RALEIGH WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER | ST. PATRICK'S DAY WEDDING | SARAH AND PATRICK

st. paddy's day awesomeness

This past weekend was AMAZING. Let's recap for a sec...

My 6-year played soccer in a championship game and was ecstatic to win a trophy. He now sleeps with it.
I turned 37 on Saturday (St. Paddy's Day birthday, holllla!) and according to my Dad, I am now officially an adult.
Oh yeah, this teeny tiny little thing about Sarah and Patrick... ;)

YOU GUYS!!!!! I can't even tell you how many times through out their wedding day I said, "This is so incredibly detailed and beautiful, I feel like I'm at a styled shoot but it's for REALS!!!!" It was incredible, for sure!

Sarah and Patrick were meant for each other, no questions asked. If you want more on their background story, feel free to pop on over to see their engagement photos and read all about how their life got flipped and turned upside down (and if you sang that part while reading it, props to you). Their Irish Heritage was soooo apparent through out the whole day, and not just because they were married on St. Patrick's Day! It was a day full of tears, laughs, hugs, and lots of dancing. It. Was. Perfect.

the deets

Here are just a few of the amazing details brought to life by Sarah, Patrick, and their extraordinary team of family, friends, and vendors:

During the ceremony, they had a hand-fasting tradition of them LITERALLY tying the knot. Each color represented something amazing.
They said their vows and took an oath to each other while placing their hands on a river rock which was taken from the waterfall in Asheville where Patrick proposed to Sarah back in the fall.
When guests sat down at the ceremony, there was a river rock for them to hold. Once the ceremony was complete, they placed it back into a container which Sarah and Patrick will keep at their home.
There was a table specifically to remember both Sarah and Patrick's fathers, who have both passed, along with other family members who were there in spirit.
Sarah's bouquet was not only handmade, but the lavender (which represents good luck) was bound together by a cuff made from a shirt that was Sarah's late father's. It was also her something blue.
Not only did Patrick and Sarah have a super delicious wedding cake, they also had St. Patrick's Day looking cookies that were created and decorated by one of her bridesmaids.
Sarah's theme was more of a whimsical woodland feel, and boy did she deliver! She wore a headband of leather twine and leaves, her engagement ring and band look like silver pieces of wood, and her bridesmaids carried bouquets of pussy willows with copper lanterns and had flower wreaths atop their heads like woodland fairies.
There was driftwood that adorned the large reception tables, placed between candles and on top of homemade table runners made from the pages of books from favorite authors. There was an old typewriter, oil lanterns, velvet couches, and more details than I can count!