When Carly and Jay inquired about their wedding, they told us that Jay really likes singing Usher for karaoke. They also told us that they like No Doubt and Horse Feathers. We replied to their e-mail stating that we weren’t quite able to rectify their love of those two bands with Usher, but that we’d overlook their discrepancy. They responded by challenging us to a heated debate and/or lightsaber battle to prove to us that 90s Usher is the best. We counter-offered by challenging them to a game of ping pong in our office. They lost. We won. No Doubt beats Usher. They’re still upset about it, but whatever.

They still hired us to shoot their awesome wedding in downtown Durham. Carly’s parents own the sweetest private residence of all private residences where they have a rooftop that overlooks the city as well as a thousand other super cool things about their house (a giant safe! a cool spiral staircase! a library wall with a Beauty and the Beast-style library ladder!), so they decided to get married there (it wasn’t a hard choice). It translated into an amazing wedding venue. And now we are super lucky to call Carly and Jay our friends, and despite their interesting fact stating that they hope to spend their lives together abroad, we’re pretty sure that they like us enough to stay here… or at least hide us in their suitcases.

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  • Date: June 20, 2015
  • Ceremony + Reception Site: Private Residence // Durham, NC
  • First Dance Song: “Walking on a Dream” – Empire of the Sun
  • Carly’s Occupation: High School English Teacher
  • Jay’s Occupation: Bartender and student at UNC
  • How You Met: Carly tried to get Jay to dance with her after a few too many beers. Jay politely turned her down…then asked her out the next night. They fell in love 2 hours later. :)
  • Interesting Fact: We lived in Korea and traveled around SE Asia together. We hope to spend most of our lives together abroad.
  • Honeymoon: Hiking, camping, and relaxing in the Canadian rockies and Vancouver for 3 1/2 weeks. Alberta and British Columbia, Canada.
  • Vendor Credits: Officiant – Reverend Ingrid Sagula | DJ – DJ SPCLGST | Florist – Gillian Rose Galdy | Cake – Amelia Smith | Caterer – Durham Catering | Hair/Makeup – Arrow Salon | Coordinator – A Swanky Affair (Amanda Scott) | Ice Cream – The Parlour