Molly and Ira’s Spruce Pine Lodge Wedding

Molly and Ira and I bonded immediately over their work in tackling social justice issues, and working in the emergency room here in Durham, N.C. Their Spruce Pine Lodge wedding in Bahama was simple but totally them. The lodge has quickly become one of my favorite venues for it’s intimacy and piney charm. Clients beware: getting married inside the lodge presents it’s own challenges since the brown wood swallows much of the bright window light. Plan accordingly, like Molly and Ira did! Looking forward to some campfires and bourbon with these two soon.

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1. What was most important to you in planning your wedding?

For us the most important aspect of our wedding planning was to find ways to create an experience that was truly personal to us and that felt genuine to who we are as a couple. We were adamant that we didn’t want our wedding to feel like we had simply gone to Party City and purchased items off the shelf, or picked pieces out of a catalog. We wanted our wedding to feel as special and unique as we are as a couple and to share that feeling with our guests.

2. What did you learn about yourselves and your relationship in the process of planning the wedding?

We learned, or maybe confirmed, that Molly struggles to do anything “simply”. Our vision was to have a “simple, low key wedding”, and in some respects it was However, Molly’s attention to detail and the level of organization resulted in a beautiful, heartfelt, meticulously organized and presented event, that basically took over our lives for several months. We learned that we have very different planning and organizational styles, which typically helps create balance between us. however, in a big event with so many moving parts, our styles clashed at times instead of supporting us.

3. What was the biggest challenge?

The biggest challenge was keeping up with all of the details and coordinating all of the moving parts of the wedding. We did everything ourselves, including making the wedding favors and all of the decorations, so it was a lot to manage. Thankfully, we had an amazing team who totally knocked it out of the park in the days leading up to the wedding and on our wedding day.

4. What advise do you have for other couples?

Include an aspect of your wedding that is uniquely special and that you plan, develop or create together.  For example, we wrote letters to one another before our wedding describing why we love one another and what our love means to us. We placed those letters in a box during the wedding ceremony. Every 5 years we will read the letters and write new letters to one another. It is a tradition that we created for ourselves. 

5. What was your favorite moment of the day?

Molly- Our wedding ceremony was very special to us. We put a lot of heart and intention into the words we chose to say to one another in front of our family and friends. Standing in front of everyone, saying the words we chose together was very moving.

Ira- I have two favorite parts: One was seeing all of our friends and loved ones being there together for our marriage was a wonderful thing as a “What a Wonderful World” (preprocessional music) started playing it was an emotional and beautiful moment.

The second was when I saw my wife walking down the aisle to the song Somewhere Over the Rainbow, I was so happy and she was so beautiful, it was the most joyful moment of my life.

6. What factors other than photos went into your decision on a wedding photographer? Why did you decide to pick me? What reaffirmed that as the right decision on your wedding day?

 We were initially drawn to your photo-journalistic style of photography and loved the intimacy of your photos. Then, when we met you, we realized we were not hiring just a photographer, rather we were meeting a like-minded Durhamite who we really loved to hang out with! Having good rapport and camaraderie helped us trust your process to work your magic to capture the spirit of our special day. We had as much fun talking about non-photography related topics in our planning sessions than prepping for our wedding photos! Also, the fact that you had experience taking photographs at our specific wedding venue and had several helpful suggestions to consider for getting the best photography was reassuring. We like to say that we hired a photographer, and we made a friend. (Note: YES, I AGREE!!)