My sincere apologies for the lack of updates. In the next few weeks you’ll probably see WHY I’ve been behind, but, anyway, back to your regular wedding photography blog. I met Michelle at a wedding show here in Chapel Hill, NC. The funny thing was she was not a bride coming for the show, she was a bride working for a baker who was exhibiting at the show! She came over to sample a cupcake I had and we started talking about her wedding plans. Turns out she was getting married in the mountains and didn’t know any Asheville Wedding Photographers and when she found out I would travel, well, it was on kike Donkey Kong!
Michelle & Kader’s wedding was much more of a wedding weekend for me as I covered the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, after party, wedding and reception. It was really a great change of pace for me to hang around for 2-3 days and document the entire event while really getting to know their family and friends. The wedding ceremony (and, of course, rehearsal) took place in the NC Arboretum, which is an unbelievably gorgeous location (which makes me jealous of all Asheville Wedding Photographers) nestled along the blue ridge parkway in Asheville, NC. The outdoor amphitheater was a perfect setting with the stone steps leading down to the area which was surrounded by gorgeous pine trees. One thing I learned about Asheville, the weather is even more fickle then the beach – raining one minute (just enough to spike the humidity) then the sun will come back out the next. We did make it inside the bus just in the nick of time as the bottom dropped out of the sky.
Anyway, we headed over to the Grove Park Inn after the wedding rehearsal for a little dinner, a little dancing and a little dual piano bar hopping. My last Grove Park Inn wedding was such a fun & gorgeous event I was really excited to be getting back again. Dinner was served outside under a covered veranda with a breathtaking view of the mountains. After dinner, and the best rapping toast I have ever heard (yes, I have heard more then one), we headed down to the dueling piano bar in the Grove Park Inn. Funnily enough, I used to go to a dueling piano bar religiously so it was great to get back into one. With quite a few people coming down with us, the wedding party essentially took over the entire corner of the bar and, well, I’ll let the photos do the talking.
The next day, the weather was perfect albeit a little warm for a mountain wedding. After we knocked out the formal groupings before the wedding, we headed down to the ceremony area. This time, not a cloud was in the sky and the entire ceremony went off without a hitch! After the vows, the ring exchange and, of course, the kiss, we went up into a smaller area of the gardens where we could finish off a few formals, shoot a quick bridal portrait then the couples wedding portraits. I much say, normally photographers are very picky about which direction we photograph (because we want a certain look & feel, and for it to be pretty of course). In the NC Arboretum, you had to work to find a bad angle. Seriously.
After Michelle, Kader & I wrapped up their couples portraits, we headed to their reception at the Crest Center on Crest Mountain. This was yet another gorgeous location in the Asheville area with unlimited possibilities for photography. I did get a few minutes outside, at dusk, with Kader & Michelle and, honestly, got one of my favorite photos of the year so far of them on the balcony. The band was jamming, the food was great and the entire wedding party and congregation were having a ball. It really felt like the night ended too soon as it was time for them to leave under a shower of sparklers.
I’d like to thank Michelle, Kader, their families and friends for such gracious hospitality and openness to having me around for the weekend. I know this sounds a bit selfish, but it was a really wonderful experience for me as well as a gorgeous wedding weekend for you and your friends and family. Thank you for having me come up with you!
I hope you enjoy a few photos from Michelle & Kader’s Asheville, NC Wedding!
