Their friends said it would never last. “The Break” that is. They said it would never last.
No way. No way Karen and Marshall would actually be able to live without one another. Not after the two years and seven months they’d shared together. The plays they had worked on. The bad meals Marshall had lovingly attempted to cook (and the many cooking lessons Karen had offered…). Not after all those 8 and 10 hour “lets hang out” sessions while they were students at Duke. Not after all they had been through. But if artists must know suffering to produce their art (and Karen and Marshall are both in love with the theater) . . . well then “the break” might have inspired some pretty amazing plays. Plays that would have had titles like “I can’t eat when you’re not around” and “I feel sick when you talk about dating someone else” and “You’re still the only one I want to call” and “I think I just realized there isn’t anyone else in the whole world for me but you.”
Friends like Laurie, whom they both knew from different plays they worked on, helped them navigate “the break”. She knew Karen and Marshall were supposed to be together forever – so did everyone else. Then one day Karen and Marshall woke up, and wandered across all those miles they’d put between them (Karen at home in NC, Marshall as far away as Russia) and stumbled back in to eachother’s space and both said simply, quietly, “I don’t want to live without you.”
And in the beautiful way God ties everything in to circles, on September 4th 2011, Laurie put Karen’s hand in Marshall’s under the chauppah and they agreed that they would never have to be on a “break” ever again.
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Getting Ready
Just a few buildings apart, Karen and Marshall spent time with the friends who would stand beside them (like they always had) and got ready for the Big Day. Karen’s bridesmaids were prepared – bringing an Ipad loaded with a game that kept Karen’s nerves focused purely on taking out a few video game zombies. The guys found some entertainment of their own . . . at a cat show. (redacted: inappropriate joke about “chasing tail”).
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Jennifer from Make-Up For Your Day helped everyone feel relaxed as she handled the hair and makeup for all of the girls. She did an excellent job at making everyone look natural but beautiful.
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While the girls were calmly and quietly finishing up their makeup, I dashed across the apartment complex and helped the guys get ready. For as calm and peaceful as the girls were, the guys were almost the complete opposite. (Maybe it was because Marshall didn’t have a zombie Ipad game to play?). After a little struggle with the boutineers and cuff links (I had to put the camera down and help the guys out) we caught our breath, found our chill, and grabbed a few shots outside.
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Minutes later I was back with the girls just as the dress was coming out of the bag. Every woman in the room took a deep breath, made sure they didn’t have makeup on their fingers, and then reached out for a quick, light touch of all the gorgeous detail work on Karen’s dress.
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The Ceremony
Before we knew it, it was time to make the drive from Durham to Downtown Chapel Hill for the ceremony at
La Residence. It seems like I’m forgetting something, oh yeah, have I ever told you about the time I locked my photography gear (and keys!) in the car 30 minutes before a wedding? Yeah. That was this wedding. A stiff wind slammed shut my front door right as I was closing my trunk. Its okay. I went all Kung Fu Panda on that window and shattered the glass. Hey, a girl has to do what a girl has to do . . . and this wedding photographer will never show up late or unprepared.
(Iphone photo of the aftermath)
The great news is, other than Marshall’s awesome sister Melissa who had to witness the break-in, no one else was the wiser and Karen and Marshall’s wedding went off with out a hitch.
Guests gathered on the covered outside patio and a nervous Marshall paced from inside the restaurant to outside with the guests, welcoming everyone and grinning from ear to ear.
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As the ceremony started the excitement in the air became more and more obvious. Friends and family casually laughed and smiled and watched the aisle for Karen’s entrance. The two glasses on the table reminded everyone of the blessing that was to come.
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And when she finally did appear at the end of the aisle, everyone’s breath caught in their throats. Marshall couldn’t wait to wrap her arm in his. Friends and family watched on and blinked back happy tears.
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With a roar of “Mazel Tov!”, Marshall broke the glass and wedding guests jumped to their feet! I was in just the right spot to grab this shot behind Marshall’s Tanta Merna.
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The Reception
After Karen and Marshall exited the ceremony and spent a few moments quiet together, the guests enjoyed a delicious meal by La Residence. I believe several friends were ready to compose great poetic works in celebration of the Southern style Macaroni and Cheese.
With bellies full of food, everyone retreated to the back porch for heartfelt toasts to the new couple. Karen and Marshall both got a good ribbing from their maid of honor and best man for that now infamous “break”.
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With a playlist full of crowd favorites, everyone danced until late in the night.
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Before we knew it, the night was over and Karen and Marshall were off to a honeymoon in Cancun. I loved watching their excited smiles as the held on to each other and ran through their friends and family. All my love to Karen and Marshall and thank you for the honor of doing your wedding photography.
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