisa for the idea on the Dom P. She and Tillman were sipping on it at their wedding.

We sat around and talked a few. I actually took their engagement photos back in the day as well(seen here).

We circled the house and took a few photos. It was good to catch up with these guys.

This is one of my favorite places to shoot. They do charge you to shoot there though.

Rachel has been killing it in the gym. She has lost over 40 pounds. She looked great!

We then headed to uptown Charlotte. I lagged behind a second (trying not to get run over) to take this shot. I was actually following them to the restaurant they were gonna eat at.

A photograph of the part of the Charlotte skyline where we parked. Danny works for a company that builds a lot of the skyscrapers in Charlotte.

A kiss with a view of the Queen City in the background.

We arrived at BLT Steak. At this point I was gonna take a few photos and let them celebrate the rest of the night alone.

Danny had one last surprise. I was really worried because I had no idea what he was gonna do and the lighting in the restaurant was extremely dark. Dan lifted his glass and told Rachel ************************. I’ll fill this in later…

A shot from outside the restaurant. This was a pretty difficult photograph to get. Plus I had a police officer hounding me on what I was doing.

I told him I was capturing memories.

Thanks for stopping by guys.