Lizz + Dave wanted to showcase their fondness for downtown Raleigh (and their adorable, squirrel-obsessed fur-baby Drogo), so we planned a fun urban Raleigh engagement session. I had so much fun with this playful couple and love how their authentic goofiness shines in many of these pictures.

Lizz + Dave answered a few questions about their engagement photo inspiration and favorite moments from the session. I absolutely love their creativity. Read below to feel inspired!

1. Tell me about you! (The floor is yours: How did you meet? What activities do you enjoy doing as a couple? Who is your celebrity couple doppelganger?)

We were introduced by our close friends (who are now also getting married in 2017) at Charlie’s Kitchen in Cambridge, Mass. This was the same place where Dave proposed a few years later. Our favorite thing in the whole world is our dog, Drogo. He’s a squirrel-obsessed giant lap dog and by far the best puppy ever.

2.  Why did you decide to book a Raleigh engagement session? Was there anything in particular you wanted me to photograph (or avoid…)? 

We decided to do an engagement session because we wanted photos of us with our pup Drogo for the save-the-dates, and we wanted some casual fun pictures. We felt that since we have enjoyed our engagement so much we wanted photos that represented the fun we have together.

3.   What was your favorite moment from the engagement session? Favorite photo?

Favorite photo is definitely with our championship wrestling belts. Favorite moment during the shoot was trying to get Drogo to look at anything other than the squirrels he was hunting.

4.  What do you plan to do with your Raleigh engagement photos? (i.e. Wallpaper the hallway? Internet fame? Make a collage of your pup?)

Dave made one of the engagement photos into a puzzle through shutterfly as a surprise Christmas gift! It was really a unique way to display one of the amazing photos. He even had “The McRooneys” added to the bottom. It’s so great!

5. Anything else you’d like to add?

We had such a fun time with the engagement session. The photos really show our personalities and we love them! The candid shots make us really excited to see how great our wedding photos will come out!

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Lizz + Dave, thanks for being such a rad, goofy couple. Your authenticity is refreshing, and I loved every minute with you (and Drogo!). I’m pumped about photographing your shindig later this year.

Do you like these unstuffy Raleigh engagement photos? Head on over to my wedding photography page for even more eye candy and delightfully silly moments!

The post Lizz + Dave | Urban Engagement Session | Raleigh Engagement Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

The post Sejal + Allen | Museum of Life and Science Wedding | Indian-Fusion Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

Read the Q&A with this fabulous couple, featured below, to learn more about their wedding inspiration and photography experience! To view all of the photos from their wedding and order prints, please visit their gallery on my online print shop!

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1. What are some of your favorite things about your partner? How were these attributes expressed during or leading up to your wedding?

Michelle – I am so lucky to be blessed with such endless patience, understanding, and unconditional love from Jared. Admittedly, I can get a little crazy due to my perfectionism, especially when planning our wedding, but Jared is very much a constant source of comfort and strength. As cliché as this phrase is, it is so true that Jared is my rock through tough and stressful times – always strong, always dependable, always there to keep me grounded and happy. Sometimes I feel like I don’t deserve so much of what he does for me…My happiness is always his top priority, and he always thinks of me first. Leading up to our wedding day, I had been stressed out because of the rainy forecast. Though I was able to let it go on the wedding day itself, I found out later that Jared had been so worried about making everything perfect for me while setting up for our rain plan, that he stressed out even our wedding coordinator!

Jared – Michelle is the person that can always make me laugh. She can always make any situation better. Great times become unforgettable and hard times become not so bad. This was especially important leading up to the wedding. We were both so stressed out with our jobs, family, and wedding responsibilities that it was easy to become overwhelmed. Michelle and Ruxon both have the amazing ability to remind me to live in the moment. They bring me back to Earth and show me how great our life is and how lucky we are to have each other.

2. What was most important to you in planning your wedding?

Planning our wedding, what we wanted first and foremost was to gather our friends and families and have a joyful, celebratory party! We wanted the wedding to not only be a celebration of us, but a celebration of all of our loved ones coming together to share in love and happiness. Having a traditional wedding definitely wasn’t a huge priority for us. What was a priority was having a wedding that we would remember for all the amazing memories made with the people who matter most to us.

3. Your fur-baby, Ruxon, was an integral part of your wedding celebration. What led you to this decision, and what was it like to have your pup there from beginning to end? 

We consider Ruxon our son, and he has done so much to bring us closer together as a couple and as a family – oftentimes he is the brightest light and joy of our daily lives. It was extremely important to us to have Ruxon be an integral part of our wedding, so we purposefully searched for a venue that would allow us to have him participate. The wedding would not have felt whole without him, so it meant so much to us to have him be at the wedding from beginning to end. Though we wish that he could have been more comfortable in all the chaos, we know he had a great time with people he knows and loves – he even danced with everyone at the reception!

4. Are there any details or moments from your wedding that are particularly special to you? (E.g., you wore your momma’s dress, your partner unexpectedly serenaded you, there was a double rainbow all across the sky…).  

We are blessed to each have an only brother with whom we shared our lives. They each made a toast at our wedding that we are grateful to have video recordings of, because their toasts were both hilarious and sincere. Later in the night, unexpectedly, we had so many guests bring out their crazy dancing moves! We honestly didn’t think that so many of our guests would dance so enthusiastically, so it was surprising and amazing to have so much fun with our friends and families on the dance floor. And of course, sharing our wedding vows to each other was truly a special moment that had us struggling to hold back tears. It was important to us to write our own wedding vows, and to be able to share them with our families.

5. Now that you’ve tied the knot (and survived!), what advice would you give to other folks planning their wedding?

Unless you truly value traditional aspects of a wedding, don’t be afraid to make your wedding your own! Also, weigh the advantages of hiring professionals for coordination, music, décor, etc – with the both of us having full-time jobs, we may have been a bit ambitious at first about DIYing many elements of the wedding, but the time and costs that we saved by hiring wedding professionals made our lives so much easier. During the planning process, there were so many details that we planned for that seemed so major, but ended up being so minor to the actual wedding. For example, we had gotten a perfect bowtie for Ruxon, but lost it the week before the wedding, but he looked handsome nonetheless. Though it was easy to slip into a stressed out mindset the week of the wedding worrying about the logistics of the wedding, most of it didn’t really matter when the wedding day actually arrived – it’s OK to let certain things go to enjoy what really matters. Everyone is right when they say that the wedding day is a blur…A friend of ours gave us some advice that we are grateful for: during the wedding day, take several moments to pause and take a breath to appreciate everything and everyone involved in the wedding.

6. Why did you decide to hire me? What was it like working with me on your wedding day and in the planning stages leading up to it?

Our wedding photography was one of our top priorities, and we knew that we wanted someone special to capture our wedding day. We wanted a photographer with whom we would be comfortable to be ourselves, and someone who cared more about capturing real moments and emotions over what our centerpieces and decorations would look like. In researching and vetting many photographers in the area, we were very much turned off by several photographers who seemed to be more interested our decoration ideas for magazine submissions! When we first met Courtney, we were truly impressed with her story, cool personality, and beautiful photography. She is extremely down-to-earth and genuine; we truly have nothing but great things to say about Courtney. In the span of about a year of working with Courtney, she has never failed to be swift in her communications, and helpful with recommendations and professional judgment. We truly enjoyed having her be a part of our wedding day to photograph our wedding memories for a lifetime.

7. What is the first thing you want to do with the images? Wallpaper the hallway? Internet fame?

Our families have been anxiously waiting for the photos, so the first thing we will do is distribute them! We are sure that the images will be printed aplenty, and we definitely have a few frames to fill. In the years to come, we are glad to be able to relive the wonderful memories as we look through the photos.

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

Next up – a new home! We will be purchasing our first new home, hopefully with a large backyard for Ruxon to run and romp around in. Maybe we will even get Ruxon another furry brother or sister to play with!

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Michelle + Jared (and Ruxon!), thank you so much for being such fun, authentic clients! I enjoyed every minute with you and am sad to see our photography journey come to an end. I appreciated your eagerness to collaborate as well as your kind spirits! Also- your pup has gone down in history for me as the most involved dog EVER at a wedding! I hope you love your photos, and I hope to work more with you down the road!

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

Second Photographer: Bri Brough

Coordinator: Elana Walker Events

Hair: Bottega Hair Salon

Makeup: OnLoKtion Makeup

Event Rentals: Deejay’s Event Rentals

Officiant: Michael Kennedy

Bride’s Dress: Designed by Nicole Miller, Purchased at Lana Addison Bridal

Bridesmaid Dresses: Weddington Way

Groomsmen Clothing: Men’s Wearhouse

Florist: Fresh Affairs

Catering: Neomonde

DJ: Bunn DJ Company

Hotel: Hampton Inn Raleigh Downtown

The post Michelle + Jared | Fred Fletcher Park Wedding | Raleigh Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

Sarah + Stephen tied the knot at St. Francis of Assisi in Raleigh, NC on September 19, 2015. They moved the party to The Renaissance Hotel for the rest of the evening after making a detour at William B. Umstead State Park for some scenic bridal party photos.

Read the Q&A with this sweet couple, featured below, to learn more about their wedding inspiration and photography experience! To view all of the photos from their wedding and order prints, please visit their gallery on my online print shop!

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1. What are some of your favorite things about your partner? How were these attributes expressed during or leading up to your wedding?

My favorite thing about Stephen is how much he makes me laugh. He has the best sense of humor and we laugh so much together. He always helped make any stressful situation with wedding planning easier. Picking the songs for our wedding was probably the best. We kept outdoing each other by playing funnier songs as jokes of what we should have our first dance to , or any other special serious part of the wedding. We had so much fun with everything we planned!

2. What was most important to you in planning your wedding?

The most important part to me was making sure that we did everything for planning the details together. I hate when everyone refers to the wedding as “the bride’s day.” I wanted it to be our day!

3. Are there any details or moments from your wedding that are particularly special to you? (E.g., you wore your momma’s dress, your partner unexpectedly serenaded you, there was a double rainbow all across the sky…).  

One of the most special moments was probably having the surprise toast from my brother in Kuwait. I had no idea they planned that, and the fact that they kept that a secret was so great. It was nice to have him a part of the wedding even though he couldn’t be there. Stephen knew that was important to me.

4. Now that you’ve tied the knot (and survived!), what advice would you give to other folks planning their wedding?

My advice to anyone planning their wedding now is just to have fun with it! I spent time stressing over some really small details and almost let it ruin the fun in planning. You won’t care about the small finite details you stressed over on the day of.

5. What was the silliest moment of your wedding day?

I would say the silliest part/best parts of the wedding were the crazy dance moves everyone was busting out. It was great to see so many family members who traveled so far having a lot of fun.

6. What is the first thing you want to do with the images? Wallpaper the hallway? Internet fame?

I’m so unbelievably excited to see these photos! I will be covering my house, the Internet, everywhere I can with these pictures!

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

We don’t have any crazy big plans, just enjoying our happy married life together!

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Sarah + Stephen, thank you for being such an audacious couple on your wedding day! I love that you and the bridesmaids were willing to shed your high heels for a romp through the woods in order to make some memorable portraits! Your wedding was so much fun to shoot, and I loved every minute of it!

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

Venue: St. Francis of Assisi Raleigh and The Renaissance Hotel

Second Photographer: Kallyn Boerner

Officiant: Friar Steve Patti

Bride’s Dress: Sottero & Midgley, bought at Elegant Bridal

Bridesmaid Dresses: David’s Bridal

Groom & Groomsmen Clothing: Vera Wang, bought at Men’s Wearhouse

Florist: Whole Foods

Dessert: Edible Art in North Hills

Catering: Renaissance Hotel

Invitations: Michaels

DJ: 1st Choice Customized DJ’s- Rodney Holmes

Transportation: A Formal Affair Limos

The post Sarah + Stephen | Renaissance Hotel Wedding | Raleigh Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

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

Photography Assistant: Katy Folk

Ceremony Venue: Wake County Justice Center

Reception Venue:  Nana’s of Durham

Accommodations: Washington Duke Inn

The post Amy + Conan | Raleigh Courthouse Wedding | Raleigh Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.

Beth + Anthony tied the knot on June 12, 2015 at Edenton Street United Methodist Church and the City Club. This fun couple wanted to celebrate their love for Raleigh, and they couldn’t have picked a better venue to show off the City of Oaks. The top-floor panoramic view of the State Capitol was stunning.

Read the Q&A with Beth + Anthony below to learn more about this sweet couple and their fun Raleigh wedding. And to view all of the photos from Beth + Ant’s wedding and order prints, please visit their wedding gallery on my online print shop!

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1. What are some of your favorite things about your partner? How were these attributes expressed during or leading up to your wedding?

Anthony told me every day that I was amazing and he couldn’t believe all that I was doing. That made me feel confident in all of my/our decisions, and he just let me go full-force Beth throughout the whole process.

2. What was most important to you in planning your wedding?

Our goal was to show our out-of-state family and friends our favorite city, Raleigh, and have an awesome party to celebrate having all of our favorite people in the world in one city and obviously, the first day of our marriage. Therefore, glow sticks and awesome music were essential.

3. Are there any details or moments from your wedding that are particularly special to you? (E.g., you wore your momma’s dress, your partner unexpectedly serenaded you, there was a double rainbow all across the sky…).  

My favorite moment was walking down Fayetteville Street with our family and friends at the end of the night to Common 414, where we had our after party. Everyone was staring and clapping and yelling congratulations. It was awesome.

4. Your wedding package included an engagement session. What was it like to work with me before the wedding day? How did this shape your expectations for the day-of?

We had a two-year engagement, so our engagement session and wedding were scheduled about a year apart. I really learned a lot at the engagement session because I had no idea how awkward I would be and comfortable Anthony would be when taking pictures. We love your style and how you just let us be us. We knew that the wedding day would be smooth sailing because we anticipated you letting things happen naturally and being cool.

5. Now that you’ve tied the knot (and survived!), what advice would you give to other folks planning their wedding?

I think the best thing that we did was space out the planning steps based on what worked for us in terms of finances and time. Also, a couple’s massage sounded like a really good idea one week before the wedding, until I had an allergic reaction to the oils. I don’t recommend doing that. Regardless of what happens leading up to and on the wedding day, you’ll be married at the end of the day and that’s all that really matters.

6. What is the first thing you want to do with the images? Wallpaper the hallway? Internet fame?

We received so many frames as gifts. They are all empty all throughout our apartment, which looks very strange. We need to fill them!

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

A week in Punta Cana following the wedding was amazing; we would love if we could go back there. Anthony and I are pretty much back to reality, but in the future we want to start a family, buy a house, travel the world, and basically hang out with each other as much as possible.

8. Anything else you’d like to add?

We are so thankful for you Courtney. You are perfect, and we are so thankful that you captured our super fancy wedding event in a real and authentic way. Thank you for keeping it real! We love you!

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Beth + Ant, thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of your day (and your two-year engagement!) I have been anticipating your wedding ever since we spoke in 2013, and I’m so glad the day finally came! You and your families were are so welcoming and wonderful- thank you for making my job easy! I hope you love your pictures!

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

Photography Assistant: Ashton Songer

Coordinator: Rebecca Naderman, City Club Raleigh

Minister: Greg Moore, All Saints’ United Methodist Church

Bride’s Dress: Monique Lhuillier

Shoes: Badgley Mischka

Bridesmaid Dresses: Wtoo by Watters

Groomsmen Clothing: Black by Vera Wang

Florist: Victorian Seasons

Dessert: Cinda’s Creative Cakes

Invites: Lindsay Burns

DJ: Jason Huggins, Stylus S.E.

Transportation: White Horse

Lodging: Sheraton Raleigh Hotel

Bridal Party Makeup & Hair: The Makeup Team

The post Beth + Anthony | Downtown Raleigh Wedding | Raleigh Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.