Remember when we photographed Molly+Zach’s engagement session at NC State and Molly wore a fabulous dress that she had sewn herself? Well now they’re BACK! And they got married! In Charleston, South Carolina! In an even MORE fabulous dress that she sewed herself! I spent half of the time photographing it and half of the time mentally deconstructing it in my head to figure out how exactly she did it. I stopped her a lot while she was doing her makeup to ask her questions (“Hey, what did you use to sew this part with? A sewing machine? A serger?”) and examined it frequently throughout the day. Molly is a delightful human being who is quite tolerant of me poking and prodding her dress and asking her questions, so I’m grateful for that. Also, totally grateful for the torrential downpour of rain over Charleston to stop immediately before pictures and then start up again after the wedding, leaving our picture time dry.

Also, 100% totally and completely grateful for Molly and Zach giving us our first (and hopefully not last) opportunity to photograph a Twin Peaks themed groom’s cake… complete with a log base, pine trees, Black Lodge carpeting, and a tiny plastic Special Agent Dale Cooper. Twin Peaks is one of our favorite shows, and it’s pretty magical finding out that someone else you know loves it… especially enough to make a cake out of it. Damn fine cake (that was coffee based with cherry filling because yessssssss!).

They also put our pictures on M&Ms! And walked around Rainbow Row with us! And we took them to their Air BnB afterward and couldn’t figure out how to get in but in the process saw a ton of delightful bats! But more than all of that, we are so grateful we got to hang out in Charleston with these two and their friends! We met some awesome, smart, talented people down there that were a part of this wedding… professors and scientists and all sorts of brain power located at an adorable little chapel in the middle of some palm trees and Spanish moss. Thanks for letting us be a part of the magic, Molly and Zach!

• Date: July 16, 2017
• Ceremony + Reception Venue: Coleman Hall and Chapel // Charleston, SC
• First Dance Song: “Crazy Love” – Van Morrison
• Molly’s Occupation: Professor
• Zach’s Occupation: English teacher
• How You Met: Book club in Raleigh, NC
• Interesting Fact: Zach had a childhood pet dog named Molly
• Honeymoon: Charleston, SC
• Vendor Credits: Officiant – Reverend Steven Koenig. Ceremony Music – Eric Hartzog. Reception Music – Brian Smith with Eric Hartzog. Florist – Kathy Kazior. Cake – Wild Flour Bakery. Caterer – B Gourmet Catering. Hair/Makeup – Bride. Coordinator – Sabrina Ward with Event Bella.

Dear Marcus Savage, I’m not sure if you read this thing, but you basically booked me this wedding. You rule.

Marcus, my musical mentor in high school,  introduced me to a band called the Weakerthans and it quickly became one of my favorite bands. We’d drive around for literally hours when we had nothing to do (back when gas used to be kind of cheap) and listen to them. They’re still one of my favorites and remind me of Marcus and high school and everything else. Thankfully, my musical taste has been totally unwavering throughout the years so they’re still in the forefront of favoriteness, and it totally won us this wedding.

Kelly had been e-mailing me for a while, and we had another wedding in the Outer Banks the weekend that we met them for the consult. I liked them. They looked beachy. That’s the best way I can describe it. They also looked like they liked good music (I have good music sense radar). We sat down. Talked about their wedding for a bit. Somehow got on the topic of music. Asked Danny what bands he liked and listed among his top 3 answers were the Weakerthans, and it was pretty much all over.

I distinctly remember me and Danny getting really excited, and Kelly going, “OHhhhhh, no. Well, that’s it. I’m sure Danny’s made his decision.” It seemed like this had thrown a total wrench in the plans of them making any sort of objective decision about their photographer, and we were IN. Yesss! (Side Note, Marcus: Fallow was Danny and his mom’s first dance song and I may or may not have sang to myself the entire time).

And it’s been great from there. We’ve been in monthly contact with these two for a long time and have looked forward to their wedding for over a year. We stayed in the bridesmaids beach house and were welcomed like family. I’m not entirely sure what Kelly plans on doing with her time now that the wedding is done, or exactly how little sleep she’s been functioning on for the past year due to the following facts:

1. Kelly designed and planned the event herself. She made all of the details. Each table was designed so that the centerpieces on it would reflect and represent each person sitting at the table, so all of the tables were themed differently depending on who sat there. She spent a long time collecting the random things to represent their guests who appreciated it greatly and thought it was awesome.

2. She’s been learning guitar from Danny and they sang their first dance instead of danced it.

3. She booked Paleface, one of Danny’s favorite musicians, to play at the post-rehearsal party at Corolla’s Beer Garden as a surprise for Danny (some pictures included to start off the blog)… who basically wigged out for two solid hours straight.

4. Kelly’s aunt made her dress. Go ahead. Go scroll down and find the dress. Then read this sentence again: KELLY’S AUNT MADE HER DRESS.

So I apologize in advance for the crazy long blog post, but this was a pretty cool weekend staying with this crew. Not only was their wedding on my birthday (yay!) but it was our first wedding on the beach. Ever. Really? We’ve been doing this since 2008 and that was our first wedding on the beach? Way overdue. WAY way overdue.

Date: October 6, 2012 (Happy birthday to meee!)

First Song: Kelly and Danny sang (and played on their guitars) “You Swept Me Away” by the Avett Brothers

Kelly’s Occupation: Professor at ECU

Danny’s Occupation: US Postman

How You Met: We met at brunch at Buddy’s in Richmond, VA

Interesting Bride Fact: Still convinced she’s marrying Seth Avett

Interesting Groom Fact: Danny’s mustache has a mustache

Honeymoon Destination: Pacific Northwest camping road trip

Ceremony and Reception Location: Pelican’s Landing // Corolla, NC Outer Banks

Officiant: Rev. Shirley Anne

DJ: DJ Bruce Jones

Florist: Bells and Whistles

Cake: Petite Sweets by Mary Lou Schomburg

Caterer: Costal Provisions Market

Hair/Makeup: Salon Blonde // Greenville, NC

Coordinator: A Premiere Event // Heather Clark

Tent: Sperry Tent by Skyline Tent Company // Charlottesville, VA