Lookin' Good, Feelin' Fine

Lookin' Good, Feelin' Fine

In this last wedding update until our big day, we’re talking about two of the most exciting parts: the music (DJ Playplay!) & the pictures (Joanna Sue Photography)!

Y’all. Our wedding day is in just 4 days! Can you believe?? To say we’re totally pumped is an understatement – we don’t even have the words to describe how ready we are (both for marriage and the best day with our favorite people)!

There’s a ton of excited energy in the air – it’s hard to think about anything beyond the weekend ahead. So I’m leaning in! I’m writing all about the two things we’ve been most excited about in this process: the dancing and the pictures. Let’s give it up to some real superstars: Joanna Sue Photography and DJ Playplay!

Let’s be real: our vendor list is an all star line up and Joanna Sue Photography and DJ Playplay are the crème de la crème.

Like I mentioned in our last blog post, we selected our vendors based on previous events at The Cookery (which you can see on The Cookery’s Real Weddings blog). Ivy and I perused various photo galleries, noting how different photographers captured The Cookery’s space. The best part was looking further into each event's vendor list – revealing all the juicy details about who took that incredible ballroom shot during toasts or who was on the turn table when the bride started crowd surfing (yes, this has really happened).

Photo credit: Victoria Boustani

While crowd surfing isn’t on our wedding to-do list, one hell of a dance party absolutely is. (To give you a visual, here’s a snapshot of Ivy and I breaking it down at one of her best friends’ wedding).

Pump up the Jams

When it came to music, Ivy and I knew we wanted to both have our favorite songs played during the cocktail hour and dinner (Fleetwood Mac, looking at you) and turn it up a notch when we hit the dance floor. We’re talking throwback ‘60s, ‘90s hits (including Ivy’s karaoke choice “All the Small Things” by Blink 182), Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend,” wedding bangers like Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” maybe some Olivia Rodrigo, absolutely “Islands in the Stream” by dynamic duo Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, deffff some Lizzo, and much more.

When you’ve got one bride with Southern roots and the other Brooklyn roots, there’s a really big range of music taste. After talking with DJ Playplay many times throughout this planning process and giving them a list of our to-play and do-not-play (their favorite and most useful list) songs, we’re more than confident they’ve got us covered from ABBA to Ziggy Stardust!

Picture Perfect

It’s honesty hour and the honest truth is that we (read: I, Charlotte) knew who our wedding photographer was the minute we started dreaming of a wedding together. It was undoubtably Joanna Sue Photography – we basically just needed to let Joanna know!

Some of the best parts of The Cookery are the front room windows, the warm evening glow that illuminates the ballroom, the lush garden greens, and the deep amber of the copper courtyard wall. We wanted someone who could capture this incredible lighting plus the vibrant details of The Cookery. Plus, someone who would help us feel comfortable in front of a camera!

If you’ve seen any images from Joanna Sue Photography, you already just know. Nighttime and dancing photography is difficult, but she captures these candid moments in the right light. She knows The Cookery’s grounds so well and for couples portraits, she somehow always finds new angles so that no two wedding albums are the same. She’s the sweetest and spiciest photographer – she’s someone who asks the right questions to get that cute couple shot, someone who eagerly asks all the questions about a couple’s love story, and someone who knows how to keep calm and manage the total chaos that is family group photo chaos!

Really, what I’m saying is that we’re just really thankful (and so excited) to have Joanna Sue Photography capture our wedding day! She’s just the best. And that’s that.

Rentals on Rentals: APR & Greenhouse Picker Sisters

Rentals on Rentals

American Party Rentals and Greenhouse Picker Sisters have us covered on everything from the table top basics to unique and stunning details. Read all about it below!

“What are your colors?” is a question I’ve been asked a thousand times over during our wedding planning process. The truth is: we don't have any colors! We have more of a color palette – or a color “vibe.” Warm tones, deep hues, with pops of color from a huge variety of wildflower florals.

L'amour Foto

When deciding on table linens, glassware, and flatware (plus the interesting detail touches), we looked to previous weddings at The Cookery. Yes, this is a small plug for our Real Weddings blog, but seriously – the best inspiration was based on images from gorgeous events in our space before!

I’m mildly (read: totally) obsessed with full-room shots of our ballroom where all tables are dressed, candles are lit, florals are bright, and the room is ready for the party ahead. Those “calm before the storm” detail shots and how I feel looking at them remind me of the wow-factor guests have when seeing the ballroom for the first time!

What was the common denominator among all the table settings we loved? Two vendors: American Party Rentals and Greenhouse Picker Sisters.

American Party Rentals

American Party Rentals offers an endless list of wedding and event supplies. Think table linens, napkins, flatware – all ranging from backyard barbecue bliss to china and pottery ready to outfit the most upscale of celebrations. Plus, since we’re getting married in the hottest month of the year (NC summers are no joke!) they’ve got us covered on umbrellas (see what I did there?), coolers, insulated ice tubs for beer and bubbly bottles, and more. And just you wait until you see pictures of the checkered dance floor we decided to rent!

Plus, their showroom is incredible. It was a treat to see the shades of linens up close, feel the textures between fabrics, and hold the glassware for our beverages.

The Cookery and American Party Rentals go way back (humble brag) – so much so that they’ve got their own key to our building! That makes delivery and pick up a total breeze. But this tight relationship means that APR’s showroom has a mock set up with our wooden chairs, making it even easier to see the final vision for your tables.

Ivy and I decided to go with charcoal grey table linens, dusty rose napkins, and hammered silver flatware. We’ll have plates and chargers that have a rustic stone feel in solid black and white. For our cake, donut, and welcome tables, we selected a burnt orange linen – we’re all about a pop of color!

Greenhouse Picker Sisters

For most of our decor beyond dinnerware, we looked to the amazing folks at Greenhouse Picker Sisters. Their name fits them perfectly – they offer all those unique pieces you want for your wedding, hand selected by those with an eye for design, all without the hassle of rummaging through thrift stores and vintage auctions. It’s actually a dream come true – I want to fill my home with all their stuff!

Though I wanted to rent everything in stock, we (tried) to contain our excitement and rented a vintage lounge set – mostly based on an image from a previous wedding at The Cookery (see, great place of inspiration)! Plus, a ton of vintage light blue bottles to use as bud vases on our table, a copper grid wall to hold our seating chart, a semi-circle stage for our ceremony, and more. Again, we (tried) to contain ourselves!

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L'amour Foto

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Joanna Sue Photography

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Joanna Sue Photography

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L'amour Foto

Rentals on Rentals

We are seriously so impressed by the folks above and all they’ve done – especially in these last few days heading into the week before our wedding day (ahh!). Stay tuned for another blog post (or two, depending on if my excitement turns to nerves!) about two of the most exciting parts to come: Dancing tunes from DJ Playplay and ALL THE PHOTOS from one of the very best, Joanna Sue Photography!

Joanna Sue Photography

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Banner image and title image: Joanna Sue Photography

Beer, Bubbly & Booze: All About our Wedding Drinks!

Beer, Bubbly, & Booze

The drinks will be flowing all evening on our wedding day! Read more about our bar package, specialty cocktails, & more below!

If you were to ask how I’m doing less than two weeks (!!!) out from our wedding, I’d laugh and ask you for a strong drink. Wedding planning is always on my mind! We’re not stressed, not even nervous – we’re just so. so. excited!

So since I can’t stop talking about all the plans … let’s talk about one of our favorite parts of our wedding: THE BAR!

It’s no secret that our wedding is going to be just one really fun party with all of our best friends and family. And what does every great party have? GOOD BOOZE!

Joanna Sue Photography

Our stacked and stocked bar was something Ivy & I want to stand out to our guests, and truly The Cookery’s top-notch bar has us completed covered. We’re so excited to wine & dine our guests with delicious drinks & a specialty order (see at the bottom!) that brings in a hint of nostalgia!

Yeah yeah, I’m biased about The Cookery – I can admit that. But in all honesty, The Cookery’s bar & cocktail program is incredibly impressive and one of the best options for craft cocktails, wine, and local beer. Here’s why:

• The Cookery bartenders are talented booze slingers that know their stuff. They can tell you all about wine origins & beer tasting notes, or create perfectly balanced drinks that will please all tastes – from Ivy’s 85-year-old grandparents to our bougie NYC friends.

• Not only does The Cookery have skilled (and classy 1920s era dressed – hey, suspenders and bow ties!) bar staff, but the actual square footage of bar space far exceeds any other venue. Between the two bars there is 41 feet of bar top. Goodbye long lines, hello flowing drinks!

• Our venue prides itself on the overall guest experience – meaning no long bar lines & minimal empty glasses. There is at least one bartender for every 30 guests!

• You can trust the taste & quality of all our bottles on the shelf & beers on tap – our venue team has thoughtfully selected each of these options. The Cookery priorities local craft beer, specialty wines from all over the globe, and high tier liquors across all packages.

Libby McGowan Photography

When looking at each incredible bar package tier, we went with a 5 hour choice open bar, which includes beer, wine, liquor, and two specialty cocktails. This middle tier option highlights some of our favorites like Tito’s, Durham Distillery’s Conniption Gin, and Bulleit. 

Plus, we worked with The Cookery’s incredible team to specialty order a fan-favorite and Ivy & I’s drink of choice: bottles of Pabst Blue Ribbon! But since we are beer nerds, we of course had to make sure our favorite brewery was featured beyond the tap as well – we’ll have cans of Ponysaurus Brewing Co. too!

We can’t wait to party with our peeps. Cheers beers & happy sipping!

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Banner image: Three Region Photography

Donut Skimp on the Sweets!

Donut Skimp on the Sweets!

A donut wall & a cake made by our best friend & baking extraordinaire: going all out for desserts!

Let’s talk SWEETS.

I'm a dessert-before-dinner person and Ivy has a major sweet tooth. That combination means we went donuts to the walls for our wedding dessert spread! (Get it? Our donuts will be displayed on a peg wall...)

When thinking about the flow of our big day and how we’d hit the dance floor pretty immediately after any cake cutting, we knew we wanted something bite size so our guests could snack while shaking their groove thang – no one wants to have to choose between a plate of dessert and ABBA – right?!

So we decided donuts and a cake to cut ceremonially (okay, maybe we just want to feed each other cake) was the perfect combination! So we found a donut shop and called up our dear friend and baking extraordinaire for the cake. Scroll to see all the deets!

Duck Donuts – A Few Rounds of Sweets

I’m all about sweet and savory flavor combos, so when we decided on donuts I just had to have a maple bacon donut. And a sprinkle donut. Oh, and of course a chocolate one!

Plus, if we’re being totally honest: donut peg board displays are really just so cute and we wanted to get in on the fun! We know, we know – trendy. But if having a donut wall is wrong then we don’t want to be right! (Shout-out to our friends at American Party Rentals for this donut peg board -pictured above - that we’ll be using.)

As for the actual sweets – Duck Donuts offers endless amounts of flavors to cover our delicious donut dreams and more. These donuts are all made to order – meaning you can create any flavor you want. A-glaze-ing.

Here are the flavors we selected!

• Maple Bacon

• Blueberry Lemonade

• Original Glazed

• Chocolate Explosion

• Chocolate Covered Strawberry

• Made to Order: Vanilla Glazed with Rainbow Sprinkles

Photo Credit: Angela Zion Photography

Photo Credit: J.P. Lord Photography

Photo Credit: Angela Zion Photography

Desserts by Snackg1rl

Though @snackg1rl is better known to us as Tacie – one of Ivy’s best friends from college – she’s a rockstar Bay Area baker who serves both amazing TikTok (cake) lewks AND the most delicious cakes (and sweet treats) around.

Like many things in our wedding planning process, we told Tacie all our hopes and dreams about our cake for 30 minutes, and she perfectly summarized and started creating deliciousness from all our rambling.

In summary, we wanted a small cake that was tart yet sweet, with rustic icing/design. For flavors, we said raspberry, lemon, and vanilla – and let Tacie’s baking imagination run wild.

Will it be a lemon cake with raspberry jam between layers? Or a vanilla cake with lemon curd and raspberries on top? When asked these questions, we told Tacie to do her thing. We trust her. And when is cake ever not good?

Anyway – here are a few snapshots of this hobby turned passionate mini side hustle. I mean, she can bake and knows how to find the right light when taking pictures. How did we get so lucky?!

Photo Credit: Snackg1rl

Photo Credit: Snackg1rl

Photo Credit: Snackg1rl

Whimsical Wedding Florals

Funky Florals

How Fireside Farm is bringing our love of greenery & wildflowers into our wedding florals!

When I was in elementary school, I used to ride my bike down the street to Willowbrook Creek, down the sledding hill, and drop my bike at the foot of a giant magnolia tree. I spent hours climbing in this fortress. It was gigantic, peaceful, hidden, and one of the best memories I have.

I always loved magnolia flowers and the best of all – the leaves with fuzzy brown backs that kept them from wilting. I remember wondering why some girls wanted roses when they could have the magnolia tree in whatever season – with the fuzzy pods, leaves, or the beautiful flowers.

My love for greenery has not changed. In fact, it’s the only part of the childhood to college to adulthood wedding dream that has stuck. (Okay, and the fact that I’ll be groovin’ to some classic ‘60s tunes on the dance floor).

I never really loved flowers until I met Ivy. (Cue the “awws”) For Ivy, her love of wildflowers & luscious green herbs comes from her mom & aunt. There was always a bountiful lavender bush outside of her home in Maine, and a vase of wildflowers on the table. Ivy carried this tradition with her, and we try to keep the vases in our house full of sunflowers, celosias, daisies, and more whenever we can.

Anyway – enough with the sappiness and onto the point! Our tables will obviously be covered in greenery! This greenery will include Italian ruscus on the table, and bud vases filled with herbs, funky summertime flowers, and general floral texture.

For such a specific vision, I knew I wanted to speak with a farmer – someone who would use seasonal flowers and someone who appreciated playing in the dirt maybe even more than I did (and still do).

After talking to a trusted flower farmer pal & some slight instagram sleuthing I knew exactly who we needed to bring our floral vision to life: Fireside Farm!

“Brought together by their shared love for swimming in the Eno River and reading Adrienne Rich, Randall and Lisa fell in love in 2004 while teaching at Duke Young Writers Camp. Three years later, they took John Prine’s advice, smashed their TV, and moved to the country. It was a drought year in 2007, so they sought land with a deep well. They found nine remote acres with a spring on it near the Cane Creek Reservoir.”

Photo Credit: Fireside Farm

Photo Credit: May Caudillo Photography

Photo Credit: Fireside Farm

Y’all – I cannot rave enough about my experience. Lisa Joyner, farm co-owner and our wedding floral visionary is really just so great.

Fireside Farm works with high-end seasonal flowers they grow themselves or source from a local distributor. They have a large range of design, but veer toward playful and organic, highlighting the natural texture of the flowers and greenery – with some fun surprise elements – meaning no two bouquets are ever the same. I seriously love that so much!

They offer everything from full service floral to DIY, and a custom mix of both. We opted for that combination of the two – Lisa will be designing and assembling boutonnieres for us and our immediate family, as well as our arbor. We will get a few bulk flower buckets to fill 60 small bud vases that will be set up on the tables in the ballroom and throughout the venue – our DIY portion!

I love funky flowers, but I certainly do not know the names of them all! I’m so happy to have Lisa and her team take our rambling love for greenery and wildflowers and turn it into something stunning.

Here’s what she came up with – I can’t even wait to see what she creates! (I mean she did tell me the lush amaranth on the farm has our name written allllll over it….!)

Design Style:

Funky, whimsical, vintage, & non-traditional

Color Palette:

Neutral tones; light blue, light pink, white, yellow, peach, dusty rose with accents of burnt orange – no bright primary colors! 

Possible Varieties:

Celosia (flamingo feather), lavender, rosemary, lots of greenery and grasses, lisianthus, blue thistle, feathertop grass, amaranth, eucalyptus, zinnia, gomphrena, dahlia, cosmos, billy balls, muhli grass

All About FLAVOR: How We Selected our Caterer!

All About Flavor

Creating a delicious wedding day menu thanks to our caterer AC Events!

Ivy and I LOVE to eat. We’re always on the search for (and stuffing our faces with) really really tasty food.

I’m someone who snacks all the time, and though I try my hardest to conform to three square meals a day, I am driven by flavor-packed bites. Ivy is one of the better cooks I know and while she’s a sucker for a sit-down dinner of steak frites, she shares that passion for absolutely delicious food. Cleary, it’s a match made in heaven!

When dreaming about our wedding day, we knew we wanted to serve good food – bites of sweet, savory, spicy, & absolutely yummy flavors. But even more than that, we wanted our August wedding weekend to tell a story of summer, the foods we dream of when we think of this hot, yet incredible growing season. Plus, we wanted people to just have a good time eating!

Here’s the plan: Our weekend starts with a rehearsal brunch at Vin Rouge – a French bistro on 9th Street packed with charm while serving up some of the best French cuisine around. That evening, we’ll welcome our guests with some beer cheers (and maybe a pizza pie) at Ponysaurus Brewing Co. For our wedding day dessert, we knew it had to be donuts from Duck Donuts and a cake from our bff and baking extraordinaire @snackg1rl (more on the sweet treats coming soon)! And most importantly … drum roll please … our wedding caterer, AC Events!

It only took one look at the AC Events menu to know we had struck gold for our wedding. I mean, of course James Beard Award Winning Chef Ashley Christensen could create a cohesive menu to tell the story of our childhood summers through taste! Truly, it was one of the easiest decisions we made throughout our entire wedding planning process. (Scroll to see our menu!)

Our Summer Stories

Summer to me means tomatoes – my favorite food. North Carolina summers as a kid meant spending time in my grandparents’ gardens – plucking tomatoes from the vine, apples from the tree, snapping green beans, & listing to corn-starched okra pop in the oil fryer. Lunches of white bread, Duke’s mayo, and thick tomato slices. Or pimento cheese with potato chip – courtesy of my mom. I wanted to bring this part of me and my taste buds to the menu.

For Ivy, her summers meant a month in Maine, riding bikes to jump in chilly ocean waters and after, enjoying a half and half tea (what us Southerners would call an Arnold Palmer). It meant full-fledged family dinners at the lobster shack and slurping fresh oysters with friends by the water. If she was telling you about this, she would never forget to mention road trips to Nebraska in her dad’s ‘63 Land Rover – trips which produced some of the best childhood pictures of Ivy, that’s for sure.

Like all of our wedding – we wanted to share the story of us in ways beyond words. I think the menu below nails it!

Our Summer Wedding Menu

Pre-Ceremony Passed Bites

• Crushed avocado with lemon oil on sliced cucumber

• Classic deviled eggs

• Chilled tomato gazpacho shots with micro basil

Post-Ceremony Passed Bites

• Little Caesars - parmesan crackers with white anchovy-champagne vinaigrette, shredded romaine, and parmesan

• Blackened Carolina shrimp with saffron aioli

• Macaroni au gratin frittatine with roasted tomato relish

• Prosciutto with truffle honey

• Mini tomato pies with basil and horseradish

Post-Ceremony Passed Sliders

• Lil' lobster rolls - Maine lobster salad with brown butter mayo and chives

• Braised short rib sliders with horseradish crema

• Field pea hummus with pita chips

Post-Ceremony Displayed Platters

• Oyster Boat Display: house made mignonette, roasted tomato cocktail sauce, lemon, fried saltines

• Vegetable crudité with avocado green goddess dressing

• Charcuterie selections next to Poole's pimento cheese with accoutrement (pickles, mustard, crostini, etc.)

Coffee Station

• Counter Culture Coffee- with raw sugar + howling cow cream

Late-Night Passed Bites

• Mini baller grilled cheeses

• Mini chicken and waffles

Photo Credit: Kate Thompson Weddings | Planning: Events by Emily

Wedding Planning: Guest Count, Planner, The Cookery – Oh YAY!

Less than 2 months to go!

August 21, 2022 is fast approaching. Here’s the deets of our planning process!

Hi all – Charlotte here. After a few months of enjoying our engagement and then diving into wedding planning, I’m back and here to share all the things we’ve learned along the way!

When Ivy and I got engaged in April 2021, we knew one thing for sure – our wedding was going be one heck of a good party. We were excited to celebrate with our friends and family but really, we were ready to snag a beer and hit the dance floor!

It was clear from the outset that we had a specific “vibe” (as the kids say) in mind for our wedding day, which was a great natural starting point for the planning process – a process brand new to us both. For our big day, we had one goal: for everything (from our outfits to the food) to feel authentic and genuine, and to keep the stress levels at a minimum (or at least in perspective)!

Let me break down what we’ve learned over the past 6 months, starting with our first three major steps.

#1: Start with a Guest List and Count:

The Cookery is an incredible space for big grand weddings as well as small, intimate gatherings. We knew our guest count would be veering on the bigger side and the flow of The Cookery’s grounds was perfect for what we had in mind. 

We sat down and made the list – grandparents, best friends, family friends and all. In the end, we sent out 180 invites! When we jumped into planning, we originally went with an estimated 175 guests. This number helped us plan nearly every aspect of our wedding – catering, florals and table greenery, rentals (linens, champagne glasses, dance floor, etc.), and much more.

Plus, creating a list of all the people who will be breaking it down on the dance floor with you just makes every other aspect of the to-do list worth it. Imagining this day with people’s faces in mind made us so excited!

#2: Book a Venue!

After we figured out our magical head count figure, we went venue searching! Since Ivy is a Brooklyn native, one of her main priorities was walkability. We planned to have an after party at a local dive bar after our wedding, wanted people to walk instead of drive, and most of all, wanted to give those visiting from out of town a taste of our city. It was a no-brainer: we had to book a downtown Durham venue!

We toured The Rickhouse located on Foster Street right smack in the middle of downtown Durham. We were enchanted by the balcony overlooking the Old Durham Ballpark Stadium, as well as the giant windows letting sunlight beam into their gorgeous space. But…

After, we toured The Cookery, Ivy was head over heels – with The Cookery! After some rock. paper, scissors, to decide our favorite Cast Iron Group venue, we decided on The Cookery!

The Cookery offered beautiful details that aligned with what we’d already been dreaming up!

We’re beer nerds – so it was a great fun fact that Ponysaurus Brewing Co. was started in the tiny attic of The Cookery – and on tap! Plus, with a large guest count, we knew the numerous bar tops at The Cookery would come in extra handy. Boasting a total of 40 feet of bar, including a three-section ballroom bar, Ivy fell in love with the idea of a small bar placed in the courtyard, offering some of our favorite beer (Ponysaurus, of course) as guests arrived for a cocktail hour. And of course – The Cookery was just a stones throw from downtown, making Ivy’s NYC walking dreams in Durham a reality.

While so much more planning would come later, The Cookery was a stunning venue – full stop. Any rentals, food, drinks, florals, and people would only add to the space. It was clear when we signed our names – this place has been and would continue to be a space filled with love, laughter, and a whole lotta fun!

#3: Select a Wedding Planner

When we started planning, I was pretty confident that we had what it took to pull off a gorgeous wedding with 175 guests and somehow still be able to be present and enjoy our wedding day. Turns out that is a very difficult task.

I quickly realized that in order to be able to enjoy the day we were planning, we needed professional help! It turns out the Triangle has a very long list of excellent planners, but we started with what we knew: we wanted a planner familiar with The Cookery.

We picked none other than Emily Izakowitz of Events by Emily – and her incredible associate planner Rebecca – as they had planned and executed like, a zillion weddings at The Cookery. We wanted an experienced planner who knew our event space and staff!

Figuring out how involved you want your planner to be is another task. We felt confident we could plan out most of the details, but needed help when it came to figuring out how to transition 180 people from one room to another, knowing how long it takes folks to eat dinner, setting up a donut display during dinnertime and more. Your planners are there to help with all the bizarre facts you never needed to know until trying to get married!

We ultimately decided to go with a Month-Of Wedding Coordination Package.

This package meant that we would plan the big items – vendors, themes, decor, and smaller details – but that our planner would make sure all of our well-laid plans became a reality. On the big day, our planner will be around for all the parts that we’ve planned, so we don’t have to be: vendor load-in and point-of-contact, timeline management, supervising the set-up of decor and event rentals, coordinating with the DJ about transitions, clean-up, and most importantly: taking care of any surprises!

With a coordinator present, this means August (four weeks prior to our wedding) is going to look much less bride-zilla x 2 and more like champagne toasts and happy soon-to-be-wives (and lives)!

We’re so thankful to have Rebecca and Event by Emily help us bring our wedding dream to life!

BONUS: Don’t Forget to be Excited!

Once we figured out our guest count and secured the venue and our planner, we felt like we’d really started the process. So clearly, it was time to kick back with a drink, right? RIGHT! We took a break to center ourselves and remember that at the end of the day, we we’re here to celebrate – now, tomorrow, and again at our wedding. We can’t wait to be married!!

We’re Engaged! Now, Let’s Plan a Wedding!

Nice to Meet You!

We’re Ivy (left) and Charlotte (right)!

Hi, I’m Charlotte! Ivy and I are so thrilled to be getting married at The Cookery on August, 21, 2022 – less than 8 months away. In just a few weeks, we’ll be diving into planning the smaller details of our wedding and we figured we’d bring you along for the ride. We’re so excited to share the planning essentials we’ve already covered, plus the little details of organizing a stellar party to celebrate our love!

A little bit about us:

I’m the Social Media & Marketing Coordinator for Cast Iron Group which encompasses The Cookery, The Rickhouse, Dashi, and Ponysaurus Brewing Co. Ivy is a criminal defense attorney for the Center for Death Penalty Litigation in downtown Durham. I grew up in Burlington, North Carolina, while Ivy grew up in Brooklyn, NY – and now we call Durham home! We’ve been dating for four years – though we both knew pretty early on we were meant to be!

How we met:

We’re a Tinder success story! We matched on Tinder in August 2017 & went on our first date at Steel String Brewery in Carrboro, where Ivy was living at the time – she had just graduated from Carolina Law. Ivy’s Tinder bio read, “Likes criminal justice reform and beer," and I knew I was going to like her.

What was clear on our first date is still true today: there’s never a shortage of things to talk about, we keep each other laughing, and it all just feels so right! After that date in August, Ivy met my parents in the Fall, we booked flights to meet her family and friends in Brooklyn a few months later, and before Christmas, after a drag show at the Pinhook one evening, we said “I love you.”

With some magical adventures under our belts – Paris, Prague, Vienna, & even the average night in the comfort of our home (talking about you, 2020…) – we got engaged in April 2021! Life is sweeter with Ivy and I’m so happy we get to do it forever!

Why we decided to get married at The Cookery:

The first time I ever heard of The Cookery was about two years into our relationship when we drove by the venue on our way home one evening. Ivy pointed at The Cookery and said, “Should we just get married at The Cookery? It’s indoor and outdoor – you’d love it.” At that time, that prompted a curious look from me – married? us? The Cookery?

Flash forward and here we are! When we got engaged and began thinking about where we wanted to tie the knot, it was a no-brainer – The Cookery is the most perfect place for us! We may be biased, but The Cookery has everything we want and more: a spacious venue with multiple settings for celebration and dining for our 170+ guest list, garage doors leading from indoor to outdoor spaces, amazing market lights above the space where we’ll place our dance floor, over 40 feet of bartop across two bars, and lastly – one of my favorite things – amazing historic architectural pieces that make the The Cookery even more special. We’re so excited to have our friends & family celebrate with us in such a gorgeous space!

More soon:

Stay tuned for more blogs to come! We’ll be sharing all the behind-the-scenes details of how we chose our wedding planner, DJ, photographer, caterer, and much, much more!