Julio & Dacy | Film & Vintage Inspired Engagement Session Amongst Vintage Car Collection

For Dacy it was a no-brainer. She works for Hendrick Motorsports and loves the culture, so we were pumped to say the least when she got the green light to shoot her engagement photos in the rarely seen Hendrick Heritage Center Car Museum. The chance to enter this building and walk among the cars is a rare opportunity, much less be given permission to shoot a portrait session.

The particular car that Dacy & Julio chose to shoot with was the white 1955 Chevy Corvette…VIN # 1. It felt like we had stepped back into time and seeing this gem right off the production line. Complete with neon drive-in sign and marquee.

To wrap our time together we moved on to the working drive-in movie screen and Hollywood set-worthy mock up of a vintage Dairy Queen.

The staff we encountered were absolutely phenomenal and so genuinely nice. A huge shoutout to Kyle (you know who you are) for assisting us throughout the shoot and making sure we didn’t overstep around these timeless, priceless cars.

It was the perfect session to kick off our 2024 season, and we are so pumped to shoot this sweet couple’s big day at The Club at Longview in Waxhaw, NC.

Johnny & Brittany | Epic South Coast of Iceland Engagement Adventure

When Brittany & Johnny contacted us about photographing and filming this season of their relationship, we initially thought it was a cruel joke. Multi-day engagement photos across the South Coast of Iceland, and then a destination wedding in Costa Rica. Turns out…they weren’t joking!

We had actually met Brittany a couple years back, as she was a bridesmaid in one of our other client’s weddings. She was really impressed by how we conducted ourselves at the wedding and fell in love with our style of work. We’re so glad she liked what she saw and experienced.

These two were an absolute blast to work with, as well as TROOPERS! We had high winds, rain, and fog for a majority of our time with these guys, but because of their willingness to adventure, we were able to capture some incredibly epic moments and landscapes.

We cannot wait to celebrate and document their wedding day in Costa Rica, but until then…enjoy their Iceland adventure!

Josh & Cari Anne | Asheville, NC Fun & Romantic Mountaintop Sunset

Josh & Cari Anne showed up to their session in the NC mountains ready to hit the trail and have fun. It was abundantly clear that they are super comfortable with one another. They literally did their thing while I documented with very little instruction. I think the result is a super genuine, authentic, and cinematic gallery. This location never disappoints, and we were greeted with one of the most beautiful, warm sunsets I’ve ever experienced here. We can’t wait for these two’s big day at The Omni Grove Park Inn later this year!

Zach & Madison | Iceland Engagement Road Trip

“Bucket list”, “trip-of-a-lifetime”, “dream sessions”…all phrases that could describe our recent trip to Iceland. We hopped in a car with our couple Zach and Madison in Reykjavik and headed out on a road trip to explore the entire southern coast of Iceland…from Snaefellsnes Peninsula to Stokksnes. Zach and Madison were a dream to travel with. Car karaoke, Icelandic hot dog pit stops, brewery detours, and stopping to go head to head with an “excited” Icelandic horse…we did it all. There’s just something about this place that grabs you and doesn’t let you go. I’m not sure if its the sheer epicness of the landscape or the memories we made along the way, but I’m sure it’s a combination of both.

The plan was to drive the entire southern coast, sightsee, and sprinkle in some photo sessions along the way. If the location and the light was right, we’d make a mad dash to change in the freezing cold wind and make it happen (and we did). The two locations where the stars aligned for shoots were Vestrahorn, our farthest eastern stop, and “Magic Mountain”, a secret hidden-gem location that was graciously disclosed to me by a local photographer. The reason I call it “Magic Mountain” is because so many times we’ve looked at the images of the location and people have described it as “magical”. It literally looks like something from a Lord of the Rings or Hobbit film. Like, Smaug could come flying over the ridgeline at any time…ha. (Thankfully, he didn’t.) We parked at the base of the mountain and hiked for 45 minutes until we reached the ridge of the canyon overlooking two amazing waterfalls. It was totally worth it…I think you’ll agree. We were literally speechless when we made it to the shoot spot. Courtney even had tears in her eyes…it was just that breathtaking.

Enough talking…let’s get to the good stuff. Enjoy Zach & Madison’s Iceland engagement session.

Nelson & Carson | Glitz & Glam Vegas Engagement

Carson wanted to elope out west, Nelson wanted a more traditional venue wedding day with friends and family close to home.

Did they flip a coin? Nope. They compromised. They still booked a more traditional, local venue for their wedding day, but decided to bring us with them on an adventure out west for their engagement session/s! Everybody wins.

We flew into Las Vegas and didn’t waste anytime with shooting. We shot the famous Fremont Street in “Old Vegas”. It totally fit our style as it was a bit more on the vintage/classic side of things.

The “larger than life” flashing signs and the sounds of cheers and shouts inside the casinos mixed with Nelson’s “rat-pack” inspired suit & bow tie and Carson’s glamorous sequin dress made for an engagement session that just screamed VEGAS!

We basically just hit the street and let these guys explore old Vegas and love on one another. A simple, yet effective strategy.

What do you think?

Oh, and yes, I said engagement sessions…plural. Be on the lookout for more from this awesome adventure!

Ian & Becca | Cold & Misty Roan Mountain Engagement Session

When I first arrived at the parking lot to meet Becca and Ian…I was a tad worried. It was SUPER foggy, cold, and windy. These things can sometimes mess with your plans when you drove 3 hours to shoot on a mountain top with beautiful 360 degree mountain views.

Becca & Ian arrived and in her typical fashion, Becca was pumped and her energy was contagious. If you don’t have a Becca in your life…well then you need to find one, ha. We began our hike up and shot as we winded our way up to the summit. The fog and mist actually made for incredibly moody and emotive images. The mist would blow across the mountain top and the fir trees almost became secondary subjects as they peeked through the fog and mist in the background.

We got a couple windows where the fog lifted in the valley, and we took full advantage as the sunlight shined through and lit up the valley below us. The view didn’t last long, but we were able to snag that view that we came for.

The weather may have been less than ideal, depends on who you ask, but we use it to our advantage, and had such a fun time doing it.

Please enjoy Becca & Ian’s foggy and romantic Roan Mountain engagement session.

Tyler & Kristen | Flirty & Fun Roan Mountain, Tennessee Engagement

We value relationship. In fact, the word “relationship” is littered throughout our website and marketing materials. And we’re not just blowing smoke when we say that. We LOVE having coffee or drinks with potential clients to get a feel for one another. We really enjoy having dinner or beers with our booked clients before/after engagement sessions. We’re about it.

We had Kristen and Tyler over to our home for a cookout shortly after booking them as one of our 2022 wedding couples. We hit it off immediately, and began to dream on our back porch of what their engagement session could look like. Several common threads kept popping up…mountains, camping, their dogs, and enjoying nature with one other. I suggested that we just ride up to the mountains and camp together, and go out for sunset pictures during our trip. We decided to do just that.

We arrived in the Roan Mountain area around 3pm and scoped out a few potential spots for photos. We headed back to our campsite to set up shop and rest up before our adventure out for photos and hiking. We sipped craft beers with our feet in the river next to our campsite while the couples dogs acclimated to the spot. It really helped to even further break the ice, and hey, a lil’ liquid courage never hurts before you’re going to be in front of the camera.

We rode up to Carver’s Gap to hike up and begin shooting. It felt like we had the whole mountain top to ourselves as we meandered along the trails together. The Blue Ridge range showed up in all it’s glory with layers of mountains filled the valley in the distance. It was an evening to remember, and developed what we believe will be a lifelong friendship.

We drove back to the campsite stoked at the images we were sure we captured, and celebrated with a steak dinner, cooked by Tyler and Kristen. The night lingered on by the campfire and eventually ended with a night cap dram of Buffalo Trace and sharing stories and dreams for our futures.

Here’s to more nights around the campfire.

Robert & Holli | Hipster/Boho-Inspired Engagement Session

It had been a long weekend of shooting in the Asheville, NC area…not complaining whatsoever. Friday evening, Saturday sunrise, Saturday sunset, Sunday sunset, and then one more session Monday evening. I didn’t really know what to expect, as I had only spoken with Holli & Robert by phone. What I got when we finally met was two of the sweetest, most fun, and genuine people you could ever hope to meet.

We met at the Graveyard Fields Parking lot off the Blue Ridge Parkway and made our way out to the valley below. I had come across some photos of a cool looking boardwalk system that runs through the high valley that’s situated just below the popular Black Balsam Knob. They didn’t disappoint and neither did the amazing light that we were blessed with. You couldn’t really see the top of Black Balsam as it was covered in a dense fog/cloud-cover. It provided the most perfect, soft, diffused light that you could hope for. It really just fit the mood of the surroundings, and we practically had it all to ourselves.

Robert & Holli quickly warmed up to the camera, and began to enjoy one another, and most importantly, had a blast! One thing I noticed is that when I’d give some of my usual “queues” to the couple…they really took it literally. One such queue is to “look into each others eyes”, and these two really went for it. You can see it in the images that we captured that when they were told to gaze into one another’s eyes…they DID NOT fake it. You can almost feel the deep connection between these two, and it was honestly so magical.

As we got comfy with each other, and began to really have some fun I said, “See where that fog/cloud is covering the top of the peak? That’s where we’re heading next.” I was honestly a little worried that it’d be a massive “wall of white” with zero visibility when we reached the clearing on top of Black Balsam Knob. However, when we broke through the balsam grove into the clearing on our hike up, we were greeted with probably the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever been privileged to witness at this spot. The fog/cloud cover that was shrouding the top of the peak had actually migrated down into the valley that we had just left behind. So imagine…you’re standing on top of a 6200’ peak, you look to the east and you see a sea of blue and pink, cotton candy clouds, and you look towards the west and you see the most beautiful rays of golden sun cresting across balsam-covered mountaintops. It was, in a word, heavenly.

We made our way up to the pinnacle of Black Balsam and stopped for photo opportunities as we went along. When we finally made it to the top, I surprised Holli & Robert with some local beers from Appalachian Mountain Brewery and Boojum Brewing Company to celebrate.

I was tired, but also pumped from the long weekend of shooting in the mountains of NC. My time with Robert & Holli, as well as my other clients that weekend, reminded me why I love my job so much. Meeting kick ass people in beautiful places, and making memories that last a lifetime never gets old.

Here’s to more adventures in the new year…cheers.

AJ & Keeland | Fun & Romantic Sunrise Boone, NC Engagement Session at Rough Ridge

What you’re about to check out is actually attempt #2 at AJ & Keeland’s engagement session. We had originally planned to shoot at Edisto Island near Charleston, SC, but Covid-19 had other plans. I would dare say that the session turned out exactly how it was supposed to. AJ & Keeland actually met while attending Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, so it was only fitting that we headed back to their old college stomping grounds for their session.

It was an early wake up call… 4:15am to be exact. We rode out in the cool fog to the Blue Ridge Parkway and had the Rough Ridge trail parking lot all to ourselves. We threw on our headlamps and started hiking up in the pitch dark. There’s something so calming about only being able to see the next step in front of you.

It was crisp and cool, and as we hiked up the trail we could look off the side of the mountain at the sky gradually changing from blue, to pink, to orange as the sun made its way up and over the ridge. We got the perfect window. You never know what you’re going to get in the mountains. Sometimes you get a dense fog and you can’t see more than 1o feet in front of your face. I’m pretty sure we could see Charlotte from the ridge that morning. There were small trails of fog lingering over the distant peaks and ridges, which gave the illusion that we were up above the clouds.

We made it to the top with plenty of time to spare…and to catch our breath, ha. The sunrise light provided some of the softest, warmest light that I’ve ever shot in. It gave a warm orange/pink glow that made for such soft, romantic shots.

As you’ll see below, the scenery was absolutely epic…as if AJ & Keeland were standing on the edge of the world.

We wrapped up our time together at the Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. The soft, warm light had left us, but we found some beautifully shaded spots amongst the huge, mature trees on the grounds. The couple had so much fun with the shoot and each other. There may even be a piggy-back, face-lick captured in there somewhere.

We loved our time with AJ & Keeland and cannot wait to shoot their big day in Charleston, SC next year.

Jayme & Teresa | Snowy Sunset Engagement Session at Max Patch

Somewhere along the way, Courtney and I have definitely become “Asheville Photographers” living in Charlotte. And to be honest, we really don’t mind because we absolutely love Asheville! The culture, the people, the breweries, the vibes, the mountains…need I say more. So of course when Teresa brought up the idea for she and Jayme’s engagement session, we were down for an adventure in downtown Asheville and a sunset session at the beautiful Max Patch.

We started our day off with Jayme and Teresa for lunch at Wicked Weed Brewing, one of our favorite spots, and from there made our way through the streets and alleys of South Slope Asheville. We then packed up in the car and started the drive West to Max Patch.

If you remember a couple blogs ago, we did another sunset session at Max Patch, but this one was different. There was around 4”-6” of snow on the bald mountain top! We’ve been dying to do a snow session and we finally got our chance. It was absolutely MAGICAL.

Please enjoy Jayme & Teresa’s snow-filled Max Patch, sunset session!

Bailey & Grace | UNCC Botanical Gardens Sunrise Engagement

I had a good feeling the first time I spoke with Bailey about the possibility of shooting he and Grace’s Virginia Boho barn wedding. Bailey is a Marine and he and Grace have been making the long distant thing work, and we wondered how we would be able to hook up to shoot their engagement session. It just so happened that Grace was heading down to Florida where Bailey would be graduating from a Marine training course, and they would be road tripping back up to VA after his graduation. When we figured they would be driving through Charlotte it was game on…it was our chance.

It was a super chilly fall morning, as we met up at sunrise at the UNCC Botanical Gardens, which is absolutely beautiful by the way. The gardens are split right down the middle with the left path leading to a dreamy Japanese style garden, and the right path leading into a North American themed forest. We made our way through both and these two are just pure magic together.

Please enjoy Bailey & Grace’s sun-soaked, woodland engagement session.