Paige+Alex // Wedding in Durham

I’d like to say that this blog post is going to be mostly about Paige and Alex, but I have to admit that I think it’s mostly going to center around their dog Davis. And I’m pretty confident that neither Paige nor Alex would fault me for doing that. When we first met them to talk about their wedding, they talked about how they were adopting Davis, a little baby red Poodle. They hadn’t yet picked him up, but plans were in the works, and we talked about how Poodles are cute if you let their hair grow out like a fluffy little monster instead of cutting it for show. True to their word, they adopted Davis shortly afterward and we fell in love with him via their Instagram account. There he is running! There he is conquering steps for the first time! There he is with his adorable German Shepherd puppy friend!

So when we finally met Davis on their wedding day, we were very excited. He was much bigger now, but he completely and 100% lived up to his hype. He’s red. He’s fluffy. He flops around a bunch. He tried to eat my gloves. He has the attention span of a young squirrel, yet is calm enough to plop down next to them during their vows and fall asleep (unless I moved in the aisle, which put Davis on high alert and is the only time to my knowledge that I did something to cause a brief ceremony disruption). He’s really, really, really good, and likes sticks. You can pick him up like a baby and he falls asleep anywhere. So here is the wedding of Davis, with a side of Paige and Alex (whom we also really adore when we’re not busy admiring their dog).

  • Date: October 20, 2015
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: Shared Visions Retreat Center // Durham, NC
  • Paige’s Occupation: Sign Artist
  • Alex’s Occupation: Air Traffic Controller
  • How You Met: Alex worked at Starbucks and always gave me free coffee. As soon as he found out I was singe, he asked me on a date to mini golf, dinner and a movie. (He spent a lot of money on me that night for us only being teenagers.) I went home that night knowing I’d marry him one day, and the rest is history!
  • Interesting Fact: We own the world’s cutest dog (who will be a groomsman!). We’re already married and we’re doing a late wedding. We are polar opposites as far as interests go. Our birthdays are only nine days apart in February, and the dates are just each other’s numbers reversed (mine is the 12th, and his is the 21st). When we were little (9 years old-ish) we lived less than five miles apart and both had the same favorite Mexican restaurant that we both went to all the time, but we didn’t meet until we were 18.
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Friend, Lacee Shaw | Caterer – Porchetta Food Truck

Lauren+Nick // A Downtown Raleigh Wedding

Remember Lauren and Nick? They probably look familiar from jumping off baggage carousels at the airport for their engagement session. Their wedding was equally impressive and entertaining on all fronts.

Fun facts: 1.) They played Rockabye Baby lullaby renditions of Pearl Jam songs for their ceremony seating 2.) Lauren handmade all of the paper flowers for the bridesmaid bouquets and the boutonnieres 3.) Their friend made delicious cupcakes (and gluten-free ones!) and I ate them happily 4.) Lauren’s shoes had giant birds on them and were the best things I’ve seen in a long time and I should probably buy these for myself right now 5.) Their first dance was to Hall and Oates. And what self respecting person doesn’t love themselves some Hall and Oates?

The weather was gorgeous, the bride and groom were gorgeous, and we had a fantastic time. They let me put their rings on sushi and weren’t afraid of a little graffiti or slightly muddy/train track conditions. Lauren informed me that her dress was bought online and also comes in blue, so as soon as I can think of an opportunity to wear a dress this fabulous, I’ll buy it. Congratulations on your marriage, friends, and we hope to see you at a Pearl Jam concert real soon.

Date: April 6, 2013

Ceremony and Reception Venue: The Stockroom // Raleigh, NC

First Dance Song: “You Make My Dreams” – Hall & Oates

Lauren’s Occupation: Building Science Specialist at Advanced Energy

Nick’s Occupation: Senior Finance Associate at Delta Airlines

How You Met: AmeriCorps! Gettin’ things done for ‘merica.

Interesting Bride Fact: She moved her entire life (at one time), including a bike and a snowboard, from Florida to North Carolina in her Honda Insight (no… not the 4 door version… think the two door hatchback).

Interesting Groom Fact: He ate 40 chicken nuggets in 7 minutes. And the last minute was used to leisurely consume the last couple – rubbing his triumph in the face of his competition.

Honeymoon Destination: SOUTH AFRICA (Antartica is the only continent left after this!)

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Friend Kirsta Egger | DJ – Spotify | Florist – English Garden for Lauren, hand-made paper flowers by Lauren for the bridesmaids | Cupcake Maker Extraodinarie – Meg Fanney | Kolache Nut Roll Production Team – Paul and Stephanie Westmoreland | Italian Pignoli Baker – Lisa Bendz | Caterer – Green Planet Catering | Hair – Alter Ego | Dress – Tadashi Shoji

KELLY+DANNY GET MARRIED IN THE OUTER BANKS OF AWESOME.

Dear Marcus Savage, I’m not sure if you read this thing, but you basically booked me this wedding. You rule.

Marcus, my musical mentor in high school,  introduced me to a band called the Weakerthans and it quickly became one of my favorite bands. We’d drive around for literally hours when we had nothing to do (back when gas used to be kind of cheap) and listen to them. They’re still one of my favorites and remind me of Marcus and high school and everything else. Thankfully, my musical taste has been totally unwavering throughout the years so they’re still in the forefront of favoriteness, and it totally won us this wedding.

Kelly had been e-mailing me for a while, and we had another wedding in the Outer Banks the weekend that we met them for the consult. I liked them. They looked beachy. That’s the best way I can describe it. They also looked like they liked good music (I have good music sense radar). We sat down. Talked about their wedding for a bit. Somehow got on the topic of music. Asked Danny what bands he liked and listed among his top 3 answers were the Weakerthans, and it was pretty much all over.

I distinctly remember me and Danny getting really excited, and Kelly going, “OHhhhhh, no. Well, that’s it. I’m sure Danny’s made his decision.” It seemed like this had thrown a total wrench in the plans of them making any sort of objective decision about their photographer, and we were IN. Yesss! (Side Note, Marcus: Fallow was Danny and his mom’s first dance song and I may or may not have sang to myself the entire time).

And it’s been great from there. We’ve been in monthly contact with these two for a long time and have looked forward to their wedding for over a year. We stayed in the bridesmaids beach house and were welcomed like family. I’m not entirely sure what Kelly plans on doing with her time now that the wedding is done, or exactly how little sleep she’s been functioning on for the past year due to the following facts:

1. Kelly designed and planned the event herself. She made all of the details. Each table was designed so that the centerpieces on it would reflect and represent each person sitting at the table, so all of the tables were themed differently depending on who sat there. She spent a long time collecting the random things to represent their guests who appreciated it greatly and thought it was awesome.

2. She’s been learning guitar from Danny and they sang their first dance instead of danced it.

3. She booked Paleface, one of Danny’s favorite musicians, to play at the post-rehearsal party at Corolla’s Beer Garden as a surprise for Danny (some pictures included to start off the blog)… who basically wigged out for two solid hours straight.

4. Kelly’s aunt made her dress. Go ahead. Go scroll down and find the dress. Then read this sentence again: KELLY’S AUNT MADE HER DRESS.

So I apologize in advance for the crazy long blog post, but this was a pretty cool weekend staying with this crew. Not only was their wedding on my birthday (yay!) but it was our first wedding on the beach. Ever. Really? We’ve been doing this since 2008 and that was our first wedding on the beach? Way overdue. WAY way overdue.

Date: October 6, 2012 (Happy birthday to meee!)

First Song: Kelly and Danny sang (and played on their guitars) “You Swept Me Away” by the Avett Brothers

Kelly’s Occupation: Professor at ECU

Danny’s Occupation: US Postman

How You Met: We met at brunch at Buddy’s in Richmond, VA

Interesting Bride Fact: Still convinced she’s marrying Seth Avett

Interesting Groom Fact: Danny’s mustache has a mustache

Honeymoon Destination: Pacific Northwest camping road trip

Ceremony and Reception Location: Pelican’s Landing // Corolla, NC Outer Banks

Officiant: Rev. Shirley Anne

DJ: DJ Bruce Jones

Florist: Bells and Whistles

Cake: Petite Sweets by Mary Lou Schomburg

Caterer: Costal Provisions Market

Hair/Makeup: Salon Blonde // Greenville, NC

Coordinator: A Premiere Event // Heather Clark

Tent: Sperry Tent by Skyline Tent Company // Charlottesville, VA