April 11, 2014

Mary+Jerem’s Wedding at the Haw River Ballroom

Mary and Jerem live in Chicago with their calico cat Ella who is one of those adorable two-faced cats where her fur is split down the middle of her head with two different colors. She tried to be a part of the wedding festivities but decided in the end it would be too much of a hassle to make the flight and instead held down her parents’ fort in Illinois. She was, however, part of our Skype consultation with Mary and Jerem, and she must’ve given them her cat-paw of approval because we booked them shortly after (the longer I’m making this paragraph the more delusional and crazy-cat-lady-like I’m seeming, but it’s Friday so give me a break).

We were so excited to finally meet Mary and Jerem in person and work with them on their phenomenal wedding at the ever-amazing Haw River Ballroom! These two have a lot of passion for each other and just about everything else they’re involved in, and it’s evident by how much work they put into this wedding. It’s also evident by the present that Jerem gave Mary the morning of the wedding. When they met, they went on a date. On that date, Jerem received a fortune cookie fortune that said, “Stop searching forever, happiness is just next to you.” Mary, of course, was sitting next to him, and he showed her the fortune. They laughed. Little did she know that Jerem then pocketed the fortune in his wallet and carried it around. For years. Years! He had known that she was the one and kept it with him, only to frame it and give it to her on their wedding day. What! This is romantic movie material right here you guys. Mary cried every time she looked at the frame, and cried every time someone mentioned it to her while she was getting ready (sorry if you’re crying right now again, Mary).

Anyway, their wedding was amazing and these two clearly have a lot to be thankful for. We’re thankful that we had the opportunity to work with them and know them as beautiful and generous people. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to leave you here to look at their pictures while I sneak into Mary’s closet, steal her wedding dress, and wear it around my house every day for the next few months.

Date: April 5, 2014

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

First Dance Song: “Let’s Stay Together” – Al Green

Mary’s Occupation: Attorney (public defender 4 lyfe!)

Jerem’s Occupation: Commercial film editor

How You Met: The old fashioned way: online! OkCupid, baby. Fun fact: Jerem was Mary’s very first online date, ever. Mary was Jerem’s second. Weird, right?

Interesting Fact About Mary+Jerem: We are almost always one of the first couples to start dancing at any wedding. Jerem is a pretty incredible dancer. Mary..less so, but has SO MUCH ENTHUSIASM.

Honeymoon Destination: Belize! We hear there is no snow there. Which is VERY IMPORTANT to those who have survived Chicago’s winter.

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April 7, 2014

Amy+Jeff’s Wedding in Durham

Amy and Jeff are amazing and hilarious people and definitely saw to it that both Geoff and myself had a wonderful day alongside them and the rest of their family and friends. I’d be out of eyesight with Amy when I’d hear her shout, “Carolyn!” and I’d shout back, “Yeah!” and she’d shout, “I appreciate you!” and I’d shout, “I appreciate you too!” and it went on like that for a good while (when she wasn’t busy doing yoga moves). They’re both generous, lovely, and just so ridiculously nice to not only us but everyone else they encountered and managed to stay that way through the entire planning process and wedding day.

This was our first wedding at the Cotton Room where it didn’t rain (!!). It threatened to, but it held off and sent in its place a substantial amount of wind. The wind did a few wrestling moves with Amy’s veil throughout the photos but stayed on her head nonetheless… and eventually the clouds and wind parted to fill the giant windows in their venue with light for their ceremony.

We are so thrilled for Amy and Jeff (and their adorable dog who is happy to have his dog-parents newly married) and just a tiny bit jealous of their awesome honeymoon to New Zealand and Bora Bora while we sit here in the rain in Durham…. but we forgive them anyway because they’re so nice. :)

Date: March 30, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Cotton Room // Durham, NC

First Dance Song: “All of Me” – John Legend

Amy’s Occupation: Business Development Director at an engineering consulting firm

Jeff’s Occupation: Business & technology consultant

How You Met: Amy hit on Jeff at the gym…and then forced her number on him :)

Interesting Bride Fact: Amy used to believe that her name was spelled A-M-Y-Q- . (period) She is generally uncoordinated but very enthusiastic.

Interesting Groom Fact: Jeff’s dream job is to be a LEGO designer! He is also generally athletic.

Honeymoon Destination: Auckland, NZ and then on to Bora Bora!

7 nice things said

March 14, 2014

Beth+David’s Wedding in St. John, USVI

Ohhh boy oh boy oh boy. Not sure where to begin here, so I guess I’ll just start from our introduction to Beth and David. :) When we were photographing Kelly and Danny‘s wedding in the Outer Banks, Kelly introduced the four of us because we all lived in Durham and because we all have cats. Carolyn found out that Beth had six cats and instantly fell in love with her. We proceeded to photograph the wedding, and Carolyn proceeded to go over and talk to Beth about cats during mini breaks in the reception shooting. We all kept in touch after the wedding, met each other’s cats, and Beth introduced Carolyn to the joy/obsession of growing succulents. They’ve since moved into our neighborhood and it’s been amazing have friends so close by with so many cats who cook really good food for us. :)

We are extraordinarily lucky to have met them and to call them our friends and for Beth to work at a place that has US Virgin Island housing perks. :) We are also incredibly thankful, beyond words really, that they asked us to join them and photograph their very small intimate 6-person wedding on Trunk Bay in St. John. We kinda maybe sorta flipped out a bit when we were asked… and tried not to email back TOO quickly and use TOO many exclamation marks, but we failed. On our week-long trip, we were joined by Jeff and Diane, their good friends and best man/matron of honor, who were amazing trip companions and very handy people to know when Carolyn injured or hurt herself in various accident-prone ways.

We sat in the hot tub on our deck every night overlooking the stars, swam with sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, barracudas. We all happily drank a lot of amazing island drinks, got a great deal of hiking exercise, drove on the left side of some very dangerous roads, received really intense sunburn in exchange for some much needed vitamin D, went on a boat trip to the British Virgin Islands where we saw, from afar, the mansion of the inventor of Miracle Gro. :) We came back with amazing memories and are so, so, thankful to have been there. It was beautiful watching our friends get married and I’m still in shock at our good fortune to have been there.

Date: March 4, 2014

Ceremony Venue: Trunk Bay // St. John, USVI

Reception Venue: Waterfront Bistro // Cruz Bay, St. John, USVI

Beth’s Occupation: Marketing researcher

David’s Occupation: Forester

How You Met: At a Halloween Party in Richmond, VA (Beth was Margot Tenenbaum and David was a Mormon. Our first date was a road trip to Montreal!

Interesting Bride Fact: I love costumes, and I actually enjoyed wearing the flare when I worked at T.G.I.Fridays in college.

Interesting Groom Fact: David is a professional forester (which is sort of weird in and of itself) who is also allergic to most tree species in the southeast.

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Anne Marie Porter, St. John’s Barefoot Minister | Florist – Susan Campanella-Pratt at Passon Flower | Hair and Makeup – Tyler Meyil and Jenny Patino at Drift Away Salon | Bride’s Wedding Gown Belt – Diane Winner

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Category: Weddings