Carolina Inn Wedding Photography
I photographed my first Carolina Inn wedding back in 2011, and it has been one of my favourite Chapel Hill wedding venues ever since.
What I like most about photographing weddings here is the variety. There’s the historic architecture, brickwork, magnolia trees, courtyards, lawns, archways and all sorts of little corners that can look completely different depending on the time of day, season and weather.
And that means I don’t have a set formula for photographing a wedding at the Carolina Inn. Even if I’ve photographed in a particular spot many times before, I’ll usually be looking for a different angle, a different lens or a different way of using the light. I want each couple to come away with photographs that feel like their wedding rather than a recreation of somebody else’s.
My approach is essentially the same as it is at every wedding I photograph: I’ll give you direction when it’s useful, but I also want you to have the space to enjoy your wedding and actually be yourselves. Some of my favourite photographs at the Carolina Inn have happened when I’ve stopped directing altogether and simply let something unfold.
Getting Ready at the Carolina Inn
One of the advantages of having your wedding at the Carolina Inn is being able to get ready in the same building as your reception. It keeps the morning relatively simple, but it also gives me plenty to work with photographically.
I use the rooms themselves as part of the story – windows, mirrors, doorways, corridors and the Inn’s existing décor – rather than trying to turn them into a studio. I’ll normally spend most of my time photographing the people and interactions happening around me, while my second photographer can do the same with the other half of the wedding party.
It helps enormously if you have your dress, rings, jewellery, invitations and anything else that’s important to you together before I arrive. I’ll photograph those details, but elaborate flat lays aren’t a major focus of the way I work. If that’s something you particularly want, let your planner know beforehand so everything can be prepared and we can allow enough time for it.
The goal is really to have all of that organised so that once everyone is together, you can forget about the photography and enjoy what’s happening.
First Looks at the Carolina Inn
The Carolina Inn has some great locations for a first look, but one thing I’ve learned from photographing weddings here for so long is not to become too attached to one particular spot.
It’s a busy hotel. There may be another wedding happening at the same time, guests coming and going, planners setting up spaces or another couple using the location you had in mind. The black-and-white hallway, for example, is understandably popular, but it isn’t always going to be quiet or available at exactly the moment we need it.
I prefer to look at what’s happening on the day and choose somewhere that gives you a good combination of light, privacy and atmosphere. I’ll tell you where to stand and how we’re going to bring you together, but once you see each other, I’ll generally back away and let the moment happen.
One of my favourite Carolina Inn first looks happened on December 22, right around the winter solstice. The couple were getting ready at the Inn before heading to Duke Gardens for portraits and then Duke Chapel for their ceremony.
The Inn was decorated for Christmas and the winter light was beautiful. I chose the first-look location and got them into position, then stepped well back while they exchanged personal vows. I couldn’t hear what they were saying – and that was absolutely fine with me. Those words were for each other, not for my camera.
Afterwards, the groom spontaneously picked up his bride. I hadn’t asked him to do it. I just happened to be in the right place when he did. Those are exactly the kinds of photographs I love making.
That same day I made some window-light portraits of the bride while working alongside the videographer. He had her moving for one of his shots and I could see something I liked developing. With a couple of small changes to her position, it turned into a series of portraits I particularly loved.
That’s a pretty good example of how I like to work here: have a plan, but keep watching for something better.
Wedding Portraits at the Carolina Inn
There isn’t one place at the Carolina Inn where I automatically take every couple for portraits. That’s part of the appeal.
The brick exterior, archways, covered areas, courtyards, magnolias, lawns and little pockets of shade all give us options. Where we actually go depends on the light, weather, time of year, how busy the Inn is and, most importantly, what appeals to you.
Even when I return to somewhere I’ve used before, I’ll normally be looking for another way to photograph it. Changing the lens, shooting from somewhere unexpected or simply returning when the light has changed can make a familiar location look completely different.
The Old Well and UNC Campus Wedding Portraits
If UNC is an important part of your story, it makes complete sense to incorporate the campus into your wedding photographs. The Old Well is the obvious landmark, but I also like using the Quad, the older university buildings and whatever else catches my eye while we’re walking.
The biggest thing to understand is that going onto campus isn’t a five-minute detour. If you want to do it properly, I recommend allowing around an hour in the timeline for the whole trip. I wouldn’t really want much less than about 40 minutes.
Depending on everyone’s pace, it can take around 15 minutes just to walk over from the Carolina Inn. Comfortable shoes or flats for the walk are a very good idea.
And don’t assume we’ll have the Old Well to ourselves. It’s one of the most photographed places on campus and can be particularly busy around graduation and other university events. I would much rather give another couple or family a couple of minutes and photograph somewhere nearby than spend your wedding portrait time standing in a queue.
That’s another reason I recommend allowing some breathing room. The Old Well can be part of the plan without becoming the entire plan.
UNC and Duke on the Same Wedding Day
Combining UNC and Duke on the same wedding day might sound like sacrilege to some North Carolinians, but photographically the two work remarkably well together. I’ve photographed quite a few weddings with getting ready and the reception at the Carolina Inn and the ceremony at Duke Chapel.
The Carolina Inn gives you the warmth, history and character of Chapel Hill, while Duke Chapel brings a completely different sense of scale and drama to the ceremony. Rivalries aside, they’re actually very complementary venues.
The important thing with a multi-venue wedding is not to make the timeline too tight. Travel time is only part of it. People need to get downstairs, load cars, park, unload and get where they’re supposed to be – and hair and make-up running 20 minutes late in the morning can ripple through everything that follows.
I work with my couples and their planner before the wedding to build the photography around the actual day. My main advice is simply to leave some wiggle room. A relaxed timeline almost always produces better photographs than trying to squeeze every possible location into the smallest possible window.
Indoor Ceremonies and Existing Light
I’ve photographed ceremonies in several different spaces at the Carolina Inn, including rooms where there isn’t much – or sometimes any – outside window light reaching the ceremony itself.
That doesn’t bother me. I generally work with the existing room light during the ceremony – chandeliers, lamps, uplighting and whatever else is creating the atmosphere – rather than trying to overpower everything with flash.
I want the photographs to retain some sense of what the room actually felt like. If you’ve created a warm, candlelit atmosphere, I don’t want to turn it into something that looks like it was photographed under stadium lights.
Family portraits are different. If we’re working indoors and need more light, I can bring in a large studio light and make something clean and flattering without compromising the ceremony itself.
What If It Rains at Your Carolina Inn Wedding?
Rain changes the plan. It doesn’t have to ruin the photographs.
I’ve photographed Carolina Inn weddings in everything from intermittent drizzle to an all-day hurricane. What we do depends on how hard it’s raining, what’s happening around the hotel and, most importantly, what you’re comfortable doing.
At one New Year’s Eve wedding, it drizzled on and off but the couple were happy to go outside, so we took umbrellas and still made photographs around the Old Well. The umbrellas simply became part of the atmosphere.
For the family photographs, I positioned everyone underneath the Carolina Inn’s covered front porch. They stayed dry. I stood out in the rain. Occupational hazard!
At another wedding it poured all day during a hurricane, and the hotel was particularly busy because it was also a game-day weekend. The downstairs spaces were packed, so instead of fighting the crowds we went upstairs and used quieter corridors and sitting areas, working with window light and the Inn’s existing décor.
That’s really the advantage of knowing the venue. The answer isn’t always to force the original plan to work. Sometimes it’s knowing when to abandon it and find something better.
Photographing Receptions at the Carolina Inn
Once the reception starts, my coverage becomes predominantly documentary.
I’ll check in with the DJ so I know the running order for introductions, first dances, parent dances, toasts and anything else that’s planned. Then I let things happen.
When the dance floor gets going, I’ll get right in amongst it. But I don’t spend the entire reception photographing the same handful of people dancing.
At the Carolina Inn, particularly around the Old Well room, guests often migrate towards the bar, corridors and lobby areas. There are usually conversations, reunions and little interactions happening away from the dance floor that are just as much a part of the wedding.
So I move around and follow the people. Occasionally I’ll grab a few guests for a quick informal group portrait too. Most of those happen during cocktail hour, but sometimes the reception gives us another opportunity.
And every now and again, something completely unexpected happens. I’ve even photographed a Carolina Inn reception with an appearance from UNC’s mascot. You can’t really put that in the timeline.
Night Portraits at the Carolina Inn
Added lighting isn’t something I use simply because I can. Most of the time I’m looking first at the light that’s already there. But when additional light helps create the photograph I have in mind, I’ll use it.
For one nighttime portrait underneath the Carolina Inn’s porte-cochère, my assistant stood behind the couple with a continuous light. That gave me a rim of light around them while still allowing the architecture and ambient lights of the Inn to remain part of the photograph.
On another wedding, the couple changed into UNC-coloured Air Jordans for their sparkler exit. Once everyone had gone, we headed back over to the Old Well and I used an off-camera strobe to make a completely different set of portraits in the dark.
That’s one reason I don’t think wedding portraits necessarily need to end when the sun goes down.
Carolina Inn Ceremony and Reception Spaces
Although photography is the focus of this guide, it helps to understand how the different spaces at the Carolina Inn fit together.
Annie Watts Hill Courtyard
The Annie Watts Hill Courtyard gives you the Carolina Inn itself as part of the setting, including the brick exterior, entrance and surrounding greenery. It’s also useful photographically because we’re already surrounded by different backgrounds and can move quickly between portraits without disappearing from your guests for long.
Bryan Courtyard
Bryan Courtyard is another useful outdoor space for ceremonies, cocktail hours and portraits. The brick façades and more enclosed feel give it a very different look from the lawns and wider campus.
The Ballrooms
The Carolina Inn has several indoor event spaces, including the John Sprunt Hill Ballroom, Chancellor’s Ballroom and Old Well Ballroom. They vary considerably in scale and atmosphere, which is one reason I adapt the way I photograph each of them rather than using one lighting setup everywhere.
For current capacities, layouts and which spaces are available for your date, I recommend checking directly with the Carolina Inn. Those details can change, and the venue team will always have the most current information.
A Few Practical Tips for Planning a Carolina Inn Wedding
After photographing weddings here since 2011, these are the things I’d keep in mind from a photography point of view:
- Leave some wiggle room in the timeline. This matters even more if you’re planning a first look, UNC campus portraits or a ceremony somewhere else.
- Don’t become too attached to one exact portrait location. The Inn is busy and spaces are shared. The best location at 2pm may be completely different at 5pm.
- Allow around an hour if UNC campus portraits matter to you. Forty minutes is about the minimum I’d want to make the trip worthwhile.
- Bring comfortable shoes for the walk to the Old Well. You can always change back when we arrive.
- Have important details together before photography starts. It saves us searching for rings and invitations when I’d rather be photographing people.
- Have a rain plan, but don’t assume rain means staying inside. If you’re comfortable going outside and the conditions are safe, we can often still make something great.
- Trust the light rather than a Pinterest checklist. I’ll absolutely listen to what’s important to you, but I want to photograph your wedding as it actually looks and feels rather than recreate somebody else’s photographs.
About the Carolina Inn
The Carolina Inn sits in the heart of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus, putting the Old Well, UNC’s historic Quad, Coker Arboretum and Franklin Street within easy reach.
Its historic red-brick architecture, white columns, courtyards and mature landscaping are a big part of its character, while having guest rooms and event spaces under the same roof makes it particularly convenient for wedding weekends with people travelling into Chapel Hill.
For current information on wedding spaces, catering, accommodation, availability and packages, visit the official Carolina Inn website. I’d much rather concentrate here on the things I can genuinely help with: how the venue photographs and what I’ve learned from working here.
Carolina Inn Wedding Photography FAQs
How long should we allow for photographs at the Old Well?
If we’re walking from the Carolina Inn and photographing around the Old Well and UNC campus, I recommend allowing around an hour for the complete trip. About 40 minutes is the minimum I’d want to make it worthwhile.
Can we take wedding photographs around UNC as well as the Carolina Inn?
Absolutely. I do this regularly. The Old Well is an obvious favourite, but there are lots of other possibilities around the Quad and surrounding campus, and I prefer to keep our options open depending on light and how busy everything is.
Can we combine a Carolina Inn reception with a Duke Chapel ceremony?
Yes. I’ve photographed quite a few weddings that combine the two. It works extremely well, but I’d recommend building plenty of travel and transition time into the schedule rather than treating the drive between Chapel Hill and Duke as the only time you need to account for.
What happens if it rains?
We adapt. I’ve photographed couples with umbrellas around the Old Well, family portraits beneath the Carolina Inn’s covered porch and an entire hurricane wedding using quieter interior spaces when downstairs was packed. What we do depends on the weather, available spaces and what you’re comfortable with.
Do you use flash during indoor ceremonies?
Generally, no. I prefer to work with the existing room light during the ceremony so the photographs retain the atmosphere you actually experienced. I can add lighting for family portraits or use off-camera lighting creatively later in the evening when it benefits the photograph.
Do you know the Carolina Inn well?
I’ve been photographing weddings at the Carolina Inn since 2011. Knowing the venue is useful, but I don’t think that means repeating the same photographs every time. The real advantage is knowing what options are available when the light, weather, crowds or timeline change.
Planning Your Carolina Inn Wedding?
After photographing weddings here for more than a decade, I still enjoy coming back because no two Carolina Inn weddings feel quite the same. The building gives me plenty to work with, but ultimately the photographs are about the people inside it.
My aim is to document the real moments as they happen, create artistic portraits without turning your wedding into a photo shoot, and give you enough guidance that you never have to wonder what you’re supposed to be doing.
If you’d like to see complete examples, have a look through my Carolina Inn weddings. You can also see more of my work as a Chapel Hill wedding photographer or browse some of my favourite North Carolina wedding venues.
If you’re getting married at the Carolina Inn and my approach sounds like a good fit, get in touch and tell me what you’re planning.
