Happiest wedding week, Alexandra and Chris!! I am so very excited to be sharing Alexandra’s bride spotlight with you today, along with Alexandra and Chris’ engagement photos! We’re just a few days away from their wedding at the breathtaking Duke Chapel and the Cotton Room in Durham, and it’s been such an incredibly fun year planning and designing their wedding with Alexandra and her sweet mom, Janet.

Over the past year, I’ve gotten to know these two, and Alexandra and Chris are kind, warm, hilarious, passionate, wise, inspiring, loving, generous, and so intentional and thoughtful. Their love is inspiring, and they are so deeply in love! I cannot wait for Alexandra and Chris to be celebrated so well by their amazing family and friends as they are married. Throughout their engagement, we planned a wedding that reflected their love story so intentionally, kept their marriage as the focus, selected meaningful and intentional details and designs, and celebrated their family, friends, and community with so much genuine love, generosity, and excitement! It has been a deep honor and privelege to witness their love, as well as to get to know Alexandra and her mom so well — they have been such a gift to me, and I am so grateful for them.

Alexandra and Chris, your wedding week is officially here, and I hope you feel nothing but an abundance of love, peace, and joy as you two are married and are celebrated with such deep joy and excitement! I know these two lovebirds are so, so very excited to tie the knot and celebrate with their family and friends in Durham! It’s hard to put into words just how special Alexandra, Chris, and their families are and how utterly thrilled I am for them to be married this weekend… and to bring their dream wedding day to life with so many exceptional vendors!

I’m so excited to share Alexandra’s bride spotlight with you today, where you can learn more about the two of them, their love story, and what they’re most excited about on their wedding day! Also, are they not the most adorablecouple just bursting with joy?! Their love and happiness simply radiates in their engagement session by the incomparable Kelsey Nelson Photo — swoon!! I also love that their engagement session takes place on the grounds of UNC’s picture-perfect campus, a spot very near and dear to Alexandra and Chris’ heart, as they both are alums of UNC. It’s fitting, then, that their ceremony is at Duke Chapel, where they met during business school!

Tell us a little bit about you and your fiance, Chris. Chris and I met during graduate school at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. We were friends during most of our two years in Durham, but didn’t start dating until our final semester. We bonded over our love for the Tar Heels (both UNC graduates) and time together working on Fuqua’s quarterly comedy show.  After graduation, we dated long distance between St. Louis and Atlanta, planning trips every other weekend to see each other. Fast forward two years and we’re now finally in the same city and enjoying all of life’s adventures together. He’s my best friend and I can’t wait to marry him in August!

What are you most excited for about your wedding day? Do you have a moment of your wedding day that you’re most anticipating? I’m most excited to walk down the aisle. I can’t wait to see Chris waiting at the end and to see all of our closest family and friends as I walk by. It will also be such a special moment walking alongside my dad. I’m hoping I don’t ugly cry!

What was your biggest inspiration for your wedding design? Having the ceremony at the Duke Chapel shaped many of our design ideas for the wedding. Given the grandness of the space, we went with a darker color palette – navy with accents of gold, white, and sage.  At the Cotton Room, we will carry over those same colors and themes – I’m very excited to see how it all turns out!

Are you doing a first look or saving it for walking down the aisle? I’ll do a first look with my dad, but I’m saving the first look with Chris for walking down the aisle.

Describe your style in one word. Timeless.

What’s your favorite way to relax and unwind? It’s a toss-up – I love going for a run to unwind and de-stress, but I also enjoy watching a favorite show with Chris to just relax.

What is something you’re passionate about? What are some things you and Chris love to do together? I’m passionate about building community between people with and without disabilities. I have loved coaching Special Olympics teams in the past and hope to continue to do so in the future. Chris and I are also both very passionate about fitness – I love distance running and Chris enjoys Cross Fit and Olympic weightlifting. Together, we love to go on active adventures – biking in St. Louis, runs through Forest Park, skeet shooting, and other fun outdoor activities. We also both love spending time with our families and enjoy travel – Outer Banks is an annual favorite.

What has been the biggest surprise in the wedding planning process? I knew wedding planning would require many decisions on many details, but I didn’t realize just how many there were!  I’m so thankful for both my mom and Stephanie who did the majority of the planning!

What is your favorite part of your wedding design? I love all of it – so many thanks to Stephanie for bringing our vision to life!  I can’t wait to see how the many small, personal details that we’ve selected along the way come together on August 3rd.

What is your favorite thing about Chris? It’s hard to pick just one! His sense of humor and his confidence are two of my favorite things. Chris makes me smile and laugh every single day. He balances my tendencies to worry and over-plan with his humor and laid back perspective (and patience :)). Chris is also one of the most confident and self-assured people I have ever met. He is always genuinely himself and he inspires me to always be true to who I am in all situations.

Stayed tuned this weekend for lots of sneak peeks of their wedding on my Instagram! I already can’t wait to see it all come to life for Alexandra and Chris as we celebrate this joyous, gorgeous day!

all photos by Kelsey Nelson Photography

PS: read more bridal spotlights here + here + here + here + here + here + here!