Sarah and Dustin are the best type of people. They like card games and video games and pie picnics, but most importantly, they can weather an extremely rainy engagement session without so much as blinking an eye. The weather is so unpredictable in North Carolina in the summer, and we had already rescheduled once due to rain. The forecast for their particular day was about evenly split, but toward the evening it was down to almost a zero percent chance, and nothing on the radar. Of course, because of this, it rained literally the entire time. For no reason. The radar still said it was clear, and the forecast still said it was not supposed to be raining. It did not let up. It was primarily a constant mist, but it did become heavier on occasion, but despite all this, they did not complain once, and were some of the happiest clients I’ve had, rain or shine! They met in the Archives while attending school, and are getting married later this year on Dustin’s family’s land in Tennessee. They’re excited to later bring Sarah’s dog Moses into the mix (who’s currently living with her family in New Mexico) and vow to continue to remain united over their love of desserts. I’m super happy to have done their engagement session, and can’t wait to see what life has in store for them in future. Congrats, Sarah and Dustin!
We absolutely adore the Museum of Life and Science, especially the inside and the outside of the butterfly house, so it was a little bittersweet that this was our last wedding there. But, we were so thrilled that the couple getting married was Sam and Mark, and that they stood in the high humidity of that butterfly house for us, and that Mark wore a trumpet flower as a hat. They truly are the best. We photographed their engagement session last year after they found us through Jessie and Dan. And soon in September we will be photographing Sam and Mark’s friends Sarah and Brandon and so all three of our wedding couples of past, present, and future were at this wedding together and it was so fun to see them all in one spot! SO MANY TEARS. Okay, nobody cried at all, but it was still nice.
I did cry at their wedding ceremony however, but it was from tears because their ceremony was hilarious. It was the very first one in my 10+ years as a wedding photographer where the officiant (their yoga teacher) had previously asked them to list some pet peeves about one another to her, and she incorporated them as vows. So there was a lot of vowing to stop leaving dirty clothes on the floor and cleaning up toothpaste from sinks. I expect they might need a vow renewal for at least that part of their ceremony every few months, but it’s important that they’re trying. We love these humans, and are so happy to be part of their day. Not only because their day involved the butterfly house but also spacemen and one chinchilla, but also because they’re great.
Date: June 1, 2019
Ceremony+Reception Venue: Museum of Life and Science // Durham, NC
First Dance Song: “Here’s To Us” – Halestorm
How You Met: At Duke
Honeymoon: Tuscany
Officiant: Sommer Sobin
Band: Dance Candy
Florist: Tre Bella
Cake: Guglhuph
Caterer: Rocky Top
Hair+Makeup – Wedding Hair by Liz
Coordinator: Stacey Newberg of Events by Memory Lane
Leila and Colin have quickly become two of our favorite people, and they’re so stupidly easy to work with that our job looks/seems/feels like the easiest job ever when we’re with them. They’re giggly and laugh a lot and look really good and also have a dog named Bobby (Mr. B/Chicken Boy). Bobby is from Bulgaria (we had a cat from Russia last month, and now are looking forward to our stint of foreign pets), and also appeared at their wedding in Asheville last year. Bobby wasn’t sure how he felt about Leila at that point. He is very close with Colin, and was, perhaps, somewhat jealous when Leila entered the picture, holding a truly cat-like grudge in a totally benign situation. However, we are proud to announce that since the wedding, Leila and Bobby’s relationship has turned a corner when Colin had to travel for work, leaving Bobby alone with Leila for a week. Bobby then realized that Leila was ALSO nice, and would ALSO feed him and walk him and cuddle with him, and now Bobby has truly accepted both of his parents and is 100% supportive of their marriage (thank goodness). This photo session was a celebration of Leila and Colin’s love for each other and also their enduring and endearing relationship with Bulgarian Bobby. All three of them are moving to Boston shortly, which I think should inspire a new sitcom called Bulgarian Bobby in Boston, which I would surely watch. We’re so glad to have photographed this crew yet again, and glad that Leila hasn’t texted us to tell us that Bobby got sick after eating a chicken bone found on the roof of a garage during the session, so we’re going to assume he’s okay.