Hannah and Kyle’s Grandover Resort Wedding in Greensboro – North Carolina Documentary Style Wedding Photographer

Back in 2012, I photographed Elissa and Shaul’s wedding outside Asheville, N.C., and we really hit it off. Fast forward to 2016, and her cousin, Hannah, hired me to shoot her and Kyle’s giant wedding-palooza at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro. I love working with their family; their sense of humor made it easy for Alex and I to do our best work on a wedding day full of moving pieces.  Without further ado, Hannah and Kyle take it from here:

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1. What was most important to you in planning your wedding? Creating a personal and memorable experience for our guests. Since the majority of our friends and family came from out of town, we wanted the entire weekend to be a welcoming and enjoyable experience for everyone.

2. What did you learn about yourself and your relationship in the process of planning the wedding? We decided early on as a couple what the “really important” aspects of our wedding would be (photographer, food, band), and learned to trust our instincts. There are a lot of people who enjoy offering up their opinions of what you should or shouldn’t do for your wedding, so it was really important that the two of us shared the same vision and priorities in the planning process. Kyle had a few things that were really important to him, and vice versa, so we advocated for each other and respected the unique elements we each brought to our wedding weekend that made it an authentic representation of both of us.

3. What advice do you have for other couples out there? It is really easy to get swept up in wedding planning and let it consume all of your time and energy, remember for the sake of your relationship and sanity to spend some “non wedding planning” time together to just relax.

4. What was your favorite moment from the day? My favorite moment was in between the ceremony and the reception, Kyle and I got a few minutes to ourselves where we could sit and just be together. The entire day flew by so fast, I loved being able to take the time to pause and just take it all in with my new husband! The favorite moment of the day for Kyle was the reception. It was his way of blowing off all of the built-up steam from wedding planning and wedding-day jitters and nerves. Letting loose in the same room with our favorite people present just for us was an incredible stress-relieving and celebratory feeling. The band, the food, and the people all came together for the perfect celebration.

5. What factors other than photos went into your decision on a wedding photographer? Why did you decide to pick me? The first thing we picked (even before our city and venue!) was our photographer. Both of us wanted wedding photos that were genuine and reflected the emotion and excitement of the day. We knew we needed the “traditional” group photos, but were more excited about the idea of candid/documentary style photos of the day. When I saw the photos you took of my cousins’ wedding, I fell in love with the images. You were able to capture the personality and emotion of each person and moment with a single image. I wanted to be able to look at our photos years from now and be able to remember the exact moment they were taken.

6. From booking to delivery of images and seeing the results, what in your mind made it the right choice for us to collaborate? Did anything surprise you about working with me and Alex?  From our first conversation, you immediately understood our concerns and what was important to us in capturing the day. As people who hate being photographed and often dislike posed photos of ourselves, you managed to capture how beautiful/handsome we think our spouse is, and how truly happy we were on that day. I love that you both went above and beyond to find the right angles and locations for some truly unique shots. During our first look on the grand staircase, you said “you won’t be able to see me take this photo, but trust me it is going to be awesome.” And when I looked through the viewfinder I was absolutely blown away. I knew had picked the right photographer, by far my favorite photo of the day! (also, you were willing to hold my lipstick for touch ups in your bag all day! thank you!). Justin’s note: I have no problem carrying a bride’s tools and accessories in my giant Fanny-Pack-of-Justice.

7. What’s next for you as a couple? Next week we leave for our honeymoon, a culinary tour of Italy!

Be sure to check out Greensboro wedding planner Leigh Pierce’s blog for a rundown about the look and details of Hannah and Kyle’s big day.