Hi friends! I typically do not share all of my newsletters on my blog. However, I know a few of you were wondering what I talk about in them. I get it, you don’t want another email junking up your inbox. Girl, me too. I am sharing with you my latest newsletter (came out January 2nd) so that you can see for yourself the hilarity, and even some real talk that goes out to everyone listed. If you were wanting to join up and stay in touch, please sign up for the newsletter HERE and scroll all the way to the bottom to enter in your info. Take care and happy new year! — Nikki

Hi Fancies!

Happy New Year! I hope you found yourself not hungover yesterday—thats the best thing I could ever wish for you. My husband and I were in bed when the clock struck midnight—we were watching the HBO show, Succession. By the time we remembered to check the clock—it was 12:08am. We missed it. This is marriage, and a happy one at that.

I kind of left my monthly newsletter hanging last month. Please forgive me. However, I promise that we were doing some very fun stuff at home! If you have known me for any amount of time, you are probably aware of the fact that my husband has been in nursing school for the past couple of years. Well, he graduated!!! YASSSSS!!! And, he has already secured a job in the Raleigh area. #praisebe We were thinking a move across state or even to another state would be in the cards. Thankfully, that is not the case as we love our little nook here in Durham.

The funniest and worst part about my husbands graduation? Well, his mom and I missed his graduation. Yep. You read that right. I had his mom in the car with me on the way to Raleigh. What wouldve been a 45 minute drive turned into 1.5 hour drive. By the time we arrived for his 3pm ceremony, he had already walked across the stage. Although this is an awful situation, I am atleast grateful that my husband and I can laugh at the occurrence. I am super type A and am always early to events—so, this was just laughable that I couldnt manage it on this one particular big day. Regardless, my hubby has his diploma and is now studying for his NCLEX test. No divorce necessary.

The big thing that I have seen from people leading up to the New Year has been coming up with a word that you would cater to for the year. Some people have said things along the lines of “cultivate,” & “calmness,” or some other hippie dippie thing that is the new IT thing for the year. To be honest, I couldnt come up with a word. Instead, I came up with a phrase that I hope to actually implement. That phrase, or rather a question, is “is it worth it?” CUE the Missy Elliott song

For instance, its totally worth the effort in taking care of myself (exercise, great food, self care). But, is it worth it to work on relationships that dont give back in the same way that I give to them? Is it worth it to bend over backwards to vendors who dont do the same in return? I think its a great phrase, but only this year will tell. Do you have a New Years resolution, word or phrase?

We ended our fall wedding season the weekend of Thanksgiving. Samantha, my Associate Photographer, photographed a beautiful and charming wedding at the Cloth Mill in Hillsborough. I photographed the sweetest couple at Rose Hill which is located in Nashville, NC. It was a wonderful ending to a great wedding season, and am excited it starts back up in February of 2020! See below for some of our favorites from those weddings.

If you were a past couple of ours—we wrote a blog post showcasing our absolute favorite images from your wedding day! We couldnt pick just one, so we picked our top 4 from each wedding. You can find that blog post HERE.

Good deeds?

I know the giving season is officially up, but, if you were hoping to do some good this year—think about some of the vendors that helped you for your wedding. As in, were there any vendors that stood out the most to you while planning your wedding or even on the day of? If so, have you written those companies an amazing review? This is such a small gesture, but helps out all of us and future couples. Just recently I wrote reviews for some vendors that I think have been topnotch this year. And, I still continue to do this as a “thank you.” Google is the best place in my opinion, but there are other websites like WeddingWire and TheKnot.

And lastly, I know a ton of us received clothing over the holidays. If you are a Marie Kondo connoisseur like I am, then I feel your pain in going through your closet to make room for the new stuff. However, if you plan on throwing away your clothes—is it possible for you to instead give to a womens shelter near you? There are a ton in this area, and although thrift stores are amazing in every way, if you donate to a womens shelter then these women (and children) will have more options to choose within their shelter in times of distress (think about when a woman leaves her home in a hurry—she would need clothing that she did not have time to pack). Some organizations to think about would be InterAct and Raleigh Rescue Mission.

Thank you again for your continued support in Fancy This! I cant wait to see what this year holds for us. Hope to see you soon!

XO,

Nikki

Let me just tell you...some of the images you are about to see are basically taken out of The Notebook. Prepare yourself because this couple is one for the books.

Sara & Marcel have been together for nine years, yall. 9 YEARS! They met each other in school and basically the rest is history. I met them a few years ago via a mutual friend and just swooned over the energy these two gave each other. That same mutual friend offered these two lovebirds this very same engagement session and I am just so thrilled they obliged!

Since Marcel is stationed in Jacksonville, NC, it wasnt a tough sale to get these two to meet me in Emerald Isle. One, the beaches there are out of this world amazing, and two, there are two completely different sceneries right across the street from one another. We started the day on the sound side, then switched to the beach side for those primo golden hour shots!

I do have to admit--the jumping picture (youll see) may be my all time favorite. Marcel wore his Marines attire and Sara wore the sweetest white dress to compliment. It's seriously a dreamy portrait, but you know I am a bit biased.

These two are tieing the knot later this year and I am over the moon that they chose me to photograph their happiest day yet. Life is just the sweetest.

You know, there is something so sweet when you find out that one of your past couples is expecting to be a new mom. I remember the news when I heard Jayme was pregnant and I think I felt some tears forming. Jayme and Elliott were one of my favorite couples, not only because their wedding was just super romantic and just all around fun, but because they were just real genuine people.

I am not sure of the name (it's going to be the best surprise!), but I am sure of the love this little boy will receive.

Instead of trekking around Raleigh in the hot summer heat, we opted for an in house session which I thought was the sweetest idea in the world. When this little boy is all grown up, and maybe even thinking about having kids himself, he can look at these images of his mom and dad. This is what makes me the most happy to think about; what a great and tangible heirloom to look back on.

If you're wondering what my favorite part of the soon to be baby boys room is--well, it's definitely the stuffed tooth (seen below). This boys mama is a dentist and it is just the cutest thing I have ever seen.

A special thanks to Brittany with Lueur Salon for hair and makeup!