Luxurious Modern Wedding at the Proximity Hotel | Meghan and Josh

A DC film wedding photographer photographs an elegant couple at their modern wedding at The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro.

I’ve had the incredible privilege of knowing Meghan for years and years, and was over the moon when she reached out to me to photograph her wedding. I was so excited to see what she came up with due to her incredible personal style. After two wedding day reschedules, she and Josh decided to move forward with an elegant and intimate wedding day at the modern Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was such a phenomenal honor to shoot such a memorable day.

How did you choose your venue?

“I chose Proximity Hotel for both our ceremony and reception. I have always known I would get married at this hotel and I didn’t ever consider anywhere else. The social lobby with the spiral staircases and large, dramatic windows is such a stunning backdrop. I worked with this company after I graduated from university and so I was very familiar with their commitment to honest hospitality, attention to detail & ability to create bespoke events. To boot, The Proximity Hotel was the first certified LEED Platinum Hotel in the country and I have always been so impressed with their ability to delivery such luxury experiences while keeping sustainability as their true north.”

A DC wedding photographer photographs a wedding at The Proximity Hotel, a modern wedding venue in Greensboro, North Carolina.

How did you and Josh meet?

“Our relationship is truly just an evolution of a friendship that began a long time ago. Which is a really lovely way of sharing that I was far more interested in him than he was interested in me for a lengthy bit of time after we first met. And I am nothing if not persistent, which is also a really lovely way of sharing that I basically pursued him until he agreed to begin taking me on dates & start returning my text messages in a timely manner…both key ingredients in a budding romance. Although, the way that I have just shared the beginning of our story makes it seem as if I grafted myself to him – which is also not totally inaccurate…I want what I want & surely do not apologize for this! Our relationship has always felt so effortless…We are perfect opposites. Josh is grounded, calm, and kind and I am enthusiastic, headstrong, and very particular. Recently, someone asked me this question: ‘How do you know that you’re in love?’. My initial response was quick & that, ‘you just know’. In reflecting now, my answer has changed. Over some time, home became wherever he was. And that is truly how I knew I was in love – I was never gobsmacked with it, it just came to be so.”

Which detail did you love the most about your wedding?

“I have always loved flowers and I knew I wanted to feature them in a unique way for my wedding. All of my flowers were absolutely my most favorite detail of the day. When Vivian and I were considering my bouquet, I am a tiny gal and we worried that having a large bouquet would hide my dress and overwhelm me. I opted for a colorless palette for the wedding to allow the dramatic space to remain the highlight of the ceremony. My bouquet was simple – creamy white roses & white anemones and Josh wore a white anemone on his lapel. I cried actual tears when I saw the floral decorations and installations that Vivian created for both the ceremony and reception. The Proximity has a number of these dramatic, bare crape myrtle trees. For both the ceremony and reception, Vivian covered them with lights and baby’s breath & the result was absolutely stunning…they were so delicate, ethereal, and dramatic at the same time – truly breathtaking. Our reception centerpieces were honestly exactly what I had imagined when Vivian & I began creating a vision. I wanted my arrangements to be dramatic, architectural, tall but not overwhelming, featuring intentional voids to keep the tables feeling light and sight lines open. They were absolutely perfect & featured leggy white belladonna delphinium, ranunculus, hellebores & more baby’s breath set in the center of large white coupe bowls.”

What were some of your favorite moments from your wedding day? Did anything funny happen? What made you laugh or cry?

My twin sister lives in Calgary, Alberta and was unable to attend the wedding due to international travel restrictions. She was my only bridesmaid as my maid of honor & I was honestly really worried about how I would feel celebrating my wedding without her. We have always been so close. That worry faded as several of my closest friends took over my bridal suite & shared the morning with me as I got ready! We had snacks & champagne & laughs – I felt so loved & supported – it was truly such a highlight of my day. I sure missed having my sister there, but I am so grateful for the love I was shown from so many to make sure I was never alone! I ordered giant cut outs of my sister & her girlfriend’s faces, so they were there in spirit. I’m lucky to have an uncle who is in the film business, so we also streamed the wedding for her & everyone else to watch who couldn’t attend. I forgot my bouquet in the processional! I’m pretty sure no one has ever done that before…I handed it to my flower girl to keep her occupied before the ceremony & I must have never gotten in back! I made it half way down the aisle with my dad & realized what I had done & I think I threw my hands up & said something like ‘Oh my god, I forgot my bouquet!’. It somehow made it’s way down the aisle in time for the processional, thank goodness. I chalk it up to 2020. We decided to included a toast in our ceremony as well! With such an intimate group of folks in attendance & a later-in-the-day ceremony, all guests were greeted with champagne as they arrived. I wanted it to feel like an elevated experience from the very beginning. And this allowed us to include all who were attending remotely to join us in a toast as well! I wasn’t sure how it was going to play out (I’ve never been to a wedding with a toast right after the vows!) but it was such a funky & special addition to our ceremony…I’m really glad we did it! What was really special about the size of our wedding was that we were truly able to spend time with everyone who came…when we started planning our wedding in 2018, we had originally hoped for a small ceremony & reception. As we got further into planning, our guest list grew to around 130 (and don’t get me wrong, I was really looking forward to my March wedding also!) but it’s as if we were actually able to have what we had wanted all along. We sure missed having so many of our family & friends with us to celebrate, but the love & support we felt from a distance was unbelievable. And my friends who were able to attend bring a party no matter how many people are in the room, so I sure didn’t miss out on any dancing or laughing!