This wedding had all of my favorite things: cats, Mediterranean food, light-up star lanterns, and stories about Tim Robbins. It also had one of my least favorite things: creepy baby dolls. Granted, the creepy baby dolls weren’t the bride and groom’s fault.

Welcome to our recap of Brooke and David’s wedding! It was pretty great. I was glad that for once I got to photograph inside the bride’s house and thus was able to photograph the couple’s cat (Geoff for some reason always gets this opportunity and I’m always missing out on the cute furry parts of weddings). Of course, Geoff still got to photograph the furry adorableness of their friend’s dog who was also insanely cute, and so we both had a good morning. The rest of the wedding was just as awesome (including an impressive guitar solo overhead during the ceremony on the steps of Haywood Hall courtesy of Artsplosure). The food was some of the best wedding food we’ve everrrrr had, and we got to spend some time taking portraits inside a historic house among other portraits of people (some of which creeped David out, but not to the extent of the effect that the baby doll collection had on all of us).

This was also our first wedding with a super comfortable and low-maintenance wrap dress and our first couple with a prominently displayed Andy Warhol print in their living room. They also have about 90% of the same books as us, so we think they’re pretty good people, but we didn’t have to necessarily scour their reading material to tell you that. We’ve had a great time getting to know Brooke and David and the awesome people that we think they are, and this was reinforced by spending their wedding weekend stalking them with cameras from a short distance away. And now without further ado…

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Date: May 17, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: Haywood Hall // Raleigh, NC

First Dance Song: “There is No Greater Love” – Billie Holiday

Brooke’s Occupation: Health Promotion Specialistc

David’s Occupation: Underwriting Manager

How You Met: Brooke and David met through the persistent matchmaking of their mutual friend Sara. Brooke remembers eating drippy tacos, David remembers eating edamame. They both agree there was Bang Bang Shrimp.

Interesting Fact about Brooke: Brooke once lost her cellphone at a fossil dig. The phone was eventually recovered…along with prehistoric turtle and alligator skeletons.

Interesting Fact about David: David once shopped with Tim Robbins. They looked at and discussed vintage concert t-shirts for the Violent Femmes and the Pixies. Also, invented Bubble Tape. You’re welcome.

Honeymoon Destination: Mexico! Margaritas! Mayan ruins!

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Allan Maule | DJ – Shelby Merchant | Florist – State Farmer’s Market | Cake – Teal Petal Cakes | Caterer – Charlie’s Kabobs | Hair – Jenna Emory | Makeup – Dora Hargittai | Coordinator – John-Michael Gillivan | Invitations – Lovely in Ink Designs

It has been  while since we’ve shot an engagement session in downtown Raleigh, and we were excited to return to our roots this spring with Amanda and Derek! We were lucky enough to meet them last fall and book them for their wedding this upcoming September and are having a blast getting to know them in between. :) They met at UNC several years ago but only started dating as they were both moving out. ;) Then they lived in separate places for a while until they both settled down together in Raleigh (hence the photos downtown) where they watch a lot of Breaking Bad and Mad Men. They’ve considered getting a dog, but have determined that it’s a little much right now, so we’re working on convincing them to get cats.

Derek also works on a fantastic poster print company he’s founded called Blue is the Land. It started out with him making posters for their house of places that they’ve lived (Amanda’s from Winston-Salem and Derek’s from Schenectady, NY, but they lived together in Chapel Hill and Raleigh after that) and also places they’ve traveled (they go to NYC frequently and were engaged there). Since then, it’s grown quite a bit and now features all sorts of cities! You can even request them. :) They’re super well designed and feature a bunch of the neighborhoods in the cities in a nifty way that we hadn’t seen before but are also pretty sleek and modern at the same time (I swear I don’t work for his company, I just like his design work). You should check it out! Maybe after you view these pictures of him and Amanda being very cute.  May I present to you: the face, the image, the spirit of… Derelicte!

I met Kristine a few years ago when I did promotional photos for a local veterinarian’s office where she was the receptionist. I liked her a lot because she was holding a bunny since she had cats that wouldn’t be good photographic subjects (I was doing head shots of the office staff with their pets). Fast forward a few years and she was engaged, contacted us, and we met with her and her fiancé, Kevin, and her amazing parents (who have been beyond helpful to us in this entire process). We knew they were incredible people inside and out. They were planning an intimate afternoon brunch wedding at the JC Raulston Arboretum in spring with close family and friends and were making their own cupcakes (!!) since Kristine’s an amazing baker (Kevin’s also an amazing cook and it’s their hope to one day open a restaurant which I would then frequent all the time).

And so finally it came to be that CSP encountered its first black wedding dress since its beginning in 2008. :) Yes! We were pretty pumped about this as we had a Halloween wedding and I (Carolyn) looked for a black wedding dress for some time but finally gave up since in 2010 they didn’t really exist so I was so happy to finally see someone get and wear one. And it was very Kristine and Kevin. :) I can’t really picture her wearing a white dress. And oddly enough, our getting-ready roles were kind of reversed for this wedding too. Kristine wore her hair normally while Kevin got his cut and straightened, so Geoff saw more hair-primping action than I did this weekend. ;) Which was, again, very Kristine and Kevin. Everything was! From their black and red color scheme to the cupcakes that they baked to the tattoo that Kristine got specifically for their wedding to the sandbox that they stood in for their ceremony (Kevin proposed by drawing a circle on the beach in which they stood for his proposal… so they were married in a circle in a sandbox!)… it was all very them. And they had a beautiful day filled with people who meant the world to them and we couldn’t be happier for these two. :)

Date: April 12, 2014

Ceremony and Reception Venue: JC Raulston Arboretum // Raleigh, NC

Kristine’s Occupation: Receptionist at Cat Clinic

Kevin’s Occupation: Delivery driver for Chinese restaurant

How You Met: Kristine went to school with Kevin’s two cousins. Kevin saw Kristine’s picture on Facebook under the “People you may know” section. He requested to add her and she added him back since “he couldn’t be that crazy, she knew his cousins”. They started talking and eventually after a few weeks of talking on Facebook and on the phone, they decided to go on a first date. They agreed to meet at the Food Lion up the street from her and they then would drive to “The Upper Deck” (a bar right up the street). Kristine needed some alcohol to calm her nerves, as did he. Once she actually got out of the car and was facing him, she knew he was the one, and he had felt the same way. It was total love at first sight. After some talking they drove to the movie theater to continue their date. And the rest is history.

Vendor Credits: Officiant – Rev. Barbara Lodge | Florist – The Blossom Shop | Cupcakes – Kristine and her mother | Caterer – Food Lion & Harris Teeter