Both the ceremony and reception took place at Sarah’s grandmother’s house, nestled cozily in the woods.  Sarah grew up just one house over, and I loved that the location of her wedding occurred in such a familiar and memory-laden place for her.  In an age of destination weddings, it seems a rarity to get married in the home you grew up in (let alone have your family remain in the same location for 30+ years!)  Instead of signing their ketubah in a stale hotel conference room, Sarah and Doug sealed their promises to each other in Sarah’s grandmother’s home office, which was filled with sweet mementos and photographs- Sarah as a child, Sarah’s graduation picture, and other knickknacks that had been collected over the years- each with its own story.

Sarah + Doug, thank you so much for the opportunity to preserve even more memories that can be added to your grandmother’s collection.  Your wedding was truly refreshing, and I hope that you will cherish these photos for years to come.

A shout-out to all our fab vendors for making this day possible:

Dress:  Galina

Shoes: New York Transit

Groom’s clothing: Men’s Wearhouse

Florist: Victoria Park Florist

Cake: Mad Hatter

Catering: The Catering Company of Chapel Hill

Invites: Gartner

Photography Assistant:  Layson Peters

The post Sarah + Doug | Chapel Hill backyard wedding appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

The reception was held at the Parizade,
also in Durham.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt so relaxed and welcomed
at a wedding venue before—the manager greeted me and Stephen and showed
us a private table (in a lovely air-conditioned room!) where we were
free to download photos and eat cake.  And the party itself was AWESOME
from the moment we arrived.  Stephen and I were both caught off guard
after the first dance when the hora began, because everyone circled up
and started yelling and clapping and surrounding us while kicking and
screaming with joy.  The hora was really joyful—I was tempted to just
put my camera down and join in the fun!  (Towards the end of the wedding
I actually did this for a dance or two, thanks to Anne’s beckoning).

Big shout-out to Stephen Garret and Cana Collective
for helping me out.  He is an amazing videographer and still shooter,
and I had a great time shooting with him for the first time.  Many of
his photos are included below.

The post Anne + Alec | Durham Wedding appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

Rachel and Jared tied the knot on April 18, 2015 in at The Bottle Factory in Monroe, NC. I love working with creative, fun couples who deliberately plan a celebration true to their personalities and story–and Rachel and Jared were right up our alley. (When Rachel pulled out Lisa Frank stickers from her bridal fanny pack as we showed up, I knew it would be a fun day!) To learn more about Rachel and Jared’s “Southern wedding with Brooklyn-loft vibes”, read the Q&A with the couple below.

To view all of the photos from Rachel + Jared’s wedding and order prints, please visit their wedding gallery on my online print shop!

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1. How did you meet and fall in love? I’d love to hear a little bit more of your story.

We met online, which is not very romantic. Our first date, however, was at a romantic Italian tapas bar and Rachel likes to say that since Jared ordered a bottle of wine she knew he felt she was attractive enough to be with for a bottle-length of time. We were basically dating from our first date and began an ongoing conversation that never ended. Within a few weeks, Jared abruptly blurted “I’m in love with you” during a walk on the beach, and the rest is history.

2. Tell me about the inspiration for your wedding celebration. How did the day itself line up with your vision and expectations?

We wanted the wedding to be true to us and it was. From the rabbi’s fun and engaging ceremony to the venue and food, it all came together perfectly. We have a pretty clear sense of what our style is and chose vendors who matched that style. As a bonus, they were all extremely pleasant to work with! We ended up with a wedding that was in North Carolina, with a Southern-inspired menu, with Brooklyn loft vibes. Jared is a graphic designer, which meant the wedding was very branded! We included personal touches like setting up a trivia game for the guests taking the buses from the hotel, personalized matchbooks with illustrations of us, a Jared-curated menu, and more. We chose vendors who had a similar sense of our style, so we knew they would create a beautiful event—and they did.

3. What was your favorite part of your wedding day? 

It is impossible to choose one favorite moment! Highlights include walking in to the venue for the first time and seeing how beautifully it had all come together; the ketubah signing when we had a few moments before the ceremony to regroup with our close family; the fifteen minutes of alone time we spent together after the ceremony; and seeing everyone tear up the dance floor!

4. What factors other than photos went into your decision on a wedding photographer? Why did you pick me?

We loved Courtney’s journalistic style and the photos she shot for our friend’s wedding. We wanted to focus on capturing the spirit of the day with minimal time spent organizing people for photos. Our preference was for candid, spontaneous images, and we could tell from her portfolio that Courtney had an eye for finding those moments and capturing them. We wanted our guests to be able to enjoy the wedding and I think we were able to accomplish that. We appreciated that Courtney took a lot of time to get to know us, which helped us all feel comfortable with each other on the wedding day.

5. Did you foresee any part of your wedding day being difficult logistically or emotionally? Did I make it easier? If so, how?

We wanted to get most of the photos out of the way before the ceremony, but knew we had some group family photos to take care of during cocktail hour. Courtney was very helpful wrangling family members who’d gone rogue to make the process go as quickly as possible. We also hadn’t given too much thought to where we wanted to do our photos in and around the venue. We weren’t familiar with the area, but Courtney did a great job scouting locations in town and finding unique settings for our wedding party photos.

6. What is the first thing you want to do with the images? 

Relive the day. Share them with our friends and family.

7. What is next for you as a couple? Any big plans?

The timing of our wedding was perfect. It was a rough winter in New York, so the wedding was one of the first warm weather weekends we had in a while. By the time we got back from our honeymoon, we had lovely May weather in New York! We are very excited to have a relaxing summer this year, with some trips planned to visit friends, and to enjoy NYC without having to think about wedding chores!

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Rachel + Jared, thank you so much for hiring me to document your day.  I had a blast, and I hope that you enjoy looking at these photos for years to come!

A shout-out to all our fab vendors for making this day possible:

Venue: The Bottle Factory

Coordinator: Ginger Hussey with Hey Love! Events

Officiant/minister: Rabbi Jonathan Freirich

Videographer: Carlisle Wedding Videography

Dress: Vera Wang

Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Flower girl dresses: David’s Bridal

Groom’s clothing: J. Crew

Florist: The Bloom Room

Cake: Great Occasion Cakes

Catering: Delectables by Holly

Invites & Programs: Designed by the groom

Band/DJ: Split Second Sound

Transportation: Rose Charter

The post Rachel + Jared | Bottle Factory Wedding appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.