Wedding Photos

ALL of the wedding photos have now been posted on the photographer's website. She also put together a lovely video slideshow of some of the photos (especially nice if you don't want to click through hundreds of individual photos!!)

Wedding Photos

Most of the wedding photos are now up over at Bonnie's website. They are organized into 3 folders. The first is just Chris & I posing for photos before the wedding, then there is a folder for the ceremony photos and finally a folder of the reception photos. Enjoy!

Its done!

Waiting for July 19th to arrive it sometimes seemed like it would never come, but once it did the time flew! Thank you so much to everyone who came to the wedding, especially those who traveled from far away. We are enjoying our honeymoon in Asheville now but wanted to post links and reviews of all of our wonderful vendors plus a link to photos from the wedding. A LOT of photos were taken this weekend; if you have any that you'd like to email to us or burn onto a CD for us we'd love it. We tried to see everyone and everything and take it all in, but I'm sure we missed a lot. After all that time thinking about table decorations and floral arrangements, I'm not sure if I even looked at how it turned out! One of our bridesmaid, Elizabeth, has posted her photos online for everyone to see. Hopefully I'll have more to share soon.




We were thrilled with all of the vendors that we worked with. We were constantly surprised by how agreeable everyone was. We kept expecting to run into problems or to be told "no" but we never were! Everyone we worked with was accommodating, polite and exceeded our expectations. We would heartily recommend any of the following vendors for your next event. If you are interested in knowing more about any of them, don't hesitate to ask us.

Raffaldini Vineyard
The Vineyard couldn't have been more beautiful due to both the natural setting (those sunbeams!!) but also because of the painstaking attention to detail in the architecture of the Villa and the landscaping. Though Raffaldini is new to hosting large events, we were only their 3rd or 4th wedding I think, they are learning quickly and are eager to please. If you enjoyed their wine, you can order more on their website, join their wine club and, sometimes, find their wine in grocery stores and at Total Wine.

Little Richards Barbecue
You tasted it, what more do we need to say? Barbecue may seem a little unusual for a wedding but Chris and I wanted to serve food that we loved to eat and we hope that you enjoyed it too. For those of you who asked, yes, we got a chance to eat. We have heard that many brides and grooms forget to eat dinner at their own weddings but it was the first thing we did after joining the reception! The Little Richards that provided our wedding feast is not the same as the Little Richards in Winston. We aren't clear why they have the same name and logo (perhaps a long past family feud?), but the Little Richards in Clemmons and Lexington are under different ownership than the Little Richards in Winston. While we love the Winston location, we think that the Lexington restaurant is even better. If you have a chance to eat at the restaurant make sure to order the corn fritters. They aren't available for catering, unfortunately, but if you have the chance to try them they aren't to be missed!


Bonber Photographics
Bonnie Berlin, our photographer and a close friend of Chris's family, was and continues to be unbelievable. We have been fortunate to have Bonnie photograph us on several occasions- portraits to celebrate my college graduation, an engagement photo session (photos from which were used in our guest book) and now the wedding. Her work is amazing, her talent inspiring and her work ethic and attention to detail beyond expectation. We have heard countless nightmares about wedding photographers but have had nothing but wonderful results from Bonnie. She is easy to work with, respected our silly requests (like photos to show off my wedding stockings) and stayed calm even when her camera suddenly stopped working on the day of the wedding! Though we can't wait to see all the wedding photos she took we will have to be patient. I've been told that she took THOUSANDS of pictures and now has to narrow it down to the top 300 hundred and do all the editing (a painstaking, time consuming process). You can see the photos we took in our pre-wedding photo session here. We will post an announcement when the rest of the photos are up. The password for the photo gallery is "chris".

In addition to weddings, Bonnie does also specializes in portraits of High School and college seniors, family portraits, children, pets, professional "head shots", artistic photo collages, custom photo greeting cards, fine art, albums and more.

Cakes by Mary Ann
Not only was the grape vine inspired cake that Mary Ann Blade made us beautiful, it was also delicious! We heard so many people comment that, unlike many wedding cakes, this one actually tasted great. Mary Ann was charming to work with and turned a sketch painted by Dianne into a culinary work of art. In addition to wedding cakes, Mary Ann also does cakes for birthdays, anniversaries and other events. She is located in Charlotte but is willing to deliver to surrounding areas. And if you ever have the chance to try her Cake Ball Truffles, mmmm, you'll be craving them forever after (I know I am!). I'm already looking forward to next year when we plan to order a smaller cake to celebrate our first anniversary!

Highland Brewing Company
No, Chris didn't brew the beer himself. Though Chris has dabbled in home brewing, ABC laws require that alcohol served at an event like ours must be provided by a commercial/certified/approved brewery. Chris chose his favorite local microbrewery, Highland Brewing Company, based in Asheville, NC. We served the Gaelic Ale but if you enjoyed it we encourage you to try their other beers as well. If you are visiting Asheville make sure to take a tour of their brewing facility. The tour is interesting and you get to taste everything!

Barrowburn
We can't say enough about the celtic band Barrowburn. Even though we made them play outside in the terrible July heat they played beautifully. Even though I kept changing my mind about what I wanted them to play in the months leading up to the wedding they were always patient and gracious. They normally play in the Raleigh area, so if you are nearby make sure to check their performance schedule. I just wish they had a CD to buy, but sadly (for us) their passion is in performing, not recording.

George K. Walker Florist
All of the cut flowers were provided by George K Walker Florist, the florist started by my grandfather. Dianne, Chris's mom, designed all of the cut flower arrangements and bouquets and, with Chris's help, put them all together the Thursday before the wedding. The potted arrangements on the dining tables were created by Jan, Laura's mom.

Chris Lough and Laura Bullins, July 19, 2008

photo by Bonnie Berlin

Wedding Shower and Bachelorette Party

Can you believe the wedding is in under 2 weeks!? All of a sudden its so soon-- how did that happen? And with everything thats been going on, I haven't had time to post about our second shower or my bachelorette party. I know not everyone is interested in hearing about my bachelorette party (I promise we stayed out of trouble!) so I won't post about it here; if you'd like to read about it and see photos click here.

On Sunday, June 22nd, one of my my god-mothers, Margaret, and her daughter, Sarah, hosted a wonderful shower for Chris and I. Unfortunately I'm missing a picture of the food, but take my word for it, it was delectable!

I had friends and family members come from as far away as South Carolina and Boone and got to spend some time catching up with friends- old and new- before the chaos of the wedding day.

And I got to see my Junior Bridesmaid, Anastasia (in the black tanktop to the left) and our flower girl, Brooke (the little cutie on Grandma Margaret's lap)!

The Honeymoon

We have finally decided what we are going to do for honeymoon! We are going to spend a couple of nights in a charming little Bed and Breakfast in Asheville, NC. Hopefully it will be a bit cooler in the mountains in July and we can spend our time exploring the Biltmore Estate, eating at all the yummy local restaurants and maybe spending some time at the Grove Park Inn's spa. If you have suggestions for places to eat or visit while we are in Asheville, leave us a comment!

Wedding Accommodations

Hey all. It's starting to get closer than I realized to the big day so I wanted to explain some things about the hotel choices we have listed on the blog. First, since so many people have family in/live in/are visiting friends in Winston-Salem, we decided not to reserve a big block of rooms at any hotel. Most people we talked to seemed to already know where they wanted to stay. Feel free to stay wherever you like that fits your budget. That said, I know there are lots of you out there who don't know where you want to stay yet so here's the deal on hotel locations.

The wedding site is approximately 35-40 minutes from Winston-Salem. So those hotels are listed for people who want to visit family or friends in Winston or just want that as a home base. Just be aware that being in Winston means a decent drive after the reception.

The hotels in Elkin/Jonesville are about 10-15 minutes (I haven't driven it myself yet, but have been told) away from the reception site, so that would be a much easier commute. Please be aware that there are no taxi's available from the vineyard because of sketchy reputations being reported from the event coordinator. We're investigating a car service that would goto the Elkin accommodations, but don't count on that for the moment. There are also some Bed and Breakfasts around the area you should feel free to checkout.

Either way we advise that you find a designated driver and stick to it if you are planning on indulging. Some of the roads to the site are pretty curvy and not well lit so things could get dangerous very quickly.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail us: cmlough@gmail.com. We're starting to get excited as it gets so close! See you all soon!

Chris

My First Bridal Shower!

This past weekend I had the most wonderful bridal shower thrown by the girls over at Knit Picky. I have been working at Knit Picky for the last year and a half and have become close friends with the other employees and our regular customers. My move to Chapel Hill this summer to be with Chris means that I will be leaving Knit Picky, and I know I'm going to miss the store and the wonderful people who fill it. Jo (the owner), Kim, Susan, Belva and Ann Marie threw me such a nice shower with yummy treats (I adore brie), all my favorite people and, of course, gifts!

But the best part of all was the beautiful hand knit afghan given to me by the whole group. Each of the 16 blocks were knit or crocheted by a different person, and then crocheted together. Its absolutely perfect. I will treasure it forever.

You can see more pictures of the shower here.

The Suits

In the next week or two Chris will be ordering his suit and I am so excited. Its going to look so great on him! He tried on the suit he wants, but in a size or two too small, last week:


And for the groomsmen, hopefully we will be renting suits like this:

The Cake!

Today we had our cake tasting! And it was de.lic.ious. We are having the cake made by Mary Ann Blade in Charlotte, NC. We decided on the design and flavors today, and got to taste a sample of the red velvet (plus some to-die-for chocolate truffles). So for flavors we decided on three layers, each a different flavor: red velvet cake with cream cheese filling, chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and raspberry filling and coconut cake with bavarian cream filling. All covered in buttercream icing. And the design will involve different shaped layers, and a rambling vine of fondant grapes. Chris's mom, Dianne, came up with an incredible "sketch" of our perfect cake-- sometimes its really nice to have an artist in the family!

We are having a hard time deciding on one detail, can you help us? Which flavor combination should we use for the largest layer?

The Music

We have found our musicians! Barrowburn is a local (Raleigh, NC) celtic/irish/folk band with four musicians playing fiddle, guitar, mandolin, drum, accordion and small pipes (sort of like bagpipes). Chris and I went to listen to them tonight and really enjoyed their music. They play a variety of styles of Irish music from the pretty, soft lyrical stuff to dancing reels to pub sing-alongs. If you are interested, you can listen to a few sample clips on their website.

RSVPs

We are still several months away from the big day, but if you have received a Save the Date card from us please feel free to go ahead and RSVP using the form at the bottom of this website. Though RSVPs aren't required until closer to July, if you already know that you definitely will or will not be able to make it please let us know. It will make planning much easier for us! If you need to change your mind that is fine, of course. We hope that you will be able to join us!

Our Wedding Party

We feel so honored to have the support of so many great friends and family members during this special time in our lives. Let us introduce you to our bridal party.

The Men

Our groomsmen will be Will Bullins, Laura's little brother, and Scott Taylor, Laura's cousin. Ryan Taylor, also Laura's cousin, will be assisting as an usher.






The Ladies

Our bridesmaids will be Carol Motsinger, Chris's long time friend and Honor Attendant and Elizabeth Crumpler. Both girls have been friends with Chris and Laura since middle school!

Laura's mom, Jan, will serve as her Matron of Honor.

Our Engagement Announcement

Our "official" engagement announcement will be printed in the paper this Sunday, and can be seen online here. Yes, we know its a little late (we've only been engaged for 9 months..) but we didn't want to print an announcement till we'd decided on a wedding date. So there it is!

The Food

Chris and I were able to make a big check on our wedding planning to-do list this weekend. We reserved a caterer! We will be serving barbecue (both chopped pork and chicken), salad, baked beans and potato salad. With sweet tea and lemonade, of course. And for desert-- Banana Pudding! (and wedding cake, but that will come later). These are some of our favorite foods, so I hope you will enjoy them too. If you would like more information about Little Richards, the restaurant/caterer providing the food, their website is http://www.littlerichardsyadkinville.com/.

The Location

We found the perfect place, and I think you are all going to love it. Raffaldini Vineyards is about 30minutes outside of Winston-Salem (map) and grows and produces Italian style wines. They just built a gorgeous Villa with a wrap around porch with a view of the vineyard and the mountains in the distance.

The ceremony will be held on an open patio with the vineyards in the background. During the reception guests can relax on the porch, enjoy dinner inside or on the patio, and wander among the grape vines. A warm summer evening, a wine glass in hand and loved ones by my side. I can't imagine a better way to celebrate!

The Dress

After several trips to the wedding gown store I finally made a decision. I tried on so many beautiful gowns. I fell in love with the exquisite lace and beading on one, but the cut and style just wasn't me.




A halter top style felt comfortable and looked great, but just didn't feel "special" enough.




I love the back of this one, but the front was more appropriate for a beach (or the bedroom!) than a wedding!



This one was almost perfect, but was discontinued and not available in my size.




But then I finally found it. Its simple, and not what I had in mind when I started looking, but it just felt "right." Comfortable and natural, but still "special." And most importantly, I feel like a bride in it! But you will have to wait till July to see me in it!