If you’ve been following us for any length of time you probably recognize the furry face of Levi, dog extraordinaire. You know – the one who makes the crazy faces when you pick up his ears or when you make high-pitched noises for a while. Loved for his antics as well as his no-nonsense attitude (you want me to do what? pose for you? no. not even for treats. not even if you squeak that plush pig at me. i will stand my ground and eat this grass over here.), this is Levi’s third shoot with us. But before it was more a Levi side-note. Not that Levi is ever a side-note in our book, but in prior shoots he was previously an accent to the love of his wonderful parents, Kim and Ginny (who are our clients-turned-friends who we are so lucky to have in our lives when we get a chance to see their wonderful faces!).

This time, our task was a Levi-focused photos session where Kim and Ginny were finally the side-notes to Levi, as we celebrate Levi’s 9th year on the planet. We bought him a squeaky chipmunk for his birthday. He did not care about it. I can’t help but think he would’ve preferred the birthday cake shaped hat that said, “It’s my barkday!” on it. We took him to a park where he could roam free, graze on grass, run from his parents, and generally mess up his incredibly well-groomed hair. He fell asleep in the car before they even left the parking lot to go home. We love you, Levi, and we are so happy to document you in your 9th year of being absolutely adorable.

At Home w/ Andrea+Mark.

Andrea and Mark are a great wedding couple of ours from back in 2013 and we were super thrilled to hear from them! Like, really really thrilled. Well, we heard from Mark, who bought this session for Andrea for Christmas. And attached to said e-mail was a statement proclaiming that they’d like photos of their tiny human!! And then he sent us a picture of said tiny human for proof of his a.) tinyness and b.) humanness and c.) existence. And he was SO CUTE. And we were so happy for Andrea and Mark! And we were REALLY EXCITED to shoot in the exact same house that they got ready in for their wedding, only this time the room where Andrea put on her wedding dress was converted to Albert’s room, and it felt like our work with them had come full circle. :)

And we met Albert. And we can say with 100% certainty that he realizes exactly what he’s doing in all situations. He saw us. He saw our cameras. He ran to his mom, hugged her, and smiled at us charmingly. He saw us. He saw our cameras. He ran to his dad and smiled at us charmingly. He saw us. He saw our cameras. He cried until they gave him an entire block of white cheddar which he ate by himself in the bushes. Albert is hilarious. And seriously, seriously adorable. And also, he has a taco shirt. I mean really.

We are so excited to kick off our 2016 wedding season with a wedding at 1705 Prime, one of the first locations we’ve ever shot a wedding at and a classic venue in Raleigh. And we couldn’t have asked for a nicer day or nicer people. It rained in the morning but it cleared up, and we can only hope that trend holds for the rest of our wedding season. The leaves were out, the grass was green, and we found approximately 15 inchworms on our clothing throughout the day.

The good weather lead to high spirits despite a debate over who should win the basketball game (UNC vs. Syracuse, where Michelle and her family spent quite a bit of time). While people debated this at the bar (as well as discussions on who Negan would end up killing on the Walking Dead series finale), the wedding guests danced, and the kids either slept on chairs or bounced off the ceiling, depending. We are so happy to show you our first wedding of the year. Congratulations, Michelle and Dennis!

  • Date: April 2, 2016
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: 1705 Prime // Raleigh, NC
  • First Dance Song: “Drowning” – Backstreet Boys
  • How You Met: OKCupid virtually, Mecca in real life.
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Reverend Randy Ivie. DJ – Brian McGuire of McSound Productions. Florist – Fresh Affairs. Cake – Ashley Cakes. Caterer – Rocky Top Catering. Hair – The Parlor. Makeup – Family. Coordinator – Jenn Carlin with Rocky Top. Transportation – The Bridge Bus.