Kate and Mike were expecting their first child in the New Year so we planned their maternity/Christmas card session just before Thanksgiving! This session is pretty much one of my favorites so far because we literally went all over Wilmington to get different shots. As a result, there are probably a dozen beautiful backdrops for this beautiful couple. Downtown Wilmington is so beautiful, the lighting was gorgeous, and of course Mike and Kate themselves are a model couple. As I was shooting them I kept swooning over what I was seeing on the back of my camera. Sometimes I wish I could clone myself and hire myself to take pictures of me and my husband. This is just one of those examples. 🙂

So Kate and Mike came up with the game plan and I happily tagged along. They live and love the historic downtown Wilmington area so they knew they wanted pictures done there. Kate also wanted pictures across the Cape Fear River, at the Battleship Park with Wilmington in the background. Due to lighting and traffic at that time of day, we started across the river first and walked around Battleship Park getting all kinds of beautiful shots. Then we went back over to Wilmington to get some pictures on the Riverwalk. We parked two streets over from a beautiful, quiet cobblestone side street so I suggested we start there then come down to the Riverwalk for sunset.

I keep forgetting that women are pregnant when I do maternity sessions. Not being a mom myself has proven that I just don’t know what it’s like to carry around that extra weight, on my bladder, while trying to look cute in heels. So while I suggested we do all this extra walking (up and down hills!) Kate happily obliged and didn’t complain once about being uncomfortable! (well, only once, when I had her lay down on a concrete sidewalk. Like I said, I forget that women are pregnant during these sessions…) We ended the session right at sunset and it was a beautiful evening! I congratulated them but mainly her for being such a trooper and walking all over Wilmington with me. I think it was worth it because these pictures are gorgeous! 🙂