Warm October Golden Hour Destination Wedding in the Mountains at Appalachian Lodge at Rivers Bend || Marshall, N

Far and away, my favorite trend right now is couples making their vows to each other privately, allowing for a few minutes of both raw emotion and quiet togetherness before diving into the chaos of their full public ceremony and celebration. Rhaisa and Jack’s private vows were particularly heartfelt, leaving all four of us a bit choked up as they soaked in the special moment and the spectacular view.

As we moved from the tranquility of their private vows to the gregarious jokes, tributes, and impressive dances shared with their loved ones, it was obvious just how loved this couple is.

Romantic Purple & Burgundy Gothic-Inspired Fall Wedding at the Grove Park Inn || Asheville, NC

Their dark romantic theme carried through the candlelight reception in the photographer’s dream of a floral color palette. Then, thanks to Amber & Sierra’s genius planning, we got to fully lean into the spooky vibes with a perfectly-matching smoke bomb to kick off their tiny-but-mighty dance party (followed by late night grilled cheese and milkshakes!) However, amidst all of their visual beauty and artistic details, it was their devotion to each other that wove through their celebration the most, leaving every person out on the lawn a little teary-eyed as these two made their deeply heartfelt vows to each other.

Amber + Chris's Elopement at the St. Jude's Chapel of Hope in Asheville, NC

Susan Marlan of Beloved Ceremony officiated the simple ceremony, and because this was a “true elopement” I also got to serve as a witness. Just after the bride and groom exchanged rings, and just before their first kiss, Chris leaned forward and rested his forehead against Amber’s, where they simply stood breathing each other in for a few moments. It’s these moments, the quiet and intimate scenes, that impact me the most - both as a photographer capturing the emotions before me and a human who feels everything deeply.

Photo Album || Keya + Eric's Engagement + Elopement Weekend

My goal was to make the two separate photoshoots blend together into one cohesive story about their lovely weekend, although we only spend about 5 hours total with them. As we ended our engagement shoot (see the full post here) with the most beautiful summer sunset leaving our couple in awe, I decided to set the scene with this opening photo of our Blue Ridge Mountains bathed in color. Photos-wise, from there I moved forward chronologically, ending our first day’s image showing Keya and Eric walking into the distance, alluding to their walk towards their future as husband and wife.

Wedding Photo Album || Nicole + Chris's Highland Brewing Company Wedding

By far, my favorite part of creating Nicole and Chris’s heirloom album was interweaving each line of their vows throughout the book. Design-wise, adding text to a photo album presents its own challenges; namely, how to make it readable without distracting from the photos. I shoot each wedding with the album in mind, using compositional elements like leading lines or shallow depth of field to create negative space perfect for overlaying words. Typically, if I’m adding just a few verses or quotations in an album, I can choose which already-designed (by me, in a different program) pages to pair the text with based on the blurb’s shaping. With Nicole and Chris’s I needed to keep their vows in the order they wrote them, and somehow as I was creating the photo layouts for each page, the text seemingly just fit right in perfectly. A reflection of how easily Nicole and Chris work together as well, I think.

Keya + Eric's Blue Ridge Parkway Sunset Engagement Session || Asheville, NC

When we finally reached the top of our hike, I had Keya and Eric pause before walking out onto the overlook while I set up my shot, then Emmaleigh led them onto the overlook while they kept their eyes closed. Finally, we had them hold hands and open their eyes. Keya let out an audible gasp as they gazed out over the clear mountain range where the sun was just beginning to set. It was right then that I knew we were really onto something, that this wasn’t just a photoshoot, but the perfect way to spend their last evening before becoming husband and wife.