Duke Gardens Wedding :: Allison and Chris
Allison and Chris were married at Duke Gardens on a beautiful sunny day in September. A memorable day in many ways, not the least for its date: 9-10-11. (Try to come up with a good excuse for forgetting your anniversary now, all you 9-10-11 grooms!) There were so many things I loved about this wedding, from Allison's adorable red shoes, the punch of color in the bridesmaids' dresses, Chris and company's super-modern classic khaki suits, calla lillies...but perhaps the best thing about their day was the overwhelming spirit of love, fun and celebration that was in evidence every where you looked. This couple is blessed with an amazing group of family and friends!
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!
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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!
Duke Gardens Weddings: Heather and Dave are married!
I'm so excited to feature Heather and Dave's wedding on the blog. Heather did an amazing job with all the details and I loved her color scheme -- pink and orange. If there is a happier color combination, I don't know what it is. It was absolutely perfect for a May wedding at Duke Gardens on Mother's Day.
The day began in my favorite suite at the Washington Duke Inn. The light is always beautiful in the bedroom -- perfect for showing off Heather's gorgeous gown.
The ribbon detailing and beading-encrusted back-bodice on Heather's gown was so lovely and unique.
Love the body language -- maybe just a tad nervous? Who isn't on their wedding day?
Heather checks her make-up and jewelry one last time.
All that fuss was worth it, Heather -- you were breath-taking.
While Heather was getting ready upstairs, Frank was working with Dave downstairs.
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I love this shot of Dave with his mom.
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No wedding would be complete without a little drama. Heather and Dave's came in the form of major over-crowding at the gardens. Apparently, everyone in the Triangle wants to take their mom to Duke Gardens on Mother's Day -- especially if it's a gorgeous day. I have never in all my years shooting at the gardens seen anything like this. It was crazy. Mother's Day Madness. All the parking lots were completely full and a security guard was turning away everyone -- even wedding guests. I had to leave the inn early to make sure I could get to the gardens, find a parking spot and haul my equipment to the Doris Duke Center in time for the wedding. Luckily, Frank was already there, so I knew we would be covered if I had to park blocks and blocks away, but it was nerve-wracking for everyone involved. Eventually, everyone made it in, but word to the wise -- if you're getting married on Mother's Day in Duke Gardens, make sure to plan for a little parking-lot mayhem.
Heather arrived at the gardens with about 10 minutes to spare. I still have no idea where her mom parked the truck!
Dave walks in with Rev. Kayelily Middleton -- one of my favorite people on the planet -- to begin the ceremony.
Heather and Dave chose each other's sibling to be their only attendant. Here's Heather's brother, Tommy, Dave's best man.
And Dave's sister, Lisa, Heather's maid of honor.
I love the amphitheater behind the Doris Duke Center. It may be the most private place in a public garden to get married. But when you're in the amphitheater on a bright sunny day in the late afternoon, you're getting hit by some serious sun. When you're a guy in a dark suit getting married, you get a tad sweaty. Here Kayelily does her part to keep Dave looking his best. Plus, I think he'd just finished his vows at this point. :)
Married!!
A few of my favorite details, beginning with Heather's gorgeous bouquet by Tre Bella.
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The cake was by Guglhupf Bakery in Durham.
You could tell Heather and Dave had worked hard on mastering the steps of their first dance -- they were flawless.
Great jazz music by the John Brown Band set the mood for the evening.
The getaway car.
The getaway!
Heather and Dave, it was an honor to photograph your beautiful wedding. We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!
Venue
Officiant
Hair and Make-Up
Floral Design
Catering
Cake
Guglhupf Bakery, Durham NC
Music
Duke Gardens Weddings: Marla and Dan are married!
Congratulations to Marla and Dan who were married at Duke Gardens this May. The sunshine-filled wedding day began with the bride and bridesmaids getting ready together in a suite at the Millennium Hotel in Durham. This is always a fun part of the day for me. I loved the detail on Marla's dress and thought the bridemaids' dresses were some of the prettiest I've seen recently. Those bows were adorable -- thank goodness Marla's mom was on hand to help tie them!
After the engagement session, I knew I was going to love photographing Marla in all her wedding finery. She was absolutely radiant.
One of the great things about having two photographers is that while I was at the hotel photographing Marla and her bridesmaids, Frank was at Dan's parents' home, photographing the groom with his family. Then he followed the groomsmen over to the gardens to get ready for the ceremony.
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As soon as we got the word that the groom was on his way to the gardens, Marla and her bridesmaids went to Dan's parents' home too,
to honor a request by his mom for portraits on the stairs.
Beautiful surroundings, beautiful light and beautiful girls. Sometimes I wonder how we get so lucky!
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Wedding days always fly by so quickly. Before long, the ceremony was underway at the pergola in the terraced gardens.
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After photos at the gardens, we made our way back to the Millennium Hotel for the reception. While Frank was covering cocktail hour,
I was inside the ballroom, grabbing some detail shots, including floral designs by Floral Dimensions and yet another beautiful cake by the always-fabulous
Lorie at Simply Cakes. Have I said yet how much I love this color combination? If not, let me say it now: purple and blue is gorgeous!
Dan's parents are champion ballroom-dancers, so naturally, the First Dance was going to be special. Marla and Dan worked hard to master the intricate footwork.
If it's possible to rock a waltz, they absolutely did (or was it a tango?). I know Dan's mom and dad are so proud!
L-O-V-E.
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I don't think I ever really gave much thought to the importance of having a great DJ until I became a wedding photographer. Troy Coghill did a fantastic job keeping everyone dancing all evening.
We love it when people have a great time; it makes our jobs that much more fun.
Dan and Marla, thanks for allowing us to celebrate your wedding day with you, your family and friends. We wish you a lifetime of love and happiness!
P.S. I'm trying some new blog templates; let me know what you think!
Heather and Dave: Engaged!
Meet Heather and Dave. The couple met and fell in love at Duke while working towards their masters degrees in Really Important Stuff. Heather works safe-guarding open spaces in Northern California; Dave works to make sure the water stays clean. These two left the (relative) warmth of San Francisco to come to NC for a weekend of wedding planning and their engagement session. They were troupers during a very chilly afternoon in February at West Point on the Eno and downtown Durham. The line in that old song, "I've got my love to keep me warm" kept popping into my head -- I definitely think that's why they don't look frozen in these photos! Frank and I are looking forward to their May wedding at Duke Gardens, when I can guarantee it will be significantly warmer. Here are a few of my favorites from their session.
Heather and Dave, we are so excited to photograph your wedding this May. See you soon!
Alison and Brent: Married!
Alison and Brent were married way back in May in a beautiful ceremony at Duke Gardens. The day started out heavily overcast and threatening to rain. By the time Alison emerged from the Washington Duke Inn to get into the limo, all traces of gray had vanished from the sky. The rest of the day was just as wonderful. Alison was so calm -- I'll remember her as the Zen Bride. To me, this shot epitomizes how calm she was all day.
"Getting Ready" is one of my favorite parts of the wedding day to document. Shots like this one, with all the bridesmaids gathered around, each one working on some aspect of the process, make me think of all the brides throughout history who've had their close female family and friends around to help them prepare for this day. Back in the days of "Ladies' maids" I guess it wasn't such a big deal -- the simple act of getting dressed in the morning was a pretty elaborate process that required the help of at least one other person. Now that we can just throw on jeans and a T-shirt -- well, it makes the act of getting into what is most likely the single most elaborate dress we'll ever wear even more monumental. Couldn't this same shot (with minor allowances for fashion) have been taken 50, 100 or 200 years ago? I love, love, LOVE that beautiful window light!
The end result. Isn't she simply stunning?
The guys have it easier...although Frank reports that the button covers flummox at least one of them every time. Here's Brent, working on the tie. Granted, I've never had to tie a tie in my life...so who am I to pass judgement?
A shot of Brent and then one of all the guys...pretty darn spiffy, if you ask me.
One quick note about all the black and white images in this post: Alison and Brent's wedding was so classic and elegant. All day I kept thinking that it could have taken place in any era -- the gown, the tuxes, the details, the setting -- it was just timeless. There was something about so many of their images that just screamed "Convert me to B&W!!!" I don't have a fixed plan or set rules about which images to convert to black and white. There's no percentage of total images delivered that have to be in black and white. It's true that I prefer the documentary images to be in black and white (many wedding photographers call this photo-journalism. I call it documentary because that's what I'm doing -- documenting the details, sights and emotions of the wedding day.) Most of the time it's just a feeling I get about a particular image...maybe it's the composition, maybe it's the ratio of highlight areas to shadow areas, maybe there's just a weird color cast that I don't like in the original (that happens with digital images sometimes). Whatever it is, it's one of the things I like best about shooting digital: having the choice to convert an image to Black and White when I feel like it!
Alison and the ladies, waiting for the word to head down to the lower gardens for the ceremony to begin.
Oh my gosh, how I love a long veil. Such drama!
Alison doesn't know this (at least I think she doesn't) but right before she and her dad began the walk down the steps to the fish pond, a mother mouse and several mouse babies ran right across the pathway. I'm pretty sure her dad spotted them, too -- we exchanged a quick look of surprise (or was it horror?) followed by a shared understanding that we shouldn't react at all. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised -- it was Spring after all and we were in a garden. Still...not something you expect to see right before the bride begins her walk down the aisle!
The energy from their combined smiles as they met at the altar could have powered a small village for the day.
A detail shot of the sand ceremony. In case you've been hiding out under a rock (or crash weddings nearly every weekend), the sand ceremony is quickly gaining ground on the unity candle as the perfect way to symbolize the act of hitching your life to someone else's for all eternity. (Although I do wonder what happens the first time you move house -- how do you keep the sand from getting jostled all around and losing that pretty pattern?) Still, I love it and it makes a lot of sense for an outdoor ceremony -- no worries about the wind snuffing out the candles.
Tah Dah! Alison and Brent are MARRIED!!!
With every wedding, I try to have at least one shot of the bride and groom that is completely classic...if someone found the image 300 years from today, they wouldn't know when it had been taken. They'd just see two people in fancy clothes and in LOVE.
Some details from the reception at the Washington Duke.
First dance as husband and wife!
I think of this shot as Part II of the first image. :)
Jason, the best man, was a riot. Here he is giving the toast. I think this was right before he told Brent to take Alison's hand and cover it with his own. He then solemnly pronounced: "This is the last time in your married life that you will ever have the upper hand."
Action...
...reaction.
I have a 20x30 canvas of this in my office -- it's one of my all-time favorites.
Ken Holmes with Joe Bunn DJ Company did a great job with the tunes. Can't you tell?
A white tent under the mid-day sun...perfect light for portraits!
Last shot of a perfectly wonderful day. Thanks to Alison (for always being happy and relaxed) and Brent (for putting up with all the pictures.) We wish you both a long, long life full of love and happiness!
