The Ridge Asheville Styled Shoot

A styled shoot is an event where wedding vendors come together to showcase their work.  I was excited to be part of it because it’s 2020 and most wedding vendors don’t have a lot of recent photos, since so many weddings are being cancelled and postponed.  Not to mention that the pictures I’d seen from The Ridge were beautiful and I love taking pictures in the mountains!  Since I had traveled two hours to Asheville, I had never met any of these vendors before.  I got to meet photographers who had traveled from the other side of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee!  We took turns posing and we all got to show our own styles with the same subjects.  The best part?  There was a MASSIVE double rainbow towards the end, making the view even more incredible.

There were two themes to this styled shoot.  One was “English Countryside” and featured a blue color scheme with blueberry décor—I’m a blueberry lover and this was something I never knew I needed in my life.  The other theme was “Whimsical and Vibrant,” which was exciting because I love bold colors, but more subtle and neutral colors are more common at weddings right now. 

Check out some of the vendors behind this beautiful work!

Venue: The Ridge

Planning/Coordination/Co-Host: The Hunt is Over

Main photographer/Co-Host: Erin Allenczy

Florals: Stargazers Designs

Cake/Desserts: 828 Sweet Events

Rentals: East West Vintage Rentals

Linens: Classic Event Rentals Inc

HMUA: Della Terra Beauty

Groom's Suits: Mitchell’s Tuxedo Asheville

Bridal Attire: Wedding Inspirations Bridal; Justin Alexander

Earrings: Jim Ball Designs

Caterer: Santiago Vargas at Carrasco Catering

Invitations:  CJ Candee Graphics

Vow Calligraphy: Help Meet Letters

Signs: Abby Bruce

English Countryside Vendors

Shoes: Jessica Simpson

Bridal veil: Bel Aire Bridal

Models: Hannah and Tyler

Tyler's suit: Kenneth Cole

Whimsical and Vibrant Vendors

Models: Karis and Jacob

Shoes: Coach

Do these belong on your Pinterest board? Because I’m in love with all of it! Click here to get in touch, or look at some of my other blog posts below.

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Sawyer Family Farmstead Christmas Session | Noel and Graham

Two years ago, I did engagement photos in Falls Park for my friends Noel and Graham. It was the first weekend of December, so we got to have fall leaves and all the joy of downtown Greenville being ready for Christmas: two things Noel absolutely loves. Long story short, they had to change their wedding date, and I already had a wedding on the one day they could get the venue they wanted. We had talked for about a year and a half after that about doing another session—we talked about Charleston, Lake Lure, a vineyard in the mountains—but life happens and this session just wasn’t panning out. 

In September, I shot a wedding with FamZing at Sawyer Family Farmstead. Not only is it a gorgeous Christmas tree farm, it has an incredible view of the mountains of western North Carolina and the lake. I was in love and needed a reason to shoot there again! I texted Noel the next day and told her I found THE place to do their photos—I knew how much she loves the mountains, water, and Christmas, so I knew she had to see this place. I sent her some pictures and we set a date. 

The day finally came for us to go to Sawyer. It was sunny and the temperature was cool enough to know it was fall without being too cold. The farm was getting ready for everyone to start coming in to find their trees, so there were Christmas decorations everywhere! The cats supervised us through the session, but didn’t like looking at my camera. I got the most beautiful light coming from behind them when we were in the middle of the Christmas trees.

I like to start my sessions where there’s more shade and end it where I’ll get the most light as the sun goes down. In this case, we would start in the area more surrounded by trees and end at the pergola on the hill, which overlooks the mountains and the water. Noel kept gushing about how gorgeous the place was and I kept telling her, “We haven’t even been to the best part yet!” Not only was the view from the hill breathtaking when we got there, we were in the perfect place to see the sunset. I felt like we kept doing the same poses because the sunset kept getting cooler with each picture I took! 

On a side note, how perfect are these outfits for this location? I love a good red and green color scheme! I’m so happy we finally got to have another session together and that we were able to make it work at such a beautiful place. Check out some of my favorites from this wonderful day!