Wendy+Nelson Have A Wedding at All Saints Chapel in Raleigh, NC

Wendy and Nelson were married at All Saints Chapel the day before Easter, their rings carried in tiny metal eggs. :) And with Wendy’s son Ashton calling Nelson “Dad” for quite some time now already, the day was a long time coming for all of them. It was beautiful to see them all finally unite as a family, very much in love and supportive of each other.

Laura, the matron of honor, gave a speech about how she knew Nelson was the one for Wendy… and while I’m terrible at remembering speeches and quotes, I’ll paraphrase: Nelson loves cars. A lot. He has a 1968 Camaro and brought it over for Wendy to see when they first started dating. Now, it’s pretty well known in their family circle that Nelson really doesn’t let anyone go near his cars (or especially in them), and he rarely lets it out of the garage because it’s kept in pristine condition. But not only did he bring it over for Wendy – he let Ashton climb in the car. :) Now, for those who know Nelson, this was a really big move on his part, and the start of a wonderful commitment to both Wendy and Ashton.

They all threw a killer wedding at All Saints complete with adorable Easter Egg ornaments as favors and the most. popular. candy. bar. ever. At the very end of the post you’ll see what happens when a bunch of children literally wipe the entire candy bar clean in approximately 20 minutes, and the aftermath that ensued after the sugar kicked in about 30 minutes later…

First Dance: “Broken Road” – Rascal Flats

Bride’s Occupation: Head Hunter

Groom’s Occupation: Electrical Design Engineer

How You Met: Introduced

Interesting Bride Fact: “Always seems to have everything under control and well organized, but is actually a total mess… :)”

Interesting Groom Fact: “Is a total germaphobe and control freak!”

Honeymoon Destination: Miami and then onto the Bahamas in June

Date: April 7, 2012

Ceremony and Reception Venue: All Saints Chapel // Raleigh, NC

Officiant: Rev. Robin Renteria

Wedding Coordinator: Sally Oakley – Personalized Wedding Planning

DJ: Black Belt Limousines and Sedans

Florist: Dogwood Tree

Cake: Edible Art

Catering: Unforgettable Food Affairs

Hair: Charisma Salon // Joni

Ceremony Coordinator: Martha Gribble

Glenwood South Hampton Inn & Suites

I was invited last week by Glenwood Hospitality Associates to take photographs of the construction site of the first hotel in Raleigh’s Glenwood South district – the Hampton Inn & Suites. It was definitely something different, and I must say that when I woke up that morning I did not anticipate literally hanging off the roof of 510 Glenwood with my ankles being held by one of the owners of the hotel. :) Nor did I really anticipate the climb up the scaffolding to take pictures inside one of the top floors. There was a lot of deep breathing and meditation techniques employed to coax myself up and down those stairs… :) As a fan of roller coasters and high observation decks, I told Geoff, “I didn’t really think I was afraid of heights before.” To which he replied, “Nah, you’re just afraid of things you can actually fall off of.” :)

Here are some of my favorites of the morning.

canela+layla hang out in the backyard with their humans, claudia+ron

What’s that? You can’t tell them apart? :)

Canela is 7 years old and has a slightly larger build and muzzle. He looks very much like an adorable fuzzy bear. He is suspected to be Layla’s uncle (Layla is 3 and looks much closer to the standard, traditional golden retriever without bear-relations). They like treats and belly rubs and chin rubs most of all. I was immediately greeted with kisses and licks when I met them at their door, and they proceeded to show me around their house while they went over their notes on how to look best for their pet portraits.

Now – I really and truly love them both (I had to slowly unhinge my jaw on the car ride home to get it functioning again after grinding my teeth the whole session because I was overcome by cuteness and spoke in a baby voice the entire time) …but Canela pretty much stole my heart not just because he looks like a little bear, but also because he is currently undergoing chemotherapy for treatment of his cancer. :( He is taking the chemo very well with little side effects other than he gets tired easily, and there is no prognosis yet on how he’ll fair, but he seems to be doing extraordinarily well and I’m sending all my thoughts and love for Canela to live many more happy doggy years.

Their parents are just as adorable and welcomed me into their home with open arms and a bag full of Guatemala coffee to take home to my parents (the coffee addicts). They met online with Ron living in Raleigh and Claudia living in Guatemala (born and raised). They were married 4 months later in 2005. Ron is now learning Spanish and Claudia checks his homework (although sometimes she grades it wrong). They are fantastic people and fantastic parents to these sweet little furry kids!