Amy and Dan are a lovely couple who did not let a few tornadoes spoil their outdoor wedding. :) How great is that? Yes, Amy and Dan were to be married in an outdoor ceremony at the Arrowhead Inn in Durham, NC at high noon when the weather channel was predicting, I kid you not, a “100% chance of severe storms.” That’s not a very good percent. :D But we got there and took pictures of Amy getting ready and, miraculously, despite them repeatedly announcing tornado warnings on the radio, it was merely overcast and their wedding was held outside at high noon against all odds. :) We were even able to take family and friend photographs AND the newlywed pictures afterward! It didn’t rain until the reception luncheon (when the lights went out briefly), but that was really all that happened. They were so lucky!

Their venue and their vendors couldn’t have been more wonderful, and neither could Amy and Dan’s fantastic family and friends. Amy’s family traveled in from Japan and they were married by Dan’s brother, a high school principal. It was all very sweet and low-key, just like the beautiful couple themselves. :)

Date: April 16, 2011

Venue: The Arrowhead Inn, Durham NC

Flowers: Special Event Florals, Nancy Dawson

Guitarist: Randy Reed

Officiant: Walter Finnigan

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Amy is the definition of a blushing bride… not only because she is getting married, but because she is pregnant. :) Amy and Dan are expecting a baby girl in August!

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This family is a family of cameras. I think everyone there had a camera, large or small, video or still. Below and to the right is our handsome groom, taking photographs of his lovely soon-to-be wife getting her hair done. :) Amy is a high school music teacher trained in classical singing, but she is hoping to one day become a photographer as well! And we will most certainly welcome her into the ranks because she is a wonderful person. :)

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Amy looked gorgeous! Very beautiful, natural, and happy. :)

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Proof that, even as tornadoes ran rampant through parts of Raleigh, the sun did come out that day (during their first kiss!) for perhaps a few seconds:

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I can’t resist me a willow tree. ;)

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Amy and Dan held a beautiful indoor luncheon for their wedding reception inside the Arrowhead Inn (the innkeepers are lovely and make EXCELLENT food!).

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In conclusion, I had a wonderful day with you, Amy and Dan, and wish you the best of luck in your life and marriage! I do hope that I get to meet that baby girl soon and of course see you again. :) Thank you and congratulations! I’ll leave you all with these wise words of wisdom…

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meet rosalyn and patrick: two lawyers currently residing in charlotte. rosalyn is a north carolina native while patrick’s family lives in washington state. both sides of the family came together at the always lovely american tobacco bay 7 in durham for this gorgeous wedding. :) they’re a beautiful couple and we had a great time getting to know them and their family and friends. i’m so happy we were able to be a part of it!

so happy rosalyn chose wavelengths salon in durham to get her hair done! i love shooting there. great colors, great light, and a super accommodating staff. i told them that i’m slowly accumulating pictures of all of their staff members, hehe.

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she went veil-less and opted for the orchids in the hair! nice touch!

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she bought a washington state garter on etsy for patrick’s alma mater. :) cute!

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the ceremony was held at st. philips in downtown durham, nc. very dark and lots of restrictions in terms of where i could stand, but a very beautiful old church and a great ceremony.

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and now we’re on to american tobacco bay 7 for the wedding reception. such a neat place to shoot.

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are you ready for tons of reception pictures?! i loved this. not only is bay 7 neat looking by itself, but they had a lighting guy come in and string up some awesome white lanterns and market lights. it was adorable…so prepare for the excessive amount of reception pictures i’m blogging! aaaannddd GO!

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i was able to work with my friend brian mcguire of mcsound productions for this wedding reception. guy throws a great party!

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goodnight, american tobacco! and congratulations, rosalyn and patrick! thank you for allowing me to be part of your beautiful wedding. :)

emily and michael were married on may 23rd at the millenium hotel in durham. their original plans were to be married in duke gardens and have their reception at the millenium, but the forecast called for rain all day. this added some last minute changes the morning of as the wedding party were trying to decide where to have to the wedding, but it all worked out beautifully and they were indeed married in the hotel. added tidbit of interestingness? emily and her family and friends are from canada, so everyone was in town for the wedding! they were a beautiful couple and i had a great time working with them.

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we did some of their formals at duke gardens anyway because, of course, it stopped raining around the time that the ceremony should’ve been. so we take some formals and just as we’re sitting down to do some of these shots, it starts raining. the weather in north carolina is so unpredictable! but we all hid under a big tree and resumed the process after a few minutes. the bride and groom were so flexible and everything worked out great!

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this groomsman cake was amazing! they put a little veil on the shark that the fisherman is catching…adorable.

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