Sarah Der Photography | Chapel Hill Wedding + Portrait Photographer bio picture
  • Hi, I’m Sarah.

    I'm a graduate of the University of Richmond, where I studied Studio Art and English. I am married to a scientist, have a pesky and clever French kitten named Toulouse, and just made my big move from snowy Ohio to a quaint, warm and peaceful apartment in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

    I quite enjoy taking lovely pictures, but my favorite part of being a photographer is telling stories--of love, of laughter, of commitment, joy and honesty. When I'm not behind the lens, you can always find me reading a very good book, trying my best to cook Indian food, trucking my way through a season of LOST, or traveling to visit friends and family (who can't seem to stay in one place). I think it would be wonderful to meet you for some good coffee. We can get to know one another. So when you're ready, send me a message to say hi, and we'll start from there.

Matt + Casey (+ Wilco!) | featured

I couldn’t be more excited to have Matt + Casey’s session featured over on the wonderful blog Let the Kids Dress Themselves. Check it out here and leave some love!

Let-The-Kids-Dress-Themselves-Feature

Charlottesville engagement session | missy + pancho

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I had the best time traveling up to Charlottesville a few weeks ago to see Missy + Pancho and to shoot their engagement session in the mountains. Though it was truly FREEZING and somewhere in between Ecuador and Virginia Pancho’s luggage was lost, the mountains were as beautiful as ever and there is nothing better than being around a couple as joyful as M + P. Can’t wait for their wedding–just a few months away (!)–and to share more of their unique story. Meanwhile, enjoy a petite peek at our time together–happy Monday, everyone!

Matt + Casey (+ Wilco!) around downtown Durham

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Stacey + Stephen | Richmond, VA

I’m finding it harder and harder to write these beginning excerpts (to wedding posts, especially!). I often have the urge to shout “See?! Look at these photos! Do you see what I mean!? ARE THEY NOT RIDICULOUSLY CUTE AND AWESOME!?” In S+S’s case, I could tell you how their wedding was really beautiful, their reception a big giant party, for friends and family to eat delicious food, dance (seriously), and spend the night celebrating these two. I could tell you how invested S+S are in their community of Church Hill, and how invested their community is in them, how everyone showed up to see them become husband and wife. I could tell you about how they met (Stephen asked Stacey to go on a “romantic” 9-mile run) or even enumerate their stated Wedding Day Rules (1. Must have fun, for example). I think i’ll just show you a little snippet of their wedding day story, if that’s okay. :)leigh street baptist churchtommy's garden floral arrangementbaptist wedding ceremonystacey and stephen married in decemberChurch hill activities and tutoring studentwedding photographer richmond groom gets readyRichmond wedding with bow tiessouthern wedding in richmond virginiateal bow ties at the weddingrichmond wedding ceremony at a baptist churchstephen and stacey weddingRichmond virginia churchchurch in richmond virginiaphotography richmondchapel hill wedding photographergiant bridal party in downtown richmondteal and purple and champagne colors for weddingteal bow ties for a weddingkent weir wedding dayCHAT kids at a weddingRichmond photochurch hill baptist weddingprayer before ceremony beginsleigh street baptist church ceremonymother daughter wedding momentwedding in church hill richmondhistoric church site in richmond vastacey and stephen are married!downtown richmond skyline from libby parkplant zero wedding receptionreception site in richmond virginiawedding sitereception site that is modernwedding reception in downtown richmondreception site old galleryweir weddingrichmond special event photographyawesome dancing space for receptionpaper lanterns hung on the ceilingreception space for church hillplant zero 00 e 3rd streetchurch hill wedding receptionsarah der photographychapel hill photographerAnd I’m so, so thankful to have had DC photographer Sam Hurd along for the day! Sam spent time with the boys before the ceremony, and is also to thank for the RIDICULOUS dancing photos in this post. If you’re not familiar with his work, head over to his blog and check it out!
Leigh Street Baptist Church | Plant Zero | Tommy’s Garden | White House Catering