Christie+Noel+Matlock // Anniversary Session

It’s been 2.5 years since Christie+Noel got married and they decided to do some anniversary photos! We think anniversary photos are great because they’re all about documenting you without the pressure of OMG A WEDDING or OMG MY MAKEUP or OMG SAVE THE DATES and generally everyone is significantly more chill. Pretty sure Christie and Noel would’ve been chill anyway, but no one is anywhere near as chill as Matlock. Matlock is their adopted lab-mix dog. He’s huge (possibly mixed with some Great Dane? Mastiff? Godzilla Dog?)His bark sounds like he’s the size of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. I’m pretty sure I could ride him around like a small horse and my feet would only have a 50/50 shot of touching the ground. When you actually meet him, though, he is the sweetest dog in the worrrrld and you can tell, if he had opposable thumbs and could also negotiate on your behalf, that he’d do anything for you. Matlock enjoys belly rubs, being incredibly clingy to his parents, and hiding his tennis ball underneath the house where you cannot take it from him, ever ever.

Christie and Noel enjoy Matlock and each other and good television and traveling. Together we ran around and talked to some ducks and got Christie repeatedly tangled in her plaid blanket/scarf that I proceeded to wear the entire time they weren’t using it because it was cold. All of the leaves in the Raleigh/Durham area should have been gone by this point in the year (this shoot was on November 20th), but due to the extreme drought we’ve been having, they hung on for this session, which is probably one of our most colorful leafy sessions to date. We had the best time getting to know these guys and their large furchild. Happy anniversary to two beautiful people!

Katherine+Jon // Raleigh Engagement

Katherine and Jon are pretty stellar and I’m not just saying that because we have a creepy amount in common and I’d like to think Geoff and I are cooler than we actually are. We are super excited to shoot their wedding next summer at the Merrimon-Wynne House and also to run into them at weird, random concerts between now and then. Jon is one of two really, really excited clients named Jon/John Rush fans that we’ve had this year and we always appreciate those with a deep love for Geddy Lee. Katherine and Jon also love Brand New, one of Geoff and I’s favorite bands, that we all saw this summer along with several other clients in a big, Brand New love fest.

In an obvious connection upon seeing either one of us, Katherine and I are both very short and Geoff and Jon are normal-people sized, so it was only logical for both her and I to dress up as Eleven from Stranger Things for Halloween this year (me with a shaved head, Katherine with her blonde hair). Jon went as Dr. Martin Brenner and Geoff went as the Demogorgon. Twinning and winning. Or, you know, at least getting candy.

We followed them around Raleigh for their engagement session, a city that they love very much and where they had their first date, and then continued on to NC State where we took a few more pictures of them and then watched as Jon drove his car to a lake and lovingly gazed at it for a long time (Katherine was there too but it was mostly about the car). We’ll keep you updated as to whether or not the car makes an appearance at the wedding. We’d assume it would be the getaway car, but I feel like there’s a fair chance we could see it take part in the lighting of the unity candle or something.