Bold Bridal Portraits in Black at the Iconic Cookery Wedding Venue in Downtown Durham
The Inspiration
When I first moved to the Triangle, one of the things that really interested me about the area was the historical architecture. While I’m a nature girl at heart, photographically I’ve always preferred the lines, colors and abstract shapes that geometric backdrops provide - especially if their stories add another dimension to those within my images. When touring venues and getting to know other local wedding vendors, The Cookery stood out to me as the exact indoor + outdoor wedding venue with a variety of textures and lighting steeped in Durham history that I first envisioned!
In particular, the bar area built from Durham’s former trolley line and backed by the building’s original brick spoke of jazz music and speakeasies - and I later learned that it had actually been a jazz club in the 1920’s. In my mind I immediately created this portrait of a bold bride in black, perhaps resting between dances and totally stealing the show with her vibrant accent colors set against the alternative flowing gown.
With the incredible work of some truly skilled artists, we got to make that image - and more - a reality!
The Artists
Venue: The Cookery
Bridal Gown & Earrings: Savvi Formalwear & Bridal
Florals: Blossom + Bone Florals
Hair: Elaine Harrison
Makeup: Dorothy Stoll
Model: Erin Dalton
Photographer: Adrian Etheridge Photography
The Photoshoot
Naturally, the photoshoot day we’d planned for weeks dawned gray and pouring, so with a borrowed gown we had to scrap the outdoor window and garden twirling photos at The Cookery that I’d had in mind. This was certainly a good pre-season reminder that on all wedding days, regardless of weather, there are always beautiful images to be captured! And so we had a fantastic time playing with my vintage modeling lights at the bar, showing off this stunning lace & tulle train on the stairway, and finally getting to play in this dream venue!
The Photoshoot Pt. II
Hair, makeup and floral longevity are obviously important on long wedding days, and thanks to our vendor friends we got to truly test those limits by waking up at sunrise the next morning to take full advantage of the much prettier weather! Erin’s Hollywood waves and glam makeup flawlessly survived a sleep, and our bouquet looked perfectly fresh, and that was all the inspiration we needed to keep creating.
After the darker vibe of the day before, we wanted to play in the sunshine, as well as show off the art behind this wedding artistry. What better place than the pools and Rodin garden at the NC Art Museum, especially during morning’s golden hour!
We once again took inspiration from the geometric architecture, using the colorful lines and shapes thrown into high contrast by the bright sunlight. I’ve wanted to photograph at the East Pool since moving here as that iconic view it well-loved for a reason. But my most favorite images came from the end of the session, once we’d capturing all of the photos we’d planned for and really started playing with the dress’s movement, the statues’ framing, the ever-changing lighting and the vibrant abstract overlays of loose florals in front of my lens.
Although I’ve photographed with film longer than with digital, I tend to reserve it only for my personal work. This time, I pulled out my 120mm camera with a pre-loaded roll of my favorite black and white film, and shot 15 frames in the Rodin Gardens. I wanted to push the Hollywood glam story to its full potential, using the high contrast, high grain aesthetic with playful framing and expressions from Erin to flesh out a tale of this audacious leading lady celebrating her love story (her wedding day) in exactly the way that she chooses.
The Dream Work
Finally, we wrapped up our whirlwind adventure at my studio in Downtown Raleigh, with a few “runaway bride” portraits in the (freezing cold) street before warming up in front of the sunlit 12th floor window.
As a now-more-seasoned photographer with 10 years in the industry, the point of a styled shoot for me is to push myself out of my comfort zone and explore the work that I would most love to do when given the opportunity. I’ve dreamed of bridal and beautiful campaigns for years - using simply the connection created through lighting and posing as my only mode of storytelling rather than relying on background or candid action as well. Bridal and beauty campaigns for me represent the celebration of femininity across all genders and body types, intersected with the artistic ways in which we choose to express ourselves (particularly through hair, makeup and wardrobe.)
Savvi was gracious enough to lend us this second formal gown - one we had tried when searching for our original dress, which fitted Erin so perfectly that it was hard to walk away from! And so we capped off our day playing out our own campaign dreams, getting to test out my new studio’s bounds and abilities.
While the weather’s restrictions may have initially created some strict parameters in which we had to rethink and re-explore our original ideas, I think that’s the perfect analogy for a creative life: even the best laid plays go astray and it’s how you create amidst the changes that really matters. Thank you so, so much to everyone who helped us create this epic photoshoot! I’m now more excited than ever to be a part of this incredible wedding community.
