Jessica and Zak's Engagement at Carver's Gap

“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own”

— Robert A. Heinlein

I have had a front row seat to these two cuties from the moment they started dating. Zak is good friends with my guy, and we both started dating at roughly the same time so we’ve been hanging out together ever since!

Just before Covid hit Zak wanted to do this epic proposal with a horse and carriage at the Biltmore House and we were so excited for him…so when that became impossible we started scheming how to make it happen closer to home. They have an awesome boat and RV out at Watauga Lake, so we considered that, we thought about hikes and picnics and in the end it simply and beautifully worked out to have dinner together at our favorite spot, Louisiana Purchase, and surprise her with the ring at dessert.

Needless to say, she said, “Yes!” and their engagement shoot followed last night. Roan Mountain is just so incredibly beautiful this time of year, it was the perfect backdrop. They brought the kiddos along and we made an evening of it.

I am grateful for such incredible friends and cannot wait to capture the big day sometime next year! It’s going to be an amazing journey!

The Tilton Family at Roan Mountain State Park

I don’t typically blog my family sessions anymore since I’m moving more into wedding and engagement photography these days. But when you work with such an awesome (and large) family like the Tiltons, you just can’t help yourself.

We basically had 4 time slots set aside over the weekend to make sure we could get the very best weather. They were traveling from Florida and with plans set months ago, there was no way to know then what the best time would be. Following all the weather apps it appeared that the morning sunrise would be perfect so we set our alarms and showed up to Roan Mountain expecting brilliant reds and pinks…we were met instead with heavy fog. These mountains may be beautiful but they are quite fickle with a mind of their own. Since there was nothing we could do about it, we decided to just go for it! We hiked with all 4 great grandparents up to the meadow and approximately 60 seconds later were met with the largest rain drops any of us had ever experienced! Giant monster drops started falling, first slowly, then too fast to escape! Fortunately everyone kept their spirits high and we just laughed it off for a few shots then took cover under the restroom shelter while we waited for it to pass.

With everyone thoroughly drenched, we knew these photos would tell a great story one day and not one person complained about wet clothes or frizzy hair. We hit every shot on the list then decided to descend the mountain for a bit to see if the weather was any better and sure enough the sun came out from behind the cloud and the beautiful Blue Ridge came into view! Soooo we started the shoot all over and got every shot even better the second time.

You just never know what you’re going to get when you hike a mountain but you can guarantee it will always be an adventure. Grateful these guys were down for the ride!

Anse and Allie's One Year Anniversary | Roan Mt. State Park

“I’m not good as making specific plans. Just meet me under the sky somewhere and be alive with me”

— Victoria Erickson

You guys.

Never has a photoshoot been more suited to me. One of my favorite couples, celebrating a milestone while CAMPING and letting me tag along to capture the whole thing! When they asked if we could turn their anniversary session into a camping adventure I didn't even blink before jumping with joy. Our first attempt got rained out, but it worked out to add this to the end of my Appalachian Train Section Hike this weekend. I told them I'd probably be super smelly but of course, they didn't mind. They promised to bring the s'mores and bourbon and have a tent for me to sleep in so it worked out perfectly. 

After setting up the tent we went on a little hiking adventure then came back and built the most difficult fire ever. Our wood was wet so the three of us put in a serious labor of love to get that thing going, finally a super friendly neighbor gave us a little fire starter to help us out before we lost too much light. (People who love the outdoors are just the nicest people).

After making s'mores and hotdogs we just sat and talked about life til midnight then passed out in the tent and woke to a torrential downpour complete with massive thunder and lightening. I've never had so much fun! Thank you for such an awesome weekend you guys!

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy Anse and Allie's Wedding Day or this Anniversary Session.