New Blog

This will be the last post on this blog. I have moved all of the previous post to the new blog. So, click this link and check out the new blog!
Elaine McDonald Photography Blog

Shelly's Family Session

I had a great time with Shelly, Jon and Allison! Allison had just turned two, and what an adorable two year old! She didn't care what we pulled out for her to wear or play with! She was happy with everything! We actually took pictures for over 2 hours and she was still going when we were finished. That is pretty rare for a child of two. What an angel she was! I couldn't believe how fast she could run when we took her outside. It didn't take long for me to realize, I wasn't going to be able to keep up with her, so I grabbed my long lens and let her go!

Here are a few of my favorites from their session.

Sharon's Family Session

I had a great time photographing Sharon's family. The boys were super polite and almost too perfect at the beginning! My favorite shots though are the pictures of the boys being boys! I loved it when Jake and Josh (the twins) grabbed their younger brother, Joseph to throw him in the water! As you can see, he loved it. I really don't think he would have cared if they had thrown him in the water! The twins were especially entertaining, when they were were wrestling and teasing each other!

I was surprised to learn that when Sharon isn't teaching, she is practicing for 5K races! I definitely need to start making the gym a priority!

We made an album of their images and since all of the favorites were in the album, I decided to post the album pages instead of a few pictures of the family.

Lauren & Daniel's Wedding at Sarotoga Springs

Lauren and Daniel were married on a picture perfect day at Sarotoga Springs! It didn't start out that way though! I had actually packed a rain jacket and plastic coverings for my camera!

The first time I saw Lauren's dress I loved it and I thought her hair was beautiful! How can you improve on perfection? But she did! She had a different hairstyle for the wedding. I know my jaw dropped when I saw it. It was perfect! Sarotoga Springs is known for a "storybook wedding in a plantation setting", and I can't imagine a bride more perfectly suited for a wedding there!

And can I mention what an angel her daughter is! She has an amazing vocabulary and can talk to anyone! You can tell by the pictures with the groomsmen, that everyone adores her! I didn't see her for a while at the reception, but when she walked in with her pink tutu, everyone stopped and noticed!

It was a wonderful wedding!

Amanda's Bridal Session

I have been so busy lately processing pictures and getting them in galleries as quickly as possible, I have completely neglected my blog! As I was getting blogpost ready, I realized that I didn't blog Amanda's bridal session! I did post some to my website and to Facebook, but nothing for my blog! So, instead of posting just a few of her bridal pictures I decided to post her bridal album instead! So here are the two pictures I had ready to blog and a slideshow of her album!

Kimberly and Zack's Wedding

Kimberly and Zack were married at The Beaver Dam House in Davidson, it was a beautiful wedding. I think it rained everywhere around the area except the wedding site! As soon as Kimberly started down the aisle the sun broke through the clouds! I think that was a sign that this wedding is truly blessed!

A big thank you to Donna (Kimberly's mom) for letting me know about the secret for Kimberly on her wedding day! Kim's dad didn't know how to dance, but he took lessons so he could surprise her on her wedding day for the father/daughter dance. I love the stunned look on Kimberly's face when she danced with her father! Isn't that the sweetest thing for a father to do?

Here is a slideshow of her wedding!

Chris and Meghan's Engagement Session

I met Meghan and Chris at Jetton Park for their engagement session. They are really a fun couple! How fun? Well we took pictures for a couple of hours then stood at our cars and talked for another two hours! I didn't realize my family was worried, but they were. Heather had already called Kate to have her drive to Jetton Park to check on me.

Seriously though, I really enjoyed spending time with this amazing couple!

Amanda & Michael's Wedding at Pine Island Country Club

I am thrilled that I was asked to shoot Amanda and Michael's wedding! Every meeting has been pure fun! They are the nicest people! I can't begin to explain the wedding, fun would be an understatement! But what a fun group of people! The girls were all gorgeous, yet they weren't afraid to make some of the funniest faces I have seen at a wedding! And if I have a camera in my hand I am going to take those shots!

The ceremony was beautiful, but imagine my surprise when the wedding party danced in with their sunglasses. And as the night went by I was able to get some really fun shots! I laughed as I watched the slideshow, but judge for yourself here is a slideshow of their amazing wedding! There is actually more images in this wedding slideshow than I ordinarily do, but I am sure you will understand when you see this group of people!

And to the girls in this wedding party, please call me if you need a photographer because I see how well this group parties and I would love to be with this group again!

And to those of you that are wondering, no I normally do not retouch slideshows there are so many images I would never get finished!

And here is a link for the most amazing wedding director of all times! Laura Massie
Laura owns Head over Heels and her and her girls did an amazing job of keeping everything running smoothly and keeping everyone on task and on time! So if you want an organized stress free wedding give Laura a call. I will certainly be recommending her for all of my brides!

The Bridal Blast at the Cabarrus Arena was a Blast!

We had a great time at the Bridal Blast in Concord on Sunday! I have to admit though my favorite part was the Photobooth! Art and Arica of ShutterBooth Charlotte were there! I think everyone should consider having a Photobooth as part of their wedding! And of course, no bridal show is complete without a few samples of cake! The catering companies had some amazing samples! Of course, I had to try the Red Velvet cake! Yummy, my favorite cake. Whimsical Creations, Sunflower Baking Company, Custom Cakes by Joli, and Heaven Sent Catering were a few of the vendors.

I also ran into a few old friends, like the DJ Curtis TreeceSunset Celebrations, and Susan McRae of Sweetest Beginnings. Susan had a beautiful booth set up with her custom invitations and Save the Date creations.

We also had a drawing for a free engagement session and the winner is: Kelly Hanson

And of course every post should have a picture! And even though I had a camera with me I forgot to take a picture of our booth and it looked so good! So what better picture could I post than the picture taken by ShutterBooth Charlotte!

And a big thank you to my husband LeeRoy, Son-in Law Chris and Grandson Tyler for transporting our walls, sofa, chairs and tables and setting them up! And to Ken Luck for helping us set up and work our booth!

Bridal Blast at the Cabarrus Arena

I just wanted to let everyone know that Heather and I will be at the Cabarrus Arena tomorrow for the Bridal Blast Show.

Here is some information taken from their website: http://www.bridalblast.net
Bridal Blast! will feature our infamous bridal game show “Bridal Buzz” allowing the first 100 registered brides to enter for a chance to participate and win a complimentary wedding reception! provided by The Cabarrus Arena.

And because I think every post should include a picture, here is a picture from Amanda's wedding last Saturday! Monday I will be posting images from her bridal session and her wedding. Both were beautiful!

Miss Priss is Here!

Julia was born on July 31st! Now I can post the pictures with her name on them! It has been a secret! She has only been known as Miss Priss. I bet her parents will have a hard time calling her Julia. They didn't even say her name out loud during the photoshoot. Lauren emailed me the name so I would have the blocks ready when they arrived! Amazing... I can keep a secret!

Michelle and Daniel's Wedding

Michelle and Daniel were married at the Shiloh United Methodist Church in Granite Quarry. They are both music teachers, so of course their choice of music went beyond the ordinary! Dr. Will Peebles,director of music at Western Carolina University,directed the prelude on the Gamelan Gunung Biru(A gamelan is an orchestra of tuned percussion instruments that consists mainly of gongs, zithers and xylophones.)The instruments were amazing! They truly had an amazing one-of-a-kind wedding and I was glad they had chosen me to photograph their wedding!

Here are some of my favorites!

Michelle and Daniel's Wedding

Lauren & WD's Maternity Session

I had a great time photographing Lauren's maternity session. It was so hot, but she managed to look cool and beautiful! WD was a great sport, when we wanted to try everything! He did a wonderful job of painting on Lauren's stomach. (Some of my favorite pictures!) But I can't show you those until after the baby is born! They are keeping the baby's name a secret until after she is born. I couldn't believe that when I heard it! Not from her MOTHER! But yes, even her mother doesn't know.

WD was also great when I had problems saying his name. Easy when you say it the southern way "dubya" D but try saying it "double U" D. His wife is a school teacher, I couldn't pronounce it wrong. So we settled on Dub and I relaxed!

Here are a few from their session.

Natalie & Kenny's Wedding Slideshow

Natalie & Kenny's Wedding

Natalie and Kennie were married at The Lear Plantation in Salisbury. It was my first time photographing at The Lear Plantation, and I have to say I was impressed! The area where the bride was getting dressed was especially beautiful! I want that bedroom and bathroom! I will have to go back and add a picture of the bride in the bathroom so you can see what I am talking about!)

Since it is already past 3 a.m. and I can't think clearly, I will just go ahead and post their pictures.

Love the way she is looking at him during the ceremony!



I love this car!


The ring bearer is so cute! He is so small by all the guys, yet he still really stands out and looks so grown up!

Love the eyes!


I took this picture while he was dancing with the flower girl!

Kimberly & Zack's Engagement Session

I photographed Kimberly and Zack's Engagement Session last Thursday. It looked like it was going to rain any second, and it did! We were able to get quite a few pictures before it started raining. And after it began raining we continued. I love the interaction between Kim and Zack and the most beautiful pictures are the ones where they forgot about me and concentrated on each other. Love Kim's smile and she has the biggest blue eyes! Here is a sneak peak until I can get a few more processed and ready for the blog!

AND OF COURSE I HAD TO GET SOME OF THEM IN THE RAIN!