Horray for Shannon and Phil – wonderful engagement models and owners of the still popular Vince and Jackson session – who are now finally married!! This wedding was not only creatively put together with tons of little adorable details, but Shannon looked stunning and Phil dapper as always. They crack me up and together they are just two peas in a pod. It’s always so lovely to see two people so right for each other. And they had the BEST time at their wedding. This was one of the happiest, chillest weddings ever. No one got upset about anything and it was just general merriment all around. Their families were amazing and kind, and their bridal party was hilarious and creative. Kudos to you all and thank you for making this a WONDERFUL experience for us! :D

Date: June 11, 2011

Ceremony Venue: The Longview Center Unity Church of the Triangle // Raleigh, NC

Reception Venue: Cobblestone Hall // Raleigh, NC

Flowers, Catering, Cake: Catering Works

Transportation: The Olde South Trolley Co.

Officiant: Gordon Jewett

DJ: Brian O’Toole

Invitations: Kristin Mason

Now, before I get started, I must say that I love getting invitations from my couples. It’s a really good way to see what their wedding is going to be like, and it’s always nice to feel included too! :D I opened Shannon and Phil’s and just about died. They are so funny, adorable, and well designed at the same time. I quickly asked who made them, and found out that one of her bridesmaids made them for her (Kristin Mason – she’s a graphic designer). Holy cowwww – amazing invitations (and programs!!!).

Can I just say that this is the first time we’ve had a “bridesdude” and a “groomschick” and how awesome it was? More specifically – having a groomschick is incredibly helpful because none of the guys ever know how to pin on a boutonniere. You go, groomschick!

A majority of the bridal party was hailing from New Jersey, Shannon’s home state, so their mode of transportation for the day was the Olde South Trolley Co, who did an excellent job taking the bridal party around for a tour while we did the newlywed pictures. It was awesome, convenient, and kept everyone occupied.

One of my favorite pictures of the day – Shannon arriving at the Longview Center for her wedding ceremony!

Their wedding programs doubled as handy fans and were just as stinkin’ cute as their invitations. They also had Vince and Jackson’s pictures on the back, but I had to trim down soommmee of the pictures or else this would’ve been a really long blog post, so I chose the front for the final blog post. But sooo adorable!

I love that this street is noisy and covered with cars, but when you look at just the two of them inside the frame it’s like they’re in a green, picturesque wedding picture. :)

Shannon and Phil had a DIY photobooth at their wedding reception which was a great idea! They set up a little black drop cloth, a blank book, pens, glue sticks, a polaroid camera, lots of film, and lots of fun props, and everyone had a BLAST. It was affordable, doable, and everyone had a good time taking pictures of their friends and family. For a while Geoff and I considered releasing a photobooth service add-on in the fall or winter, but have since decided against it for a few reasons. So when I saw this, I thought of what a wonderful idea it would be to suggest it to CSP brides and grooms who enjoy the DIY feel of a homemade Polaroid photobooth!

Cornhole, ya’ll! ;) For those northerners who don’t know (Geoff and I were SO confused when we moved down south), cornhole is basically bean bag toss. It’s really big down here. People make custom cornhole boards (we did see a Steelers one once!) and play on the street, in their yards, and pretty much everywhere else.

Saw some major storm clouds coming and ran to get Shannon and Phil for a few pictures outside in City Market. These were pretty much what I wanted our own wedding photographs to be like (Raleigh – WHY did you not light up those tree lights on our wedding night!?), so I was glad I was able to give them to someone else. :)

Congratulations, Shannon and Phil! I hope you are having a WONDERFUL time in Jamaica! Thank you so much! :D

are you ready for a lot of text?! it will be worth it when you get to the pictures. :)

as you can imagine, it’s hard for someone like me to pick a photographer for the biggest day in my life. for the past year it has been a nonstop question and answer session that goes something like this, “so who takes a wedding photographer’s photographs?” everyone from clients to friends to family to my dentist to the ups man. i was probably asked at least every other day.  in fact, i was in the ER two weeks ago and, already married but knowing my occupation from my charts, i was asked again, “so you’re a wedding photographer. who took your photographs?” i’m not sure that i’ll ever stop being asked this question.

so let’s answer this burning question for you all: who was our photographer? david e. jackson.

he’ll get a lot of promotion for the rest of my life. not that he needs it… his work speaks for itself.

dave’s from wisconsin, so i don’t remember how i found his website. it was before i started my own photography business two years ago, so sometime prior to that. all i remember thinking is that i had never seen photographs like it. the color, the lighting, and something about his style really stuck with me. for those of you who rigorously scour photography blogs, you’ll know that nobody has the exact same style. taking a photograph is kind of like signing your signature. although if someone’s style is particularly well pronounced and you’ve been stalking their work for long enough, you can pick one of their pictures out of a lineup and know who took it. and i feel as though i can definitely identify dave’s work out of the bajillion photographers out there.

when geoff and i got engaged, during the first week of our engagement we found a venue and a photographer. geoff told me that i could choose the photographer and he’d design the cake. that was our deal. now i had been following dave for over two years and other photographers as well as i grew my business. there are so many incredibly talented photographers out there. however, there was really never anyone that had that same funky style that i could identify with… his work was like an old friend. so after years of stalking his website, we signed a contract with dave, and it was like signing up to have your idol at your wedding.

needless to say, he and his assistant trevor were remarkable to work with. we all got along super well and had a great time. i had an awesome time not taking pictures. besides actually marrying geoff, the best part of the day for me was the ability to leave my camera home and to completely trust someone else to take the photographs. dave was the only one that i trusted to do this job and do it correctly and of course he did, and did it beautifully.

dave and trevor made our day and now, it turns out, made our life. we received our pictures yesterday and were beyond thrilled with them, although i can’t say i was surprised. we sat down, turned on the slideshow, and went through the photographs. awesome, beautiful, exactly how we remember the day and exactly what we wanted. we’re already plotting which ones we’ll be making large prints and canvases of, but it’s incredibly difficult to decide. i have a feeling some room in the house will become the wedding photographs shrine, but isn’t that how it should be? you should totally love your photographs that much. and thanks to dave, we do.

so, without further ado, these have been lifted from dave’s blog with his permission to share with my clients and the family/friends for whom i don’t have email addresses and who aren’t on facebook. ;)

please take the time to visit dave’s website and blog (our ridiculously badass engagement pictures are on there too!). he does incredible work in both the wedding/portrait world and the commercial world.

THANK YOU, DAVE.

and a special thank you to the rest of my fantastic vendors! you all made the day so wonderful.

venue: artspace

hotel: the sheraton, downtown raleigh

wedding dress: la sposa

hair: alter ego

make-up: carly byman

officiant: reverend barbara lodge

flowers: the english garden

cake: geoff’s aunt, leah lamotte-kerr with toppers by my mom, christine scott

dj: stephen scott

ceremony musician: jason campbell

transportation: raleigh rickshaw

copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson copyright david e. jackson

we had a great time, a great wedding, and are so thankful for our many family and friends. we had a little over 100 people, 9 of which were from north carolina. you guys all rock for traveling so far. we love you.