Victoria and Ben are the bee’s knees, especially considering they got married on a July day with zero rain in the forecast, and then it POURED for the one hour that we were supposed to take pictures (no rain at all besides that single hour). Not even the kind-of-raining rain, but like, unshootable-levels of rain. Thankfully The Cookery has a badass bridal suite now that we were able to hunker down in for their newlywed shots! No complaints from Victoria or Ben, who had liquor nearby but, most importantly, each other. ;) Victoria reminds me of a brunette version of Taylor Swift, but she also gets told that she looks like a young Neve Campbell and that’s also very true. I think Geoff and I thought of at least three other attractive women she looks like during the evening, so I’d say she has a lot of good celebrity comparisons. She is adorable and spunky and also an upcoming author which I am SO excited about! She has a young adult book coming up next year which is going to kick all the ass and take all the names. And right beside this incredibly intelligent and creative woman is her equally intelligent and creative partner Ben, who’s a doctor who enjoys music and literature alongside Victoria (particularly Russian literature? but also they love Harry Potter? so I think they enjoy a wide variety of genres).

For their wedding, they were surrounded by their lovely family and friends (one of whom was a bridesmaid who I had as another bridesmaid before, and who we also run into at every Star Wars movie premiere). The best part about the bridesmaids is that their skirts contained a lot of tulle, and they enjoyed putting said tulle over their faces to pretend they were ghosts. They were my favorites. They’d also do this on command, as well as fluff out their tulle to protect Victoria anytime you said, “BRIDESMAIDS, ACTIVATE!” I feel like I need each and every one of these ladies in my life to protect me with their tulle anytime I run into someone I don’t want to see, or when someone strikes up a conversation with me in line at the Post Office. Besides having great bridesmaids (and groomsmen!), Victoria and Ben’s wedding had absolutely gorgeous details – from their Harry Potter themed wedding table numbers to their plastic dinosaurs and vintage purses. It was perfectly them, and very cozy. They decided to have their ceremony inside since it was so hot, and with everything indoors in The Cookery’s warm and dark interior, it did remind us a bit of what Harry Potter wedding venues must be like.

Date: July 29, 2018
Ceremony + Reception Venue: The Cookery // Durham, NC
First Dance Song: “Love” – Lana Del Rey
Ben’s Occupation: Internal Medicine Physician
Victoria’s Occupation: Experimental Psychologist and professional novelist
How You Met: OKCupid, over Rachmaninoff! irl? A coffee shop in Iowa City.
Interesting Fact: The first book we read together (for Valentine’s Day!) was the Kruetzer Sonata by Tolstoy, which is about a man who kills his wife because he’s jealous about her relationship with her music teacher.
Honeymoon: Banff National Park in Canada
Officiant: Dr. Garry Crites
DJ: Jess Dilday (DJ PlayPlay)
Florist: Michelle Duncan (Embellished Blooms)
Cake: Cailey (Sugarland Chapel Hill)
Caterer: Jacob Boehm (Snap Pea Catering)
Hair: Gina (Bella Capelli Salon)
Makeup: Sharon Davis Makeup
Coordinator: Sabrina Seymore Events

We were so thrilled to finally work with Megan and Carly when we didn’t have 100+ degree fevers like the day of their engagement shoot. It’s so much easier to work when you don’t feel like you’re going to die, eh? And what two better people to kick off our wedding season than these guys! They are nice and happy and so cute together all the time that they make everything really easy, and their wedding day was a blast. The weather was great, there was tasty food and cake and gluten-free cakes, everyone was in a good mood, and some guy named Tucker at The Franklin Hotel totally swooped in and saved the day with his ability to tie a bow tie. There was even a parking spot at the Coker Arboretum for pictures, which is a rare occurrence. We take all of these things to be a sign of good luck and fortune in their marriage (you guys didn’t know that us finding a parking spot in Chapel Hill is good luck for your marriage, did you? you learn something new every day!).

Megan’s currently finishing her dissertation in Kentucky, and then they’re planning to move to Durham because they love it here, but also so that Megan and I can use each other for haircut inspiration. And also so we can pet their Corgi. And so Carly can coach me in the ways of her cross stitching knowledge. We are super excited that Carly and Megan have found each other and are married and are moving back to our city! And we send these two very lovely and wonderful people a big heartfelt congratulations and an uncomfortably long hug from us to them.

• Date: April 8, 2017
• Ceremony Venue: Pilgrim United Church of Christ // Durham, NC
• Reception Venue: The Cookery // Durham, NC
• First Dance Song: “Simple Life” – The Weepies
• Megan’s Occupation: Soon to be engineer
• Carly’s Occupation: Works with people with disabilities in lots of different settings
• How You Met: One of those online dating sites, followed by an accidental meeting at the gym
• Interesting Fact: Megan has lived in 6 states, but now will never leave NC. Carly can walk fast on her hands. We love playing lots and lots of board games. Megan can identify lots of bugs, Carly likes to test this often.
• Honeymoon: Minimoon in Asheville, NC so Megan can get back to KY to defend her thesis and move us one step closer to living in Durham.
• Vendor Credits: Officiant – Rev. Mandy Mizelle Norris. DJ – Damian Maass. Florist – Julie of Bushel and Peck. Cake – Details Cake Design. Caterer – Donovan’s Dish. Hair/Makeup – Bella Trio, Durham NC. Coordinator – Leah Coman of C&D Events. Ceremony Music – Arioso String. Transportation – Greenway Transit.