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.

Bohemian Sunset Styled Shoot at Black Balsam Knob

This was one of those shoots where I saw the location (on a shoot I was modeling for, of all things) and without any plans in place immediately created a scene in my head to shoot that I knew I needed to bring to reality. I knew I wanted Lauren, one of my gorgeous 2017 brides, to model and that if at all possible I wanted to put her in a whimsical gown from one of my favorite Asheville bridal shops (Wildflower Bridal) paired with a bright color palette from Swannanoa Flower shop and Cakes by Gray for a bohemian mountaintop styled elopement. As the shoot would have to be right in the middle of wedding season to make sure it was warm enough, I knew it would be a long shot, so when every one of these selections worked out, I was so excited I was bouncing off the walls! Of course, no shoot is ever that easy and in the end we only had about 25 minutes or so of photography, yet I couldn't be more thrilled with the results.

Monica and Justin's Downtown Asheville Engagement

I always get excited when my couples ask if they can bring their dogs for their engagement shoot, mostly because it means I get to pet puppies! But bringing these wiggly props also helps for photos because in attempting to get all the pups to pose, all of the nervousness of being in front of the camera melts away. Such was the case with Monica and Justin's fun engagement shoot in February; by the time their three fur babies were in position and looking my way (and it took asking a father and son to kick a soccer ball behind me to get all eyes forward!) any camera shyness had worn off and Monica and Justin were completely relaxed and all smiles. We spent the first half of the session walking through Packs Square Park to get some family photos and then - after a brief dog pile - split off for photos of just the two of them with the gorgeous downtown architecture in the background.

June 17, 2017 Wedding at Yesterday Spaces in Leicester, NC

After months of planning, our day started with a phone call from the coordinator, Michelle, asking about Cassady's thoughts on moving the ceremony from their carefully chosen outdoor spot to the more rustic dairy barn as clouds of doom rolled in. Rather than get upset, Cassady quickly decided to activate the contingency plans and move on, only stopping (without actually missing a beat) to joke that she was in Mexico relaxing instead of getting ready for the wedding when Michelle asked how things were going.

Downtown Asheville Wedding on June 3, 2017

Just as I said in their engagement post, I knew that photographing my friends' wedding would be extra emotional. From documenting the frenzied moments of preparation to capturing Clair and JJ's poignant first look (and struggling to keep it together myself) to photographing their sweet ceremony, there were more than a few times that I found myself shooting through tear-filled eyes. But these were, of course, happy tears as I got to watch one of my good friends from college marry this steadfast man of her dreams!

Clair + JJ's Arboretum Engagement

I've photographed weddings for colleagues and classmates but never before have I gotten to capture the love story of one of my good friends - until now, that is. When Clair first called me to ask if I would be her wedding photographer (Duh! I would love to!), I don't think I quite realized the enormity of getting to document the wedding experience of someone I know so well. After all, I had been there from the very start of the relationship, had talked with Clair about the two of them on countless runs (for those of you who don't know, Clair and I were teammates on the UNCA cross country and track teams) and had cheered from afar as they moved out west together for school. But as we started the engagement session and I got to witness their love, commitment and pure enjoyment of each other, I knew that this one would be extra special.

Backyard Marriage Celebration on Lake Toxaway

Matt and Alex had the right idea: get married quietly without any stress or fuss and then get all of the family and friends together almost a year later to celebrate. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE weddings (not to mention, if we didn't have them I'd be out of a job!), but whereas weddings can be understandably taxing, Matt and Alex's marriage celebration yesterday was nothing but enjoyable.

Giving Back: TAPAS Grant for Asheville High School Chemistry Class

In case it isn't obvious, I love photography; both as a storytelling device and as a visually appealing medium. So whenever the opportunity arises to spread my love for photography to others, particularly young and impressionable students who have the capacity to not only fall head-over-heels for the art form but the time to fully incorporate it into their lives, I take said opportunity. Such was the case with the Teaching Artists Presenting in Asheville Schools (TAPAS) program, a grant which brings local artists into the classroom to illustrate difficult concepts in a more comprehensible (and fun!) manner. I found out about this enriching program while doing some work for the Asheville City Schools Foundation last summer and immediately applied with the idea that I could teach my usual alternative processes to classes covering anything from storytelling to chemistry. As it happened - and in an ironic twist given my past dislike of the subject - I ended up working with an advanced chemistry class. Fortunately, this turned out to be an enjoyable experience for all of us.

The Dolon's Biltmore Maternity Session

As it turned out, Lauren and Chris were the perfect couple for me to make my entré into the maternity world! Down-to-earth, open for whatever poses I wanted to try and completely comfortable with each other and the camera. Though it was the "dead of winter" in theory, we actually had a pleasant 50 degree morning with clear mountain views and a lingering sunrise. This provided the perfect backdrop for our first set of images on the overlook beside the house. I like to start each session shooting from a distance to ease my subjects into the idea of being the stars of the show and the Biltmore always provides beautiful architectural and natural details to frame these wide shots.

Portland Day 2: Networking and International Women's Day

I had originally planned on writing two separate posts for today: one for my second day in Portland and one for International Women's Day. But because the celebration of feminism is a lifestyle and not an annual festivity for me, I thought it more appropriate to combine them. Now, if you're thinking of closing this post because I just said the word "feminism," perhaps keep an open mind here for a minute and see what I have to say.

Portland Day 1: Rainy City Daze

If I spent any significant amount of time on my hair, I could not live in Portland. From the moment I walked the girls to the bus stop until I drippingly returned in the late afternoon, water fell from the sky in varying degrees of intensity until I gave up and put my now-birds' nest in a bun. Mind you, I do have a rain coat with a hood but I can't manage to get the thing to stay on. Oh well, small price to pay! My first day here was about as "Portland" as I could get. I woke up around 7 (hooray for going back a few time zones!), walked my cousins to the bus stop where we said hi to the resident ducks, then set off to figure out the transit system into downtown. Though taking the MAX significantly increased my travel time compared to driving, its pros far outweighed the cons as all I had to do was figure out where to make a couple connections.

Asheville, Cityscape Photography, Food Photography, Travel Photography, Portland OregonAdrian EtheridgeSeptember 5, 2018Comment

Savannah and Kevin || Wedding Album

I love getting to watch my clients open their wedding albums for the first time. I don't always get to - sometimes I have to ship them or my couples want to go through them by themselves to quietly savor the moment. But when I do get to be there, the reactions are priceless! And Savannah and Kevin were no different. They were blown away by just how big the 12 x 12 inch heirloom album is, especially the breathtaking their beautiful images look as full page spreads.

Jillian and Matt's Biltmore Engagement

Thanks to the power of the internet, I got to work with this fabulous couple from Florida last November capturing their engagement. Actually, not only did I get to shoot their engagement session, but I got to document the very moment she said "yes!" Matt had emailed me a couple months previously saying that he was planning to propose to his girlfriend at the Biltmore Estate and would love to have some photos to remember the whirlwind event and as a lover of proposals, I jumped at the chance.

The Importance of Laughter

All the time I get the question "What is your favorite subject to photograph? For the first couple years of my career I would waffle between "Oh, I just really like photographing people" and "Well, I don't think I can choose - I love everything I shoot!" But that's not entirely accurate. I shoot everything from weddings to athletic events to product shoots to landscapes to maternity sessions professionally - sometimes all in the same week - but over and over again the shoots that I enjoy most and specifically the images I am happiest with are those that include laughter.

Jodie and Surain's Arboretum Wedding

Through our planning process, I knew Jodie and Surain were looking for simplicity in their day - to focus on their union and their new family. They were a perfect couple for me to work with because this gave me the freedom to focus on their emotions; their excitement at seeing each other in their fancy wedding outfits, their happy tears through the ceremony, their content smiles during portraits and their giddy excitement during the reception when the realization of their new life together had started to set in.

January 27, 2017 Wedding at Highland Brewing Company

I cannot say enough how much I love intimate weddings! Morgan and Mike met while Morgan was studying abroad in Ireland (more on their sweet story in their full blog post in a couple months.) 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; we only began discussing wedding photography a few weeks before their ceremony!

Janel and Corey's Fall Wedding

The name of the game with their wedding album was creating lots of full-page spreads to showcase their many beautiful portraits. The best part of these full-page images (aside from gorgeousness!) is they give me plenty of space to add in text, like the Bible verses Janel and Corey included dedicated to creating a happy marriage.