As Chelsey and I chatted over a glass of Sancerre to brainstorm the next Gather Together styled photo shoot, we bounced ideas off each other. As we threw ideas back and forth, the underlying theme always surfaced: our true love of North Carolina and especially the fun, quirky and kind town of Durham.

North Carolina is rooted in the history of agriculture. From the booming tobacco industry in the Bull City in the turn of the century, to grist mills producing yellow grits, to the current slow food agricultural movement in the Triangle, North Carolina is constantly adapting and utilizing the earth that surrounds them. So our first big idea was agriculture, farms and food.


Farming tobacco and production of tobacco products was a huge industry in North Carolina. You can still see advertisements and company names on buildings in Durham.

As we honed in on our style, we know Durham and the surrounding areas have some incredible farm locations. Though we wanted to take a different angle; we weren't quite convinced that we wanted to do an ethereal farm wedding shoot. They are lovely, but what would make this styled shoot different and maybe a bit more "Durham?" Enter: The Cookery.


Food is key to any event! We are so excited that The Front Room at the Cookery is adding a venue on top of quality food purveyors!

While The Cookery is a land of culinary goodness in their commercial kitchens available for rent to food entrepreneurs, the Front Room (directly attached) is the newest major event venue in the Durham area. The Cookery and Front Room are both owned and loved by Nick & Rochelle Johnson. The couple went to great lengths to utilize reclaimed wood and metal from actual Durham factories and structures to renovate the warehouse into an upscale-urban-industrial feel.


Tobacco factories filled downtown Durham during the turn of the century. In the early 2000s, Durham revitalized many of these empty warehouses to create new and exciting commercial and residential areas.

And with a million notes jotted down and because we adore alliteration, the Farm & Factory concept was born. With help from our trusty Pinterest account, we have started an inspiration board. We are incredibly excited to be involved with The Cookery and plan to infuse this shoot with a plethora of Durham products. The shoot will take place in February, photographed by Sarah Der Photography, and brought together by many other amazing local wedding vendors.We can't wait to share it with you!

'Til we Gather Together again...
- Samantha