Posts Tagged: Mountain Wedding Photographers
wedding redux #4: nice and simple
This wedding, between Jamie Goforth and Daniel Harrison, was windy and gorgeous. The two can coexist, and if you check out their portraits from the day, you’ll see. As part of our series where we ask the bride and groom for feedback to share for future nuptials, here are some insights from Jamie.
“I wish that I had used more flowers in my ceremony and reception, but both locations had lots of natural beauty.
We were married at an outside chapel in Glade Valley, NC. It was windy and cold on the day of the wedding. My bridesmaids wore leggings under their dresses (LOL). I would tell those planning a wedding to remember to think about how the weather will be on the day of your wedding.”
Number in the wedding party and number of guests — any thoughts or changes? “We had 6 bridesmaids, 6 groomsmen, 1 flower girl and 1 ring bearer. This was a large party but I knew that I wanted and needed them all by my side the day of the wedding. We had around 150 guests and I think that was a nice number, but more than we really wanted. I personally think the smaller the better with the amount of guests.” [As a couple who’ve photographed more weddings than we care to count, we loved the honesty in that answer. It’s important to know who you want and need with you on your wedding day. It will matter later more than you can imagine. Just saying…]
Time of year? Time of day? “We had a fall wedding in the mountains, 4PM and the leaves were beautiful on the trees that time of day. It was a little chilly, as I mentioned, though.”
DJ vs. a band? “I preferred a live band, but they were much more expensive, so I went with a DJ and the reception was great… a LOT of participation on the dance floor!”
Wedding planner or “family-and-friends-all-hands-on-deck” approach to planning? “I think that having a wedding planner is better than all hands on deck. This is so there is only one person to go to for everything. That one person will know what you want in your wedding and if others want to assist they can. Just have the wedding planner approve it.”
Name 3 things you would do differently, if, by some strange wrinkle in the universe, you could do it all again (to the same person of course). “I would have had a cocktail hour while taking our pictures after the ceremony. I feel like the whole day was a blur, I would try to slow down and take it all in. I would have eaten, instead of just taking a few bites, but of course I wanted to talk with all of our guests.”
Most important piece of advice: “Tailor the ceremony to who you are as a couple. Daniel and I love camp fires and s’mores so we had a fire in the fireplace at the reception with a s’mores bar for our guests.
Make the day about what you envision and not what other people want or think it should be. It was honestly the best day of my life and I got to enjoy it with all my family and friends.”
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.
wedding venue spotlight: leatherwood mountains resort
If you’ve ever had a vision of a mountain location that is textbook beatific – this would absolutely be it. Leatherwood Mountain Resort. It’s a favorite spot of ours for several reasons.
Because we have many favorite venues for photo shoots and events we cover, part of showing some love for them is to share a few with you guys who are looking for spots or know someone who is. We’re happy to help. One would have to be Leatherwood Mountains Resort in Ferguson, NC. Misty’s great-grandfather’s family once owned all the land at Leatherwood and many family members were raised in the small log cabin on the site called, “The Hendrix Homeplace.” The rock chimney cabin stage now serves as a backdrop for various key portraits at wedding ceremonies. The personal connection and that feeling of time-bending continuity happens to us every time we shoot there. 
For those couples who are planning or thinking of getting started, Abbie Hanchey is the wedding coordinator at Leatherwood and she and her team are indispensable when it comes to finding out what you really want, planning with you and then taking care of guests. Leatherwood also:
- offers both indoor and outdoor options, from small elopements to large wedding ceremonies;
- is the only equestrian resort of its kind in the area for horse lovers;
- has onsite cabin rentals that can accommodate the wedding party and all guests;
- is completely remote. There is no cell phone service; and
- offers all-inclusive packages.
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.
Wedding Redux…. What would YOU do if you could do the day again?
This was the wedding of Meghan and Josh in August of 2015. The groom made the arbor they stood beneath (a gift to his bride) and she walked down the aisle to Bruno Mars’ “Marry You.” There were amazing details in every direction – from the mountains behind them as they pledged to be together for life, to the bouquets, color choices, and reception where everyone danced and partied late into the evening and stayed for the weekend.
BUT. What if they could do it again….? Do it all over again.
If you’re planning your wedding – listen up.
We asked Meghan and Josh what they would change and here is what they said. [insert the high-pitched rewind sound here and clip of everything moving at top speed in reverse]
Name 3 things you would do differently, if, by some strange wrinkle in the universe, you could do it all again (with the same person of course)?
I wouldn’t worry about a shuttle service to get people to and from town. I wouldn’t book vendors based solely on price and I wouldn’t try to do things I wasn’t completely happy with just to save money.
Name 3 things you would do again, if you could?
I would definitely do a small destination like we did where we all stayed in cabins together for the weekend so it was an extended celebration. I would still have my personal and humorous wedding. I would use my florist, caterer, and my photographers a million times over.
Tell us about vows. Any changes?
I LOVED our vows! We wrote our own and they were completely original and US. They were humorous, but still sweet.
How about the number of guests?
DO NOT invite everyone you have ever known and don’t worry about people getting their feelings hurt. Throughout this process, I started to notice that for every person we added to the guest list, we were adding approximately $75/head. This is where I should have cut my budget instead of scrimping on other things or trying to put too much work on myself.
Did you use a wedding planner or the “family-and-friends-all-hands-on-deck” approach to planning?
I had a planner and don’t know how we would have done it without her. I wish we had utilized her even more instead of me trying to do it myself to save money! I tried to do a lot of things on my own or use people who were “cheaper” to try to cut costs. I would have paid the extra amount and had everything taken care of and not worried about it! Do you notice a trend here?!
Time of year? Time of day?
I never wanted an August wedding, but then I never planned a wedding until I had to. August was perfect! Late summer was perfect for my colors and the time of day and location (on top of a mountain) made the weather absolutely unbelievable!
Location?
My fiancé and I wanted something that was natural and gorgeous, which is exactly what we got. We had to go way out in the county to find this, and didn’t want people to worry about driving. We wound up spending more money for a shuttle service to and from town and up and down the mountain than if we had just paid extra somewhere else. We had to rent two sets of chairs because of two separate locations, get generators, and lug things up and down the mountain just to try to get everything we needed into this “natural” space.
What about the elements of the ceremony?
Make it ALL about you! Traditional or not, putting your personal touches on these makes all the difference in the world and it is what your guests will remember.
Decorations & decor?
Make sure they fit your venue. I wanted glitz and glamour mixed with the natural space and additional vintage elements. Sometimes your venue is decoration enough!
Number in the wedding party?
I would suggest going with the smallest number of people possible. My 6 were perfect, but the smaller the better.
Positive and negative advice on any or all of the following:
Attire?
Dress in things that will look good, but also fit your location.
Food?
EAT! I said, “oh we are GOING to eat!”…then we didn’t. We loved the food we selected and then we didn’t even get our to-go boxes.
Gifts?
Don’t register for things you have no intention of using, regardless of what people think you need!
Flowers?
My flowers were one of the TOP things that made my wedding! The colors were gorgeous and tied together my color scheme perfectly! In an attempt to save money, I tried to use potted plants at the altar, but I should have let my florist do those as well.
What, if anything, do you regret?
I don’t regret anything, however, there are a few family members that I wish I would have taken pictures with before they left. I wanted the majority of the pictures done before the ceremony so that we could use the full time for the reception. I had some older family members I assumed were going to stay through part of the reception, but they left right after the ceremony, so they aren’t in any of my photos.
What do you wish you’d done, but were afraid to do?
There are a few moments of my wedding that I wish had been slightly more serious, but that is just not my personality. I was scared to have anything even slightly sentimental because I knew I would cry, so I did everything in my power to make sure that I didn’t break down.
What would you do more of?
If I could do it over, I think I would have enjoyed things more. I don’t say that to mean I didn’t enjoy it, but it was a very stressful time, and I went through different phases and a boat load of emotions. I had days where everything mattered and I didn’t care about the cost; other days, I wasn’t spending a dime, and nothing was a big deal because it was just a “celebration.” Looking back, I see that these were things I will only get to do one time and I would have cherished every moment even more if I had truly had a concept of this.
Stay tuned for more in this series — Wedding Redux, especially if you’re a bride-to-be, maid of honor, mother-of-the-bride or newly engaged. Hearing from those who’ve stood where you are about to stand can make all the difference in the world.
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.
Mountain Wedding combines rustic, stylish, Jewish and traditional elements
The only minor thing about Katie and Josh’s October wedding was their now-shared surname. Katie Muskal wore her mother’s wedding gown when she walked down the aisle to marry her groom, Josh Minor. The gown was reworked and tailored to suit her style, but kept the elements that reminded her of her mom and bonded them that day. And that’s only the beginning….
The bride told us that she, “wanted to create a casual, rustic but chic, festive atmosphere where everyone could be comfortable and have a good time. And of course, we wanted it to be in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains!”
Katie is a native of Pennsylvania, but as an Appalachian State alum, she got the mountain bug and fell in love with our Blue Ridge …… and fell even further for a NC boy – Josh. “After dating a few months, we spent an amazing weekend deep in the mountains while attending a football game. I can honestly say that the beautiful scenery helped us fall in love more and more each day. For our wedding, I wanted to recreate that feeling of love we experienced on that trip.”
There is something about an outdoor wedding that is both challenging and adventurous and so deeply cool. Everyone is surrounded by mother nature, we’re all under the sky, there is tender ambient noise, and the trees and flowers and the rest of nature become attendees.
A little shout out: this couple worked with the amazing talent of Buddy Fore and his efforts tend to result in the most beautiful and well-organized weddings. Just look at his table arrangements!! Also, look for him in the 2016 issue of High Country Wedding Guide.
There was no shortage of details that spoke to autumn and tradition. The bride’s Jewish upbringing was celebrated with a “chuppah” made of antique cloth from both the bride’s and groom’s grandmothers. They celebrated with a “breaking of the glass” ceremony, and later the “hora” chair dance at the reception. Finally, the centerpieces and decorations on the head table were from the bride’s grandmother, who passed away last year.
We love the Blue Ridge Mountain Club! It couldn’t be more picturesque and it, along with the fog and rain in the morning followed by a starry night, allowed us to get gorgeous photos of this glorious couple and the many people people who came from hither and yon to be there to celebrate with them.
This reception had the highest energy we’ve seen and photographed all year. The dance floor never cleared thanks to DJ Erok, whom we would highly recommend. Ages young and old partied well into the night. We loved that when they did need a break, the outdoor fire-pit was close by and the stars were out.
Katie asked if it might be possible for us to thank her parents – David and Tracy Muskal, for giving them an amazing wedding and to thank everyone else who came to celebrate with them. Of course we can: THANK YOU SO MUCH!
From Ryan and myself, we’d like to thank Katie & Josh for allowing us to be a witness to their special day. Good Luck, you two! We love you!
melody & pierre |boone nc wedding | meadow brook inn blowing rock reception| pixels on paper wedding photographers
We are so excited to share with you Melody and Pierre’s wedding photos. Their ceremony was located in Boone, NC at St. Elizabeth’s Catholic Church. Following the ceremony the reception was located at Meadow Brook Inn in Blowing Rock, NC.
Special thanks to the vendors we worked along side: Florist: Steve of Boone Florist, Bride and bridal party hair and makeup: Cheryl Nickel of Dyer and Posta Salon, Ceremony Venue: St Elizabeth’s Catholic Church, Reception Venue: Meadowbrook Inn, DJ: Ryan Greene, Cake: Stick Boy Bread Company.
Learn more about our wedding photography packages in the NC Mountains, Asheville, Blowing Rock NC, Boone NC, and the NC High Country and packages for NC Mountain destination weddings by calling our studio at 336-990-0080, visit our website www.pixelsonpaper.net or send us and email at mail@pixelsonpaper.net.