Carolyn+Shawn // Wedding at The Umstead Hotel.

Remember Carolyn and Shawn from their engagement session? They’re back! Only this time we were surrounded by 100+ other people calling Carolyn and me by the same name and it was a very confusing but lovely 8 hours. ;) Carolyn’s dad is named Steve and that’s also my dad’s name, and she also has a grandmother named Jean and that’s my middle name! We are like a name-twinning family. They’re also all really short like me so I immediately liked them from the beginning. :) The wedding took place in the always gorgeous first weekend of November at the Umstead, and the weather was beautiful. Carolyn and Shawn’s families have been so good to us throughout their whole engagement, and we were happy to spend the day with them while we watched them all celebrate (they’re all fierce dancers). Steve also set up a slideshow for his speech! I’m a sucker for slideshows because I get to see our clients as little kids, usually with their old cats, and everyone loves pictures of kids with cats. We could not be happier to have had Carolyn and Shawn as clients, and we wish them all the happiness in the world, and we also hope that they went down that slide from the Atlantis commercial like at least one hundred times during their honeymoon.

  • Date: November 5, 2016
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Umstead Hotel and Spa // Cary, NC
  • First Dance Song: “I Won’t Give Up” – Jason Mraz
  • Carolyn’s Occupation: Office Manager
  • How You Met: 9th grade year of high school.
  • Interesting Fact: We are high school sweethearts.
  • Honeymoon: Atlantis, Bahamas.
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Rev. Brent M. Rector. DJ – Mark McNally of Joe Bunn DJ Company. Florist – Gregg Kennedy of Brides and Bouquets. Cake – Blue Moon Bakery. Caterer – The Umstead. Hair/Makeup – Kerri Nicole. Coordinator – Kailey Godley of A Southern Soiree. Linen Rentals – CE Rentals.

Romey+Joe // Death & Taxes Wedding

We received an email from a woman named Teresa a couple of months ago who was attempting to gather information from different photographers for her friend Romey. Romey wasn’t sure they wanted a photographer and Teresa was sleuthing around gathering intel in an attempt to change Romey’s mind. :) Eventually she did just that, and we were kindly invited to photograph an intimate evening ceremony and dinner reception at Death & Taxes in downtown Raleigh. Well, it’s kind of Death & Taxes. They have an upstairs portion called the Bridge Club which is where this was all held, and it’s a lovely room with large windows looking out over downtown. We met them shortly before their ceremony where Joe quickly won us over with his impressive beard and work history in video games, and Romey quickly won me over by wearing 101 Dalmations canvas shoes. I was disappointed when she changed into glitter heels, no matter how lovely, because, come on, 101 Dalmations. They were married in a beautiful and hilarious ceremony under a gorgeous flower arch, and then they fed us a bunch of seriously amazing food. Like, a whole lot of great food. Plates and plates! I think I’ve been dreaming of the twice baked mashed potatoes ever since. We’re thankful Teresa convinced them to hire us because the mashed potatoes were that good. But also because Romey and Joe are pretty amazing themselves. :)

  • Date: February 12, 2016
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: Death & Taxes 3rd Floor Bridge Club // Raleigh, NC
  • Romey’s Occupation: Accountant
  • Joe’s Occupation: Business Development
  • How You Met: Match.com. Romey “winked” at Joe!
  • Interesting Fact: These questions are the hardest to answer.
  • Honeymoon: Hawaii in March
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Chris Donahue | Florist – Fresh Affairs | Cake – Death & Taxes/Bridge Club | Caterer – Death & Taxes/Bridge Club

Allison+Daniel // 214 Martin St. Wedding

We are so grateful and happy to have had a wonderful year of weddings! Allison and Daniel are going to be the last wedding on the blog for 2015, but don’t worry, we’ll resume right away again with portraits in January and weddings to follow soon after that! :) 2015’s wedding season went out on a wonderful note for us! For those of you who don’t know, downtown Raleigh (and in particular City Market) opened a new wedding venue called 214 Martin Street (based on, you guessed it, its address). It’s a fantastic new venue right next to the old Cobblestone Hall (now operating under a different name and by different people with a storyline I couldn’t quite follow). But it’s great, and we were happy to end our season shooting at a different place!

We were also super glad to have had great clients to work with. Allison and Daniel braved a very chilly day with incredible grace and lots of laughter. They also were our first clients to have Tuffy (aka Mr. Wuf, the NC State mascot) make an appearance at their reception, much to the delight of everyone there, but particularly me, who went to school in Pennsylvania but just really likes wolves and also mascots. The maid of honor also gifted Allison and Daniel a giant cardboard cutout of their adorable dog and a little kid danced around with it on the dance floor for the entire evening without stopping which might not sound that hilarious, but it really was. We were so happy to end 2015 on a great note with great people! Cheers!

  • Date: December 5, 2015
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: 214 Martin Street // Raleigh, NC
  • First Dance Song: “Something” – The Beatles
  • Allison’s Occupation: English Instructor
  • Daniel: Production Manager
  • How You Met: We met at a Halloween bar crawl in downtown Raleigh. Daniel was one of the few people who could guess Allison’s costume (she was “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”).
  • Interesting Fact: One of the first things we learned about each other is that we both have/had a dog named Skully. We currently have a golden named Skully who Allison had when they met. Daniel used to have a beagle named Scully. Different spellings, but still weird.
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant –Rev. Barbara Lodge | DJ – Alex Choi of Vox DJ Company | Florist – Teacup Floral | Cake – Once in a Bluemoon Bakery | Caterer – 214 Martin Street | Hair and Makeup – Parlor Dry and Ellen from Atomic Salon | Coordinator – Emily Nunn of Whiskey and White Events | Lighting, Draping, Backdrop, Furniture, Christmas Tree Decor – Showtime Events