MARRIED // MCCREA & TROY // DANIEL STOWE BOTANICAL GARDENS

There are not enough nice things in the world that I can say about these two people.I've known them for what feels like forever, and there's always something special about being asked to do a dear friend's wedding.

McCrea and I have always kind of come back to each other. We can not have talked for years, and then one of us will initiate conversation and it's just like we never stopped speaking. She's hilarious, beautiful, kind and has this amazingly random "thug" side to her that cracks me up. She just lights up around Troy and their chemistry is undeniable. And the same for Troy. He's absolutely adorable and such a good guy. He has a quiet sense of humor and listens intently. He loves McCrea so much and is so tender with her.

She trusted me completely on their wedding day, even when I (and Troy helped) pressured her into being late to the reception because the light for their bride & groom shots was so beautiful.

I hope that you two love the end product, you had such a beautiful day.

And I literally couldn't have done it without the sweet Erica Serrano accompanying me. She's such an awesome photographer and I'm so thankful to know her! Thanks for the killer individual shots & various ceremony/reception angles! You're an absolute angel. 

// Hair & Makeup by Lindsey Regan Thorne of Be Pretty. //

ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-3ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-4ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-9ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-20ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-33ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-38ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-40ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-53ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-55ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-57ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-59ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-63ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-64ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-65ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-66ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-71ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-72ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-77ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-78ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-81ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-86ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-90ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-91ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-93ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-94ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-95ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-100ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-103ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-104ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-106ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-122ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-108ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-110ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-117ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-125ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-133ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-135ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-142ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-146ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-151ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-159ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-169ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-170ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-171ECP_DanielStoweBotanicalGardens_JCrew-173

 

MARRIED // TAMMY & BRIAN // CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

I met Tammy when I was working at Paper Source early this year. She's so enthusiastic about life, about Brian, about everything. She is the literally the happiest person I've ever met and it's so unbelievably genuine. Brian and her compliment each other so well. He's quiet but has a great sense of humor and he went to ASU (go Mountaineers!)

Their wedding was unlike any I've been a part of. They walked each-other down the aisle and really wanted their day to  revolve around them and their friends and celebrating the union they've created. That's why they didn't have wedding party and kept it below 100 people! It was a gorgeous, simple wedding at the Latta Plantation. And her lovely friend Amanda is a pastry chef and hand-made all of the delicious desserts.

"Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own." 

MARRIED // SAM & CHASE // MATTHEWS, NORTH CAROLINA (PART II)

These are some of my favorite bride & groom portraits that I've ever taken. I genuinely do love all of my couples, but there was something so beautiful about the way that Sam and Chase held each other, how they loved each other.

It was hot, hot, HOT on their wedding day, but dayum. Not as hot as these two.

// From the bride //

In romantic comedies, there’s usually a scene called a ‘meet-cute.’ As the name suggests, it’s the scene in the movie where the main characters first meet and it’s usually in a cute way i.e. they run into each other on the subway, or go to pick up the same coffee cup at a café and accidentally touch hands. I always imagined meeting my husband in a similar fashion but it turns out God has a sense of humor.

Chase and I met on our church’s summer high school mission trip. We were in inner city Philadelphia serving the homeless. It was hot. We were sweaty, smelly and I was wearing athletic shorts down to my knees. Needless to say, it was not the meet-cute I was expecting.

Chase took me by surprise. He was honest, good-hearted, intelligent, fun, and insanely driven. He was so unlike the other guys I had encountered during my short dating life and I wanted to get to know him. A week after we got back from the trip, we went on our first date. He took me to Applebee’s and we saw the first Transformers movie. It went down in history as one of the best dates ever. We dated for roughly the next six years and somehow during that time we magically grew up. I use the word magically because it feels like time has flown by. I sometimes stop and think about how I used to sit in the bleachers at our high school and watch him play lacrosse. I still remember getting butterflies when I saw him after the games.

Throughout college we learned a lot about ourselves and our relationship. We helped each other face challenges. Mine were anxiety and college level math. His were learning to be patient and eating green vegetables. I developed a deeper love for Chase and it was one filled with admiration and respect. He was no longer my high school boyfriend but as someone I wanted as my husband. The day we got engaged was one of the best days of our lives. Not merely for the cheesy obvious reasons but because it was a culmination of all we had been through together.  Marriage was no longer just a question in a conversation or a distant dream. It was finally happening.