Asheville Anniversary Photoshoot || Amanda + Imran's High Vista Wedding Session

Amanda and Imran got married in 2016 at The Laurel Room at High Vista. To celebrate both of their heritages, they had two days of festivities; the first their Pakistani celebration and then a more traditionally American ceremony the next day. Unfortunately, their Pakistani celebration was so hectic that they weren't able to take couple's portraits that evening, which is where I come in! When my former professor and Amanda's brother-in-law put us in touch, I jumped at the chance to not only fill in this photo gap for the sweet couple, but to also learn more about a wedding culture foreign to me. 

As luck would have it, we were able to get into the venue on their actual anniversary, so this photoshoot was a true celebration of their first two years of marriage. As the venue was obviously not set up in the same design as their wedding, we only took a few photos inside, but I did want to make sure to document the beautiful windows and high ceilings of the event center where they chose to celebrate their commitment. Afterwards, we spent the rest of our photoshoot outside on a lovely overcast evening. 

Though I'm often partial to overcast light anyways (the diffusion is always flattering!), it was especially useful for our shoot as the muted colors of the mountains and trees perfectly offset the jewel tones of their wedding garb. To show off the incredible textures of their brocade and beaded fabrics, I played with prisms and in-camera double exposures, layering the forrest and the stone wall over the happy couple to intwine them with their venue. 

As we toured the grounds, we chatted about their celebrations, discussed what we do for a living and they educated me on Pakistani wedding customs. Amanda and Imran were as sweet as can be and even after two years they could not stop gazing lovingly at each other, which made my job even easier! 

I love that I was able to make these portraits for them, to document their wedding outfits in their actual venue so that their wedding coverage was now complete. But I think it's especially cool that we could do so 2 years later, after the festivities had worn off and they'd gotten into the nitty gritty of marriage. Not only did they get to excitedly relive their day, but they got to do so with two years of commitment under their belts so that now they can look back and see how in love they truly were, deeper so than on their wedding day. In my opinion, a photoshoot is the best way to celebrate an anniversary for that reason; because you get to celebrate your commitment as well as document your ever-growing love for each other. 

Amanda and Imran plan to use these photos to decorate their home and I cannot wait to see what they look like in print!