Jasmine+Joel // Duke Gardens+The Rickhouse.

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.

At the Lake with Johanna+Brad // A Family Session.

Johanna and Brad don’t know it yet, but we’ve already submitted the paperwork for them to adopt us (no offense, Mom and Dad, but paying adult bills is expensive and we know you already took care of us for half of our lives so we don’t want to ask you to have to do it again). Surprise, Johanna and Brad! You want us, right? Please? We won’t make too much noise living in your basement, and we can provide free babysitting services in exchange for whiskey slushes and bacon tortellini. We don’t know how to work a boat, but we’re sure we could figure it out. If you don’t sign the adoption paperwork, can we at least pretend we’re the cool aunt and uncle to your kids who aren’t really related to anyone in the family but the kids grow up under the misguided assumption that we’re actually blood relatives? Or are Laurel and Sam too old to fall for that at this point? Okay okay, we’ll settle for photographing your family every once in a while and being friends on the side. We love you all. A lot. Thanks for bringing us into your lives, feeding us, driving us around on a boat, showing me the true wonderfulness that is Garden & Gun and Duke’s mayonnaise, and being awesome.