Meet Mark & Kelly Stewart | Destination Wedding Photographers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark & Kelly Stewart and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark & Kelly, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We started our photography business in 2010, the same year we got married. We were young and fresh out of college, just trying to figure out what we wanted to do to earn money. Between some odd jobs and a few creative opportunities here and there, all we knew is that we really enjoyed taking photos. Our list of goals for work, included being able to spend our days together, be outside in nature as much as possible, get to work with our hands, be creative, serve people, and be able to make our own schedules. That was the dream but we really had no idea what job would include those things.

It started with Kelly toying with the process of editing and digital art and then Mark’s curiosity about the technical side of photography soon followed. We both had our strengths and weaknesses with it but really enjoyed lugging our camera around everywhere we went and finding moments of inspiration wherever we’d go.

After awhile, friends of friends started asking us to take their photos and we realized that our art could be a way to earn money. We decided to take it more seriously and dedicated ourselves to learning the craft, building a website, designing a logo and branding. It was honestly super fun since I had more technical experience in graphic design than photography (at that point).

We hadn’t thought much about ‘where’ this business venture would take us exactly and really didn’t even understand the full potential yet. So we photographed everything from babies, to pets, to friend’s glamour shots (picture Deb from Napoleon Dynamite, that was basically us!), not knowing what style of photography fit us best. All we knew was we had zero interest in shooting weddings…haha.

Soon enough, you guessed it… we had our first wedding inquiry! And neither one of us had much interest in actually taking the job but the idea of making more money for our photography was hard to ignore. Our lack of knowledge at the time honestly is what made us not want to get anywhere near wedding photography. Besides the obvious difficult technical challenges that we’d have to face, we also thought a wedding would be formal, demanding, and beyond cheesy. Despite our hesitation with all of this, the bride & groom seemed like fun and assured us that they didn’t mind our lack of experience. If we were going to give our photography business a real shot, it seemed like something we should at least try and then we could always rule out weddings once and for all.

We immediately realized how wrong our expectations of what photographing a wedding day would look like! Instead, we walked away from shooting that first wedding, beaming with excitement. Our creativity was sparked! No doubt, we were absolutely exhausted from the long day of work but the leftover energy we felt came from the joy we had experienced throughout the day. We were completely hooked with the idea of photographing more weddings and felt like we might had discovered a new calling.

From that point on, we decided to give all of our attention to learning everything we could about the intricacies of wedding photography. For us, this is how it all began!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Being a husband and wife team is huge for us. We are both lead photographers and could tackle a wedding day solo if needed. But having two strong lead shooters, both with our own creative ideas and perspectives to share is our bread and butter!

We start off a wedding day working individually alongside our couple and then work together to create a space for them to see each other for the first time, interact, and spend an intimate moment. All while documenting the joyful interactions and unfolding moments. We are not stressed shooters and are careful not to bring any negativity into the wedding days we’re invited to witness. It’s an honor to be there and keeping the atmosphere happy and light is just one of the ways we serve our clients well. We also make it a point to have their backs throughout the day. This comes out in many forms but we’ve been called “the best hype crew” many times and we think that says a lot about the type of atmosphere we aim to cultivate.

Besides serving our clients well with our attitudes, personalities, and efforts on their wedding day for us it’s all about getting the best shots. We even get a little competitive with it! At the end of the day, we’re artists there to document the sweet moments that would otherwise go unnoticed. We aren’t there to memorize a shot list and treat the day as basic or standard. We are hired to bring a different perspective, to tell THAT specific couple’s story through the memories we capture. A story that’s artful, timeless, and intentional. And once delivered, a story that our couple can seamlessly share for years to come.

Our brand encompasses all of this and we set our stage (most often) in the great outdoors, with a huge emphasis on adventure! The couples that are drawn to our photos are ones who are wildly in love, a bit introverted, creative, and longing to embrace the romantic side of their own story. We are happy to oblige with helpful planning, prompting instruction, and bold, cinematic moments with focus on our couples as the main characters.

Most people today ask us about how we get to travel to so many amazing places for our job. They’re usually surprised to see that couples are not only paying us to go to these wonderful places but also paying for our photography services on top. Maybe people just don’t understand how it works but even though we’d love to take every opportunity to travel somewhere new, we have to turn a profit and pay bills just like everyone else. Though, it’s an amazing blessing we don’t take for granted and a killer perk to our job. At the end of the day we have to make smart moves that keep the business moving forward. Our consistency is key and we think that’s a testament to why we’ve been able to do this for so many years.

We are definitely surprised when people think any of our success (or anyone’s success for that matter) happens over night. Being almost 14 years into our business, trust us, nothing happens over night. Getting where we are today was never easy but just a slow natural progression of a lot of hard work and consistent dedication. And a lot of prayers and asking God for guidance. We’ve always prayed over every opportunity, wedding, and couple that we work with and we know that has made all the difference in our career. We owe everything we have to the One who holds us. He’s the Creator of our story and we are excited to see what direction He continues to lead us.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well, we kind of live in the middle of nowhere, haha. But we moved to Denton, NC for a reason – We found the most beautiful 15 acre property to steward over! When we’re not roaming far for a special wedding day, it’s our joy to be by our creek surrounded by nature!

So, if friends were visiting our city, we’d spend our time resting and relaxing. Playing barefoot on the big rocks in the creek by day and cozy bonfires, outdoor movies, and homemade popcorn by night. If we did wander beyond the homestead, we’d take them to our favorite local spots like Henriques Pizza, The Village, or Ricks! If we wandered a little further over to Asheboro (which is our closest bigger city) we’d take them to The Table or The Black Lantern! There’s so many little hidden gems around us that we love.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Before our business began, Kelly tutored under Aaron Nace who’s a photographer & digital artist. This opened a creative headspace for us very early on to realize the potential future we could have in the art world.

We’re SO blessed to work with some really incredible local wedding planners and venue owners who continually tell their brides and grooms about us! As well as other wedding friendors who make each job so much more fun! Overlook Barn, Grand Bohemian Hotel, Farm at Brusharbor, The White Crow, Foundation For The Carolinas, Mint Museum, Brown Mountain Beach Resort, The Finch House, Kelly Roan Wedding & Events, Mint To Be Weddings, Knot Common Events, Lisa Pleasant Events, Elope Asheville, Sea To Summit…. to name a few! There’s so many wonderful people we’ve met and loved working with over our almost 14 years of business, this list could go on forever.

But MOST importantly, we want to shoutout all our amazing clients. Their support, vulnerability, and willingness to trust us with these special milestones and continually share us with their friends is everything.

Website: https://thestewartsroam.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestewartsroam/

Image Credits
The Stewarts Roam Photography