Category: Weddings

Julia+Erik // Duke Chapel Wedding

So happy to have worked with the real Julia Roberts and Erik Johnson. Our first celebrity wedding of non-celebrities with celebrity names. They are two incredibly kindhearted people who were so excited to get married and we were so happy we were there. We also got to work alongside friend/college Janice of Big Dog Little Bed Production Company who did the videography, and whose footage we frequently photobombed. The rest of their vendors were equally great, and so was their bridal party! The groomsmen helped Erik to practice the first look with the help of a 21C Museum Hotel penguin (it kind of looks like a scene from Weekend at Bernie’s) and a bridesmaid assisted with amplifying the music from someone’s phone speaker by putting it near her open mouth (which somehow worked). They were a very helpful and endearing bunch.

The ceremony was held at Duke Chapel which is always classic and timeless, and waded through a sea of 99% humidity for their pictures. We laughed, we cried, we gave Erik a hard time about identifying body parts for poses because he’s a doctor. At one point we were warned about “a group of 700 campers” that were approaching the campus and got the heck out of there… although if there’s a great excuse to be late to your ceremony, 700 campers is probably the best one. Their ceremony was lovely, and afterward we all proceeded to The Cotton Room where colorful paper cranes folded by Julia adorned all the plates with their guests’ names. I love paper cranes. I think because they’re happy, but also because I can’t fold them, so they impress me. In addition to their lovely paper cranes, they also had adorable husband+wife bulldog cake toppers. I believe these bulldogs were affiliated with their college but anything related to college mascots gets thrown aside by my mind in exchange for the obvious cuteness of bulldogs in tiny top hats and veils. I can’t even. It was a beautiful summer wedding with two amazing people, and we were so excited to be a part of it!

• Date: June 17, 2017
• Ceremony Venue: Duke Chapel // Durham, NC
• Reception Venue: The Cotton Room // Durham, NC
• First Dance Song: “She’s Got a Way” – Billy Joel
• Julia’s Occupation: Recently minted PhD in Chemistry
• Erik’s Occupation: Ophthalmologist
• How You Met: Summer Physics class. Erik asked Julia to do a problem set with him and the rest is history.
• Interesting Fact: We spent our first Valentine’s Day together in Edinburgh at a restaurant called Angels with Bagpipes.
• Honeymoon: Cozumel, Mexico
• Vendor Credits: Officiant – Father Brad Heckathorne. Band – The Finns. Florist – Bloomin’ Rose Flowers. Cake – Guglhupf. Caterer – The Cotton Room. Hair/Makeup – Abby Lassiter. Videographer – Big Dog Little Bed. Coordinator – Summer McInvaille.

Katherine+Jon // Merrimon-Wynne House Wedding

Okay, so Katherine promised me that she’d up her enthusiasm game in the future because Jon was clearly practicing, and therefore outdid Katherine in jump height maneuvers repeatedly throughout the day. Although, to be fair, Katherine is very short, and Jon is very tall, so I’m pretty sure Jon will always win the jump height game no matter how hard she practices (sorry, Katherine – this is our burden in life to carry… limited jumping abilities). Jon has also upped the ante in the SUPER EXCITED GROOM department, so future clients take note. He dances! He sings! He jumps! He hugs! And he is very clearly the happiest guy ever whenever he’s around Katherine, and it’s adorable in all sorts of ways. I’m pretty sure that Jon’s excitement was magnified because his car wasn’t present during the wedding day (much to my disappointment as I had predicted it would light the unity candle). So all the energy that he usually splits between adoring Katherine and adoring his car was just 100% magnified onto Katherine (although Katherine did get him rad Monopoly car cufflinks(!) to take the place of his beloved Honda).

These two are so fun. And they are so good hearted! Katherine repeatedly kept asking if she could get us anything, and we kept shooing her away with the shooey hand gestures and all, but she kept returning to keep asking if we needed things because she is a genuinely nice person (No, Katherine! Go to your cocktail hour! Go! Gooo!). They also crack us up as they both employ a hearty sense of humor, and their friends were the same way, so it was a pretty wonderful day. Also, horas. I love horas. And bands who have lead singers who tend to lay down in the middle of crowds. Their wedding was a win. Now we can finally get around to seeing shows with them… and maybe Katherine and I can work on our jumps.

• Date: June 3, 2017
• Ceremony + Reception Venue: Merrimon-Wynne House // Raleigh, NC
• First Dance Song: “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” – Talking Heads
• Katherine’s Occupation: Market Research Analyst
• Jon’s Occupation: Nuclear Power Plant Engineer
• How You Met: Online via OkCupid (we talked, Katherine stopped using the website, then started again, we found each other the second time around, and the rest is history!)
• Interesting Fact: Jon was a DJ at 88.1 WKNC (the NC State college radio station) and Katherine listened to his show and dug the music years before they ever met each other!
• Honeymoon: Thailand, Singapore, and Hawaii!
• Vendor Credits: Officiant – Glenn Leibel (Katherine’s Uncle). Band – Punch. Florist – Dogwood Tree Floral Designs. Donuts – Krispy Kreme. Caterer – Rocky Top. Hair/Makeup – Parlor Raleigh. Coordinator – Sally Oakley Weddings & Events. Ceremony Music – Arioso Strings.

Emily+Dan // Wedding at Leslie-Alford-Mims House

The first time we met Emily and Dan, we had a Skype meeting where they held up their tuxedo cat and we held up our tuxedo cat and we were both pretty thrilled at the greatness of our cats having a meeting over the internet (the cats, pictured below, for reasons unknown don’t look as thrilled about it as we do).


But what we didn’t really realize at the time was exactly how much Pax and Buckles look alike, and how we’d come to confuse them on Instagram. Actual conversations with Geoff go like this:

– I show a picture of Pax to Geoff. Geoff looks at picture.
– Geoff, alarmed: When did you take Buckles to someone else’s house?!
– Me: That is Pax, Emily and Dan’s cat, the one that looks just like Buckles.
– Geoff: No, that is Buckles.
– Me:… No, it’s really not.

Annnnnd repeat. Emily and Dan are currently living in Pittsburgh, and someday when we’re up there visiting our families, I am determined to stop by unannounced and swap our cats for a few days and see if they notice (they’ll forget this by the time I actually do it).

But before I do that, I need to back up here and talk about their wedding. It was fabulous! And involved a flower crown that currently holds the title of Supreme Queen of Flower Crowns everywhere and I imagine it will continue to hold that title for quite some time. I was concerned about her ability to move, but that flower crown held fast and strong and did not shed one single petal all day, nor move from its exact spot on her head. It was like a being from another world. I’m not sure what happened after they left the wedding, but I can only imagine that some sort of spell had to be cast to a.) release it from her head and b.) set it free into this world. She asked me how to preserve it, but I imagine now, after observing its powers firsthand, that it’ll just do that itself.

Their wedding was so summery and gardeny and funnnn. There were little tiny cake toppers (one shaped like our cat – thanks, guys!) and wonderful floral elements and a flag representing Pittsburgh (that I think they also did for us – thanks, guys! wow, you thought of us a lot). AND they went to Iceland for their honeymoon and we spent way too much of their final consultation giving them advice on Iceland rather than their wedding (they didn’t need the wedding help anyway). But come to think of it, they didn’t really need the Iceland help either, especially when we saw that they gave each other hiking boots for their wedding gifts. We had an awesome time at their wedding and love how rad our clients have been this year! No pressure, the rest of you. Congratulations, Emily+Dan!

• Date: May 28, 2017
• Ceremony + Reception Venue: Leslie-Alford-Mims House // Holly Springs, NC
• First Dance Song: “Lovin’ You Baby” – Charles Bradley
• Emily’s Occupation: Neuroscience PhD Student at University of Pittsburgh
• Dan’s Occupation: Media & Marketing Manager
• How You Met: High school AP English class
• Interesting Fact about Emily: Name twin will be at the wedding and they were also roommates in college at UGA
• Interesting Fact about Dan: Played the role of “Sk8er Boy” in a independent film in 2004
• Interesting Fact about Emily+Dan: Emily made a Pro’s and Con’s list before she decided to date Dan and Dan’s Mom wanted Dan to date Emily after she saw Emily reading “Catch-22” at the pool.
• Honeymoon: ICELAND!
• Vendor Credits: Officiant – Rev. Patrick Ballard. DJ – Eric Hodgden of All Around Raleigh DJ Company. Florist – The English Garden. Cake – Sugar Euphoria. Caterer – Belle’s Catering. Makeup – Michelle Clark. Hair – Jennifer McDonald. Coordinator – Annie Truesdell of Orangerie Events. Classical Guitarist – Ed Stephenson.