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.

Nicole + Chris's Highland Brewing Company Wedding || June 23, 2018

After 11 years together, Nicole and Chris made their vows to each other surrounded by friends and family who had traveled hundreds of miles to attend their destination wedding. Atop the roof of Highland Brewing, the warmth of everyone's love for the happy couple overwhelmed anything the summer heat could bring. Then, at the end of the night, these newlyweds cleared out their venue so that they could share one last dance together, just the two of them.

Asheville Engagement Photos || Nicole + Chris's Snowy engagement shoot

When Nicole, Christopher and I were planning their December engagement session, we knew it might be cold, but we certainly didn't anticipate the veritable blizzard that hit Asheville the night before. Nicole and Chris wanted to have a small destination wedding in our beautiful mountains so they came in from Chicago for a weekend getaway of wedding planning and brewery-touring, and it seems they brought the windy weather with them! Luckily for us, their car rental was actually a big truck with four-wheel drive so they picked me up (and even brought me coffee!) from my apartment and we trekked to downtown.

Asheville Family Portraits || Hazel's Newborn Session

Somehow, this sweet girl turns 1 this month which means I'm doing a little throwback to our photoshoot from last year. I don't frequently do newborn sessions, but after this one, I've totally fallen in love with the genre!

As with all of my shoots, I prefer to take the "lifestyle" approach to newborn photoshoots as it's not only easier on both child and parents, but better captures what life is really like during these precious first couple weeks. After all, to me, the joy in and importance of having infant photos made is having the ability to look back years later when they're older and remember exactly what life was like as new parents.

Ashli + Dustin || Wedding Album

I mentioned in Ashli and Dustin's wedding day blog post that I loved working with them because they were so down to earth, well this translated into the creation of their beautiful heirloom photo album, too. They went my personal favorite route and chose just enough photos to tell their full story, but few enough that their album displayed more than a few full-spread images spanning a breathtaking 24 inches wide.

Ashli + Dustin's Fairytale Summer Wedding at Homewood

It's not every day that you get to photograph in a manor built in the 1920's that happens to look like a European castle! But that's exactly what I got to do for Ashli and Dustin's wedding! From her intricately-beaded gown to their floral exit to the warm, golden sun: start to finish, the whole affair seemed straight out of a fairytale.

Cassady + Ross's Wedding Album

As the theme of the day had been "Just say yes," from Snow Patrol's same-titled song - and their first dance song - we began the storybook album with their phrase. From there, as they'd focused on enjoying time with their friends and family, I dedicated a majority of the spreads to group photos, both the few formals and the wide array of candid shots.

Cassady + Ross's Summer Wedding at Yesterday Spaces

We began our day at a little cottage in West Asheville where the ladies were getting ready. It was fantastic having the entire house to work with, particularly for detail shots as I got to incorporate the gorgeous door frames, wood floors and vibrant colors. Even in the midst of the prepping stress, the whole group was loose and goofy; dancing, laughing and even joking (in Cassady's case) with the coordinator. Well, that might have been a bit of the stress talking as the joke was about taking off to Mexico. Nonetheless, we had fun, even creating a few simple portraits of the bride (in the laundry room!) before heading off to the venue.

Thanksgiving Reflection: The Importance of Art Education

Each semester for the past 3 years, I get to work with a new group of Asheville Middle School (and Now Montford Northstar Academy) students teaching a darkroom photography program. For two semesters now, I've partnered with the Asheville Art Museum teaching a joint darkroom photo and mixed media class. On this year's Thanksgiving, I just wanted to share this work that's near and dear to me. I wholeheartedly believe that every single child deserves to be introduced to art in order to explore their creativity and personal voice and I'm thankful that I get to play a small part in these students' lives.

October 14, 2017 Artsy Fall Wedding in Black Mountain

I've worked with quite a few crafty couples, but Alexis and James may just take the cake for the most personalized elements in their wedding. Not only did James and Alexis's parents create all of the beautiful bottle decor and her niece make the cute little owl cupcakes, but the bride herself was adorned in family heirlooms with a handmade dress crafted by her mother to take the cake! But, as beautiful as all of these things were, it was the amount of time behind them, the amount of effort that the families put into Alexis and James' big day, that truly showed how special the pair is.

September 9, 2017 Wedding at the Basilica of St. Lawrence in Asheville, NC

Lauren and Eric's special day was no different; in fact, is was quite possible one of my favorite weddings I've ever shot because I got to see such an honest and wholehearted outpouring of love on all sides for the entire day (and a different side of Lauren than I saw capturing her on the tennis court!) From sweet mother and daughter moments while getting ready to the ladies-only trolley ride singing "Goin' to the Chapel", the devout Catholic ceremony to the celebratory kisses in front of the church, the tearful toasts to the energetic dancing - the whole day flew by as we soaked up every moment. Thank you to Lauren and Eric for letting me capture your big day and thank you to everyone who made their wedding so special!

August 5, 2017 Wedding at Homewood in Asheville, NC

As if something from a fairy tale, Ashli and Dustin celebrated their love for each other in a gorgeous restored 1920s manor; making their forever vows in front of the stone fireplace and sharing their first dance as husband and wife under a beautiful wrought iron chandelier. But while the location was magical, the food was delectable and the couple looked incredible, it was their pure joy in beginning their new journey together that really made the day exceptional. Thank you to everyone who made Ashli and Dustin's day so special; I can't wait to share more photos!

Ashli and Dustin's Downtown Asheville Engagement Shoot

As they both love the "stay local" motto of Asheville, we chose downtown as our backdrop and spend a very warm afternoon exploring the iconic sites as well as some hidden gems. My favorite part of shooting downtown is getting to work with all of the different forms of architecture (from the original 1900s art deco facades to the more recent additions) both as framing devices and general backgrounds. By far, my favorite photo from the shoot is the one above as I think it epitomizes the whole shoot: blue skies and historic buildings, warm glowing sunshine and a couple very much in love. I actually had them climb up a few-foot-tall light post base to be able to get below them for this epic shot, showing off their sense of adventure.

Anna Beth + Omar's Surprise Proposal

Getting that "Hey, I'm proposing to my girlfriend - could you photograph it?" message is always exhilarating, but even more so when you know the couple, and especially when said proposal is happening in two days! When Omar (my former weight room coach at UNC Asheville) reached out to me saying that he was planning to be in town (as he now lives states away) to propose to Anna Beth and wondered if there was any chance I might be free that Friday afternoon to capture their special moment, I knew that I would do whatever I could to make that schedule happen. And was it ever worth it!

July 29, 2017 Wedding in Sapphire, NC

I love the details and all the personal touches that couples infuse into their weddings, but when it all comes down to it, my very favorite thing about wedding photography is getting to capture the beginning of each couple's lifelong journey as they're surrounded by their loved ones. Meadow and Theo made their vows to each other in a beautiful sunlit field as the bride's dad presided, giving his own sound advice for a long and happy marriage: don't settle for the wedding being the best day of your life, make each day better than the last.

Meadow + Theo's Granite City Engagement Session

It's not every session that I get to rock hop through a cool new location AND capture the love of a couple of free spirits. Not often do I have the opportunity to shoot from exaggerated angles both high and low. And very rarely do I get to shimmy through rock crevices so narrow I have to hold my cameras in one hand and backpack in the other as I slide through sideways. Yet, I got to do all of these things last month for Meadow and Theo's engagement session!

Morgan + Mike || Wedding Album

In putting together this album, my focus was to tell Morgan and Mike's story of excitement (particularly in their first look), personality (especially through the personal touches in their decor) and pure happiness at saying their forever vows surrounded by friends and family, even family from across the ocean. Because they did a first look (one of my favorite parts of the day!) we spent the first hour relaxing and taking couples portraits and group shots with their maid-of-honor and best man.

Morgan + Mike's Highland Brewing Wedding

2017's wedding season began quite a bit earlier than I'd anticipated as I got to shoot my first winter wedding since my very first wedding 4 years previous. One afternoon I was taking a nap when I heard my phone buzzing and - after pulling myself out of a cozy slumber - booked a last minute wedding on the spot. You see, Morgan and Mike met in Ireland while she was studying abroad and with so many unknowns surrounding the visa process, they had to plan their wedding rather last minute as they had 90 days to get married once Mike's visa request was approved. Luckily, they had the wedding wizard, Michelle of Party Envy, to help and on a balmy January evening they said their "I do's" amidst friends and family.