Katie & Paxton’s Belt Line Station Wedding
Friday’s Belt Line Station wedding was one of the first days I was able to more or less forget that a pandemic is going on. Katie & Paxton, like just about every other 2020 couple, had to adjust their wedding plans because of Covid, but their day still felt like a “normal” wedding. I put normal in quotes because no two weddings are ever the same, so I really don’t think there is a standard wedding. But Katie & Paxton got ready with their friends and family, had a first look, had a beautiful ceremony, and then partied like it was 1999. The masks were the only signifier that something was a little different. Though the gathering was on the smaller side, the enthusiasm was larger than life and I’m so happy we were able to help them celebrate in such a wonderful way.
The Belt Line Station wedding team:
Venue & Catering: Belt Line Station / TC Hospitality Group
Hair & Makeup: Wink Hair + Makeup
Florals: Tre Bella
Wedding gown: BHLDN
Groom’s Suit: Banana Republic
Officiant: Rob Womack
Band: Emerald Empire Band
Cake: Smallcakes of Durham
And some photographs for you!
The new getting ready suite at Golden Belt is amazing!! Belt Line Station / Cotton Room / Lucky Strike Suite couples definitely need to include this feature.
Flower girl on mimosa duty! We promise she didn’t drink any champagne!! She was just having a blast handing them out to all the bridesmaids and it was so sweet!!
Here’s a special moment: we didn’t have a specific time down for when Katie & Paxton would read their letters for one another before the wedding, but when I imported the photos and synced up my and John’s cameras, it turned out they were reading their letters at the exact same time! John’s photos of Paxton reading and mine of Katie reading are perfectly interspersed with one another. That feels like a very strong connection 🙂
Paxton and the guys were also having some fun in the Bull Durham suite, which now has a foosball table!
Katie’s mom was such a joy to be around all day long. This woman did not stop smiling!
The photo that’s the sign of the times: matching bridesmaid masks for getting ready!
After the final touches, including putting on the earrings that were Paxton’s wedding gift to her, Katie made her way to the Cotton Room for the first look. Paxton’s reaction is one of my favorites in a long time!
After the first look, we headed over to the courtyard next to Hi-Wire brewery for group portraits.
Dear couples and florists, please keep including succulents in your wedding arrangements! I love them!!!
In case you didn’t know, Two Roosters has an ice cream stand across the courtyard from Hi-Wire. Katie’s niece got a milkshake, and was sweet enough to share a little with her aunt.
The wedding ceremony itself always arrives before you know it, but Katie & Paxton were ready to walk down the aisle.
Paxton’s face here too!! I promise you, first looks will not take away from the entirely different moment of seeing one another as the ceremony begins.
I love all the different unity traditions couples incorporate into their wedding ceremonies. These two had a candle lighting.
Three cheers for wedding dresses with pockets so you’ve got a handy spot to keep your personal vows!
The joy that Katie is exuding after kissing her new husband is the most beautiful thing! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a happier bride in this moment.
Then, Natalie and the rest of the team flipped Belt Line Station from ceremony space to reception space in the blink of an eye. The green and gold decor details were gorgeous in the candlelight!
Katie’s nieces were the cutest girls in the world!! Every couple should get this reaction when they walk into cocktail hour!
An obligatory facetime with family who couldn’t make the wedding. Technology is pretty magical.
After dinner, toasts, and special dances, it was time for Emerald Empire Band to crank it up and get the party going, and this is the face of a bride who is ready for that party.
With a smaller crowd, you never know whether the party will last all night, but this crew for sure came to enjoy themselves, and probably could’ve kept the energy up several hours longer.
And yes, I’m including a lot of dance floor shots in this post because it’s been so long since we had a solid couple hours of dancing and I REALLY MISSED IT. The reception is my favorite part of wedding days because it’s when you get to see people become the unreserved version of themselves and everyone is just having the best time after the nerves and anticipation of all the important events of the day have disappeared.
And here’s the crowd who made it the whole night!! Congrats Katie & Paxton! I hope you absolutely loved your wedding day and are having the best time in Asheville 🙂
We believe that love is bright and colorful, and your wedding photographs should be bright and colorful too.
Kivus & Camera are Raleigh Wedding photographers who create bold, colorful, magical memories of your wedding day with beautiful, artistic portraits AND enthusiastic, genuine moments. Your unique love story deserves to be told through unforgettable, breath-taking photographs that stand out from the crowd. Kivus & Camera love creating that magic. After all, as past bride Courtney says, we’re photography sorcerers.
And though we call ourselves Raleigh wedding photographers, we definitely photograph Durham weddings, Chapel Hill weddings, Cary weddings, etc. We’re all over the Triangle area, and we’re happy to head to the beach or mountains and even to places outside of North Carolina! Just let us know where your love story is headed.
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