There are wedding days where, somewhere along the way, everyone seems to exhale.
Carlye and David’s wedding at The Merrimon-Wynne House felt like that.
I already knew these two were going to have a day that felt deeply like them. Last year, I drove down to Florida for their engagement session on St. Pete Beach, and we spent the afternoon wandering the shoreline, laughing between rolls of film and talking about the life they were building together.
By the time their wedding day came around, I wasn’t walking into a room of strangers. There was already trust there. A familiarity. And I think that changes the way a wedding can be photographed.
Because instead of trying to figure out who they were, I could simply pay attention.
Getting ready at The Merrimon-Wynne House
Carlye spent the morning upstairs at Merrimon-Wynne with her mom and her girls while The Bardot finished hair and makeup. Soft light came through those big old windows, people moved in and out of rooms, and the morning had that particular kind of energy where everyone knows something huge is about to happen — but no one needs to rush it there.
I had Portra 800 in my camera for most of the day. I love the way it handles the softness and warmth of spaces like Merrimon-Wynne, but more than anything, I love what shooting film asks of me.
To notice.
To wait.
To make the frame when it actually means something.
I photograph weddings on a mix of digital, 35mm, and 120 film, with Polaroids woven in depending on the story we’re telling. None of it lives separately in the end. It all comes together in one gallery, because your memories weren’t experienced in separate formats, and I don’t think they should feel that way when you get them back.
The people who make a wedding day yours
Before the ceremony even started, their people had completely filled the house.
There was laughter spilling onto the porches, notes being tucked into Carlye’s hands, people checking on David and the boys in the room next door, and all of those tiny interactions happening around the “big” moments that I’m always watching for.
Because a wedding isn’t only about the two people standing at the altar.
It’s also about everyone who helped get them there.
The friends who know the old stories. The parents trying not to cry. The person who notices your champagne is empty. The ones who have loved you separately and are now showing up to love you together.
Those are the photographs that become more important with time.
Why film belongs in the way I photograph weddings
I get asked why I still shoot film when digital gives us so much control.
And I think that’s exactly why I love it.
Film asks me to trust myself.
I can’t look at the back of my camera after every frame. I can’t endlessly overshoot a moment hoping one of the images will feel like something. I have to be present enough to recognize it while it’s happening.
That doesn’t mean I photograph an entire wedding from the sidelines waiting for life to unfold perfectly on its own.
Some moments deserve to be left completely untouched. Others benefit from a little direction, a hand moved here, better light found there, space created for the two of you to actually be together.
That balance between documentary storytelling and intentional editorial portraiture is where I feel most at home.
Carlye wore her dress from The White Closet Bridal with Stuart Weitzman heels that, very reasonably, did not survive the entire night on her feet. Their rings came from Associated Watch & Jewelry, Mavilo Wholesalers, and Gentle Bands.
Beautiful details, absolutely.
But beautiful because they belonged to them.
Carlye + David’s ceremony at Merrimon-Wynne
By the time the ceremony began, the light had started doing that soft, golden thing it does right before evening.
Save the Date Music played as everyone came down the aisle, and David was already emotional before Carlye appeared.
Which told me pretty much everything I needed to know. The rest of the evening unfolded without needing to become anything other than what it was.
Rocky Top Catering fed everyone. The Cupcake Shoppe Raleigh handled cake. There was a Krispy Kreme setup that became increasingly important as the night went on.
And Emerald Empire Band filled the dance floor.
Eventually Carlye’s veil ended up somewhere across the room, the heels were long gone, everyone was sweaty, and nobody cared.
Exactly as it should be.
Being invited into a wedding instead of simply photographing one
There’s a difference between showing up to photograph someone’s wedding and being trusted enough to really step inside of it.
That trust is everything to me.
It’s why I care so much about knowing my couples before the wedding day. It’s why engagement sessions matter to me. It’s why I’ll give you direction when you need it and disappear into the room when you don’t.
I don’t want to spend your wedding day treating you like a shot list.
And I don’t want you spending it wondering what your photographer needs from you next.
Your wedding is a ritual. A vow. A gathering of the people who have carried you through different versions of yourselves and are showing up to witness the beginning of another one.
The photographs should come from that, not pull you away from it.
That’s what Carlye and David gave me the space to create.
From our afternoon together on St. Pete Beach to their wedding at The Merrimon-Wynne House, they trusted me to see them. Not manufacture a version of them that photographed well. Not turn their wedding into a production.
Just see them.
And hand it all back in photographs that, hopefully, will feel even more valuable fifteen years from now than they do today.
I’m based in Wilmington and photograph weddings throughout North Carolina, including Raleigh, as well as wherever my couples’ stories take me. If you’re looking for an NC film wedding photographer and want your wedding to feel like something you get to live, not something you have to perform for the camera, I have a feeling we’ll understand each other.
You can read more about what working together looks like, or reach out when you’re ready to start dreaming up your day together.
Vendor Credits
Coordinator: Wynne Co.
Venue: The Merrimon-Wynne House
Photography: Bri Nicole Photo Co.
Videography: Agape Photo Film
Hair & makeup: The Bardot
Florals: Florals by Heritage
Dress: The White Closet Bridal
Shoes: Stuart Weitzman
Rings: Associated Watch & Jewelry, Mavilo Wholesalers, Gentle Bands
Tuxes: Men’s Wearhouse
Invitation suite: Carlye Hubert, Tog Ink
Band / DJ: Emerald Empire Band
Ceremony strings: Save the Date Music
Catering: Rocky Top Catering
Cake: The Cupcake Shoppe Raleigh
Desserts: Krispy Kreme
Rentals: Curated Events
If you’re planning your wedding day around what truly matters to you, I would love to be the one there for it. See if we’re a good fit here.
x B
