January 27, 2023

Spending the afternoon with Rachel and Rob felt like hanging out with old friends. On their elopement day, there was not an ounce of anxious energy. They were confident in their love for each other and they were confident in me as their photographer, allowing me to have creative freedom to capture their day as it unfolded and to pause for small, less obvious moments that I thought needed to be remembered and celebrated.

We started in their room at the newly renovated Greystone Inn for a few getting ready photos and then made our way down to the lobby, where we did the first set of portraits. It wasn't on the agenda for the day to stop there but when I saw the grand piano and how beautifully arranged the room was, I knew I would regret it if we didn't! It is so lovely when new management shows respect for the character of old estates by maintaining the old architecture and carefully adding new embellishments that are complimentary but don't outshine the original details. That timeless elegance was exactly what Rachel and Rob wanted for their elopement!

The four of us (Rachel, Rob, my second shooter, and I) walked a few blocks down to the courthouse for their official ceremony. It was a true elopement that was kept top secret from friends and family. My second shooter and I were their witnesses and later they used our photos to announce their news. Within 5-10 minutes, they were married! I've been a part of over 200 weddings and very few compare to the way elopements make me feel. Just a couple declaring their love, nothing more.

Then it was time for a drink! We walked to The Blind Elephant, a speakeasy downtown, for a few portraits and a place to relax for a bit. It's one of their favorite bars and luckily they had a connection that allowed us to sneak in before they opened. We had the place to ourselves! It was the perfect way to include a few cocktail hour / reception / late night kinda photos in their gallery without the fuss of throwing a party.

We wrapped things up downtown and drove to the south end at Wrightsville Beach where we continued with the last of their portraits. When Rachel and I were planning out the events of the day, she mentioned that Rob really wanted beach photos. It's not often that a groom makes wedding requests so of course, we added it to the timeline - and I'm so glad we did! It wasn't just the sunset that made these two glow. Their excitement and energy was so incandescent that you would never know it was 45*F with a strong beach wind and damp sand making it feel much colder. With these photos, I wanted to shoot a mix of grand, sophisticated portraits and unstaged, effortless moments. I had them chasing each other like kids and the playfulness very much reminded me of Noah and Allie from The Notebook, making these shots some of my favorites from their day

Being their photographer was truly a privilege.