Relaxed and Vibrant Lakeside Summer Wedding at Montague Lake Pavilion || Raleigh, NC

There are beautiful weddings that make you cry (and I’ve teared up during every single ceremony!) and then there are the weddings where you watch your college roommate marry her best friend (I didn’t even make it to the ceremony before I started tearing up!) 14 years and change ago, Heather and I were moving into Mills, deliriously jamming to the Wicked cast recording as we set up our dorm room, trying to survive our first college preseason. A year later, my second ever professional photoshoot featured Heather in goal. After another year as roommates and several classes together, Heather’s seen my dream of a business grow since the very beginning.

Untraditional and Vibrant Spring Wedding at Emerald Ridge Farm || Weaverville, NC

The beauty of getting legally married first is that you then truly have the opportunity to celebrate your wedding however you want. One white dress for the ceremony and then a black dress for the party? Absolutely. Turning your thank you toast into a birthday surprise for the groom? Celebrate to the sounds of Bob Seger, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder, and Metallica? No question. And that’s exactly how these two celebrated their special day: relaxed, full of love, and with their own flair.

Green & Golden Elegant October Wedding at All Saints Chapel || Raleigh, NC

My very favorite part of a DIY wedding is getting to watch the couple’s loved ones come together in order to give them the happiest, most enjoyable day possible. When Molly and Thomas’s wedding party and families arrived at the gorgeously sunlit All Saints Chapel in downtown Raleigh, they immediately got to work under the determined guidance of one of my fantastic former brides, Brandelin (Molly’s godmother) to add flowers, family photos, and other personal touches to the historic space. Throughout the evening, I got to witness just how loved these two kind people are by everyone around them, and then just how fun their whole crew is once the dance floor opened up!

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.

Downtown Asheville + Crest Center Vibrant Fall Wedding || Asheville, NC

The absolute best thing I get to hear as a photographer is that a couple - who began our partnership weary of having their photo made - genuinely enjoyed the experience. When I first met Stephanie and Marc in person for their spring engagement photos, Stephanie had just had back surgery. So, not only were they both nervous to have their portrait made, but I was scared I’d somehow pose them in a way that wasn’t doc-approved! . By our fall engagement session (we’d split it into two to allow Stephanie time to recover) they were cautiously dancing together in the garden, preparing for their first dance. By their wedding day? They smiled for the camera as if they’d been doing it for years!

Elegant Summer Sunset Wedding at The Crest Center & Pavilion || Asheville, NC

If we gave out superlatives for wedding couples rather than vendors,Laura and Gabe would definitely get “most welcoming.” Certainly from their loved ones - it seemed like everywhere they turned they threw their arms up excited to hug another guest, almost all of whom traveled quite a distance to attend. In every single photo, I caught both Laura and Gabe with huge grins on their faces, making sure each person knew just how much their attendance meant to them.

Fairytale Garden Wedding at Tryon Palace || New Bern, NC

If there is any perk to planning and replanning a wedding several times, from across the country, over the course of three years, it’s that by the time their wedding day finally arrived, Amy and Bryce had created a wedding perfectly suited to them. From their focus on sustainability through local, eco-friendly florals to their use of the Stardust theme throughout their reception decor; their incorporation of hand fasting into their ceremony to their personally-design trivia game for the reception, every detail and experience told a story about their relationship.