We’ve been looking forward to working with Sarah ever since she continued to hire us after we found out her last name was Palmer and decided to send her the Twin Peaks clip of Sarah Palmer removing her face with nothing but space and a Cheshire Cat smile underneath. This did not deter our own personal Sarah Palmer from responding to us. Instead, it seemed to encourage her. We liked that. Her and her husband Brandon also like Steely Dan and Monty Python and Halloween so they literally check every single one of my personal boxes of coolness (not sure if this is a low or high bar – probably depends on who you ask). Their wedding was going to include a Monty Python intermission as well as tacos and we were already all in, but then they threw in costumes and we were sold completely. Then they told us that Brandon would be performing “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney for Sarah Palmer, but then their friend would come out to “Jump” by Van Halen and he did…in complete spandex leggings with see-through mesh sides. Then a banana got dressed up and a space man danced like a robot and somebody put on underpants on the outside of their real pants and things got real strange. Not Sarah Palmer removing her space face strange, but a happy, wedding strange that only people who really prefer Halloween to every other holiday can enjoy and appreciate. We love you Sarah Palmer and Brandon – thank you for having us be a part of your world.
Date: September 28, 2019 Ceremony+Reception Venue: The Barn at Valhalla // Chapel Hill, NC First Dance Song: “Harvest Moon” – Neil Young Sarah’s Occupation: School Psychologist Brandon’s Occupation: Musician How You Met: Brandon went to college with Janelle and Michael in PA (Juniata College). Grad school at UNC (school psychology program) brought Janelle and Michael to NC, where they met Sarah. After a year of working for Habitat for Humanity in LA, Brandon moved to NC on a whim. About 6 months later we started dating! Interesting Face: Brandon and Sarah play Mario Kart together at least once a day, will always order fried pickles if they’re on the menu, and throw a killer Halloween party. Honeymoon: Mexico Officiant: Michael Meadows MC: Adam Stanley Florist: Pine State Flowers- assembled and delivered by friend Natalie Reder Donuts: Monuts Caterer: Nuvo Taco (formerly NanaTaco) Hair: Rachel from Syd’s Hair Shop in Carrboro Makeup: Sarah Palmer Coordinator: Michael Meadows
Living and working in Durham has been so great for us. We bought our home here in 2012 and we’ve seen the city grow a lot since then: new restaurants and entertainment, new buildings and apartments, and new places for me to find gluten-free pizza (thank you, Durham!). So I was pretty excited when I was asked to shoot some photos of the Central Park District for Discover Durham. My client Jacques, who you all know and love!, works there and asked me to do these pictures (yay!), and together we walked 13,000 steps of Durham and talked to a lot of strangers to get these shots. Discover Durham is every Durhamite’s best friend. They’re essentially the folks who help Durham thrive via marketing, advocation, attracting visitors and spreading the word about events. If you don’t follow them on Instagram, you 100% should. Their stories are great at listing all the local Durham things you can do every weekend, usually accompanied by a hefty dose of humor. They’re one of my favorite accounts. Follow them here! PLUS they always have great photos, so I’m thrilled that they asked me to do this shoot. So many thanks to Jacques and Ashley of Discover Durham for hanging out with me at this session, and thank you to all the Durham businesses and individuals who gave their permission to be a part of this project.
Ella is a high school senior and I had the privilege of photographing her senior portraits on an extremely warm (!) fall evening. She handled the extreme heat and the garden variety bugs like a champ. The light and the wildflowers cooperated quite nicely and we had a great time! Ella is sweet, passionate, fun, and loves cats and dogs (my kind of person). Her mother claims that she’s existed entirely on carbs up to this point (which I can definitely relate to), and we also have tuxedo cats and an older sister in common. She also loves pizza, but she’s a pineapple-on-pizza type of girl so I have to draw our pizza comparisons to an end there. She’s skilled at sports and played softball for most of her education, but now she’s looking forward to a profession in nursing in order to help people. I can’t wait to see what Ella does in the future! I grabbed a few shots of her sister Claire and mom Susan toward the end – such a fun bunch who came along to support Ella and give her reminders of mac and cheese as she posed.