About 3 or 4 times a year, I get to travel out of town for a destination wedding. Sometimes it’s Cancun Mexico, other times I don’t leave the state. For Kristin and Steve, they looked at several Wedding Photographers in Asheville but had seen my work and asked me to drive in for the weekend to capture their gorgeous wedding! I say this a lot but, quite honestly, there is no higher compliment then I can think of as there are quite a few talented photographers in Asheville but they chose to have me come into town.
We came up on Friday afternoon, which is customary as I don’t want to drive on the wedding day (in case I get caught in traffic, break down, accident, etc) in time for the rehearsal dinner. The dinner took place at the Biltmore Lake Clubhouse (On Biltmore Lake) which has a STUNNING view over the water. It was late fall so most of the leaves had fallen but there was still enough color to make the scenery gorgeous. I should mention this was the first time I had ever met either Steve or Kristin so it was great to finally shake their hands in person. I stole the happy couple away for a few moments to grab a couple of portraits before the dinner, speeches, toasts/roasts and (really great) slideshow. After the dinner, their friends setup a wonderful bonfire to keep the chill away while they enjoyed a rare but great gathering of longtime friends and their family.
The next day, we drove up the mountain (yes, all the way to the top) to the Grand Highlands at Bearwallow Mountain clubhouse. I simply cannot describe in words how gorgeous the view from the clubhouse is. The clubhouse itself is a beautiful example of high country construction with raw wood & stone. While Kristin was getting her hair & makeup done, I met up with the guys and shot a few individual and group portraits of them. After a few close encounters with a hungry horse (apparently their jackets tasted great), we headed back inside where Kristin was finishing up with her makeup and getting ready to get dressed. This really is my favorite part of that day as you can really see the excitement, nerves and anticipation on everyone’s faces. After we shot their portraits, Steve & Kristin has agreed to see each other before the ceremony so we set them up away from everyone else and had a great few minutes alone with them.
The ceremony location was, well, one from a storybook. At the ridge of a mountaintop, overlooking a valley with the late falls colors all around them – simply stunning. There was a long walk from the Clubhouse which provided some gorgeous scenic views of the processional (I’ll be honest, wedding photographers in Asheville have it made with the scenery here.) as the ceremony began. I actually shot a little 4×4 medium format film during the ceremony which came out pretty darn cool. After a really beautiful ceremony with tears & laughter and the formals (with the occasional golf cart in the photo), we headed back inside for the cocktail reception & dinner. I really cannot say enough about how visually stunning it was to be in a mountain cabin overlooking the valley with Kristin, Steve and their friends and family.
The reception was, well, absolutely a blast! Dancing, celebrating and some awesome tunes… it actually got so rambunctious we had to cool the amps on the DJ rig down – now THAT was a good party! Kristin and Steve left that evening as their friends held up sparklers for them to run under. It was, honestly, a very fitting end to and incredible day and I honestly felt like one of their family after it was all over. As always, I am very proud to share a few choice photos with you from Kristin & Steve’s Asheville Wedding!
