October 14, 2014

Saxapahaw, NC Wedding

We’ve only known Courtney and Seth for a short period of time, but in that time we’ve experienced the happiness of shared ice cream, the fear of trying to rescue Courtney’s lost glasses from somewhere in the Durham Bulls stadium during a crazy thunderstorm, and the joy of having your chips and salsa delivered to your restaurant table via a choo-choo train. What better experiences could you have with new friends? Seth has a beard and likes baseball like Geoff. Courtney prefers animals over humans like Carolyn. None of us like disco ball lights when they cast spinning shadows on the wall and ground. They’re definitely keepers.

Courtney and Seth’s wedding was at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC on a gorgeous September day! It was supposed to rain, but it didn’t, and Courtney put on her wedding dress outside. She met Seth down by the river for their first look and portraits. Some wildflowers were picked and stuck behind ears. Some sparkly shoes stepped on some crunchy leaves. There were a lot of thorns and mosquitos and slimy rocks and possibly poison ivy, all of which were navigated without care or worry… until the mosquitos started swarming and outnumbered us and too much blood was spilled. :) Then we went back to the Ballroom and had a good ‘ole time partying with their family and friends. Seth got on stage and played a set with some jam buddies from separate parts of his life who had literally just met each other the day before and practiced the morning of the wedding. They played a one hour set that was better than several bands we’ve paid to see, and a bride touring the ballroom asked someone if she could hire them for her wedding band (I think that was during one of the amazing 90s covers). We love you, Courtney and Seth… here’s to more chip-delivery-trains in our future!

Date: September 13, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Haw River Ballroom // Saxapahaw, NC

First Dance Song: “Ain’t it Enough” – Old Crow Medicine Show

Courtney’s Occupation: Health/Nutrition Specialist for Head Start/Early Head Start

Seth’s Occupation: High School History Teacher

How You Met: As friends in college

Interesting Fact: We had an epic prank war in college. Seth (and Zach who is a groomsman now) beat the heck out of me and Hannah (bridesmaid). :)

Honeymoon Destination: Backpacking in Colorado

say nice things

October 13, 2014

Megan+Ben’s Wedding at Mosteller Mansion

Megan and Ben! We were super happy to meet these guys and work with them on their wedding. We Skyped originally, so it was great finally meeting them in person! I fell instantly in love with the infectiousness of Megan’s happiness that refused to waiver all day, despite it thundering loudly during their ceremony and threatening to pour (it did, but only just before pictures were done, so we just about got away with it). This girl is happy as can possibly be, has a giant smile, and equally happy friends with equally giant smiles, as well as family helpers and literally everyone else there. Ben is equally as happy as the rest of them, only he’s a lot taller than Megan, so his happiness isn’t as compact and intense because it has to spread out over a much larger area.

Their wedding venue was a mansion built by a husband for his wife shortly before she passed away. There were varying rumors on when it was built, and I can’t find much evidence either way online, but I can say that it’s amazing. It has awesome woodwork and cabinetry and stained glass. And then there’s the tile. In one of the bathrooms, there’s an entire equestrian scene complete with German Shepherds and ducks hand-painted on the tile for the tub. In another bathroom, there are literally hundreds of hand-painted tile depicting sort of an Egyptian-dessert theme (camels, strange tropical birds, people with shepherd’s hooks). We were told it might be haunted which would’ve been pretty neat (or terrifying), but we did have a fantastic time seeing the different rooms of the house (which, now a wedding venue, was also a restaurant at one time, and a few other things as well… so it’s had an interesting life so far). Enjoy the pictures of Megan and Ben’s awesome wedding! We were so happy to be there with you all!

Date: September 6, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Mosteller Mansion // Hickory, NC

First Dance Song: “You Are the Best Thing” – Ray LaMontagne

Megan’s Occupation: Patient Care Coordinator at MY Dentists

Ben’s Occupation: Sales for Time Warner Cable Business Class

How You Met: Match.com

Interesting Fact: Ben and Megan both admit to being mildly addicted to tacos.

Honeymoon Destination: Ti Kaye Resort, St. Lucia

say nice things

October 8, 2014

Kim+Ginny // Wedding in Potomac, MD

We are so unbelievably lucky to have met these two. Kim went to school with a photographer friend Erin May who introduced Kim to our other photographer friend Julia Wade who was unable to shoot their wedding due to prior obligations, so she recommended them to us, and thank goodness because they’re great. Amazingly great. We clicked instantly and that evolved over time to the point where Kim has become the first person to actually start crying when we left to go home the day after their wedding (then Ginny started crying because Kim was crying and we felt really bad but we still needed to get home). Now the bar is set so unbelievably high that it’s probably all downhill from here, but that’s okay, it was worth it.

Their wedding was held at the Old Angler’s Inn in Potomac, MD, just outside of Washington, DC. They made their own paper flower wedding ceremony arch (which I still can’t get over the awesomeness of)! They had gorgeous dresses! They had a bicycle-themed wedding! They had tiny little dessert pies for everyone (and gluten-free ones for me)! They climbed over rocks for photos! They had amazing and cooperative bridesmaids! And, you guys… remember Levi? That cute little dog where if you play with his ears he automatically makes a crazy and ridiculous face every time? Well, he was here… and in a bow tie… and made some crazy ridiculous faces for us again.

The amount of sheer love between Kim and Ginny is palpable, and the amount of love and support from all their friends and family is beautiful. We couldn’t be more grateful to have photographed their wedding and been witness to all of the serious love from everyone. Of course, part of the reason they’re loved so much by everyone is because they themselves love everyone, and are so kind and generous. I told Ginny that I liked their owl pillow at their house. She asked me what my favorite color is. I said blue. Then a blue owl pillow named Gladis arrived at our doorstep, along with a dinosaur partner named Stanford. This was before they saw the pictures, so hopefully they like them… because I’m not giving back those cute pillows.