Glamorous, Summer Umstead Hotel Wedding Photos | Raleigh, NC | Regine and Mark

wedding

Feb 23

You may remember Regine and Mark from their hot, summer North Carolina Museum of Art engagement photos post I did a little bit ago, and if you don't recall then move your finger or mouse back and click on that link so you can catch up!

So to match their hot, summer engagement session, Regine and Mark planned their wedding for another hot, summer day. Which in North Carolina is to say, any summer day really. But much like the class and fun of their engagement photos I knew their wedding at the Umstead Hotel was going to be amazing. This was not going to be a typical wedding, especially with A Southern Soiree as the planners, and so there was no doubt we were going to get to make some glamorous, summer Umstead Hotel wedding photos all day and all night. From Regine's attention to detail and knowing exactly what she likes (all the good stuff) and Mark's love for much the same as well as some solid 80's and 90's Brit rock, the guests (and your truly and my second photographer) were going to be treated to an rocking reception.

From the moment we arrived, Regine was feeling good and looking amazing. As she got ready, she really let go and had fun with everything and we even recreated (in our own style of course) a photo she really loved that she had seen in a magazine. It's that sort of collaboration that I love to see on a wedding day. While I don't make it a point to try to redo what someone already did, Regine was up for us making this unique and she absolutely nailed it with some fiery looks and the light in the bridal suite was just perfect! And as for Mark, he was all fun all day. From getting ready to helping his nephew tie his bow tie with a little help from my favorite "how to do it" source, YouTube. And no, this is not even close to the first time I have seen YouTube used on a wedding day!

But my favorite part of the day, hands down, was the family formals.

Family formals are really no ones favorite because everyone wants to get to the bar and start the party, and yours truly is the only thing between them and their dancing shoes. But what I was so interested with is that Regine had warned me that her family (when it came time to get everyone in) would be challenging. I sort of laughed it off as I had heard brides say this before and it had never been an issue. My plan was just be loud, get their attention, line them up and get them out. I could not have been more wrong. People were all over the place. No one was listening and it didn't matter how loud I yelled. I think a lot of people would get frazzled by this, but I really found my prior hubris on the matter to be insanely funny. Regine came over and I was honest with her. I told her that she was right, this was something altogether new. I told her I would handle it, move around and get everyone to where I needed them. She thought that was pretty funny, and instantly whistled and yelled.

Everyone turned around and I finally had their attention to get the photos done that we needed done.

Which just goes to show, listen to your couples when they seem over the top about their families, because it may only be one time out of fifty that this happens, but when it does, it is something else.

From that point on, the rest of the night went off without any issue and both Mark and Regine's families and friends were hysterical and fun all night long. From some seriously great dancers (with a big shout out to DJ Frank of Bunn DJ Company for keeping the party going) to some brilliant toasts, the night was even better than I imagined it would be and I think even better than Regine and Mark imagined it would be too.