Category: Weddings

Amber and Kevin have been client gems for many months now and we’ve been so lucky to have them! Not only do they like cats (check) and Star Wars (check) and The Walking Dead (check) and Game of Thrones (check) but they are also going to Costa Rica for their honeymoon which is where we went (check) AND are rad enough people to not let a decent amount of really cold rain and weather get them down for their wedding. We were planning on doing their portraits around Old Salem (which is so cute from what I saw on the trolley) but due to pretty significant rainfall and super cold conditions we headed straight for the WONDERFULLY ADORABLE covered bridge instead and took over. Not a bad rain plan for pictures at all. Amber and Kevin remained positive and adorable themselves and had a great time, so rain didn’t spoil this parade. And I am loving all these winter stoles! Not only do they look cute but I do get them to wear them occasionally for half the time shooting so they also keep me warm as well (that’s the only reason why I have brides sometimes remove them).

Prior to the pictures, Amber and Kevin were married at the Trinity Moravian Church in a ceremony that included some sweet traditions. A unity candle was lit first, then Amber and Kevin passed that light to their own candles, then to the wedding party members, and out into every wedding guest present. Amber was also wearing a pink ribbon prior to the ceremony, which was changed into a blue ribbon by her mother to signify a married woman in accordance with Moravian traditions. Then we froze outside for a while on a bridge. Then we went to Footnote to celebrate with dancing and cake and some Pearl Jam (yessss). It was a beautiful day for these two stellar people, and we wish them the best of luck in their lives in Oklahoma! So glad we were your photographers!

Date: December 1, 2018
Ceremony Venue: Trinity Moravian Church // Winston-Salem, NC
Reception Venue: Footnote // Winston-Salem, NC
First Dance Song: “Tennessee Whiskey” – Chris Stapleton
Kevin’s Occupation: Senior Assistant Manager for Discount Tire
Amber’s Occupation: Aduiologist
How You Met: We lived in the same apartment building and Kevin finally got the nerve to actually ask Amber out… as we were both on the way to the grocery store. One grocery trip and another actual date for sushi, cocktails, and a late night drive was the start of the best forever!
Interesting Fact: Kevin has taught Amber more about Star Wars than she ever wanted to know, and is very envious of Geoff’s Boba Fett tattoo. Amber taught Kevin he actually likes vegetables (here’s looking at you, kale and brussels sprouts!). We enjoy watching The Walking Dead, GoT, and The Big Bang Theory together. We have a two cats; Louie the OG kitty and Bruce the new kitten. Louie and Kevin will not admit that they are best best friends.
Honeymoon: Secrets Papagayo Costa Rica in May 2019
Officiant: Reverend Joe Moore
DJ: Dow Oak Events
Florist: Beverly’s Flowers
Cake: Savannah Brodar (Amber’s cousin)
Caterer: Footnote
Hair/Makeup: Elyse Jerome
Coordinator: Perfect Pair Events
Church Coordinator: Sara Gentle
Transportation: Triad Trolleys

Olivia and Gunnar eloped in Raleigh in mid-November and had their closest family and friends in from out of town to stay at a big house in Raleigh to celebrate with them. Olivia and Gunnar are originally from Alabama but recently moved to the area for jobs, and we’re so glad they did! They are awesome people who are super sweet and like key lime pie. And I automatically trust anyone who loves key lime pie. They enjoy cooking together and are pretty into food. But, so is their dog, and upon returning from a honeymoon in Ireland where they brought home chopsticks from one of their favorite restaurants there, their dog dug through their bag and ate said chopsticks. You can’t with ’em all. They told us of driving through Ireland on the wrong side of the road which sounded terrifying, and they told us about black pudding which sounds totally disgusting, but beyond that, Ireland sounds really great and it’s still high on our list of places to visit someday (just without the black pudding maybe). At home, Gunnar likes video games and building computers and doing techie things, and Olivia likes all things true crime and watching movies (and we all agree that Pet Semetary definitely should not be remade as it’s perfect in its original form). We had a great time meeting their families at their elopement in Raleigh, and then a great time on a slightly drier day photographing them in Durham. Thanks for finding us, Olivia and Gunnar, and may you have many more chopsticks someday that your dog doesn’t eat. Congratulations!

Remember these three pretty faces from their engagement session earlier this year? I say three because one of those pretty faces is a very shaggy/furry pretty face and that is the face of Sam the Dog. But, she is 100% a member of this family and is always included so I don’t want to leave her out here. Sam was a groomspup and, while she historically does not like very many people, she did cuddle with Geoff on the ride over to the ceremony in the backseat of the car, and she did lick my hand exactly once on the wedding day, so I’d call it a win. This was a huge improvement over literally jumping away from me if I tried to pet her in the past (which I frequently did because I forget she doesn’t like me and she’s so cute). ANYWAY – Sam was there, and adorable as usual, and wearing a little floral collar. Jen and Jon were also there, also being adorable, and wearing a pretty dress and bee socks respectively. Jen let me wear her stole on top of my puffy vest while I took photos of them and I looked very high fashion as they can attest.

These guys are so sweet and nice and smiley and funny and we love them both. They really like Game of Thrones and lifting heavy things and October (me too! except lifting heavy things). Jen is also Celiac, so we enjoy talking about things we can and cannot eat. They like deep frying gluten free stuff, and there was a moment of the wedding night where we cornered Jon and discussed deep fryer options. They had a gluten free cake (!!!) and gluten free pizza (!!!) and three of the world’s cutest flower girls. The best man also created a brilliant speech where he asked the guys getting ready for random words to include, just for kicks, to see if he could seamlessly integrate them. He asked Geoff, who asked him how hard he wanted the word to be (he was told very hard) before suggesting polypropylene, which, I have to say, was seamlessly integrated (I wouldn’t have thought it could be done). We had a great time meeting all their family and friends (who are just as nice as they are, surprise!) and can’t wait to discuss GoT’s series finale with them in the future.

Date: November 17, 2018
Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Historic Wakefield Barn // Wake Forest, NC
First Dance Song: “Beautiful Crazy” – Luke Combs
Jon’s Occupation: Financial Analyst for Cisco and Personal Trainer
Jen’s Occupation: Speech Therapist
How You Met: We met on the dating app Bumble
Interesting Fact: We cruise town playing Pokemon way too often.
Honeymoon: The Bahamas!
Officiant: Pastor Jason Butler
Band – Whiskey Rebellion
Florist: Expressions of Love
Cake: Sweet Traditions
Caterer: Il Muliano
Hair/Makeup: Teighla Norris
Coordinator: Daniel Varela of Chad Biggs Planning