Kathy+Andrew+Alden+Eben

Such a joy reuniting with some of my all-time favorite people! Geoff and I photographed Kathy and Andrew’s wedding back in the day, and then I’ve also had the joy of photographing them with Alden a couple of times. Now it’s been a few years and they have a new 2 year-old addition named Eben, who is just as delightful as Alden. Their children are adorable and sweet kids who enjoy making forts in the living room, having tea, and playing with lots of trains. The trains, for some reason, are carrying large tanks full of what appears to be full-grown great white sharks. I’m not sure if the trains are transporting these sharks to an aquarium or a rehabilitation center or if it’s a Snowpiercer situation, but regardless, I just want to let you know the type of cargo the trains in this household are transporting because it seems important.

And there, watching the trains transport the sharks and observing the tea parties and the cookie making, is Brewer the Tabby Cat. Brewer is an extremely friendly cat who has always been a part of our shoots. I think he thinks that the camera is there for him, and he acts accordingly. Their calico Addie, however, wants nothing to do with me but I love her from afar.

It was quite a gloomy and rainy morning when we shot this, but the kids made the absolute most of their day inside by doing a ton of fun things with Mom and Dad, which included making cookies, which is maybe the absolute best activity you can do when it’s raining. I had so much fun catching up with all of them and continuing to be a little part of their family story!

Lexi and Justin are two incredibly sweet people who had a whirlwind rollercoaster ride of a weather forecast leading up to their wedding with either a.) a ton of pollen, b.) a ton of rain, or c.) a ton of both. But, miraculously, the rain totally missed the entire wedding despite a radar that was not looking good at all. They were able to have their ceremony at a beautiful spot outdoors overlooking the hillside and we’re happy to report that none of us turned green from pollen exposure. And it was just lovely! Their family and friends were a ton of fun, and we’re super glad that we got to photograph the hora once again at a wedding! It’s by and large our favorite wedding tradition… especially when they hoist up people who were not expecting to be hoisted up. ;) They had their dog’s faces printed on napkins! And custom wine labels! And a joyful day with each other and people they love (who were very skilled at emergency bustle fixes and ensuring that the Harry Potter guest book was properly signed). We’re so glad that Lexi and Justin were our clients and wish them all the love in the world.

Date: April 13, 2019
Ceremony+Reception Venue: Highgrove Estate // Fuquay-Varina, NC
First Dance Song: Tuyo – Narcos theme song
Honeymoon: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Officiant: Myles Zuckerman – Uncle of the Bride
DJ: Butch Halpin
Cake: Highgrove Estate
Caterer: Highgrove Estate
Hair: Meghan Pirroco
Makeup: Kennedy Shae Makeup Artistry

Well, it’s finally taken us ten years but we finally had a couple use their cat as a prop in their photobooth (not their actual cat, but a large cardboard photo of their cat) and Geoff and I took full advantage. It’s also taken us ten years to finally get a The Doge cookie cake at a wedding. What’s been taking all of you so long? So thanks to Lizzie and Tommy for finally making our dreams come true in so many ways. We had an awesome start to 2019 at their wedding, and are so glad they were our clients this year! Lizzie likes to make a variety of different faces which I appreciate (as someone who also makes a lot of faces) and she also likes to bust out into a variety of different dance moves (The Chicken Dance being a favorite but there are some other ones I am pretty sure she invented that are just as good). She is funny and wonderful and I want to hug her all the time. Tommy clearly feels the same way, and together they’re an unstoppable team of smarts and love for cats. Tommy just got into a fellowship at the University of Arizona, so they’ll be moved to Tucson shortly, where we will visit them and force our friendship and authentic Mexican cuisine upon them (Geoff’s parents live there). But we’re glad that they got married in the Durm where they shall hopefully return after they get some good tans. Their wedding was fabulous (as evidenced below) and you guys, I am telling you, the band Punch is THE BEST and we’re glad we got to see them again. We may or may not have stayed after we packed up all of our stuff to listen to them play Purple Rain because PRINCE YOU GUYS! Lizzie saw me swaying my invisible lighter in the corner and appreciated it as only one person who makes up ridiculous dance moves to another can.


Date: January 5, 2019
Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Cotton Room // Durham, NC
First Dance Song: “Coming Home” – Leon Bridges
Tommy’s Occupation: Surgeon
Lizzie’s Occupation: Marketing Extraordinaire
How You Met: Interwebs – the dating app formerly known as Hinge
Interesting Fact: Did we mention we have a cat. She is the best cat. Her name is Sazzy (short for Sazerac). We love board games, traveling, snow days, and OH! We’re about to move to Arizona for a year during Tommy’s fellowship at University of Arizona.
Honeymoon: St. Lucia in January…hopefully Japan in July!
Officiant: Dame Gracie Bassett
Band: Punch
Florist: Cupboard
Cake: Whole Foods
Caterer: The Cotton Room
Hair/Makeup: Wedding Hair by Liz
Videographer: Dogwood Media
Coordinators: Michelle Alred and Heather Schaffran
Photobooth Prop Extraordinaire: Princess Sazzy – (this is still a joke about our cat…but we really do have a fathead of her in the photobooth)