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.

Janel and Lenard tied the knot on April 25, 2015 at Brier Creek Country Club in Raleigh, NC. Spring storms couldn’t put a damper on this fun couple’s celebration- inside it was all smiles, even though the rain forced them indoors. To learn more about Janel + Lenard’s wedding inspiration and day, read the Q&A below!

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

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

We met in 2008 at the Aggie/Eagle Football Classic, and Lenard asked me to dance. The first two times I turned him down. But the third time he asked we danced the night away and we are still dancing.

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

Our wedding theme was Simple Elegance, and we envisioned an intimate celebration with close friends and family. We wanted an elegant venue, elegant food, and an elegant affair while keeping it very intimate. The day turned out to be exactly what we had planned. It was a day that we will always cherish.

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

Immediately after the ceremony Lenard and I were ushered into a side room where we were able to take in the moment of us having just said I do. That moment with just him and I were awesome

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

When I first spoke with Courtney and the initial contact we had, I knew right then she was the photographer for us. Lenard and I are very easy going and Courtney’s personality matched perfectly. She was so helpful and easy to talk to. We selected Courtney because we felt that she would tell our story beautifully through her photos.

Some of our guest commented days later: “Your photographer was all over the place!” and that was good news to me.

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

It rained our entire wedding day. However Lenard and I never lost focus. Courtney made taking picture inside and outside of our beautiful venue seamless. We had such a good time with her and her assistant.

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

When we receive the images Lenard and I will sit down and relive our day through Courtney’s eyes before sharing with family and friends.

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

Life before we got married was awesome as we have truly been blessed. The only plans Lenard and I have are to love each other unconditionally everyday regardless of the road ahead.

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Janel + Lenard, thank you so much for inviting me to document your day! Your wedding wasn’t only elegant, it was also tender, joyful, and a blast to photograph. I hope you cherish these photos for years to come!

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

Coordinator: Felicia Moseley Events

Photography Assistant: Katy Folk

Brides’ Dress: Anjolique Bridal

Shoes: David’s Bridal

Bridesmaid Dresses: Savvi Formalwear

Flower Girl Dresses: Flowergirl Dress for Less

Groom’s Clothing: Custom-made

Groomsmen Clothing: Savvi Formalwear

Florist: Fresh Affairs

Dessert: Verdell Williams

Invites & Programs: Corey Tietsma- Total Graphics

DJ: DJ Heavy

The post Janel + Lenard | Brier Creek Country Club Wedding | Raleigh Wedding Photographer appeared first on Courtney Potter Studio.