Mckenzie+Bob Get Married in Raleigh

When we first met Bob, he was deathly afraid of cats (see his interesting fact below). However, come their wedding day, we were informed that Bob is getting over his fear of cats, of which we’re very proud. We wouldn’t have held his cat fear against him, of course, but our cats might’ve. So it’s good that we’re all on the same page now.

Bob is one of the least serious people we’ve ever met (in a good way) and is always joking around (so you wouldn’t exactly suspect him of a cat phobia… which is, perhaps, what the cats are banking on). Mckenzie is super sweet. Their bridal party was one of the nicest ones we’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, and that says a lot about Bob and Mckenzie. They put up with a lot of things from us (walking in semi-sketchy locations and standing in front of caricatures of fruit) without complaint. Mckenzie and Bob’s wedding involved a lot of happiness, a lot of partying, some pinwheels, a dash of trolley transportation, and a gold coin Mckenzie kept in her shoe that her sister, her mother, and her grandmother all wore in their shoes on their wedding days (the penny was kept in a box with the label of all the names and dates of the weddings – an adorable idea!).

Their cake topper was a Mckenzie and Bob, sitting on a couch, with Bob playing Skyrim and Mckenzie on her iPad. It was pretty amazing. And accurate. Here are our favorites from the day.

Date: April 20, 2013

Ceremony Venue: Sacred Heart Cathedral // Raleigh, NC

Reception Venue: Cobblestone Hall // Raleigh, NC

First Dance Song: “Carolina in My Mind” – James Taylor

Mckenzie’s Occupation: Accountant

Bob’s Occupation: Software Engineer

How You Met: Mutual friends.

Interesting Bride Fact: Most indecisive person ever, I think.

Interesting Groom Fact: Used to be a stand up comedian who is deathly afraid of cats.

Honeymoon Destination: St. Lucia

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Father Schriber | DJ – Collin Y | Florist – Flueressence | Cake – Simply Cakes | Caterer – Rocky Top Hospitality | Hair/Makeup – Carla White | Cake Pops – Raleigh Cake Pops

Providence Baptist Church and Cobblestone Hall: The Wedding of Gwen+Nick

This was our very last wedding of 2011 held on December 17th. :) The day after, I flew to Pittsburgh to be home with my family for the holidays, and Gwen and Nick were patient and kind enough to be cool with me editing them when I got back in January. We could not have ended the year on a better note. Gwen, as you may recall from her engagement session, was a teaching co-worker of mine when I taught 2nd grade. She still teaches alongside my other teacher co-workers Jen (who was a bridesmaid in the wedding) and Sara (who did Gwen’s lovely makeup). It was so wonderful to see all of them again and to photograph Gwen and Nick’s family and friends on their wedding day. :) They’re such a sweet and loving couple… and December was the perfect month for them to get married as it’s an important month in their faith as well as a time when Gwen gets a little time off from work. ;) They combined adorable Christmas elements into their wedding… and I nearly cracked up when Gwen told me she was having her guests decorate ornaments for a tree while they were getting their pictures taken to occupy them (it was a very teacher-like craft assignment and amazing!).

Gwen looked beautiful and stunning, as always and Nick and his groomsmen looked awesome in their grey suits (I’m a sucker for grey suits and they photograph so well). Their ceremony took place in the church where they met. Their reception had a Cheerwine toast, a cheesecake bar, and a toilet papered getaway car that almost caught fire from their sparkler exit. ;) It was a beautiful day and I was happy to be there with them. Hope the pictures were worth the wait, guys. xo.

First Dance Song: “You and Me” – Lifehouse

Bride’s Occupation: 4th Grade Teacher

Groom’s Occupation: Software Developer

How You Met: Through our Sunday School class at Providence Baptist Church

Interesting Bride Fact: Competed in the NCAA DIII National Championship game in senior year of college

Interesting Groom Fact: Was the state champion in the floor routine as a 12 year old

Honeymoon Destination: Cruise to the Western Caribbean out of Tampa, FL

Date: December 17, 2011

Ceremony Venue: Providence Baptist Church // Raleigh, NC

Reception Venue: Cobblestone Hall // Raleigh, NC

DJ: Uniq Events

Florist: Harris Teeter

Cake: Melody Sawyer (friend)

Cheesecakes: The Twisted Fork

Hair: Kim Braddy

Makeup: Sara Haan // Makeup For Your Day

Coordinator: April Collier

Raleigh Wedding Photographer: Shannon+Phil

Horray for Shannon and Phil – wonderful engagement models and owners of the still popular Vince and Jackson session – who are now finally married!! This wedding was not only creatively put together with tons of little adorable details, but Shannon looked stunning and Phil dapper as always. They crack me up and together they are just two peas in a pod. It’s always so lovely to see two people so right for each other. And they had the BEST time at their wedding. This was one of the happiest, chillest weddings ever. No one got upset about anything and it was just general merriment all around. Their families were amazing and kind, and their bridal party was hilarious and creative. Kudos to you all and thank you for making this a WONDERFUL experience for us! :D

Date: June 11, 2011

Ceremony Venue: The Longview Center Unity Church of the Triangle // Raleigh, NC

Reception Venue: Cobblestone Hall // Raleigh, NC

Flowers, Catering, Cake: Catering Works

Transportation: The Olde South Trolley Co.

Officiant: Gordon Jewett

DJ: Brian O’Toole

Invitations: Kristin Mason

Now, before I get started, I must say that I love getting invitations from my couples. It’s a really good way to see what their wedding is going to be like, and it’s always nice to feel included too! :D I opened Shannon and Phil’s and just about died. They are so funny, adorable, and well designed at the same time. I quickly asked who made them, and found out that one of her bridesmaids made them for her (Kristin Mason – she’s a graphic designer). Holy cowwww – amazing invitations (and programs!!!).

Can I just say that this is the first time we’ve had a “bridesdude” and a “groomschick” and how awesome it was? More specifically – having a groomschick is incredibly helpful because none of the guys ever know how to pin on a boutonniere. You go, groomschick!

A majority of the bridal party was hailing from New Jersey, Shannon’s home state, so their mode of transportation for the day was the Olde South Trolley Co, who did an excellent job taking the bridal party around for a tour while we did the newlywed pictures. It was awesome, convenient, and kept everyone occupied.

One of my favorite pictures of the day – Shannon arriving at the Longview Center for her wedding ceremony!

Their wedding programs doubled as handy fans and were just as stinkin’ cute as their invitations. They also had Vince and Jackson’s pictures on the back, but I had to trim down soommmee of the pictures or else this would’ve been a really long blog post, so I chose the front for the final blog post. But sooo adorable!

I love that this street is noisy and covered with cars, but when you look at just the two of them inside the frame it’s like they’re in a green, picturesque wedding picture. :)

Shannon and Phil had a DIY photobooth at their wedding reception which was a great idea! They set up a little black drop cloth, a blank book, pens, glue sticks, a polaroid camera, lots of film, and lots of fun props, and everyone had a BLAST. It was affordable, doable, and everyone had a good time taking pictures of their friends and family. For a while Geoff and I considered releasing a photobooth service add-on in the fall or winter, but have since decided against it for a few reasons. So when I saw this, I thought of what a wonderful idea it would be to suggest it to CSP brides and grooms who enjoy the DIY feel of a homemade Polaroid photobooth!

Cornhole, ya’ll! ;) For those northerners who don’t know (Geoff and I were SO confused when we moved down south), cornhole is basically bean bag toss. It’s really big down here. People make custom cornhole boards (we did see a Steelers one once!) and play on the street, in their yards, and pretty much everywhere else.

Saw some major storm clouds coming and ran to get Shannon and Phil for a few pictures outside in City Market. These were pretty much what I wanted our own wedding photographs to be like (Raleigh – WHY did you not light up those tree lights on our wedding night!?), so I was glad I was able to give them to someone else. :)

Congratulations, Shannon and Phil! I hope you are having a WONDERFUL time in Jamaica! Thank you so much! :D