Callie & Christopher – August Durham Wedding

Callie was referred to us by one of my planner friends, Chad, and we are thrilled he did! Callie and Christopher are an awesome, adventurous couple who are remarkably kind and thoughtful to all around them! They were so easy to work with and made decisions based on what would make things easier or more comfortable to their guests.

The first time I met Callie in person, we met at their venue, The Cookery in Durham, NC. I instantly loved the venue! It has an industrial look and is very functional for weddings and events. There are two indoor event spaces and a large outdoor patio space. The Cookery also has a very spacious bridal room with a unique entryway to the outdoor patio – a garage door! Callie told me their plans were to have the ceremony outside, dinner in one indoor space, and reception in the other. She planned to enter the ceremony through that garage door which I thought was such an awesome idea!

Being in August, the weather was fairly hot and humid. On the day of the rehearsal, Callie and Christopher made a decision to have the ceremony inside to prevent any of their guests feeling uncomfortable. This was not their “Plan A,” but I thought it was very thoughtful of them to think of others and change their setup without a second thought.

The Cookery Staff took care of a lot of planning for the venue logistics which was very helpful! They did not open until later in the afternoon on Wedding Day but with their staff, catering staff, and our staff, we completed everything needed in no time at all! Durham Catering helped us set up the tables beforehand and we set them aside to leave room for their ceremony service to take place in the same room. A family friend named Molly drew the family tree on the huge chalkboard located inside the dance room!  I picked up the flowers from Pine State Flowers, located right down the road from The Cookery. My assistant, Lauren, helped me place the greenery on all the tables and distribute the boutonnieres and bouquets to the bridal party.  

The girls looked so pretty! Bella Trio took care of the hair and makeup for the bride and bridesmaids. I think they all looked gorgeous! The guys rocked some floral ties and Christopher wore a blue jacket that popped next to rest of the men. It all made for a great looking group!

Once it was time to start preparing for the ceremony, we realized Callie would not have an easy entrance without having to go all the way around the building outside to enter so the guests would not see her before she wanted. I told her she could hide in the kitchen set-up room (which was not very glamorous), but it actually was very humorous and I am sure it is a memory her and her family laugh about today. She willingly accepted and hid away from Christopher and her guests as they entered.

 Callie and Christopher had a family friend play instrumental music for the ceremony and after Callie’s mom entered, she joined him! This was very special. Next, the bridal party entered. Instead of a flower girl or ring bearer, they asked two of their friends to take on the roles. Two grown men played as the “Flower and Ring Men.” This had the whole audience laughing! Then, Callie and her dad entered.  Christopher’s reaction to his beautiful bride was priceless. It is easy to see her truly adores her.

After the ceremony, we ushered guests to the other indoor space for cocktail hour. We set up the dinner space and prepared for guests to return. The food tasted awesome! Durham Catering did a great job. After dinner, toasts, and cake, the guests returned to the other space to dance the night away. I loved the separation of spaces! This allowed for us to clean up decorations and the catering staff was able to pick up the dirty dishes all without guests seeing or feeling rushed to leave. Ray from Steel Impressions kept the dance floor full the entire reception! We love working with Ray. He is very professional and can judge the perfect playlist for the crowd.

At the end of the night, Callie and Christopher exited through a crowd of their remaining guests waving some of our ribbon-send-off ribbons. Blest Studios captured the photography for the day. We loved getting to meet Cole and his assistant! Cole was so enthusiastic the whole event and was able to capture genuine smiles and fun. It was actually very hard to pick my favorites from their wedding album because there are so.many.good.ones!! We would love to work with Blest Studios again! Check out more photos from Callie and Christopher’s Day in Our Gallery.

Our Fabulous Team of Vendors:
Venue: The Cookery
Photographer: Blest Studios
Florist: Pine State Flowers
DJ: Steel Impressions
Cake: Costco
Catering: Durham Catering
Hair & Makeup: Bella Trio
Coordination: Exceptional Events