ceremony + reception: Doris Duke Center, Duke Gardens, Durham NC
coordinator: Karen Clark, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
florist: Amazing Floral Events, Durham NC
caterer: Catering Works, Raleigh NC
dj: Mike Morse
Click to continue reading “Inez + Jonathan | Durham, North Carolina”
location: wrightsville beach, north carolina
ceremony: St. Luke’s Chapel, Charleston SC
reception: Boone Hall Plantation, Charleston SC
officiate: A Charleston Wedding, Charleston SC
coordinator: YoJ Events, Charleston SC
florist: Eventa Bella
dj: Other Brother Entertainment
catering: Gourmet Bay
Click to continue reading “Jill + JB | Charleston, South Carolina”
ceremony: Art Works, Richmond VA
reception: Poe Museum, Richmond VA
officiate: Jane Santos
catering: A Winning Taste
pies: Simply Southern
Click to continue reading “Jessie + David | Richmond, Virginia”
location: wrightsville beach nc, and the cape fear county fair at the airport fairgrounds
ceremony + reception: Barker House, Edenton NC
catering: Montero’s, Elizabeth City NC
florist: Dozier’s Florist, Hertford NC
tent/chair rental: Party and Equipment Rentals, Edenton NC
rehearsal dinner catering: Captain Bob’s, Hertford NC
rehearsal dinner bluegrass band: David Hedrick
reception music: Jay Harold
ceremony music: The Trent River Chamber Players
Click to continue reading “Loren + Adam | Edenton, North Carolina”
location: downtown wilmington, north carolina
ceremony + reception: Mountain Magnolia Inn, Hot Springs NC
band: The Common Saints
flowers: Brown’s Floral
cake, desserts: West End Bakery, Asheville Cake Company
Click to continue reading “Nicole + Alex | Hot Springs, North Carolina”
It has been a busy season so far! I’ve traveled from Wilmington to the great state of Washington, back to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, up to Richmond, and the beautiful mountains of Virginia! I’m back in Virginia this weekend, then off to Milwaukee and Chicagoland next!
All this travel has taken its toll on my poor blog. I have had the worst time trying to find an hour here, two hours there just to get some new entries out for you. I’m still in a time crunch, heading out for another very long distance wedding this weekend and trying to get caught up on the few that are in the queue for editing, but I thought I would take a quick breather and show two images from each wedding and engagement that I’ve shot over the last 6 weeks…
I’ll be posting full-length blog entries on each of these sessions and events … in August. Yeah. I think August will be a little calmer! 
ceremony and reception: kure beach, north carolina
catering: bon appetit, wilmington nc
flowers: island florals by roxanne
officiate: reverend jean rowe
cake: sweet t’s cakes
brilliant second shooting provided by: betsy cole photography
Click to continue reading “lindsay + joe | kure beach, north carolina”
Finally! A wedding in my backyard!!! After all these months of driving no less than four hours for almost every wedding of the year, I finally had one that I could get to in under fifteen minutes! I didn’t know what to do with myself all morning!!
So, you may remember Danielle and Trey from their engagement session and her bridal. I got to spend a lot of time with these guys this year, and I’m really psyched about that, they’re just cool, easygoing, fun people.
After having perfect weather for their engagement, and a beautiful but windy day for the bridal session, OF COURSE the weather turned for the absolute worst on their wedding day. It was like 50 degrees and rainy all day long, just miserable. Naturally, Danielle and Trey weren’t even phased by it. If I remember correctly, Danielle shrugged and said, “so it’s raining. I’m still getting married!” She rocks.
The ceremony was at my all-time favorite Wilmington church, Saint Mary’s Parish in downtown Wilmington. This is one of the most beautiful churches in Wilmington, I wish I could work there at least once a month. It’s so much fun to photograph.
The reception was at the Coastline Convention Center, and was catered and coordinated by Occasions Catering. It was a *crazy* fun reception, tons of dancing (Trey likes to “dance like Beyonce”, which was a treat in itself), drinking, laughing, good food… four hours of straight partying, the way a Wilmington wedding should be!
Danielle and Trey win the Low Maintenance Couple of the Year award, for being so laid back and easygoing about *everything*. They were so easy to work with, and I really loved being able to be around them so much this year.
Blaire and Michael got married at St Mary’s Chapel in Charlotte NC. The chapel is SO cute, I’d never been there before… it’s sort of nestled right in the middle of all these off ramps and traffic, but you forget its urban setting when you’re there… it’s a great spot, I definitely recommend.
The ceremony was uniquely sentimental, with the pastor and his wife translating a beautiful song into ASL (american sign language). The entire service was both spoken and signed, which was a new experience for me. The wedding party was a delightful mix of characters that were clearly very close to the couple, and it was so nice to be a part of this day with them.
The reception was held at Pewter Rose Bistro, which is one of those restaurants you wish was in your town. The decor, the service, the food, everything was impeccable. Blaire and Michael had this lovely dinner party, where their family and friends couldn’t seem to stop toasting them. Their families were experts at making you feel like you really belong… it’s no mystery where Blaire and Michael get their charitable passions from! I wish I could go into more detail, but all I would end up saying, over and over, is that this wedding was truly one of the sweetest, most sentimental, most moving weddings I’ve ever photographed. I’m so glad Blaire found me!
When Dodi and I first talked, she described her vision of this idyllic vineyard location overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains, with her closest friends and family there to celebrate her marriage to Larry… she wanted almost no formal shots at all, and just wanted a photographer to capture the essence of the day. I loved her vision, and was so excited that she decided to trust me with bringing it to life!
Sometimes a bride’s vision of the way her day will go doesn’t exactly mesh with reality. Not in Dodi’s case. She described the location and the “feel” of the day *precisely*. It was absolutely stunning – serene and picturesque, with a small group of very close knit family and friends sharing memories and laughs. I had the best time!
Hillsborough Vineyards, in Purcellville VA (north of Tyson’s Corner), is this hidden little vineyard drenched with character and mountainy-goodness. Between the natural scenery, the amazing flowers by Scott Design, Lisa Hazell’s coordination efforts, and Dodi’s natural charm and beauty… the day was amazing. Dodi should have been a model, the way she moved was completely fluid and always perfect for the camera. I could photograph her for DAYS. Larry was an absolute pleasure to be around… actually, the entire group was, I felt like a part of their intimate family, and not a hired vendor. Dodi did such a great job of conveying her ideas for the decor to Scott, who translated her need for drama and elegance into the most unique arrangements I’ve probably ever seen… oh, I can’t say enough about how beautiful it was, and I would recommend any of these vendors in a heartbeat!
Dodi and Larry, thank you SO much for having me there on your big day!
Dodi and her daughter, Tiffany. And no, it isn’t fair that Dodi has a grown daughter and still looks so damn good.
After Genelle and Forrest’s wedding in Corolla, NC, Michael and I drove straight up to Washington DC. Along the way I had a slight freakout over getting gas – remember when there was, like, no gas in North Carolina? Well, on top of the gas shortage, they apparently don’t believe in 24-hour gas stations in the Outer Banks, so it was a little white-knuckley for a little while there. But I got over it, we got gas, and all was good in the world.
Andrea and Pete got married at Saint Mary’s Church in Old Town Alexandria. Oh, it was so pretty… old, and ornate, with fabulous stained glass and traditional decor. Just beautiful.
The reception was at the Hotel Monaco, which is an awesome place for a reception. It’s a beautiful hotel, and the staff really seemed to be on top of everything. During the reception, Andrea’s brother presented this hilarious slideshow he created about how Andrea met Pete. It kept the whole room laughing for a good thirty minutes… and I definitely think you should hire him if you need a satirist, because he’s hilarious.
This was a really sweet wedding; Andrea was adorably happy all night, and Pete was all smiles the whole time. We had a great time working with you and visiting Alexandria! Thank you for having us!
