Wedding Celebration at The Rickhouse || Durham, NC

If you know me, you know just how much I advocate for making your wedding celebration(s) perfectly tailored to you as a couple and as a family. When I met Jennifer and Pete at the Rickhouse’s February open house and heard them excitedly talk about their plan to get married in Aruba surrounded by family, then celebrate with family and friends back home in Durham, I knew that we’d be exactly the right fit for each other! And they absolutely proved me right - from their laid-back reception allowing them to interact with all of their guests, to their exceptional food choices (including an ice cream truck!), ending the evening with sunset portraits on the field “photobombed” by their children and children’s friends - it was the perfect balance of easygoing elegance, history, and joy.

Bold Bridal Portraits in Black at the Iconic Cookery Wedding Venue in Downtown Durham

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.

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.