Jeff and his groomsmen in the bar at the Marriott. I love a bar as a setting for the guys!

And then it was on to the reception at the Raleigh Marriott City Center. Raleigh Trolley transported the couple and their wedding party in style.

Let me tell you, it is tricky to photograph on a moving trolley!

Time to toss the bouquet! This is something you almost never see -- usually, it's the guys acting like the bouquet is infected with smallpox. So we did it again. Second time's the charm!

Coming soon: My favorites from Lizzy and Jeff's Photobooth! I'll close out this post with one of the new Mr. and Mrs. Congrats, you two!

Ceremony Venue: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Raleigh NC

Reception Venue: Marriott City Center, Raleigh NC

Florals: Brides and Bouquets

Cake and Cookie Favors: Sweet Memories

DJ/Entertainment: Jason Huggins, Island Sound

A word about how I compiled our list. To make the cut, only two things had to be true: the image had to be made in 2011 and I had to love it. That's it. What follows are not images from our favorite weddings or shots of our favorite couples. If we were blessed to work with you the past year and one of your images isn't represented here, know for sure that it's not because your wedding wasn't wonderful or you didn't measure up in some way. Nothing could be further from the truth. I gave myself a deadline and resolved to stick to it. The laundry's piling up, the Christmas decorations are still everywhere and the dog needs to be walked. Time to get up from my desk.

Throughout this process, I was reminded time and time again how very fortunate we are to do this work. How very lucky to witness, 20 weekends out of the year, the hope-filled celebration that is a wedding. Know that at each and every wedding, there was a moment where my heart was in my throat and I had to blink back tears. Many nights I left wedding receptions with my face aching from smiling and laughing along with you and your guests. Wedding photography, in my opinion, isn't about creating art to fulfill some sort of need in myself. It's about documenting a rite of passage, a momentous day in the life of two families, a leap of faith made when two people stand up together and make their promises. If we can give that day back to you in images that help you remember, we've done our job. And we consider ourselves lucky.

-- Elizabeth

A quick outfit change and it was off to the NC Museum of Art. Mathew proposed in Museum Park near the three giant rings (fitting, huh?). The plan was to get a shot on the bench where he proposed, but interlopers in a hammock strung between two trees near the bench foiled our plan. We figured they wanted some privacy and we had plenty of space to roam. (Another fun fact: the museum's best known piece of outdoor sculpture is called Gyre, which refers to the sense of circular motion you get when viewing the rings from just the right angle.) I love how a simple change of outfit, scenery and time of day can give you a whole different feeling to images. We loved photographing these two -- they have such an easy way of being together, making each other laugh one minute, getting close and sweet another. We can't wait for their wedding next July!

It's what every bride and groom who want to get married outside dread: rain. When you're choosing a garden venue or the beautiful grounds of an old historic house like Haywood Hall in Raleigh, you only imagine how glorious it will be on your wedding day, with the sunlight dappled through the trees. So you plan for the possibility of rain, but you don't think about it much and then only with a whispered prayer that it will stay away on your day. And then the wedding week arrives and the forecast is...well, not good. Rain is likely. So what do you do? You pull out the rain plan and if you're like the lovely Carly, you buy really adorable umbrellas that seem to have been made just for your wedding day, so perfect is the design and color. (When I saw those umbrellas, they were so right I knew we were going to be using them in photos, even if it didn't rain one single drop.)

Maybe more nerve-wracking than a steady rain is a rain that starts and stops. Will we get married outside this beautiful old house or under a dark tent? What if we call it now and and the rain stops ten minutes before the ceremony? It made me nervous, the teasing quality of the start-and-stop rain. Carly and Bill had elected to do a First Look and Frank and I had found the perfect (and perhaps only private) place on the grounds, but it was entirely dependent upon the rain holding off. Luck was with us and we had the time we needed. I love Carly and Bill's First Look, so you'll see a boat-load (ark-load?) of pictures from their time together.

Thankfully, the heavy rain held off and everyone, from the wedding party to the guests, were good-natured about braving a steady misting of the wet stuff to allow the couple the wedding they wanted on the front lawn with the Rev. Barbara Lodge officiating. Thank goodness we'd done the bulk of the photographs before the ceremony. We had just enough time to get the combined family portraits done before the rain started in earnest. Protected under a series of tents in the back yard, family and friends enthusiastically celebrated until late into the evening. Before heading downtown to continue the party, Bill and Carly slipped away with us for a few final shots. Enjoy some of our favorites from this lovely wedding day.

Time for the First Look. I don't know which I love more: Bill's sweet expressions or Carly's emotional reaction to seeing her groom for the first time on their wedding day. Carly and Bill, we felt lucky to be there with you!

How perfect is it when even the greenery on the porch coordinates with the teal in your bridesmaids' dresses...and those two colors just happen to be your wedding colors? Carly is a graphic designer, so I'm betting none of that was an accident. :)

(Loved working with this wedding party! What a fun-loving group.)

Catering Works provided the floral design and catering, with special touches provided by the bride.

Carly and Bill, we thoroughly loved every minute of your wedding day. We wish you thousands of sunny days together...with enough rain thrown in to make the flowers bloom!

These are professionally printed, hardcover books with fully customized designs. Because the pages lay flat when opened, with no seam between the pages, these books are a great way to showcase your images. We can create books that would make great holiday gifts for the extra-special people in your life — parents, grandparents, spouses, kids, best friends and of course YOU yourself! And there are lots of interesting options for these books: glossy pages, matte pages, leather covers, cover images that wrap around the spine, etc. The discount works on pre-orders as well. Shoot me a message and I’d be happy to give you all the details: Elizabeth@sweetlifephoto.com.

The day started out in separate suites at the Durham Marriott City Center. I love documenting the getting-ready portion of the day in hotel rooms.  It's hard to beat window light and it can be found in abundance in hotel rooms thanks to those giant windows. Frank met up with Chris and his guys who were all pretty much ready because, let's face it, the guys have much less to do when it comes to "getting ready" than the ladies do! They headed out into the downtown Durham sunshine for some pre-wedding portraits while I photographed all the girly stuff. Then it was off to the gardens for some quick portraits. The couple chose the Angle Amphitheater behind the Doris Duke Center for their ceremony, perhaps my favorite site in the gardens for a wedding because of its relative privacy, something that can be in short supply in a very popular public garden. Chris's uncle performed the sweet and simple ceremony that featured the couple reading personalized vows to each other. Guests moved onto the North Terrace for cocktail hour while we shot some couple portraits and then it was time to celebrate! Be on the lookout soon for a post featuring their Photobooth images -- one of my favorite Photobooths ever!

Enjoy more of our favorites from the wedding day in Chris and Allison's slide show below. Thanks for letting us share such a beautiful day with you.

We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!

Fast-forward to 2011 and wedding plans are under full swing. When we started planning the engagement session, little did Frank and I know how much thought and time this couple would put into choosing just the right props to represent themselves as a couple. Of course, the match-making red bike would have to be a part of the session. (I knew I wanted to capture Kelsey still, with Cory whizzing by on his bike.) The couple are also huge photography fanatics, so they brought their DSLRs. We put aside our brand loyalties for a few shots and I'm happy to report that photographing a Nikon did not cause my Canon to burst into flames. I love the series of the two of them photographing each other. Cory must have jumped at least half-a-dozen times. Did I mention he's got a lot of energy?

On our way to the arboretum, Frank and I spotted this amazingly-detailed and brightly-colored graffiti wall. I was ready to get down on my knees and beg them to stop there quickly for a few shots, but they were up for anything. I LOVE the shots in front of this wall. I think I must have a repressed graffiti artist in my soul somewhere, just itching to be set free! The resulting shots are some of my favorites. I'm just crazy about all that color. And in case you haven't noticed -- how gorgeous is the bride-to-be? That close-up of her is one of my all-time faves.

After a quick outfit change, we were off to downtown Raleigh for the second half of our session. We found this purple and rusty-red wall that I couldn't resist, given the gorgeous colors in Kelsey's skirt. Kelsey and Cory love to cook. Baking and decorating cakes are specialties of Kelsey's and Cory reports that her Red Velvet cake is hands-down the best anywhere. They love cupcakes too and brought along a few from Gigi's near Cameron Village. I thought it would be fun to ask them to try to eat the cupcake together and see who could come away with the least amount of frosting on their hands and faces (no smashing allowed!). They enthusiastically embraced their mission and we only needed a few napkins afterward.

By the way, Kelsey? I love your shoes!!

Enjoy more of my favorites from the session in this slide show. Kelsey and Cory, we can't wait for your wedding next June!

Working with Wendy and Michelle at Seaside Wedding Connection, Sara and Clint planned a destination wedding in the historic coastal city of Southport, NC that was relaxed and family-oriented, meaningful, sweet and full of charming details and great food. I loved Sara's apple green and rustic brown color scheme with touches of vintage lace and natural elements like willow sprig centerpieces and Granny Smith apples. The little white chapel could not have been more perfect and the reception next door in the charming Yacht Club was unique and fun, with dancing outdoors on the lawn and lots of heart-felt tributes from friends and family, many of whom traveled great distances to celebrate with them. I particularly loved the rustic, hand-made directional sign that listed both Sara and Clint's respective hometowns in Texas and Connecticut and the farthest distance a guest had traveled to be with them (Guatemala, where Sara's sister lives). Sara's lovely raffia-accented bouquet was crafted by Don Baker of Brunswick Town Florist and the simply elegant cake accented with bright green spider mums (one of my favorites) was by the Crazy Cake Chicks on Oak Island.

The final image in this post is one of the bride and our children, Dan and Kat. They're mostly all grown-up now, but they will never forget their favorite babysitter. And neither will we. Sara and Clint, we wish you and Nathan a lifetime of love and happiness!

Since Erin and Steve love to spend time together outside, an engagement session at Umstead Park seemed like a natural fit. We loved meeting Steve and hearing about his new job, gathering soil samples in the mid-west for testing to help farmers in the nation's Bread Basket make the best decisions on how to manage their land. The day was overcast which is perfect for portraits....nice, soft light that flatters and makes colors pop. We were about two-thirds through our time together when a cold front literally rolled in across the lake before our eyes. Before we knew it, we were caught in a tremendous down-pour. Laughing, we all took off running for the cars, knowing no matter how fast we ran, we were still going to be soaked. As we dashed down the path, I held the camera up at chest height and started shooting, hoping something would be in focus, even though we were running as fast as we could go. That's the last shot...and one of my favorites of the day!

Erin and Steve, we feel so lucky to know you and are excited about your wedding in May!

Enjoy more favorites in Erin and Steve's slide show: