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.
Read MoreWe 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.
Read MoreI'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.
Read MoreLauren 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!
Read MoreAs 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!
Read MoreAs 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.
Read MoreGetting 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!
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreIt'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!
Read MoreIn 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.
Read More2017'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.
Read MoreThis 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.
Read MoreWhat I really loved about this wedding weekend was the emphasis on bringing two families together. Not only did we have a delicious and fun rehearsal dinner the night before and family brunch the morning after the wedding, but the reception allowed both families to celebrate together in their new bond. Perhaps the most touching moment of the day was when Monica shared a sweet dance with her grandfather, leaving no one in the reception hall with a dry eye.
Read MoreI 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.
Read MoreAfter 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.
Read MoreJust 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!
Read MoreI'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.
Read MoreThese two almost-weds had selected the crest of Mt. Tabor Park as the place to make their vows, so we grabbed what we needed for their ceremony and hiked up the numerous steps to the top, coming out into a grove of evergreen trees. Jen and John both practice mindfulness, so they wanted to begin their ceremony with a few minutes of silence as they readied themselves for marriage. Their unique idea was to set up a circle of flowers which they would each step into once they were ready to begin. In a stroke of genius, Jen had the idea to bring a hula hoop in order to create a perfect circle (this hula hoop also served a photographic purpose later in the shoot) so Jen, John and their two friends/witnesses set about selecting greenery and placing flowers from Costco around the hoop.
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