This creative couple spent months preparing their yard and home for this wedding, and the care and precision that went into their DIY decor blew me away (just take a look at the paper bouquets Katie hand-made and you’ll see why!)

Read more about this creative couple’s non-traditional intimate backyard wedding in their Q&A below!

1.  What was your favorite moment from the day?

After everyone had left, we walked back into the woods to the spot where the ceremony was held, hugged it out, and laughed about all of the crazy things which had happened that day.  Don’t get us wrong, the wedding was amazing too, but it was nice to have some relaxing quiet time after 15+ hours of setup and wedding duties that day.  Also, the moment when we discovered that the caterer left an entire tray of mac and cheese in our fridge was pretty sweet too.

2.  What factors led to your decision in having a backyard wedding? What advice do you have for other couples planning an intimate backyard wedding?

We decided very quickly that we wanted an intimate backyard wedding, maybe even within the first 12 hours after getting engaged.

Our house has always been a meaningful part of our relationship, and we pretty much knew that we wouldn’t find another location which could top it in sentimental value  We did a lot of growing up together between saving up for a down payment, going through the home buying process, dealing with unexpected home maintenance, and figuring out what mattered to us with renovations and upgrades.  We also wanted an excuse to fix up our backyard – before we got engaged, we had no fence, a tiny patio, a terrible lawn, and a ton of dead trees.

Our engagement was 50% wedding planning and 50% home improvement projects.  One day, I’d be trying on dresses at a bridal store, the next day we’d be chainsawing dead trees to haul to the dump.  It was definitely not a traditional wedding planning experience.

Our advice to other backyard couples is to remember that your “venue” is a backyard first and a wedding venue second.  There were a lot of landscaping projects we wanted to do which would have been great for the wedding, but would not have made sense for us to keep in the yard long-term.  We found a good middle ground on many of these details and still loved the end result.

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

What ultimately got us to book was when you took the time to find photos from previous weddings with similar venues and themes to share with us (even a couple of backyard weddings I think).  Photography can be scary to commit to because you don’t know exactly what the result will be until after the event is over.  It was especially tough for us because we chose a setting which had never been used for a wedding before.  Out of all of the photographers we looked at, you gave us the most accurate idea possible of what we’d be getting.  It was easy to envision you shooting our wedding.

4.  From booking to delivery of images and seeing the results, what in your mind made it the right choice for us to collaborate? Did anything surprise you?

Every step of the way, you were very easy to work with too.  I work in client support, so I placed a lot of weight on service and professionalism when searching for wedding vendors.  You always responded quickly and answered our questions completely.  There was never any doubt in our minds that you could deliver a great result in a professional manner.  Seeing the photos from our engagement session sealed the deal for us.  We were blown away by the quality and variety of shots you delivered.

5.  What’s next for you as a couple?

We are looking forward to our honeymoon in December – a road trip through Sedona, the Grand Canyon, and Las Vegas.

We’ve also been getting into homebrewing since the wedding, although our friends who gave us a brew kettle as a wedding gift may have had a hand in that.  Our first batch of beer (a brown ale) is ready to drink, and we have our second batch (a smoked molasses porter) going through fermentation as we speak.  For years, Erik has nicknamed our home bar “The Thirsty Bison”.  At the wedding, we even gave out beer mugs with a Thirsty Bison logo as favors.  We’ll likely carry over the Thirsty Bison name into whatever homebrew recipes we create as well.

Going back to the backyard, we really want to put in a shed next year.  That was one project which we couldn’t make happen before the wedding.  For now, we’re just enjoying not having to do any landscaping or home improvement stuff on a deadline.

6.  Anything else you’d like to add about your intimate backyard wedding?

We made many non-traditional decisions for the wedding.  We spent our engagement doing yard work, we chose a non-traditional setting, I made paper flowers for the bouquets and centerpieces, our dog was at the ceremony and reception, and we hired a food truck to cater our buffet.  For all of the extra thought and work that we had to put in to make our vision happen, it was completely worth it.  Everything felt very “us”.

Are you planning your own unconventional backyard wedding? I love photographing DIY weddings and would love to help you better envision your day. Shoot me a message, and I’ll send you my wedding photography brochure!

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

Photography Assistant: Kasha Mammone

Bride’s Dress & Shoes: Elegant Bridal

Bridesmaid Dresses: Little Borrowed Dress

Flower Girl Dresses: David’s Bridal

Groom’s Clothing: Jos A Bank

Cake: Sweet Cheeks Bakery

Catering: Porchetta

Invitations: Vistaprint

Tent & Rentals: American Party Rentals

The post Katie + Erik | Intimate Backyard Wedding in Holly Springs | Raleigh Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

Jo + Jonny tied the knot on July 5, 2014 at Rock Quarry Farm in Chapel Hill, NC. This quaint outdoor venue created an intimate “backyard wedding” ambience for the day, which fit Jo and Jonny’s personalities perfectly. Read more about their wedding experience in the Q&A below!

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

We met at a mutual friend’s house party. I (Jo here) remember he really captured my attention, I thought he was so handsome and completely insane and he made me laugh. Jonny was immediately attracted to me, he thought I was cute, and he liked my confidence and outgoingness. The first few times we interacted were at house parties and there was rampant flirtation, but I always seemed to be seeing someone else. : ) When I started going to the same church as Jonny a couple months later he didn’t know I was single until we started spending more time together. As soon as he confirmed my single status he decided it was time to make his move. Jonny officially asked me out after a Christmas party on December 21st (2013). Sitting in the car on the way to our first date I had to verbally verify with him that we were indeed on a date, and it turned out that we were. Well we kept going on dates after that, and in about a week we had become absolutely inseparable (and still are). A year later on December 21st, 2014, he went down on one knee in the middle of waltzing at a winter solstice party, and asked me to marry him. : )

2. You planned a fairly non-traditional wedding with square dancing, pizelles, and even a few traditional Filipino elements. What led you to these decisions? 

All the “non-traditional” choices we made were really a no-brainer. I’ve just always thought a wedding should be a reflection of the tastes and interests of the couple getting married. The process was “Okay, we’re throwing a huge party to celebrate with our friends and family, what do we want to include?” rather than “What is our idea of what a wedding should be like?” Dancing has been a huge part of Jonny and my relationship, and what better way to share that than through square dancing where everyone can join in?! : )  My dad’s side of the family is Sicilian, so wedding cookies were a must. Jonny and I LOVE to eat, so it was especially important to us that the food be killer. Jonny’s family hails from Hawaii so we incorporated elements of that here and there like with the hibiscus flower table runners and the chill island music dinner play list. His family also brought a crown and lei made out of folded dollar bills which were so fun to wear! The wedding was sort of our perfect party, with some life-long vows in the mix.

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

For me (Jo here), pretty much the entire wedding/reception was amazing. I’m not kidding, I loved every moment!!  Jonny says the most thrilling part for him was when we were waiting in the house while the guests were arriving, the most surreal part was the ceremony, and he liked dinner time the best.

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

Honestly we had done so much planning ahead of time, and my sister Arielle was coordinating everything, that I knew as soon as things started I would no longer have to deal so much with logistics if there did happen to be any problems. What I totally didn’t foresee was that I would cry like a baby during almost the entire ceremony. Good Lord. But anyways, I loved how much you (Courtney) planned ahead, coordinated with us, and let us know what to expect. The photography was completely stress free for us. I knew exactly when and which photos were happening. It was really clear that you knew what you were doing and knew your way around a wedding.

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

Probably get a few prints for us and for family – with everything we have going on right now I haven’t had a chance to think about it! So excited!!

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

Yes indeed. Jonny just graduated from UNC with his PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics, and he’s secured a post-doc position at UCSF in San Francisco. We’re moving out September 4th. It’s been a crazy summer – even after Jonny’s thesis defense and the wedding were over, we still had a lot of planning to do! 

7. Anything else you’d like to add about your wedding, your photography experience, or anything else?

If I had really known how much went into planning a wedding we might have just eloped. : D Fortunately I did not know this, because it was totally worth it! The photography experience exceeded my expectations. Picture times fit in really seamlessly with everything else.

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Jo and Jonny, thanks for being so collaborative every step of the way with the wedding photography process! I loved how true to yourselves your wedding was. Thanks for giving me a great first time photographing a wedding with Sicilian & Hawaiian traditions, not to mention a fabulous square dance! I hope you enjoy these pictures for years to come!

To view all of the photos from Jo + Jonny’s wedding and order prints, please visit their gallery on my online print service.

The post Jo + Jonny | Rock Quarry Farm Wedding | Chapel Hill Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.