When Krystal and Dave chose me to photograph their wedding I knew that it was going to be a great fit. They are getting married on October 2, 2009 at the Angus Barn Pavilions and told me that they loved my photographs because they were very genuine and everyone always looked like they are having a lot of fun. I knew that I really wanted to work with them when I realized how outgoing they were and that they had a great sense of humor. One thing I found very amusing was that they refer to themselves as “Team Awesome” and give other couples team names and challenge them to board games, drinking games etc.
A bit of a back story… Dave grew up in England and New Jersey and Krystal likes to call him a “star” because he has boxes of trophies from his track star days and is a rockstar on his “air guitar!” He went to NC State for computer science and is now a software engineer. Krystal grew up in Arizona and Colorado and shared with me that her school days were filled with the debate team and Model United Nations and that she volunteered at animal shelters. She also went to NC State where I got a bachelors and masters in economics and has been a financial risk analyst for the last 3 years.
We started talking a bit about wine so I suggested that we shoot their engagement session at an authentic North Carolina winery. They told me that they had actually met through a mutual friend at a wine festival and soon developed “crushes” for each other. I told them that we HAD TO find one to shot at! They told me that their first date they started asking the standard “interview questions” and found out that they had a lot in common. Krystal’s mom raises seeing eye dogs for a living and when she found out that Dave’s mom ALSO raised seeing eye dogs they knew that it was meant to be.
As with many couples I work with, they LOVE their pets and traveling together. On the way to the engagement session they told me that they have two dogs named Cooper and Jasmine (which they like to go camping with) and 2 cats Scout and Monty ( Inigo Montoya ). I asked them “You mean ‘Inigo Montoya’ as in ‘The Princess Bride?’” They both said “Yes!” and we both proceeded to start quoting the movie. I told them that I’ve been waiting for the day that one of my weddings would feature vows that started with “Love… sweet love… is what brings us together today.” They concurred that it would be quite cool.
The location that we shot their engagement session was at the Hinnant Family Vineyards. They were kind enough to provide us with a tour, where we learned about success of their winery North Carolina. They’ve actually won quite a few awards and are one of the top NC wine vineyarrds. I was quite impressed with the bottle they provided us for the shoot. Thank you! I actually went to a get together with some friends (for their new home) just last night and decided to pick up a few bottles of Hinnant as a house warming gift. It was a big success. Hinnant Vineyards also hosts weddings at their location and I hope to photograph their soon! They are located about a half hour south of Raleigh which gave me plenty of time to really get to know Krystal and Dave. They shared with me their proposal story which was quite sweet and unique!
Dave had planned out the proposal to perfection which involved meeting for dinner, attending a play, and then when they got home he would have roses all over the house and pop the question. But that day his car broke down and it was raining. So he took the day off of work and walked in the rain to several flower shops near our place to get roses. He took the bus downtown to meet Krystal for dinner and everything worked out ok in the end! Krystal told me that she was finding roses stashed around the house for days after. Kind of like an Easter egg hunt but only better!
I can honestly tell that these two really love each other and are really close their family. Their secret to a great relationship is doing those the little things that show each other how they feel.
2 comments