It’s taking ALL I can do not to bring up Vivaldi’s masterpiece, The Four Seasons. And now I’ve done it, so if you like any of the 4 movements, or Vivaldi or classical music, it’s now stuck in your head. You’re welcome.
Meanwhile, our autumn portrait sessions booked up (THANKS EVERYONE) and I’m reminded that we shoot year-round because we can. North and South Carolina provide an embarrassment of riches for portraiture, not just for nature photographers. Mountains, gardens, farms, barns, fields, streams, valleys, the Biltmore Estate, the Blue Ridge Parkway and any number of purpose-built resorts and views surround us. We find ourselves consistently tramping through the woods, climbing rocks, on ATVs and by moving water capturing memories. Here is a small sampling of locations in our distinct seasons. If you need a reminder of the dizzying array of options, enjoy. We’re here and we’re always ready!
“We were so happy to see cousins we hadn’t seen in a long time, friends from Hawaii, Seattle, Colorado, all hanging out, chattering and later playing music for the ceremony. We loved our DJ, photographers and how much love we felt surrounded with. If we were to give a couple advice about their wedding, we’d tell them to get married in the mountains and make the wedding a full weekend, an inclusive event.”
We photographed their engagement portraits at The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC so clearly these two adore the mountains. Even their sweetheart of a dog is named Saluda (google it). The wedding was small, intimate and personal. It focused on marriage, family and friends, the most important aspects. The day was an intersection of both elegance and personal touches: Katie’s Mom made the cakes, using recipes passed down through generations. A close friend of Katie’s “did” everyone’s hair and makeup. The same friend undercut her own hair with the couple’s initials surrounded by a heart.
Tim & Katie wrote the table assignments on their snowboards and a canvas candid photo of the pair with an I Love You message was used as the guest book. Finally, an artist friend drew and designed their can cozies to include Saluda’s profile. Those were only a few of the thoughtful details, gang. Katie plied her trade, big time.
The sunset could not have been better if we’d ordered back drops from Cecille B. DeMille. Watching friends gather after we’d photographed the couple, was one of the sweeter and more beautiful moments of a day filled with beauty and love.
We’d be nuts not to mention the other vendors who contributed to this amazingly cool wedding.
Katie’s gown: Jean’s Bridal – Charleston, SC
Wedding and reception venue reception: Twickenham House and Hall
Flowers: Flowers by Desi
Music/DJ: Dan with On Target
Caterers: Gadabouts
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden. Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.
Timothy Mahon and Katie Speights are not typical and we adore them for it. Their love for each other casts shade over what others would consider “the grand scheme” and it’s hard to be more grand than Asheville’s Biltmore House…. at least in North Carolina. It’s still our country’s largest privately owned home, but more importantly to our story, it’s where both Timothy and Katie met while working at the Inn on the Estate. You’ll notice that neither the house itself nor the iconic set pieces that everyone recognizes are in any of these photos. What is? Timothy and Katie… and their sweetheart of a dog, Saluda. If you know where Saluda is (hint: a little spot just outside of Asheville where you can rent a kayak and grab some barbecue), you know this pair loves the mountains.
We cannot begin to explain how much we loved hanging out with these two. We knew immediately they were a perfect fit for our style as were we to theirs. When we met them at the entrance gate and had a quick discussion about their preferred backdrops for the day, Tim began by saying “what do you think of bamboo?” Their photos were less about traditional portraits and more about the entire scene, … nature, textures, and their interactions in all of it.
“We’d been dating for a year and a half and decided we wanted to do something different, something new. Since we had to keep our relationship on the ‘down low’ because we worked together, we both were excited to sell all of our things, pack up the car and dog and drive out west. We didn’t know exactly where we were going, but the fact that we were doing it together made it an adventure. We’ve known since then that we wanted to do things like that for the rest of our lives with each other!”
Their body English demonstrated how extremely cool they are, in love they are and happy to be taking this next step. Ryan and I spent hours with them afterwards, chatting, having brunch and cracking up. We love this pair!
“Our commitment to each other is grounded in living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment of it.”
Their wedding will be brilliant and these two deserve nothing but that fullness and happiness they’re planning.
We love family portraits whether they are set in the studio, the great outdoors, a specific location like the mountains or high country, or on our property in our outdoor portrait garden.Pixels on Paper photographs babies and kids, engagements and weddings, brides and special events and portraits of all kinds in our Wilkesboro, NC studio. We would be honored to meet with you, learn about you and your family and be a part of taking special portraits that will become, we hope, family heirlooms.