The Atrium is the sweetest secret garden venue right in the heart of downtown Wilmington, and Allison & Charlie decided on that spot to have their wedding ceremony. It was the perfect fit for them and their family as they said their I-do’s surrounded in greenery and old brick walls. These two are the most ideal kind of couple to work with – they were fun, they were insanely laid back and completely comfortable with me. We actually met because I was bartending a shift downtown (shoutout to Ironclad Brewery!) and Allison & Charlie came in while they were in the middle of touring wedding venues. They stopped in for a beer and we ended up getting to talking about their wedding and BOOM – a few months later, here we are at their wedding day! So, I have a few favorite parts that we HAVE to talk about. First of all, instead of doing a traditional “first look” where the bride and groom see each other for the first time before the ceremony, Allison had a brilliant idea. We decided that we’d tell Charlie that Allison was nervous and needed to see him before the ceremony to calm her nerves, and he immediately agreed to our change of plan, no problem at all. We put him outside to wait for Allison to come up behind him, and then, instead of sending Allison all beautiful and ready to go in a wedding gown, we sent her brother… in a wedding gown. To sum up: hilarity ensued. They also ended up having their wedding in the middle of downtown, in the middle of the yearly street festival, Riverfest. It was loud and obnoxious and made for difficult parking – but when you plan a wedding that weekend, YOU GO WITH IT! We could distantly hear Sublime playing in the background of their ceremony, and Allison thought it was perfect for them. When we went out for portraits of the two of them, Allison bolted off right into the middle of the festival. The entire crowd around the music stage burst into applause and cheered them on, it was honestly so fun. Their reception was held at Bakery 105, with a gorgeous outdoor patio for cocktail hour, and the inside was transformed into what Allison called a “FLOWER EXPLOSION”!!! I walked inside and just couldn’t believe my eyes at the head table.…
Read MoreBluewater Grill Wedding Photography | Christina & Craig
One of the best parts about my job is getting to document wedding days of people that I know and love. I’ve known Craig and Christina for awhile now, Craig is one of my best friends’ older brothers. These two have ALWAYS made me feel like a part of their family, including inviting me over for Christmas since all of my family is back in Ohio. I remember when Craig started dating Christina, and we were SO excited because he’s deserved a girl like her for so long now. I’m so happy that they found each other, and I’m so happy to have been able to be a part of their wedding day. Christina and Craig tied the knot at the absolutely stunning St. Mary’s Church in downtown Wilmington. After that we took their GIANT bridal party and adventured all over Wilmington, stopping for photos at Hugh McRae Park, Airlie Gardens, and ending at Wrightsville Beach. They arrived at the reception via private boat, TALK ABOUT AN ENTRANCE! Their reception at Bluewater Grill was nothing short of beautiful – an ice sculpture, a live painter, flowers everywhere. This family has a way of making you feel right at home, and their wedding was no exception. I’m so excited to see what comes next! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography Ceremony: St. Mary’s Church Reception venue: Bluewater Grill Getting Ready Location: Hotel Ballast Florist: Fiore Fine Flowers Coordinator: Shauna Loves Planning DJ: Eyecon Entertainment HMUA: Meraki beauty Cake: Imaginary Cakes Dress: Camille’s Rentals: Party Suppliers Live Painter: Tesh Parekh
Read MoreTopsail Island Beach Wedding Photography | Johnna & Rob
You know what the best kinds of weddings are? Beach house weddings. And you know what’s even better than a beach house wedding? One with only 30 guests. Johnna and Rob had planned to have their wedding on the East Coast for quite some time now, and ended up moving out to southern California before they got to have their wedding. They decided to continue with the plans to do a beautiful beachside wedding in North Carolina anyway, and invited only their immediate family and closest friends. These are the kinds of weddings I live for. It’s small, intimate, and casual. Most of the guests all stayed in the same beach house all week, getting to spend most of their time in town with the happy couple. The day of the wedding, everyone got ready in the same house, and then walked across the street to watch Johnna & Rob say their “I do’s” with a short & sweet ceremony. For the reception, they had one long family style table decorated with simple and elegant decor, where they enjoyed a delicious meal together, and then danced the night away when they were done. It’s such a nice change of pace from working 200-person weddings to getting to actually connect and have fun with a group like this. Johnna & Rob were able to spend their entire day with all the people they love most, and had the time of their lives. Congratulations to these two!! Next time I’m back in California, expect to be hearing from me!! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography Venue: Topsail Island Beach House Planner: Brandy Lawson, High Cotton Events by Design Catering: Harley, Poor Piggys BBQ DJ: Jason, Absolute Best DJ Service Rentals: L&L Tent Rentals & Sales, LLC
Read MoreIronclad Brewery Wedding Photography | Jen & Paul
Jen & Paul got married at the end of August at the beautiful and industrial Ironclad Brewery. They had a sweet ceremony on the stage downstairs, followed by a reception that involved some delicious local craft beer and a whooooole lot of dancing with their closest family and friends. They spent the day making me laugh so hard my face actually hurt when I went home. Every detail was perfect and so THEM. I wish every single wedding could go as smoothly and be as much fun as this wedding was. I could probably gush on and on about these two for many more paragraphs, but instead I’m just going to share a bunch of my favorite images from their big day! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography Venue: Ironclad Brewery Coordinator: Jennifer Wilson, Belle Ame Events DJ-:Joey Hall Florist: Verzaal’s Florist Catering: Mission BBQ
Read MoreIronclad Brewery Wedding Photography | Anna & Daniel
I actually met Anna & Daniel when I was bartending one random weekend at Ironclad Brewery (a rare occurrence when we were actually open to the public instead of closed for a wedding). They came in to hang out and chat with our amazing events manager, Rachel, about their wedding day. We got to talking and then once they learned that I was also a wedding photographer, I think all three of us realized that I needed to be there on their wedding day. Sometimes you just click with a couple, and this was exactly that. These two are so much fun, so sweet, so kind, and just so easy to be around. Their wedding day was no different – beautiful blush details up against the gorgeous background of the industrial Ironclad Brewery brick walls. We may have sweat our butts off taking photos during the day, but it was worth it. My favorite part of the day was heading out to the rooftop of the parking garage downtown for sunset, when we got up there, it was extremely cloudy with no chance of sunset colors in site – and then while we were just taking a quiet moment to ourselves up there, the sky lit up in bright pink and orange. I love it when we luck out like that!! Thank you to both of you for having me be a part of your wedding day, I really couldn’t ask for better couples. Now try looking through these photos without a giant smile on your face, because it just won’t happen! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography DJ: Shawn Booth by Active Entertainment Florist: A Beautiful Event by Wendy Wright Coordinator: Jennifer Wilson, Belle Ame Events Ceremony: First Christian Church Reception Venue: Ironclad Brewery
Read MoreIronclad Brewery Wedding Photography | Tesla & Bobby
Tesla and Bobby got married in May, and had a wedding reception in downtown Wilmington at the always beautiful Ironclad Brewery about a month later with all of their closest family and friends. It was casual, fun, and easily one of the best dance parties I have ever seen at a wedding. Because they had already had their ceremony a month previously, Tesla and Bobby were able to completely enjoy spending the entire night with their guests, which is such a luxury that not everyone gets in the busy hustle and bustle of a full wedding day! I had so much fun snapping candid photos and laughing the whole night as they all danced the night away, thank you both for including me in your wedding day! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography Venue: Ironclad Brewery DJ: Wall 2 Wall Entertainment Rentals: L& L Tent & Party Rentals Catering: Thyme Savor Catering
Read MoreBrooklyn Arts Center Wedding Photography | Kristin & Bryan
Bryan and Kristin got married a two weekend ago at the always stunning Brooklyn Arts Center in downtown Wilmington, NC. They had their ceremony outside on the back patio, followed by a reception inside the large church. They had a band called EnVision provide their reception music, and it honestly felt more like being at a concert with your friends than at a wedding – and I mean that in a GREAT way. Kristin is the kind of person whose energy literally bounces around the entire room and makes every person around her feel infected with joy. She laughed her entire way through their ceremony, and Bryan just couldn’t take his eyes off of her the entire day. These are the kind of people who make me believe in genuine love. Their friends and family were so kind and supportive, I can’t tell you how many times someone came up to me and thanked me for being there and constantly telling me how great of a job I was doing. No wonder Kristin and Bryan were so happy – not only have they found each other, but they’re surrounded by such a genuine group of humans that will absolutely be there for them through anything. I’m so grateful to be a part of weddings like this. I can’t say much more without getting WAY too sentimental – so just go look at the photos from this beautiful day filled with SO MUCH LOVE!!!! PS – note the dress change at the end and enjoy the SPARKLE!!! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography Videographer: Chris Rodarte Officiant: Sandy Powell Planner: Belle Ame Events Hair: Carlee Clement & Nicole Makeup: Rhiana Amber Rentals: Party Suppliers Catering: Aramark Florals: Fiore Fine Flowers Entertainment: EnVision Ceremony & Cocktail Music: Global DJ Transportation: Wilmington Trolley Company
Read MoreWrightsville Beach & Bluewater Grill Wedding Photography | Ashley & Kevin
I had the lucky job of spending the day with Ashley and Kevin as they said their vows to each other on an absolutely perfect and sunny May afternoon at Wrightsville Beach. Their ceremony was the sweetest beach front setup, followed by a reception at the always beautiful (and delicious) Bluewater Grill. Ashley and Kevin incorporated theses fun and artistic details into their wedding day like a hand drawn (by Kevin) and watercolor painted (by Ashley) emblem with their initials on it that they had on their invitations, on their stamps, and even on their cups at the reception! Their seating chart at the reception was one of my favorites as well, with individual hand painted names written on shells from the beach. I love working with brides (or grooms!) that have an art background, it really shows in the tiny little details of the day and it makes it so fun for me to capture!! Another fun thing they did was bury a bottle of bourbon (that isn’t even being release for another two years) one month before their wedding date at their ceremony site and dug it up right after the reception. Southern folklore says that if you bury a bottle of bourbon at the site where the bride and groom are to be married it won’t rain on their wedding day. According to many believers, this must be done exactly one month before the wedding, the bottle must be completely full, and it must be buried upside down to ensure maximum weather persuasion. These two were a blast to work with and their dance party all night was so FUN to watch – they used glow stick foam bats for their grand exit at the end of the night but they brought them out on the dance floor before that, which really made for some hilarious pictures. Also, bonus, they made their getaway out onto a boat! I can say that one’s a first for me! So unique! I’m so happy to have gotten to be a part of their day – wishing you two forever love and happiness together!! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography 2nd Photographer: Erin Allenczy Videographer: Farmer Visuals Planner: Heather, Port City Event Planning Ceremony: Wrightsville Beach Reception Venue: Bluewater Grill DJ: Active DJ Florist: Port City Event Planning Hair & Makeup: Deanne Harvey Cake: Swanky Sweets Jewelry: Freya and Light…
Read MoreIronclad Brewery Wedding Photography | Jamie & David
Jamie and David got married on a gorgeous May afternoon in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina at Ironclad Brewery. These two were so sweet and calm and Jamie was one of the most organized brides I’ve ever had, and I mean that as the BIGGEST compliment. They put together an absolutely stunning wedding day at the most beautiful venue. Ironclad is perfect for weddings, a huge industrial building covered in brick walls, wood floors, and of course, delicious homemade beer. What I loved most about Jamie and David’s wedding ceremony was that instead of doing something like a sand ceremony, they did it with beer. So unique and so fun! They danced the night away with their closest friends and their families, and they even let me sneak them away to go hang out on a rooftop nearby for some sunset portraits – an absolute must-do you if can make it happen at your wedding! I’m so thankful to have been a part of their wedding day, and so happy to work with such amazing vendors. Wilmington is a magical place in the wedding industry. Congrats, Jamie and David!!!! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography Venue: Ironclad Brewery Florist: Verzaal’s Florist Dress: Camille’s of Wilmington Catering: Middle of the Island Hair & Makeup: Kreashenz Salon + Spa and Anna W Lee
Read MoreBrooklyn Arts Center Wedding Photography | Jenni & Drew
On a perfectly warm and perfectly sunny day in May, Jenni and Drew tied the knot in downtown Wilmington, North Carolina at the Brooklyn Arts Center. Every single detail was perfectly planned out and everything came together SO beautifully. Jenni and Drew are a couple that are just filled with fun and laughter, it’s kind of hard to not just absolutely adore them. That was clear by the way their friends and family supported them. What a fun bridal party, what a sweet family. I’m so grateful for couples like these two, and I’m so happy to live in a town that has such gorgeous backdrops for photos. Thanks to everyone who came together to make this day possible! Now go look at all 97 photos that I picked out to share with you guys because I couldn’t choose any less!!! – Allison Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography Coordinator: Chandler Russell, Design Perfection Florist: Design Perfection Venue: Brooklyn Arts Center Catering: Middle of the Island Cake: One Belle Bakery Band: Emerald Empire Band Hair & Makeup: Kreashenz Rentals: L&L Rentals Officiant: A Wedding Ministry
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