Elizabeth+Catherine // A Cotton Room Wedding

Winter weddings are always so lovely and this one was no exception. Elizabeth and Catherine, whom you may remember from their engagement session last spring, were married during a late morning ceremony at The Cotton Room in Durham in December. Their old rugby coach officiated, and they were surrounded by family, friends, and just a little bit of snow. :) It’s pretty rare to snow around here, and even more rare to snow during the day (for some reason our snow frequently comes in at night). Oftentimes the snow is actually ice. This snow consisted of large, puffy, beautiful flakes that added a bit of magic to the day, even though the snow didn’t stick. It nicely complemented the gorgeous winter decor of lit trees and candles and it all felt very warm and fuzzy.

Elizabeth and Catherine did a first look that they were so excited for after keeping everything about their outfits secret from each other for months. They also gave out adorable T-Rex and Narwhal printed glasses as their wedding favors that I’ve been drinking from ever since (I wash it in between drinks, don’t worry). The placecards were little pieces of round wood that Elizabeth engraved by hand, and everywhere you turned there were adorable pictures of them as children (these are my favorite things to look at during weddings). They had a lovely wedding and have a lovely marriage, and we couldn’t be more excited to see these two wonderful people get married. Congrats, Elizabeth and Catherine! We couldn’t have ended our 2017 season on a better note.

– Date: December 9, 2017
– Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Cotton Room // Durham, NC
– First Dance Song: “Ho Hey” – The Lumineers
– Catherine’s Occupation: Community Organizing (State Director)
– Elizabeth’s Occupation: IT Audit (Manager IT Audit, Data Governance)
– How You Met: Rugby!
– Interesting Fact: We have Broadway season tickets at DPAC as Catherine is an avid Broadway fan. E does crossfit and talks about it incessantly. Catherine likes to take long silent bike rides alone while listening to podcasts about TV. We are also huge wine fans and are taking a wine tour in Spain!
– Honeymoon: Spain
– Vendor Credits: Officiant – Sarah Deane // DJ – Ali Kaba // Florist – Petal & Oak // Cake – Cinda’s Creative Cakes // Caterer – The Cotton Room // Hair+Makeup – Evanna Coe & Jennifer Panther // Coordinator – Ari Ball

Hannah+David // Durham Wedding

Hannah and David had a wonderful afternoon wedding at the Cotton Room. Both of them are absolute pictures of calm. The 100% cool and collected expression Hannah is wearing through this entire blog post is not carefully curated; she was just like that all of the time. And I’m pretty sure she can give Tyra a run for the money in a closed-mouth-smile competition. Also, she kind of reminds me of Natalie Portman. Plus, she wore a lace dress with this awesome detachable skirt thing made of tulle. It’s kind of like a veil, but for the lower half of your body instead of your head. I love Hannah and it is obvious.

It is also very obvious that David loves Hannah, as he spent most of the day lovingly gazing at her and why wouldn’t he?! Of course he would. David is wonderfully kind and charming and was so sweet to us all day… making sure we ate and were okay and thanking us for being there. They are just the best. It’s kind of how I picture the wedding of any sort of royal prince and princess in maybe England or something. Is that weird? Maybe. Anyway, we had a lovely time, and then dragged poor Hannah and David into the mosquito infested woods of Durham to take pictures of them post-wedding (yes, both of them looked this good after their entire wedding, which is pretty unbelievable). Congratulations to two wonderful people – we were so happy to photograph your wedding!

  • Date: October 1, 2016
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Cotton Room // Durham, NC
  • First Dance Song: “Forever” – Ben Harper
  • Hannah’s Occupation: CPA
  • David’s Occupation: Renewable Energy Business Development
  • How You Met: Slim’s Downtown Raleigh – first met and then met again a year later at which point we started dating
  • Interesting Fact: David loves dogs and is allergic to cats but has grown quite fond of Hannah’s cat. The dog and cat have grown quite fond of one another too!   Hannah is a vegetarian. David is not – but graciously compliments each vegetarian dinner Hannah makes – even when he wishes they contain meat :)
  • Honeymoon: Sedona, AZ
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Reverend Felix (Tony) Futtrell. DJ – Island Sound (Frankie). Florist – English Garden. Cake – Ashley Cakes. Caterer – The Cotton Room/Triangle Catering. Hair/Makeup – Makeup for Your Day. Coordinator – Shelley Clayton. Exit Car – Dave’s Car.

Annie+Kunal’s Wedding in Durham

Annie and Kunal finally broke our rain-streak for weddings at The Cotton Room, so we’re guessing that choosing Friday, May 15th as the date for their wedding due to its auspiciousness worked out. :) It was also, adorably, Kunal’s parents’ 33rd wedding anniversary (they got them their own anniversary cake to cut!). Annie looked stunning, Kunal looked handsome, and they decorated their venue with beautiful purple and yellow details, gorgeous floral arrangements, little wedding cakes and sequined table cloths. Then we added in a dash of graffiti and some skateboarders just to balance things out a bit and they were totally cool with it because Annie and Kunal are super nice and wonderful people. Super smiley, super happy, super polite, and super chill. We were so happy to be there with them on their wedding day and also to be given the chance to eat their fantastic Indian food too! We love these guys a lot and wish them the best in their new journey to live and work in New Mexico!

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  • Date: May 15, 2015
  • Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Cotton Room // Durham, NC
  • First Dance: “All of Me” – John Legend
  • Annie’s Occupation: Physician
  • Kunal’s Occupation: Clinical Statistician
  • How You Met: Match.com
  • Interesting Fact: We have a blind dog who rules our house.
  • Honeymoon: India for wedding #2 follows by some well deserved rest!
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Jessie Larkins | DJ – Gabby Sasore | Florist – Tre Bella | Cake – Daisy Cakes | Caterer – Triangle Catering and Sitar | Hair/Makeup – Bella Trio | Coordinator – Shelley Clayton w/ the Cotton Room