Last fall I got to hang out with Rachel and Patrick on their wedding day. Their Shady Wagon Farm wedding in New Hill, NC was an excellent fit with Patrick and Rachel’s easy going personalities. They had their wedding ceremony by the farm’s pond and the reception and dinner happened in and around the barn. While Rachel and Patrick are local to Cary, much of their families traveled down from Boston and New York to celebrate their day with them and were greeted with a perfect North Carolina fall day.

The details at the wedding were very well thought out and did a lot to add a some vintage elegance to the rustic farm wedding. I don’t say this often, but I loved Rachel’s flowers. I have no idea what they are called, but there are photos below and they were put together by Jill Swartz of Preston Flowers in Cary. Rachel’s dad built this cool rack out of wood and string so that the name cards could be hung with clothespins and the couple invited their guests to complete adlibs about them at the sign in table. My favorite details however were the pie favors… little, personal pecan and pumpkin (my all-time favorite) pies in craft paper boxes made by Nancy at Once in a Blue Moon Bakery. Besides being really tasty pies, they were there as an homage to Rachel’s grandmother and some of her favorite memories.

Of course we made some pictures as well. It wasn’t all pie and flowers… Rachel and Patrick wanted to do a “first look” before the wedding. So we arranged for them to see each other before the ceremony out near the farm’s “country store”. One thing I really love about my clients is that their bridal parties are almost always open to what I like to refer to as “adventures in portraiture.” Which brings us to the cornfield. As a child of the ’80s, cornfields are by their very nature a bit creepy. Fields of dried out corn stalks, courtesy of a drought, are a bit more spooky. Needless to say, I wasn’t surprised when my idea to do a group portrait in the dead corn field behind the “country store” was met with a little skepticism. Thankfully, peer pressure won out and everyone climbed out into the corn field to have their picture taken Except for me that is… ’cause corn fields give me the willies. After the group shots were done, the rest of the bridal party headed back to join the rest of the guests while I took Rachel and Patrick to a cool spot I found earlier in the day when scouting the grounds. The shot of them on the forest path with the sun flare is one of my favorite photos and all I had to do was find good light for them to stand in and let them be themselves.

Another personal touch that really set Patrick and Rachel’s wedding apart was choosing to hire blues band, The Mike Zinna Trio to provide the evening’s entertainment. Mike and the gang were fantastic and really kept the energy up and the dance floor packed with lots of great classic rock, jazz standards and rhythm and blues. These guys are really talented musicians who know how to put on a great show. Great celebrations tend to have great food and this one was no exception. Catering by Design did a great job of providing the food and drink service and were all around great to work with. Finally, Jeff Eisenhuth kept everything moving along smoothly as their wedding coordinator, plus he made sure I got to eat for which I am eternally grateful. (sometimes I forget)

Most of all, I loved being there to witness the marriage of these two great people whom I’d spent a lot of time with over the preceding 6 months. I got to see Rachel dance with her father, and joke around with her sisters and friends. I got to see Patrick spend time with his grandmother and relax with his dad. Rachel’s parents sang for the guests after the ceremony and along with Patrick’s parents were incredibly gracious hosts. I can’t say enough nice things about these wonderful people who let me into their tight family for a little while or put into words the immense amount of love that filled this day. So I’ll stop and show it in pictures.

Jen and Kevin (a.k.a. Bert) were married back in October on Sunset Beach, North Carolina.  Beach front weddings are wonderful and romantic, but they bring with them their own set of challenges.  The first challenge is getting there. Now, for Jen and Kevin, “getting there” involved a road-trip from their home in Ontario, Canada.  Luckily, they didn’t have to make the trip alone.  You see, Jen and Kevin are very much loved by their friends and family. So much so that about (pronounced “a-boot”) 100 of them made the trip to North Carolina to witness, celebrate and bless their new marriage.

Jennifer wore an Alfred Angelo designed, Disney princess inspired wedding dress which looked beautiful on wind swept Sunset Beach as well as on the dance floor at Brunswick Plantation in Calabash, NC.  The staff at Brunswick Plantation was very friendly and accommodating and represented “Southern Hospitality” very well.

After all was said and done, I was moved the most by just how much Jen and Kevin were loved by the people in their lives.  Well, that and witnessing them show just as much love in return.  I want to thank them all for letting me and my family into theirs for that very special weekend.  Without further ado, here are some pictures from their day.

So without further ado, here are some pictures from Sarah and Dustin’s big day.

Rachel and Patrick are gettin’ hitched in October at the Shady Wagon Farm in New Hill, NC. We had a lot of fun on this engagement shoot which began in their apartment and ended up in and around downtown Carrboro, NC. We’re all just a bunch of low-key, relaxed lovers of beer and pie, makin’ some pictures and havin’ a good time. Rachel, Patrick and I have a lot in common, I’m am extremely excited about their wedding. They’re so cool they let me shoot them just about anywhere. So far we’ve shot in their apartment, at Total Wine, in a Harris Teeter, on railroad tracks and in an alley behind a bar. I love these guys and hope you’ll enjoy these pictures from our day.

Needless to say we had a great time. Vanessa and John are very much in love, you see. They’re also awesome people and fun to hang out with. John plays guitar, which is apparently becoming a trend with my grooms, and Vanessa loves to listen to John’s guitar playing. See how they’re perfect for each other? Anyway, back to the angry birds…

So, it would seem that the giant swans of Lake Eola don’t like humans having picnics on their turf. There was this one swan, whom I shall call Shaq, who kept coming over to intimidate us. Needless to say it worked and as you can see from the pictures, we did our thing and after a quick wardrobe change, went to the library. Seeing as how all three of us are library lovers, it worked out perfectly. The birds got rid of us and we took refuge from the Florida summer in air conditioning, surrounded by books.

I’d like to thank Vanessa and John for following me on this adventure and braving Angry Birds, 100% humidity and the streets of O-town to make these pictures. Without further ado, here are some photos from our day.

Sometimes the stars just align. Rodney and Ashley got married in Asheville, North Carolina last month and I was there to photograph it. With a little help from the Universe, and a whole lot of help from their families and many, many friends, Rod and Ash put on a wedding that I think can best be described simply as “very Asheville.”

The most important things in Ashley and Rod’s world took center stage on their wedding day. Their five children, their parents and families, their friends and the city of Asheville itself were embraced and entertained by the bride and groom in what they referred to simply as “the festivities.” Comedians, a clown, a gypsy jazz band and fire dancers made for an incredible day which I was honored to chronicle.

So, without further ado, here are some pictures from their day…

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