Washington Duke Inn: Emily & James: Part II
As promised, here are more images from Emily & James' fabulous Washington Duke Inn wedding!
Emily & James, God bless 'em, decided to see each other before the wedding, proving once and for all how hip they are. As West Coast photographer Jasmine Star says, "all the cool kids are doing it." I'm happy to report that their First Look session didn't trigger any bad luck and the wedding and reception went off without a hitch. The couple remain healthy and happy to this day. Tradition, be damned! :)
Many brides say they don't want their grooms to see them before the wedding so that they can have "That Moment": the moment when he sees you for the first time in your wedding gown. Doing a First Look on your wedding day doesn't mean you can't have that moment; you can, in PRIVATE, without 200+ guests watching. I know it's traditional for the groom not to see the bride before the wedding. But did you also know that, strictly speaking, the groom is supposed to stand at the end of the aisle with his back turned, not looking at the bride until she's right beside him? Why don't we still do that? It's also tradition for the groom to buy the bride's bouquet. Let's start a new tradition: the bride and groom agree to meet in a private location at a certain time. The groom has the bride's bouquet and presents it to her when she arrives. Then the photographer gets to have all the time she needs to get amazing pictures without the giant clock in her head ticking! And no one in the family or bridal party gets restless or ticked-off as we work through a long formals shot list after the wedding when all they really want is to go to the party! And the bride and groom get to go to the cocktail hour and spend more time with their friends! And maybe you save money by not having to have a cocktail hour (which we all know is just busy time for the guests while pictures get taken) at all!
Whew. I'm alright. I'm back now from fantasy land. Let's move on, shall we?
James sees his bride for the first time. Priceless expressions, up close and personal.
Their "posterity" portrait. It's great to have artsy images, but each couple should also have a well-posed, beautifully-lit portrait from their wedding day.
After completing all of the formals, it was time for the ketubah ceremony. In Jewish weddings, the ketubah is the wedding contract between the bride and groom. It is considered a high honor to be invited to the ketubah ceremony. The contract is read and then signed by the couple, the rabbi and two witnesses. Here, the rabbi signs the ketubah, while the maid of honor, the best man and Emily and James look on.
.jpg)
The candlelight ceremony begins. Emily & James' wedding was held in the round with the huppah in the center. Both the bride and groom are escorted by their parents and circle the guests before processing down the main aisle to the huppah.
In traditional Jewish ceremonies, the bride circles the groom 3 to 7 times to symbolize her commitment to the groom: she creates a circle of love and protection as she walks. Circling as a tradition declined in the recent past with the growth of feminism; some saw the act as a statement of subservience. Circling is making a comeback with modern couples, just with a twist; now the groom circles the bride as well.
Lighting the candle together.
Emily and James: married!
The guest-book table featured wedding shots of family members and the signing book created with images from James & Emily's engagement session.
Greeting their guests during cocktail hour.
I loved the orchids and curly willow on the tables. All of the floral design was done by Kelly Odom.
The first dance to "Shake a Tail Feather" sooo fit Emily and James' personalities.
A picture-perfect big finish:
Emily and her dad after their Father/Daughter dance.
James and his mom. I love the look on her face.
The toasts were funny and sweet. The toasters were full of personality.
Mark grabbed Julia's reading glasses to read his toast. I love it!
Then it was time to party. No, make that, time to par-tay. First, the horah.
I don't think you've truly danced at a wedding reception until you've danced the horah. Everybody should do it at least once in their lifetime. As a matter of fact, if we all danced the horah more often, it might facilitate world peace. Everybody would be too happy and exhausted to fight. Just a suggestion.
Then the band took over, but they didn't get the stage to themselves for long. James and the fellas serenade the ladies with "My Girl."
Then it was the ladies' turn to wow the crowd with their rendition of "Dancing Queen."
A break to cut the cake:
Emily re-takes the stage:
More riotous dancing ensues.
.jpg)
Ok, I'll admit it: I'm proud of this bouquet-catching shot. I don't know if it is mine or Frank's but it is suh-weet.
Oh, you two: how adorable can one couple be?
The end of the night and a kiss to cap off one helluva wedding, pardon my French. (Don't you just love MOB Julia's expression?)
Emily & James, we are so thrilled, awed, humbled and just plain gob-smacked to have been able to share this day with you, your friends and your families. We wish you loads and loads of love, laughter, luck and lots of dancing in the future!
Erin and Matt: Married!
Someday soon, I won't begin a wedding post with the words: "I'm soooo behind on blogging."
Until that far-off day...
Erin and Matt were married on a beautiful Saturday in May (yes, I said May) at Duke Chapel. We're so lucky to have such a beautiful location for weddings and worship in the Triangle area. I've been in few places that I can describe as awe-inspiring, but this place truly fits that description. I was drooling all over myself to be able to shoot here!
Erin started out the day with her bridesmaids getting ready in her suite at the Millennium Hotel in Durham. I always enjoy photographing the getting-ready process. It's just so girly and full of anticipation.
Erin warned me that her dad might be emotional, but I think he kept it together very well! I love this shot of him watching his little girl prepare for her wedding.
The end result. Erin, you looked absolutely stunning!
The process is much simpler for Matt. Tux, shoes, cuff-links, tie...but more on the tie later.
Erin's gorgeous bouquet came from Ninth Street Flowers.
Erin's cutie-patootie niece was the junior bridesmaid. Doesn't she have the most gorgeous hair? We were good buddies before the night was over.
Matt's dad Bruce was obsessed with his tie. He was worried that it was crooked and was determined his son was going to be spit-shined on his wedding day. Erin's dad Ralph got in on the action too.
Still not quite right. I think I saw that same expression on Daniel's face the last time I tried to fix his hair.
Hhmm. Looks fine to me! (But I will be the first to admit I could not tie Frank's tie if my life depended on it.)
Ladies...
And gentlemen...
Erin and Matt are...
MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After some quick formals, it was back over to the Millennium for a very elegant reception, complete with an amazing string quartet. The cake was from the always fabulous Lorie at Simply Cakes. I always get a major case of the happies when I find out the cake is one of Lorie's creations. They're always gorgeous and more importantly, they taste great! Don't you just love that bow? One of these days I'm going to call her and see if I can come hang out in her pastry kitchen. And maybe taste a little frosting, you know, just to be sure that it's up to the usual standards.
Ah, cake...every wedding photographer's reward for a long day on your feet! I'm always so sad if I'm working too hard to sneak just a little piece.
A heart-felt toast:
A bubbly finale to a beautiful day.
Congratulations, Erin and Matt...it was so awesome getting to know you and being a part of your wedding day. Stay warm up there in Michigan!
To see more from Erin and Matt's wedding, click here.
First Wedding of 2008: Valerie and Lionel
Valerie and Lionel actually married some years ago in Las Vegas. Lucky for us, we got to be there when they renewed their vows. Couples like Valerie and Lionel, their friends and family (including their three handsome sons) and celebrations like the one they threw in Durham on February 23rd are the reasons why I love my job! We had so much fun and there were lots of great moments to capture.
Valerie's wedding shoes were amazing! If you read this blog often, you know how I love to photograph wedding shoes. I know it's partly because I don't ever get to wear really awesome shoes anymore (there's no way I could work in heels). Yes, I'm living vicariously through my clients...sad but true! Talk about some fierce high heels...
Her dress was equally gorgeous. I loved all the embroidery and special details like the brooch at the waist. When I photograph a dress, I like to try to make it look almost other-worldly...after all, it's no ordinary dress. Hanging the dress in a window so that the light passes through it is one of my favorite ways to showcase it.
The amazing Theresa Edwards of A More Beautiful You (email: amorebeautifulu@yahoo.com) did Valerie's hair and make-up. (More on Theresa in a soon-to-follow post). I'm a huge proponent of having your make-up done by a professional on your wedding day. A good make-up artist knows how to highlight your features so that they really pop in photographs. I thought Valerie was absolutely stunning.
Lionel is a dentist with a thriving practice in Durham. A long-time resident, Lionel's a champion of the Bull City. Lionel and his sons got dressed for the wedding at the Durham Marriott which is near a plaza featuring a huge bull sculpture, so Frank grabbed this shot of him before the limo arrived.
Before the ceremony, we all headed over to Duke Gardens for photographs. I love shooting at Duke Gardens and typically, anytime of the year you can find something blooming, but strict water restrictions because of the drought we're experiencing in North Carolina are really affecting the plant life. Luckily, the redbuds (at least, I think that's what they were) were blooming, so we were able to use those to add some color to the images. Before leaving the house, I'd asked Valerie if she thought Lionel was going to get her a new wedding ring. She responded, "You never know with Lionel -- he's always planning something!" Sure enough, he pulled me aside when she wasn't looking to show me a gorgeous new diamond. Here's a shot of her reaction when her husband got down on one knee to present it to her.
I was able to get a closer shot of all three rings at the church.
Valerie and Lionel have three sons who each played an important part in the ceremony. The youngest served as the ring bearer, while the middle son carried a special family bible. The oldest son had the privilege of escorting his mom. I love this shot of Lionel as Valerie made her way down the aisle towards him...
...and the Nelson sons outside the church after the ceremony.
Back at the Durham Marriott, the guests were greeted by this cool ice sculpture featuring the iconic Love Story logo:
The first dance obviously involved some rehearsing and the couple pulled it off beautifully. Here's the bride, mid-twirl:
After dinner, many heart-felt toasts and the cutting of a delicious sweet-potato wedding cake, the party truly got underway. The reception is one of my favorite parts of the day to photograph. DJ Jeff Simpson with Simpsound Productions did a great job as Master of Ceremonies and spin-master. Lionel picked out over 14 hours of music for the reception and it was all phenomenal. Frank loved it -- I caught him more than once out on the dance floor, camera in hand, dancing while shooting! You know you've got a good job when you can dance at work and no one says anything about it!
Another service Jeff provides is room lighting, which is such a nice touch. Since lavender was the color the couple chose for the wedding, he placed lavender up lights around the periphery of the room. I love how the light influenced the look and feel of the reception photos. Little touches like this can go a long way in making a wedding unique. I'm a big believer in the value of using a wedding planner as Valerie and Lionel did, choosing planner Tracy Adams of Adams and Events to take care of all the big items and small details that have to be crossed off the master list of wedding-related tasks. I wish more couples would budget for planners. I think there's a mistaken impression that planners are an extravagance or that only high-budget weddings need a planner. In fact, most planners have packages structured much like other wedding vendors so that you can tailor how much involvement they have in the planning of your wedding. Plus, they can be a great resource for money-saving ideas. Even just having someone around on the Day Of to make sure everything runs smoothly takes the weight off the bride and groom and any family members they may have "recruited" as the unofficial wedding planner. You and your family should be able to relax and enjoy every moment of the day. Hiring a wedding planner is such a smart use of a portion of your wedding-day budget and can be more affordable than you might think. (This ends the Wedding Planner endorsement portion of the blog post and Tracy, I expect my kick-back in the mail this week.)
OK, off my soap-box and back to Lionel and Valerie. Remember those fierce shoes with the killer stilettos earlier in the blog? Well, eventually, they had to go. Check out the comfy pair Valerie donned at the end of the night!
What a great way to begin a very busy wedding season. For more images, check out the slide show here. Valerie and Lionel, we wish you many, many more years of happiness!
