Where do I begin?! Christina and Dan and their friends and family gathered together at a beach house (Fearing Cottage) in Nags Head, NC this past labor day weekend to "eat, drink and be married"!
Earlier in the week, weather reports threatened that hurricane Earl may wipe out the North Carolina's Outer Banks, but Earl's effects were minimal and Sunday turned out to be a perfect day to tie the knot: Everything from the temperature (not too hot, with a nice breeze) to the completely awe-inspiring sky was truly perfection...and Christina and Dan were just too cute for words!
Christina and Dan have been dating for almost seven years and more than half of those have been long distance. Their love is obviously strong! Christina describes them as complementary more than alike. "Our differences allow us to open our minds to another way of looking at the world," She explains. I really could see this after spending the day with the two of them. :)
Ok, I'll let the photos do the talking now! ....
I had so much fun hanging out with Christina and her friends while she was getting ready!! They were all laughing and having so much fun, it was contagious!
While taking the above photo, I noticed one of Christina's friends admiring the teddy bear that would later in the day serve as the "Ring Bear-er". This was the cutest story (and pretty clever I might add). This teddy bear was the first ever gift that Dan gave to Christina and they decided to have the bear hold the rings for them during the ceremony!
Christina was so cute during the whole "getting ready" process! She is a natural beauty and wasn't used to all the fuss :)
It was a team effort to do Christina's hair. Her mother and aunts all lend a hand (below).
The reaction below to seeing Christina in her dress was so priceless!
Dan and Christina see each other for the first time today!
The ring bear-er! (below)
Jeanine and Rachel from Bridal by the Sea did a great job with all the details (below) and they were great to work with as well!
Dan is escorted by his parents, Jane and Paul. (below)
The Ceremony was conducted by one of Dan's childhood friends (Below).
Christina and her parents, Kathy and Joseph (above).
There were two fabulous readings during the ceremony: One by friends of Dan and Christina, Sandra and Chris, the first to introduce the couple to each other (above) and another by Christina's cousins who read a special poem.
Christina and Dan's parents participated in a tree planting ceremony (below). The couple will keep this tree and watch it grow as their relationship grows.
Christina gets the rings from the Ring Bear-er (below) :)
It's official!! ...now what?
The sky was FANTASTIC on Sunday!!
Notice below that one of the brew's offered is "dan's bride-ale brew" a home brew made by the groom in honor of the special day.
Argyles did a great job catering the dinner/cake. My favorite was the risotto spring rolls! They were to die for!
Dan and Christina welcome their guests (above) and share their first dance (below).
During Christina and her father's dance, they invited her mother and brother to join in (below). This was a really touching and sweet moment.
Dan and his mother, Jane (below).
Dan gives a bow after successfully cutting the cake (below).
What's a better way to end a fabulous wedding day than to trash the dress and jump in the pool?!?
Christina and I were going to do a Trash the Dress photo shoot the following day, but at the end of the night, she came up to me to say, "we're jumping in the pool tonight!" I was so excited!! This was the perfect way to end the perfect day and I had so much fun photographing this wet exit!!
I love the photo below because it looks like Dan is walking on water!!
A great end to a great day!! Thank you so much to Dan and Christina (posing below for a "thank you card" photo) for allowing me to be a part of their special day!!! I hope your life has as much fun, energy, love, family, and friends as your wedding day! (and I'm sure it will!) :)
4 comments:
These photographs are so lively.
The best I liked about them is that none of them are posed and that makes it more appealing.
All the best to the couple.
Sarah! Great photos, love the portraits so much, and the jumping in the pool! Awesome!
Sarah - these photos are so beautiful we cannot wait to see more of them in a month or so! I'm so glad you gave us the idea of jumping into the pool, and it was more special as a surprise! It made the night so memorable! There were so many things that I, as the bride, only saw that I wanted to change, but your pictures made me forget all those insignificant moments and really reflect on the emotions that you were able to get through your photos! And you know that Dan loved having your creative, calm nature around and he felt it was meant to be since you are a long-time Phish fan!!
We are humbled by your talent especially since we generally don't take pictures well, we were so lucky to have you on our very special day. We hope to call on you often for the other big moments in our lives!
Christina, thank you SO much for your kind words!!!! It makes me to happy to hear this type of response!! You were a BEAUTIFUL bride and I had so much fun with you both!!! Let me know if I can ever do anything for you guys in the future!!
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