Gold glitter/sequin/sparkle dresses are my favorite because they photograph so, so well. They turn into little shimmery magical fabrics of fabulousness in front of the camera and if everyone could just take a page out of this blog post and wear nothing but gold glitter dresses from now on, that would be great. It doesn’t even really have to be gold. Just any glitter or sequins. Basically, turn into a 1920s flapper and we’ll be good to go. Speaking of 1920s, does Tim here remind anyone else vaguely of Michael Pitt? We totally should have done a Boardwalk Empire themed engagement session with these guys, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t end up being particularly romantic since I’m pretty sure that show had at least one death per episode. Instead, Stephanie wore a beautiful sequin sparkle dress and Tim vaguely reminded me of Michael Pitt and we were graciously granted permission from the 21C Museum Hotel in Durham to shoot in their old bank vault in an un-Boardwalk Empire way (although the vault could have very well been from the early 1900s… and we did make Stephanie use a very old wall telephone… and they laid on a floor covered in fake money…….. you know what? Maybe this was more Boardwalk Empire than I thought). They posed dramatically, they cuddled for a while, they ate pizza while showing us the Stranger Thangs RIP Barb video. All in a day’s work. A special second thanks to Pie Pushers in downtown Durham for also graciously granting us permission to shoot in their shop.
Meet Lee and Ed! Lee was a fantastical, wonderful bridesmaid at Caroline+Brian’s wedding last spring and we think that she’s the bee’s knees. Ed is her equally fun but red-headed counterpart who we also met at that wedding but didn’t really get to know all that well besides, “Hello!” Now they are engaged and asked us to do their photos in Durham, a city beloved by them both (and us!). Together they helped us navigate the landmine of poison ivy and spider webs in the woods, and then together we tackled some classic downtown Durham where they live and work (Ed is a landscape designer and Lee is a nurse). They both met back while they were living in Boone and worked at the same place (Lee was a server for a restaurant where Ed was a bouncer for the bar at night). They didn’t really talk to each other though, and weren’t very friendly. Lee handed Ed her ID one night to which he responded, “I know who you are.” Lee’s mom kept telling her that there was probably “someone right under your nose that you’ll spend the rest of your life with!” but Lee was adamant that there was not a single person she’d consider dating. At different times later they both moved to Raleigh. At some point they ended up hanging out. And now they’re on our blog being cuddly. Lee’s Mom, you were totally right.
Zhenyu first e-mailed us all the way back in May to set up engagement photos for him and his fiancee Shiyi. They joined us all the way from China! Zhenyu’s a Duke University alumni and it holds a very special place in his heart, so he wanted to return and take the photos on the campus. Him and Shiyi have their own business outside of Bejing, but they travel to the U.S. quite often for work, and we were so happy to have the opportunity to work with them for the short time they were here! They are a super happy, fun couple who didn’t mind following our crazy directions while running from building to building in the pouring rain. :) We are so happy to have gotten the chance to work with them and wish them all the best for their wedding in China!