K&K Wedding at The Museum of Life and Science in Durham NC

A queer forward wedding at The Museum of Life and Science in Durham, what could be cooler?!

Roaming with the Dinosaurs: Museum of Life and Science

As you step onto the dinosaur path at the museum, you are instantly transported back in time to an era where these magnificent creatures roamed the earth. The path is lined with towering replicas of various dinosaurs, each meticulously crafted to immerse visitors in an awe-inspiring experience.
The air is filled with a sense of wonder and excitement as children and adults alike marvel at the lifelike exhibits, their imaginations running wild as they envision these prehistoric beasts in their prime. The path is designed to lead visitors through different periods of the Mesozoic era, providing a comprehensive overview of the diverse range of dinosaurs that once inhabited our planet.

Portraits on the walking path at the Museum of Life and Science

Suit by The Tailory NYC

Dinosaur cufflinks as a nod to the Museum

A rainbow two piece outfit for the Bride

When booking a wedding at The Museum of Life and Science you have access to the Butterfly House for portraits AND Cocktail hour. Your guests will love strolling through the butterflies and plants with a cocktail!

The Butterfly house makes an excellent backdrop for ceremonies

Queer Love at the Museum at sunset!

A Bubble exit or a Bubble ‘last’ Dance is a fun way to incorporate color and fun for unique images on your wedding day.

B & L wedding at Windy Hill Farm, Cedar Grove NC

I was so excited to be a part of B&L’s wedding. The time I had spent meeting them and then making pizza for their engagement photos really allowed me to get to know them.

They are both beautiful people, and I couldn’t wait to meet their family and friends. Windy Hill Farm in Cedar Grove NC was their chosen venue, and it did not disapoint!

Between the gorgeous outdoor spaces and the beautiful observatory, I was in photographer heaven!

Check out Windy Hill if you are looking for a beautiful outdoor venue space. The options there are endless!

Looking to book a photographer, well head over to my inquiry page! Here!

Queer Photography in Durham

If you are Queer, LGBTQAI+, or Trans looking for a wedding team or a photographer can feel intimidating. Having to reach out to venues and vendors to ask if they will work with you shouldn’t be how you have to start planning your wedding.

Queer couple laughing and holding hands in Durham Nc

By hiring a Queer photographer and other LGBTQ celebratory vendors, you’ll never have to worry about that.

I have been working with Queer couples in Durham, Raleigh and around North Carolina for 5 years now. As a Queer photographer, it is important for me to be able to work with vendors who I also feel comfortable with and can suggest to my clients.

I will share some of my favorite LGBTQ Celebratory vendors in Durham, and some of the venues I have worked with in the triangle.

Your Queer wedding should feel gay! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Queer wedding party at the Mathews house

Queer celebratory Florists

Clear Black Flowers Does DIY buckets of seasonal flowers. If you or your family and friends are into the idea of arranging, this is an amazing option!

Pine State Flowers specializes in fresh local flowers. They Have made some stunning floral instalments that I’ve been lucky enough to photograph.

Blossom and Bone Florals This Lovely, eclectic shop in downtown durham produces bright and colorful bouquets and arrangements.

Bridal boutiques

Juniper James Bridal take a trip to the mountains and check out this beautiful wedding boutique. Their mission? Equality and Representation.

Venues

The Cookery A unique venue just outside Downtown Durham.

The Mathews House A lovely place in Cary with beautiful vintage interior spaces.



My favorite Queer Durham photographer, well thats me! Let’s chat!

Get in touch

Queer couple laughing at The Durham in NC

This is by no means a complete list, If you are a vendor and you’d like to work together in the future, please contact me!

Elopements and Intimate weddings, the next big thing.

Hello Clients and friends!

I hope everyone is holding up as best they can through this stressful time. I’ve been finding solace in gardening and spending extra time with my pets and partner. 

Some of you have had to go through the process of rescheduling your wedding dates already. I am so sorry for any disappointment or additional stress that has caused. I look forward to seeing you at a later date though.

I wanted to take this time to talk a little bit about elopements. As this time is so uncertain and the summer and fall feels like it could be back to normal or the opposite, I think it's important for you all to know your options!

So what is an elopement? Traditionally speaking, it was when two people would run away to get married. This was generally because of disapproval from family or community. However, elopements have now become a hugely loved and common type of ceremony!

Your elopement might look like just the two of you and your photographer (me!) or maybe you have an officiant and a few friends join you. You can even have everyone join via video streaming!

So why Elopements? In normal times, I often suggest elopements because they are intimate. You really get to take it slow on the day of your marriage. You are able to enjoy each other with less distraction and less to do. You will have even more photos of the two of you and...it can be ANYWHERE! Want to get married on a rock in the mountains? In a stream in the woods? On a rooftop at sunset? You can!

In these times I am suggesting elopements because of social distancing. It is hard to imagine being able to do large gatherings in the near future, but you can still have your commitment ceremony, get beautiful photos, and have an adventure. 

But what about our party with friends and family? You can still have this too! Imagine getting married in an intimate ceremony and then next year having a giant party to celebrate! That would be so fun right? As suggested previously, you can always have your family join you via live streaming, or recording if that is important to you. 

Your second option, for those that feel they really couldn’t do it without lots of friends and family, is an Intimate wedding. These are gatherings of under 40, and for now, will need to be held at any outdoor venue. This is a great in between elopement and your originally planned wedding.

So in closing, you have options. 

I’m certainly not pushing elopement on anyone, and I understand that for some, having family and friends present is the most important thing. I also hope that all of your plans will be able to go through without a hitch!

But if you’re feeling adventurous and want to do something unique, consider an elopement and let's chat about it! 

I hope to see you all sooner than later.

tags Durham elopement, Durham wedding, Durham photographer, nc elopement, elopement, intimate wedding, lgbtq elopement, lgbtq wedding.

Heteronormativity in the Wedding industry

Ok, so let’s talk wedding biz.

I’ll be honest, the wedding industry is a bit new to me. I’ve always been a planner and have always wanted a front seat in wedding duties for my friends. But the all encompassing vendor side of wedding was, somewhat unfamiliar.

I immediately started noticing that everything was based on the ‘traditional’ model of Bride and Groom. Male and Female. everything from wedding contracts to decorations had single running thread through it, he and she.

The verbiage that surrounds weddings is inherently heteronormative. We’ve recently grown to add ‘Bride and Bride’ or Groom and Groom’ and I guess thats a small step forward. But what about all of our other clients? Have you ever stopped to ask someone you are working with what their preferred pronouns are? Or have you considered how hurtful it might be to see a ‘Mr. and Mrs.’ sign in the venue?

Most of us havnt’t stopped to consider that the language we use everyday, but especially surrounding something as important as a wedding, is integral. We need to be moving towards inclusive verbiage, and to be having identity positive conversations with our clients.

The LGBTQ+ community is not a niche market to be cornered or thought of as a separate entity from our ‘traditional’ wedding industry. Love is love in all its unique facets, and we, as photographers, planners, florists and guests are all here to celebrate just that, LOVE.

JV & Joey

They/Them & He/Him

Styled shoot January ‘19

Florals - Folie a Deux Events

Lgbtq non binary couple holding hands in windswept garden
Couple stands holding a ‘His’ and a ‘Theirs’ decorated name place
lgbtq non binary couple pops a bottle of champagne

The Fruit Durham Warehouse Wedding

When River and Adam asked me to shoot their wedding portraits I was really excited.

Knowing them both as creatives and through art I had a feeling it would be something really different.

Adam is a visual artist and part of the DJ visual show Body Games. River is a maker and educator and creator of Riv Tak. Definitely check out both their work.

They decided on ‘the blue room’ at the Durham Fruit, which was also where their wedding would take place a week later. The Durham Fruit is a warehouse turned art space. It is used for theater, photography, dance and other live events. Although it has bee brought up to legal code, it is still very raw and gritty.

I have never had the opportunity to shoot wedding portraits outside of the wedding day. Usually my time with the couples is limited, and often there’s a feeling of hurry! or that we need to get back to the guests. This experience was so different. It was relaxed, low key and so much fun.

We spend hours in different spots in the warehouse, listening to music and laughing. And the result, as you’ll see, was absolutely stunning.

Congratulations to you my friends, your partnership is inspiring and your love infectious.

Full Image Gallery here http://shootwithbliss.pic-time.com/-riveradam

Venue-Durham Fruit and Produce http://www.durhamfruit.com

Dress- Riv Tak http://www.rivtak.com

Florals- Hana Lee https://www.hanaleenc.com

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My first photograph

When I traveled to Europe last September I didn't really know what I was getting myself into. I don't say that in an ominous way, it was actually quite relieving to not know what was going to happen. 

It was a hard trip for me, I grew immensely in ways I am still discovering 9 months later. I was incredibly uncomfortable until I set foot in Belgium. 

I arrived in Brussels and walked out of the train station. I had come from Italy on an overnight train through Paris. The French police had woken us at 2:30 am to return our passports and non of us went back to bed. So, I was tired, I'd been stuck in a tiny room with two other women for 10 hours. 

I walked outside the train station and the first thing I noticed was the stillness of it. There are three taxis and a few people leaving the station in a quiet orderly manor. I had come from the south of Europe. when you exit a train station there are people yelling, cabs racing by, smells from food vendors and bright buildings. 

The second thing I notice, everything was grey. It was like a bad photo preset. The greens were muted, everything had a blue cast to it and the sky was completely lacking in color. 

I hailed a cab and typed in the address to my google maps. I always did this so I could tell if they were taking me the wrong route. Immediately the driver turns the opposite way out of the station. I let the first mister go. After 15 minutes of driving he  ends up at a dead end, turns around and straight into gridlock. I can see that my airbnb is just across the river behind us but there are only footpaths. (hence why he should have gone the other way initially)

Pissed, tired and with a shoot to do in less than an hour at my airbnb, I hope out of the cab, grab my giant suitcase and take off on foot. 

Now if you've never been to Belgium or outside of its city center, let me tell you, Its sketchy as hell. There's lots of construction, changing neighborhoods, abandoned blocks and creepy men. Anyway, after dragging my suitcase through the road, kind of sidewalks and gravel, I arrive at my Airbnb. Even though the road had been rough, I already loved this place. 

On the second day there I was scheduled to shoot Oliviar. I knew I wanted to try a milk bath in the giant tub at the airbnb. He had said he was up for anything so I figured he'd dig it. I had to walk about a mike to the nearest grocery. I think they though I was crazy buying six containers of milk and some clementines with the stems still on. 

I got back to the apartment and set up for the shoot. Later that evening as I was standing on the tub shooting, I thought to myself, 'Wow, you put a lot of work into this and look how it paid off.' It was my first moment of absolute proudness. I was proud of myself for putting it together, executing it, and for being here, in another country by myself at all.

This was my first. 

A Black man lies immersed in a milk bath

Peruvian Wedding

About two months after purchasing my first camera I was invited to accompany a friend to Peru for a wedding. 

I didn't have much experience shooting, but I've always had a pretty good eye for what makes a good photo. I was so excited to shoot the landscape of Peru!

I soon found out that the bride and groom had not made any arrangements to have a professional photographer at their wedding. I stepped up and offered to document the day. 

I recently re visited these images from three years ago and decided to re edit the bunch. Although I wish I could go back with the knowledge I have now, I would never trade the experience. 

Bridal and Wedding

I'm excited to announce I'll be booking Bridal and Wedding Packages through 2018 at a discounted rate!

I want to fill up every minute of my booking schedule. So if you've waited to book, you're actually in luck. I have several dates open and am willing to travel! I love elopements, destinations and courthouse weddings.

Don't miss out on commemorating this important day in your life. 

 

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