Lauren & Kevin’s Market Hall Wedding

#OneMoMoennich was added on Saturday during Lauren & Kevin’s Hilyer Memorial Christian Church and Market Hall wedding. The pair are from Ohio, and while they call Raleigh home now, plenty of their friends and family came in from out of state for the party. From what I heard, everyone was enjoying their time in the City of Oaks, even if they were sweating a little bit. I also want to add that this couple has excellent taste in friends – one of the most fun wedding party groups we’ve gotten to photograph. They rented a bus to cart the wedding party around in for portraits between the ceremony and reception, and it was the definition of a party bus. They also kept the dancing going, aided by All Events DJs and their glow sticks. 

The whole vendor team:

Planner: Aneesa from Harmony Weddings and Events
Photography: yours truly, Kivus & Camera
Hair & Makeup: Made Beautiful by Roya, and Deidre Mattingly
Florals: DIY 
Party Bus: Oak City Shuttle
Ceremony venue & officiant: Pastor Catherine Campbell from Hilyer Memorial Christian Church
Reception venue: Historic Market Hall
DJ and photobooth: All Events DJs
Caterer: City Barbeque
Cake: Hayes Barton Cafe (it was chocolate chip cookie dough cake!!!!)

How beautiful is Kevin’s gift to Lauren? The bracelet not only features the wedding date, but on the back, it says “zero days closer” – a reference to counting down the days between seeing one another when they were doing the long-distance thing. 

Another prep detail I loved were the shirts Lauren got her bridesmaids – all of the sentiments suited each girl’s personality. I personally need the following three: All the Dogs, Classy AF, and Pizza and Prosecco.

The first time Kevin saw Lauren was when the doors at Hilyer Memorial Christian Church swung open, but she did have a first look with her dad. (Lauren’s father also served as Protector of the Veil until just before the ceremony. Did you get my ASOIAF pun?)

While the ladies got ready at the Sheraton in the heart of downtown Raleigh, the guys prepped in Market Hall’s suite. Note the little bit of argyle poking out of that shoe – all the guys had their Cleveland Caveliers socks on. I guess we’ll see if they were enough to help the Cavs turn the series around.

The lovely Aneesa of Harmony Weddings and Events making sure the boutonnieres looked sharp. (sidenote: I’d like to make a motion to change the spelling to bootinear so I don’t have to spellcheck it every dang time.) Also looking sharp was Kevin in his grandfather’s Irish American pin. 

We saw the bracelet Kevin got for his bride, but what did her groom receive? Some great specs that came in handy during portrait time later on. 

Off to the church – first sighting of the Oak City Shuttle that carted the wedding party around all day. 

All the smiles as Lauren came down the aisle. Kevin’s face though!

Something entirely unplanned will happen at your wedding y’all. But roll with it and laugh when you accidentally drop the ring. 

Party bus round 2, this time with the groom and groomsmen. First stop: the terrace at the Lonnie Poole golf course to wait out the fast moving thunderstorm that rolled in just after the ceremony. 

The storm that came through was no joke. Look at the color of that sky. For a while we couldn’t even make out the skyline because the rain and cloud cover directly over downtown was so thick. But the sun came back in full force, and Kevin’s new sunglasses were christened. 

But after a few minutes the skyline reappeared, and with a rainbow. The wedding party were troopers in direct sun to get this epic background.

Our next stop on the party bus express was the Raleigh Rose Garden for some more bridal party photos. The ground was soaked, but we made do. 

All aboard – next stop: Boylan Bridge. 

When the party bus made it back to Market Hall for the reception, everyone got to see the beautiful details that Harmony Weddings & Events had put together. 

I’ve witnessed some pretty hilarious wedding party entrances – lots of dancing, beer chugging, joke-making, etc. But this was the first time a bridesmaid and groomsman switched outfits for the entrance. I still can’t believe this happened, but pics:

They didn’t outshine the happy couple though. 

Toasts were fantastic. Lauren’s sister Kristen had everyone tearing up with her speech. She’s getting married in Colorado next month, so everyone wish her all the love and happiness too! Kevin’s co-best men brought some laughs and some happy tears. 

After parent dances and an anniversary dance (winning couple = 56 years!), the party cranked to 11. 

We said goodnight to the newlyweds under the string lights in City Market just outside Market Hall. Thanks for a fantastic time 😀