We’re not anti-tradition. We’re just pro-you.
Moonshine Micro Weddings exists to throw a wrench in the wedding industry, specifically the part of it that insists your day has to look a certain way, cost a certain amount, and feel like a performance.
Our story
Gabriella planned a micro wedding a decade ago — before anyone was calling it that.
She started in the wedding industry in California as an officiant, crafting ceremonies that sounded like the couple instead of a script. Her favorite compliment, still to this day: a guest walking up afterward to ask how she knows the couple, because she felt like a friend of the family.
When she moved to North Carolina, she started thinking bigger. What if the entire wedding day got the same treatment the ceremony did — every piece of it built around who the couple actually is, not what the industry thinks they should want?
That's Moonshine.
The name carries two meanings: moonshine the craft — handmade, independent, a little rebellious — and moonshine the light — the romance of the moon guiding our design sensibility. Heartfelt, handcrafted, and a little rebellious is our whole motto.
Why micro
Fifty guests is a deliberate limit, not a compromise. It’s the size where every person in the room has a genuinely special connection to you. It’s where your budget can go towards things that matter instead of feeding a crowd you half know. It also means we can design a truly custom event. Your decor isn’t replicated on an assembly line; it’s curated to reflect you for your day.
why north carolina
We’re based in Raleigh and work across the state: Durham, Chapel Hill, Asheville, Charlotte and all the beautiful places in-between. North Carolina has some of the most underrated venues in the country and we know where they are.
Our Core Values
Quality
Quality isn’t about perfection. It’s about meaning. The stuff that makes your day feel like it’s yours is usually tucked into the details; the song you danced to in the kitchen, the inside joke on the menu card, the way your people actually show up for you.
seriously unserious
The love is real. The pressure is optional. We honor the weight of the commitment without asking you to pretend it’s a production. Heels can come off at hour one. We can skip the cha cha slide. Cake can be pie.
joy
If you’re not present and enjoying your own wedding, what was the point? We build celebrations that feel good, not just look good in photos. Ease, connection, moments you get lost in. That is the standard.
Freedom & Creativity
Your wedding should look like your relationship, not like what’s trending. Cookie cutter isn’t our style and it isn’t yours either. We live in the “why not” and will find a way to “yes” every chance we get. We mean it when we say, “Your wedding, your way”.
Founder
Gabriella is the founder of Moonshine Micro Weddings. She hails from the San Francisco - Bay Area and finally relocated North Carolina after she saw the price of gas. She’s a wife, a mom, and an airborne Army veteran among other things. Gabriella has lived many lives and pushed many limits, all of which have led her to understand that LOVE transcends all.
This is the force behind wanting to help couples experience the joy of their wedding celebration without breaking the bank or being overtaken by the the theatrics. Thinking outside the box and getting s*** done is her specialty. She has a big personality, an even bigger heart, and will always find a way to “yes”.
Operations
LaKeshia is the Chief of Operations at Moonshine Micro Weddings. She comes by way of Los Angeles and brings the California sunshine wherever she goes. She has a nomadic spirit and has lived all across this country and even a couple others! Unafraid of the unknown, LaKeshia is equal parts fearless and fun, turning every ‘what if?’ into a confident ‘why not?’
She’s equal parts strategist and hype-woman, a connector and problem-solver who knows that her superpower is balancing the practical with the personal—keeping everything running smoothly while never losing sight of the people at the center of it all (YOU).
For LaKeshia, celebration is about connection, intention, and joy—the kind that lasts long after the flowers fade. Big-hearted and forward-thinking, she’s the calm in the chaos, the spark that keeps the vision moving forward, and the one you want in your corner when it’s time to make magic happen.
We’d love to hear your story
We're in Raleigh. We serve all of North Carolina. And we built Moonshine for couples who are ready to do this their way. If that sounds like you, let's talk.