Oh boy oh boy oh boy. Fall is our favorite. And it’s even more our favorite when we walk up to a house to photograph a family session and a six-year-old werewolf answers the door. Meet Dena (mom), Richard (dad), Abi (Pocahontas), and Jacob (werewolf)! They spent their day-in-the-life family session carving pumpkins, doing dance routines in the living room, splashing in puddles, and exercising some serious restraint in not cuddling their cat Snickers too hard.

The first thing we noticed is that everyone was American except dad who had an awesome British accent. So naturally we asked how he found himself to be living in North Carolina with a werewolf and a Pocahontas and it turns out that him and Dena were pen pals when they were young! Legit pen pals! Anyone who’s probably borderline thirty and older remembers this… but you used to be like, “Oh hey, I wonder what it would be like to exchange letters with kids in other parts of the world and hear about their culture and country. Let me get involved in a group that exchanges addresses with other kids!” At the time this was completely normal and safe, but it turns out that you learned less about culture and countries and more just about how middle school actually sucks no matter what part of the world you live in. But anyway, that’s how they met, and eventually when they were in college they actually met in real life, and now they both live in NC with their kids and cat and this one other cat that isn’t actually theirs but comes around a lot. They like the Counting Crows surprisingly as much as we do (a rare breed).

Abi and Jacob are seriously good, polite, well-behaved children who actually seem to enjoy each other’s company despite being relatively close in age and a boy and girl (the only sign of dissent was a large poster hanging from Abi’s bedroom door that said “Unless Emergency DO NOT come in NOTICE NOW” that she informed me was directed at her brother). At one point Abi was using a suction-cup bow and arrow set while Jacob got out his rubber-band gun, and nobody aimed their weapon at the other’s head, which I found incredibly impressive. So A+ parenting, Dena and Richard! We enjoy your crew immensely.

October is, in my humble opinion, the best time for weddings. The light is always amaaaazing and the weather is always perfect and people seem generally more comfortable and relaxed. It’s also my birthday month (yay!!) and we had the good fortune of getting to spend it with this crew. :) When I got to Annie’s hotel room, she presented me with a beautifully wrapped birthday present of adorable ceramic measuring cup whales for spending my birthday weekend with them! LITTLE WHALES!!! We couldn’t be luckier. I was super pleasantly surprised that they a.) remembered my birthday and b.) bought me something, but it turns out that their kindness and generosity seem to be very well known (for obviously good reason).

They’re also have a great sense of humor and a good bit of geekiness to them in the best way possible. James is a bit of a Star Wars nut, much like Geoff, who was led into Geoff’s office/dungeon during our initial consult to see just how many Boba Fett figurines Geoff has (we’re pretty sure they booked us because they were impressed with his collection). He also requested that their harpist learn to play the Imperial March and Cantina Song for their ceremony (she did – it was amazing). It was one of James’s only requests. ;) In addition to them being super sweet and fun, their wedding party totally adopted us and took us under their wing for the night (and they had some of the best dance moves we’ve ever seen). We were super lucky to be at Annie and James’s wedding, and we are thankful to have met such fantastic people!

Date: October 4, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Shady Wagon Farm // New Hill, North Carolina

First Dance Song: “Everlasting Light” – The Black Keys

Annie’s Occupation: Policy Analyst

James’s Occupation: CAD Team Lead

How You Met: Match.com

Interesting Bride Fact: I have an ongoing ranking system of chocolate chip cookies.

Interesting Groom Fact: I collect Star Wars toys.

Honeymoon Destination: Barcelona, Spain

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Reverend G | DJ – Spin DJ (Ryan Pflumm) | Florist – A Ming Rose Floral Design | Cake – Daisycakes | Caterer – Durham Catering | Hair/Makeup – Onlokation Makeup by Pamela Hung | Coordinator – Your Special Day (Amanda Frystock)

We liked Ashley and Kyle as soon as we met them. First, Ashley is a bit littler than I am which always makes me happy because I think that’s happened exactly twice, and it enables me to have a lot easier time photographing them because no step stools are involved. Second, they love cats as much as we do and slightly more (Ashley could probably talk me into the pros of adopting twenty more cats if I gave her fifteen minutes and I would be thoroughly convinced). Third, they’re big fans of both zombies and the 1990s… and the song “Zombie” from the 1990s… which Kyle played while proposing to Ashley (if that doesn’t make a girl say yes, I’m not sure what does). So, basically, they’re us, only with a little more cats and slightly less height. We had an awesome time getting to know ourselves a bit better during their session. We did run into a slight hiccup when Ashley stepped into the territory of some unfriendly fire ants, but not before she and Kyle had already defaced the side of a building with their wedding date (don’t worry, it was chalk spray paint, which, amazingly, not only washes off in the rain, but is surprisingly just as bright as normal spray paint!). We’re looking forward to playing some Munchkin with these folks and hanging out with more cats. ;)