We’re so glad that we got in one last Indian wedding before our retirement! This one had a Sangeet event, which we hadn’t photographed before and was just delightful. For those who don’t know, a Sangeet event is essentially a dance party that takes place during an Indian wedding. It’s kind of like a reception, but a little bit more organized in terms of the dancing. There are specific dances that are traditional, and others that are choreographed Bollywood dances. Krishna and Dan’s family and friends learned dances for the event and preformed them one after another, and it was so fun to get to be a part of! I also adore Indian sarees and clothing because they’re so colorful and gorgeous, so I was extra excited to see everyone’s outfits (which did not disappoint). Krishna and Dan’s Sangeet was held the evening before their wedding at Duke Gardens, where we got to photograph even more fabulous outfits and henna. It was amazing! The only not-amazing part was when I almost passed out during a very hot ceremony in the sun (many thank yous to the vendors passing out coconut water that saved me! – and a reminder for photographers to hydrate frequently!) but taking Krishna and Dan’s photos in the bamboo in Duke Gardens later made up for it. So happy to have been a part of your lovely wedding, guys. Congratulations!

Date: August 31, 2019 and September 1, 2019
Sangeet Event Venue: Sheraton Imperial Hotel Raleigh-Durham Airport
Ceremony+Reception Venue: Duke Gardens // Durham, NC
First Dance Song: “Dance with Me” – Mandi Mapes
Krishna’s Occupation: Nurse practitioner
Dan’s Occupation: Physical Therapist
How You Met: Through friends
Interesting Face: A 10lb terrier mutt rules our lives and hearts
Honeymoon: Thailand
Officiant: Madhu Sharma
DJ: DJ Rang
Florist: Blooming Buds
Cannoli Food Truck: Holy Moly Cannoli Food Truck
Caterer: Nazara
Hair+Makeup: Belloviso, Inc
Videographer: JRB Weddings
Coordinator: Emily Katherine Events
Lighting Company: Get Lit
Bartending+Food Service: Nancy Reyes of Andy’s Tents

You know you have the right client-photographer relationship when you show up and the maid of honor that you’ve never met is really excited to present to you a dozen little miniature hands for you to take ring shots with, and then you proceed to also use the bride’s floral binder and Pantone color samples you find lying around and find out that the wedding is floral and Pantone themed. With little hands. Then someone casually suggests hanging the bride’s dress on a pointed hand that’s jutting out of the wall, but it’s facing the wrong way, so the bride gets up on the counter with a hammer and a drill and proceeds to move the hand. Then they tell you that all of the bridesmaids have temporary tattoos that are scented. These… these are my people.

I won’t say too much about Molly and Trevor because they already know we love them, and they already know how fantastic they are (they are the only clients we’ve had to put their photos on a potato), and I already went over some of that from their engagement session (their apartment which is super fabulous and was published on Apartment Therapy, is now going to live on in our dreams as they’ve just recently bought a house which will be, I have no doubt, equally fabulous). So now I’ll just concentrate on their wedding which was pretty incredible. They wallpapered everything. The bar, the seating sign, the aisle runner, the band’s backdrop! Everyone’s table seating had Pantone colors with their names printed on them that doubled on the back as postcards! The kids had matchbox car boutonnieres! I could go on and on for a while but I’ll just stop with Molly’s dress which was incredible. It was floral. It was fantastic. And it was totally a prom dress from Nordstrom’s (we’ve already had a lot of people ask us, so there you have it folks). She said she wasn’t sure when she’d wear it again, but I assured her that she should just wear it all the time because why wouldn’t you.

• Date: April 15, 2017
• Ceremony + Reception Venue: Duke Gardens // Durham, NC
• First Dance Song: “You’ve Got a Friend” – James Taylor
• Molly’s Occupation: Children’s Museum Exhibit Designer
• Trevor’s Occupation: Biochemistry PostDoc
• How You Met: World Wide Web
• Interesting Fact: We have the exact same glasses prescription.
• Honeymoon: Eventually Norway.
• Vendor Credits: Officiant –Meghan Benson. Band – Liquid Pleasure Band. Florist – Pine State Flowers. Cake – Sugarland. Caterer – Chapel Hill Catering Company. Coordinator – Grace Beason of Grace Leisure Events. Molly+Ferry’s Hair: Stephanie Boettcher at Arrow Studio. Molly+Ferry’s Makeup – Pam Hung from OnLoKation Makeup. Bridesmaid’s Hair – Posh Studio. String Musicians – Save the Date Music. Photobooth – Zimzoom Photo Booth. Transportation – Greenway. Ice Cream Truck – The Parlour. Lighting – GetLit Special Event Lighting. Spray Tan – Tansformations.

We first met Jasmine and Joel when they were looking into photographers for their wedding. Then we realized that they were also friends with Katie and Phil, another client couple, who were also friends with Becky and Steve, another client couple, and it seemed like our relationship was just meant to be. Much like Jasmine and Joel’s relationship – who met while Joel was on a blind date with someone else, saw Jasmine at the bar, and then spent the rest of the evening talking to her. Some things just fall into the right place while other stuff is happening. Take, for instance, the fact that we now have a good relationship with someone in charge of large scale health emergency preparedness that I can e-mail my WebMD symptoms to and ask if there’s a current outbreak of anything I should be concerned about. You’re welcome, Jasmine!

This was a truly fabulous wedding. Joel has roots in New Orleans, and they wanted to bring that bit of flair with them up to Durham and mix their love of the two cities together. So they had bright colors! And gold vases! And greenery and hand fans and fancy umbrellas! And if that’s not good enough for you, they had a SECOND LINE BAND come lead the reception out of The Rickhouse at the end of the night! That’s right, a freaking second line band. Did you even know that one exists in Durham? They do (The Boom Unit Brass Band), and they are awesome. It was, dare I say, one of the most southern-feeling weddings we’ve had and succesfully captured the spirit of both New Orleans and Durham rolled into one big, happy wedding. :)

  • Date: July 3, 2016
  • Ceremony Venue: Duke Gardens // Durham, NC
  • Reception Venue: The Rickhouse // Durham, NC
  • First Dance Song: “Trust in Me”
  • Jasmine’s Occupation: Healthcare Emergency Preparedness Coordinator
  • Joel: Elementary School Teacher
  • How You Met: A chance meeting when Joel was on a blind date with someone else.
  • Interesting Fact: Joel has extremely accurate aim when throwing things with his toes, even at long distances. Jasmine has searched the world over and has yet to find a beat she can’t dance to.
  • Honeymoon: Phuket, Thailand
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant –Daniel Stringer (brother of the bride). DJ – Ryan Pflumm of SPIN DJ. Florist – Eclectic Sage. Cake – Once in a Blue Moon Bakery. Caterer – Donovan’s Dish. Hair – Qi Essentials Salon. Makeup – Tiwa Lawrence. Coordinator – Amanda Scott of A Swanky Affair. Second Line Bane – Boom Unit Brass Band. Lighting – Get Lit Special Event Lighting.