Kevin+Elana+Elle // Newborn.

We were so happy to be reunited with our clients Kevin and Elana on a platform other than Facebook for the first time since we photographed their wedding in 2013! Not only did we get to see their beautiful and smiling faces again, we also got to meet a new beautiful and smiling face: that of their newborn daughter Elle. And if that’s still not enough for you, we also got to hang out with Elana’s mom who happens to be super cool and one of the committee heads of the CSP Fan Club. PLUS there were two black cats: Madison, who avoided us at all costs, and Brooklyn, who seemed to be under the mistaken but common cat impression that the crib was built specifically for her enjoyment. Brooklyn spent the session meowing incessantly at us. Madison spent the session running from us. Elana’s mom spent the session taking pictures of us taking pictures. Elle spent the session entirely awake except for 4 minutes and was totally suspicious of us. Kevin spent the session alternating between running his business, taking care of his wife and newborn, and trying to placate the cats. Elana spent the session looking gorgeous and put together despite having just had a child and remaining as calm and wonderful as ever.

Paige+Alex // Wedding in Durham

I’d like to say that this blog post is going to be mostly about Paige and Alex, but I have to admit that I think it’s mostly going to center around their dog Davis. And I’m pretty confident that neither Paige nor Alex would fault me for doing that. When we first met them to talk about their wedding, they talked about how they were adopting Davis, a little baby red Poodle. They hadn’t yet picked him up, but plans were in the works, and we talked about how Poodles are cute if you let their hair grow out like a fluffy little monster instead of cutting it for show. True to their word, they adopted Davis shortly afterward and we fell in love with him via their Instagram account. There he is running! There he is conquering steps for the first time! There he is with his adorable German Shepherd puppy friend!

So when we finally met Davis on their wedding day, we were very excited. He was much bigger now, but he completely and 100% lived up to his hype. He’s red. He’s fluffy. He flops around a bunch. He tried to eat my gloves. He has the attention span of a young squirrel, yet is calm enough to plop down next to them during their vows and fall asleep (unless I moved in the aisle, which put Davis on high alert and is the only time to my knowledge that I did something to cause a brief ceremony disruption). He’s really, really, really good, and likes sticks. You can pick him up like a baby and he falls asleep anywhere. So here is the wedding of Davis, with a side of Paige and Alex (whom we also really adore when we’re not busy admiring their dog).

  • Date: October 20, 2015
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: Shared Visions Retreat Center // Durham, NC
  • Paige’s Occupation: Sign Artist
  • Alex’s Occupation: Air Traffic Controller
  • How You Met: Alex worked at Starbucks and always gave me free coffee. As soon as he found out I was singe, he asked me on a date to mini golf, dinner and a movie. (He spent a lot of money on me that night for us only being teenagers.) I went home that night knowing I’d marry him one day, and the rest is history!
  • Interesting Fact: We own the world’s cutest dog (who will be a groomsman!). We’re already married and we’re doing a late wedding. We are polar opposites as far as interests go. Our birthdays are only nine days apart in February, and the dates are just each other’s numbers reversed (mine is the 12th, and his is the 21st). When we were little (9 years old-ish) we lived less than five miles apart and both had the same favorite Mexican restaurant that we both went to all the time, but we didn’t meet until we were 18.
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Friend, Lacee Shaw | Caterer – Porchetta Food Truck

Kim+Blue // Fantastic Mr. Fox Shoot

Let me start by saying that Kim is 100% responsible for all the adorableness that you’re about to see below. She came up with the idea for a Fantastic Mr. Fox themed shoot, and then put together/made/brought the most adorable props in all of the land. We picked the spot. She drove out to meet us with literally a car trunk full of stuff that she made (this is the second time we’ve worked with Kim, and I can confidently say she’s one of the craftiest people I know besides my own mother). Then we stuffed as much as we could into a rolling red wagon and took it into the forest and (carefully) down some steps (thanks, Geoff!) and then set up camp (literally) in the woods.

At that point, Geoff set to work making a tent out of some blankets thanks to his a+ Boy Scout skills, while Blue put on a fox mask and immediately became the most adorable child I’ve ever seen. At one point there was an adorable blue beret, and there were lots of (really excellent!) Polaroids taken of us by Blue, all while his mother looked especially fabulous while hanging out in the woods (she looks 100% better than I do 100% of the time). Blue is a wonderfully polite, incredibly smart, and obviously adorable young man. His mother asked, “Can you tell Carolyn and Geoff what we’re wearing today?” and he responded with, “Our smiles” and the woodland creatures everywhere erupted into a collective “Awwwwwww!!!” At the end we got ice cream, and I think Roald Dahl and Wes Anderson would approve.