Making Fools of Ourselves: 2017

Ahh, the annual culmination of embarrassing photos of ourselves all in one place. We look terrible or confused or hangry, and are occasionally seen straddling logs in the middle of streams or getting caught in gym equipment. We are always, always, always pointing out in vague directions, gesticulating wildly, or petting dogs. I also decided to add an always-smooth-looking fannypack to my arsenal of wearable camera gear this year, so now I look like I’m ready for a week long trek in the wilderness after I’m done rock climbing. Not pictured this year: multiple pictures of Geoff eating wedding cake. I don’t know why. Maybe because I was able to eat more cake this year than ever before due to my gluten-free wedding guest brethren, so I was also busy eating cake at the same time? Either way, a disturbing lack of pictures of Geoff eating. I’ll work on that for next year. To make up for it, there is a picture of the Virginia Tech mascot hugging him against his will. Enjoy the stupid expressions and awkwardness of it all. To all of you who worry about how you’ll look in your pictures, we promise it won’t be this bad.

The “Making Fools of Ourselves” posts started in 2011 at the end of our Class of 2011 post. Here’s a look at younger versions of us:

2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011

Elizabeth+Catherine // A Cotton Room Wedding

Winter weddings are always so lovely and this one was no exception. Elizabeth and Catherine, whom you may remember from their engagement session last spring, were married during a late morning ceremony at The Cotton Room in Durham in December. Their old rugby coach officiated, and they were surrounded by family, friends, and just a little bit of snow. :) It’s pretty rare to snow around here, and even more rare to snow during the day (for some reason our snow frequently comes in at night). Oftentimes the snow is actually ice. This snow consisted of large, puffy, beautiful flakes that added a bit of magic to the day, even though the snow didn’t stick. It nicely complemented the gorgeous winter decor of lit trees and candles and it all felt very warm and fuzzy.

Elizabeth and Catherine did a first look that they were so excited for after keeping everything about their outfits secret from each other for months. They also gave out adorable T-Rex and Narwhal printed glasses as their wedding favors that I’ve been drinking from ever since (I wash it in between drinks, don’t worry). The placecards were little pieces of round wood that Elizabeth engraved by hand, and everywhere you turned there were adorable pictures of them as children (these are my favorite things to look at during weddings). They had a lovely wedding and have a lovely marriage, and we couldn’t be more excited to see these two wonderful people get married. Congrats, Elizabeth and Catherine! We couldn’t have ended our 2017 season on a better note.

– Date: December 9, 2017
– Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Cotton Room // Durham, NC
– First Dance Song: “Ho Hey” – The Lumineers
– Catherine’s Occupation: Community Organizing (State Director)
– Elizabeth’s Occupation: IT Audit (Manager IT Audit, Data Governance)
– How You Met: Rugby!
– Interesting Fact: We have Broadway season tickets at DPAC as Catherine is an avid Broadway fan. E does crossfit and talks about it incessantly. Catherine likes to take long silent bike rides alone while listening to podcasts about TV. We are also huge wine fans and are taking a wine tour in Spain!
– Honeymoon: Spain
– Vendor Credits: Officiant – Sarah Deane // DJ – Ali Kaba // Florist – Petal & Oak // Cake – Cinda’s Creative Cakes // Caterer – The Cotton Room // Hair+Makeup – Evanna Coe & Jennifer Panther // Coordinator – Ari Ball

Stephanie+Tim // Wedding at The Rickhouse

Stephanie and Tim love pizza, Stranger Things, and each other. You may remember them from their engagement session at 21C Museum Hotel that ended with them eating pizza at Pie Pushers. We spent most of that engagement session discussing *spoiler alert* Barb’s untimely end in season one of Stranger Things and how justice might eventually be served… served just like their pizza. And although the jury on justice for Barb is still kinda out, the jury on Stephanie and Tim’s wedding where they also were served pizza again is IN and the jury says “EXCELLENT.” We got special permission from The Durham to shoot on the rooftop as Stephanie and Tim were guests there that evening and the light was purrrdy. Then NC Comic-Con was taking place and lots of fabulous characters graced us with their presence as we did photos downtown. And finally Stephanie and Tim were married in a beautiful indoor ceremony at The Rickhouse, which culminated with pizza and ice cream, which is the married dinner of champions.

So while things didn’t work out so well for Barb, they did work out excellently for Stephanie and Tim, and we were so happy to be a part of their day. They are fun and hilarious and easy-going, and they have an amazing group of friends (shout-out to a phenomenally cooperative and stylish wedding party). Also, be on the look out for their cake topper which is one of the best we’ve ever seen. Thank you from the bottom of our upside-down hearts for having us as your wedding photographers, guys. THE PIZZA WAS TASTY AND YOU GUYS ARE SWELL.

– Date: November 11, 2017
– Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Rickhouse // Durham, NC
– First Dance Song: “We Found Each Other in the Dark” – City and Colour
– Stephanie’s Occupation: Project Analyst
– Tim’s Occupation: Supply Chain Coordinator
– How You Met: We swiped right.
– Interesting Fact: Besides being the least interesting people in the world, we are “professional” softball players for local amateur softball leagues.
– Honeymoon: Cruise to the Caribbean
– Vendor Credits: Officiant – Rebekah Perno // DJ – Barry of Be Digital Entertainment // Florist – Brandi’s Botanicals // Cake – Kristen Sherman // Caterer – Happy Cardinal Catering // Hair – Lane Clements // Make-Up – Lauren Tedino // Coordinator – Amanda Buchanan of Simple Day // Lighting – Vivid Lighting // Ice Cream – The Parlour // Calligrapher – Marika Wendelken