Fall Engagement Sessions in the Mountains

“Because in the end you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb the Mountain. ”

— Jack Kerouac

Oh my goodness! I have had SO many fun Engagement Sessions and Surprise Proposals this month so I thought it would be more fun to post them all together! I’ll never get over the fact that I get to be a part of so many life changing moments in couples’ lives. I can’t imagine there’s a better job on the planet.

I captured Phil and Ashley’s surprise proposal in Raleigh this summer then they joined me in Banner Elk for their engagements. They are adventurers too, (literally mountain biking right up until the shoot) and were all about a last minute trash the dress at the end of the shoot! It makes me so happy when couples are willing to let loose and have fun! I cannot WAIT til the big day next year!

I will be capturing Rachel and Stephen’s big day also in Raleigh next fall but they wanted the Blue Ridge Parkway as their engagement back drop. Being able to flow freely between both locations is so much fun for me! I love that my couples love it as much as I do!

I schemed with Brooke for WEEKS on how to make her surprise proposal to Kayla special. She absolutely loved the view from the park in downtown Banner Elk and wanted to make it even more special with this moment. After quite a bit of back and forth on weather and back up locations, the rain parted JUST long enough to make it happen! I could not be more excited to capture their big day next fall at Overlook Barn!

I have known Brandon and his family since my early days living in Raleigh. When he said he was ready to propose I was all in on helping him to plan everything! After his and Shelby’s engagement on Blue Ridge Parkway, they asked me to come by their house in Raleigh to help them make their wedding plans! They have big dreams of owning a wedding venue themselves and I can’t wait to pass on to them 250 weddings worth of venue experiences!

John and I were both a nervous wreck trying to plan his surprise proposal to Alyssa! First he drove 2.5 hours up here a week early to scope out the location I suggested, and then couldn’t find it! And when it came time to pop the question, alllllll the hand drawn directions I had given him about exactly which rocks to stand on were completely useless, because when I arrived I realized the heavy rains from the day before had FLOODED the entire area! I sent him a new quick drawing to try to describe the new option, jumped behind the bridge and hoped he got the message in time! He did, and of course she said yes!! We were in full dance party mode when it all came together! I cannot wait til next year!

SO many couples to celebrate, so little time. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Love you guys!

Gabby and Brett's Engagement in Banner Elk

“Some beautiful paths can’t be discovered without getting lost.”

— Erol Ozan

I was absolutely ecstatic when Brett proposed to Gabby this summer! They are dear friends of ours and we’ve been working out together at Crossfit Postal for what seems like forever. The only catch was that for their photos they wanted a snow adventure! Which I was all about…. except for the patience part lol. But finally after several months of waiting and a few small teaser snow falls, we found the one we were waiting for! We were afraid it was only going to be in the single digits because it had been a few days prior, but we lucked out with sunshine and 40s, I’ll take it!

They were willing to venture with me into an area I have recently discovered but also to push further than I had previously. It absolutely required four wheel drive so they scooped me and off we went, they even brought some champagne to celebrate!

After we were finished on top of the mountain we decided to snag one last look at the Mill Pond because the waterfall is just amazing and while we were down there Brett jumped right in to help a Florida family who had gotten their car stuck in the ditch, it was amazing!

You guys I cannot wait til the big day this fall!! We’re going to dance the night away!

Gülşah and Vanessa's Engagement on the Blue Ridge Parkway

“Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.”

— Ann Landers

I could not have been more excited when Gülşah and Vanessa asked me to photograph their engagement and big day, just through our initial video chat I knew we would be great friends!

These two beautiful souls met in their Counseling/Psychology profession at Old Dominion University. So naturally we hit it off right away as my major was also Psychology focused on counseling. When you meet them, you’ll know right away they have to be in a field like that because they are both simply so easy to be around. They ask great questions and listen intently, they are truly the type of friends you want to have in your corner.

When the weekend finally arrived them them to travel here from Norfolk, VA the weather looked like it wasn’t going to cooperate for our scheduled day and I already had shoots booked every other day surrounding it, so we decided to have them meet me a day early just a little bit before my other shoot that evening so we could at least guarantee a few glowy sunset photos if we weren’t able to get them the next day.

So the duck pond in Banner Elk served as our first backdrop and worked out perfectly. I had them climbing all over rocks and dancing in tight spaces but we made it work and it was totally worth it!

The rain held off just long enough for us to also capture a few memories at Rough Ridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway as well! We brought a couple umbrellas just in case and were so glad we did, we walked right through the center of a cloud on the way up and brought the rain back down with us on our way. The rain splattered hair simply added to the romance though and those final photos were some of my favorite from the whole weekend.