All Saints Chapel Wedding Raleigh NC Archives

Tara and Aaron are… wait, wait. Before I get started, you should know that mentally you should be pronouncing Tara like “Lara”… and in case you’re not sure whether to pronounce “Lara” like “LAR-a” or like “LURE-a”, it’s “LAR-a.” Like Lara Croft, only it’s Tara Croft. Okay. Now that we have that out of the way.

Tara and Aaron are the best. I will miss my e-mail correspondence with them terribly… as Tara’s pretty sarcastic but also really loves cats. So essentially she embodies everything I love. They mailed us their wedding invitations and I was honored to discover that Tara used some of her very last cat stamps on us. When I Facebook messaged them to ask whether or not the wing sauce that they made for their wedding favors (!!) was gluten-free, Aaron responded with, “Tara is writing an in depth response. So I’m just going to send a cat on a scooter”… followed by a moving emoticon of a giant cartoon cat riding a scooter. Tara responded the next minute with a fat cat typing on a keyboard. They taught me how to do this, and now all of my Facebook messages with everyone from here on out will contain giant cartoon cats. You can thank me later. As Tara said, “This changes everything.”

Besides cats, they also like helicopters. Aaron is a helicopter pilot! We have never met a helicopter pilot before… and we imagined they’d be something like Frank Lapidus from Lost with a bunch of bandaged cuts on the face and a really intense gray goatee, but it turns out that they’re just normal people. However, they do like remote control helicopters too, just like the rest of us! Tara and Aaron opted for a remote control helicopter ring bearer who flew down the aisle to Flight of the Valkyries and was, hands down, the best ring bearer we have ever seen. There were also a lot of Marines at the wedding, which made it slightly rowdy and incredibly amusing. Every wedding we have where Marines are present always turns into a bit of a karaoke reception, and this was no exception.

I asked one of them why weddings with Marines are always so funny/crazy/wild and he responded with, “There are two things that Marines do well. One – shoot the bad guys. Two – weddings. And three – look good in a uniform. I guess three things.”

P.S. This was our first “un-plugged wedding” and I can say, with resounding enthusiasm, that it was AWESOME.

P.P.S. Also best bouquet toss we’ve seen.

Date: October 26, 2013

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

First Dance Song: “Hey Pretty Girl” – Kip Moore

Tara’s Occupation: Magazine Editor

Aaron’s Occupation: Marine Corps Helicopter Pilot

How You Met: We knew of each other through NC State and the Hash House Harriers running club, but we met at Raleigh Times on New Year’s Eve.

Interesting Bride Fact: Tara is a weightlifter, beer brewer, and cat lover. Tara also has an inexplicable urge to sort things that manifests itself as a stamp collection.

Interesting Groom Fact: Aaron is a metal drummer, runner, and helicopter pilot.

Honeymoon Destination: England/Scotland… in a year or two, when we figure out when the military will let us do it.

2 nice things said

I loved Michele and David right off the bat for a whole series of reasons: 1. Michele is in vet school and I love people who love animals as much as I do. 2. I don’t think David’s said anything to me in the entire duration of their clienthood that’s involved more that 3 serious, non-sarcastic words in a row. 3. Michele has an awesome yellow sapphire ring and I am a sucker for colored stones. 4. They are totally chill and relaxed in every single way.

And when I mean chill and relaxed, I really mean it. A few of the pictures below look like we posed David in some really GQ way, but in reality that’s just what happens when you point a camera at him. Coincidentally, his daughter Chloe does the exact same thing. I think it must be genetic. Never serious and always messing with everyone within 5 feet of them. David can keep a straight face through his antics most of the time, but I love that Michele can’t… and he keeps her laughing constantly. Michele is so incredibly nice and calm that I remember telling Geoff afterward that it didn’t feel like we had shot a wedding. The whole day was just so ridiculously chill with the closest friends and family. Michele looked gorgeous, David looked handsome, and their daughters Chloe and Arielle were beautiful. We loved every second with this crew… even if the adults were over a foot taller than me and I was as tall as the ten year old. ;)

A special shout-out and props to Chloe the Salon Dog at Atomic 2 Salon who kept everyone in the best mood all morning because LOOK AT THAT FACE. And Michele, you knew Chloe would be the one opening the blog post, right? ;)