Liz & Rikki’s nerdy Raleigh same-sex elopement
Y’all. The bar has officially been set as high as I’ve ever seen it for custom nerdy wedding ceremonies. At this awesome, colorful, nerdy same-sex elopement, Liz & Rikki vowed to protect one another from orcs and weeping angels. And to be one another’s Companion through space and time. It took literally all of my power to not say “best ceremony ever” every five seconds. Liz & Rikki’s love for Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings (and other fandoms), combined with the spectacular officiating skills of Magical Weddings by Carly made for the perfect (albeit masked) elopement ceremony.
These two ladies were supposed to get married in May during a big summer camp themed affair at cabins in the mountains. But as we all know, things went a little off track this spring and that big wedding got postponed. But they wanted to go ahead and elope to tie the knot anyway. So they enlisted me and Carly to document and make it official, respectively.
We all met at Lake Crabtree Park on a gorgeous Friday afternoon, and I was thrilled to see their pup Luna in tow. Rikki’s parents acted as dog-wrangler, lighting assistants, and ceremony witnesses, with Liz’s parents facetiming in from out of state. Thank goodness for technology right?
We started with portraits in and around a garden near the front of the park:
They did those bouquets themselves!!! Harris Teeter flowers and DIY skills FTW.
I absolutely adored how smiley both of them were all day!! It is such a privilege and an honor to be around so much joy for MY JOB. <<cries tears of happiness>>
After a brief foray into a trail (sorry about the mosquitos!!!) we headed over to the ceremony spot Liz had scoped out earlier in the week and met up with Carly.
Liz, Rikki, Carly, and I all wore our masks while we were closer together during the ceremony. I’ve invested in quite a few at this point.
Carly led the couple through a handfasting ceremony…
… and the above-referenced nerdy vows.
Luna chilled while her moms got married. And meanwhile, one cellphone was working to record the ceremony, while the another was occupied with facetiming Liz’s parents.
Even with their mouths covered, you could see the emotion clearly in Liz & Rikki’s eyes. So. Much. Love.
After an exchange of rings, Carly said “you may remove your masks and kiss!” Huzzah!!!
Some family portraits 🙂
And then a few more of the stars of the day. “I’m the bride!” “I’m the bride!”
Know what goes great with cool sunglasses?
Pink champagne!!!
A close up on their awesome rings, found on Etsy.
And let’s end with some portraits of the oh so cute Luna.
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.
Want to know more? Check out more of our images or learn more about our nerdy selves or just send us a note! Can’t wait to hear from you.
If you want more same-sex elopement inspiration, check out Laura & Rita’s Tennessee getaway wedding.
