Andrea+Mark Have a Raleigh Wedding

Our favorite getting ready spot is always the couple’s own house. We really like seeing other peoples’ houses, for one thing, as it tells you a lot about them. This is always substantially more relaxed, for another thing, especially if they get ready in the same house at the same time. But the third and most important reason why our favorite getting ready spot is the couple’s own house is that we’re typically surrounded by cats or dogs who make everything better for cute, furry, obvious reasons.

There were 3 cats in this house, but only one visible, unhidden cat who had taken a fond liking to Andrea’s wedding dress. The dog’s name is Sweet Penny Scoot Scoots, age 4. She’s possibly won the award for the most nervous flower girl ever, and we’ve seen a lot of nervous flower girls. She was won over eventually with treats and a bow and walked bravely down the aisle for her very doting parents, Andrea and Mark.

Andrea and Mark were married at Mark’s uncle’s house and had their ceremony officiated by Mark’s other uncle. The ceremony was the first we’ve attended to mention Tupac and a vow to “seek help before quitting the marriage,” and was clearly the best ceremony ever. Family threw Hersey Kisses at them afterward (no dresses were harmed) and the DJ actually still spun real records with a set list that was epic and reminiscent of every 90s roller skating party I’ve ever attended (in a good way). They drove off at the end of the night to Mojo’s where their pictures are up on the wall 3 times for eating hamburgers. :)

Date: May 4, 2013

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Private Residence // Raleigh, NC

Andrea’s Occupation: Massage Therapist

Mark’s Occupation: Superintendent

How You Met: Through a friend at the Pour House

Honeymoon Destination: Costa Rica

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Dr. Bobby Wineburg | DJ – Aharon Segal of DJ Gonzo | Caterer – Food Simply Fresh with Kelly Delaire | Hair/Makeup – Amanda Daniels

Erika and Emmanuel Are Engaged

THESE TWO. We’re kind of partial to them because they lend us awesome British sci-fi movies with tag lines like “Inner City vs. Outer Space” and make us gluten-free cupcakes. Emmanuel currently has some of our comics out on loan, and we’d totally be borrowing his Walking Dead video game right now if we had a Playstation, but we don’t, so that exchange will have to wait. We even played Catch Phrase once where Erika was on my team, and I’m pretty sure she said, “Wild Goose Run” at least twice before I could coax “Wild Goose Chase” out of her and I won’t let her live it down (despite us being the best team and always winning). We like ’em a whole lot.

So they wanted to do a more candid-type engagement shoot because Erika’s smile starts to fade after forced-smiling for so long, so they proposed a cooking photo shoot. They both like cooking and baking. A lot. A whole, whole lot. Brunch is their favorite meal and I am pretty sure each time we’ve been with them, they talk about recipes. It’s pretty adorable, and I envy their knowledge of how to make things super tasty as well as local restaurant knowledge. They also watch a lot of Drunk Kitchen on Youtube (Google this – it’s awesome) so it was an appropriate idea. But they needed a kitchen and asked if they could use ours, and we said SURE! Because we like them, and also knew we’d get tasty things out of the deal (which we certainly did – jerk chicken with rice and margarita cupcakes!). So it’s kind of strange to see our own kitchen on the blog, but here it is!

They also just recently completed a Color Run, and liked it a whole lot. So they bought the colored powder for the session and threw it at each other (not in our kitchen). Then, covered in colored powder, we drove them back and ate delicious things and were very happy. Erika and Emmanuel get married in July and we will be there to eat their tasty food (and photograph them).

Heather+Graham Get Married in Raleigh

This was the most intimate wedding ceremony that I’ve ever attended, with myself being the only guest. I also doubled as the witness and the photographer, and I was pretty excited. Excited because I’ve known and loved Heather for a while (she used to live down the street from the family I worked for when I was a nanny), I love small weddings (their officiant said a welcome and Heather said, “That means you, Carolyn!”), I love green wedding dresses (green is the best!), and I loved that their close friends were throwing them a fabulous reception party at a friend’s really fantastic house. Plus they are really good looking. And Heather’s shoes were sparkly.

But enough about my excitement for me – I was also super excited for them. Graham is an amazingly kind person and it’s quite clear that they make each other so happy. Heather’s kids, Wyatt and Theo, just adore Graham and together they’re now one good looking family. :) Heather and Graham were married on Friday, April 12th at Meredith College under the gazebo that her father designed as an architect. She carried a photograph of him, as well as a photo of her opening presents on her 4th birthday party held at the same gazebo. Their friends joined them afterward (and Geoff joined me!) for an awesome party to celebrate their new marriage. We were so happy to be there and met a bunch of really awesome people, two cute cats (very important), and reunited with couples from my nannying days. A fantastic time was had all around. We love you, Heather and Graham!