Lori+Rachel // Wedding at The Cookery.

This wedding was an absolute blast. Lori and Rachel, who have been in incredibly good spirits in every interaction we’ve ever had with them, were having an obviously great time without worry or stress despite high winds (seriously, seriously windy), abnormally cold temperatures (seriously, seriously cold, especially for April), and having to put their wedding under a tent because of the aforementioned things. They just didn’t care. Well, not that they didn’t care, but rather – they were focused on the right thing (each other) instead of worrying about anything else, and they let the wedding day chips fall where they may.

And they fell wonderfully! They laughed and smiled for 98% of the day, and Lori fist pumped and made this expression of complete success for the remaining 2%. Their wedding party was also a delight to work with, and we had encountered their lovely officiant Meg at a previous wedding where she made the cupcakes! Small world. Super happy to have been a part of this wonderful couple’s day, and excited to return to The Cookery for more weddings this year! This was our first time there and we can say with authority that it’s awesome. Check out the awesome below in 5, 4, 3, 2…

  • Date: April 9, 2015
  • Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Cookery // Durham, NC
  • First Dance Song: “The Story” – Brandi Carlile
  • Lori’s Occupation: Burn ICU Registered Nurse at Jaycee Burn Center, UNC Health Care
  • Rachel’s Occupation: Project Manager and Sustainability at Southern Energy Management
  • How You Met: Lori was Rachel’s chemistry tutor at Elon University in 2003… she got a B!
  • Interesting Fact: Lori will rap “Shoop” by Salt & Peppa at any moment…company holiday parties, weddings, or even on the PA system of a tour bus. Rachel is a natural athlete – marathon runner, soccer standout, and an ace with a golf club.
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant –Meg Fanney. DJ – Steve Stowe of Joe Bunn DJ Company. Cake – Guglhuph. Florist – Lori and Rachel’s wedding party. Caterer – Durham Catering. Coordinator – Matthew Lardie.

Best Dog Levi // A Portrait Study.

If you’ve been following us for any length of time you probably recognize the furry face of Levi, dog extraordinaire. You know – the one who makes the crazy faces when you pick up his ears or when you make high-pitched noises for a while. Loved for his antics as well as his no-nonsense attitude (you want me to do what? pose for you? no. not even for treats. not even if you squeak that plush pig at me. i will stand my ground and eat this grass over here.), this is Levi’s third shoot with us. But before it was more a Levi side-note. Not that Levi is ever a side-note in our book, but in prior shoots he was previously an accent to the love of his wonderful parents, Kim and Ginny (who are our clients-turned-friends who we are so lucky to have in our lives when we get a chance to see their wonderful faces!).

This time, our task was a Levi-focused photos session where Kim and Ginny were finally the side-notes to Levi, as we celebrate Levi’s 9th year on the planet. We bought him a squeaky chipmunk for his birthday. He did not care about it. I can’t help but think he would’ve preferred the birthday cake shaped hat that said, “It’s my barkday!” on it. We took him to a park where he could roam free, graze on grass, run from his parents, and generally mess up his incredibly well-groomed hair. He fell asleep in the car before they even left the parking lot to go home. We love you, Levi, and we are so happy to document you in your 9th year of being absolutely adorable.

At Home w/ Andrea+Mark.

Andrea and Mark are a great wedding couple of ours from back in 2013 and we were super thrilled to hear from them! Like, really really thrilled. Well, we heard from Mark, who bought this session for Andrea for Christmas. And attached to said e-mail was a statement proclaiming that they’d like photos of their tiny human!! And then he sent us a picture of said tiny human for proof of his a.) tinyness and b.) humanness and c.) existence. And he was SO CUTE. And we were so happy for Andrea and Mark! And we were REALLY EXCITED to shoot in the exact same house that they got ready in for their wedding, only this time the room where Andrea put on her wedding dress was converted to Albert’s room, and it felt like our work with them had come full circle. :)

And we met Albert. And we can say with 100% certainty that he realizes exactly what he’s doing in all situations. He saw us. He saw our cameras. He ran to his mom, hugged her, and smiled at us charmingly. He saw us. He saw our cameras. He ran to his dad and smiled at us charmingly. He saw us. He saw our cameras. He cried until they gave him an entire block of white cheddar which he ate by himself in the bushes. Albert is hilarious. And seriously, seriously adorable. And also, he has a taco shirt. I mean really.