I met up with Lindsay and Brett in NYC for their engagement session as they planned their destination elopement in Asheville, NC for some mountain views. It was the best of both worlds - a session in one of their favorite cities and then a destination wedding in the mountains, so yes, you can have it all! For their wedding day Lindsay, Brett, and I got creative with their timeline and managed to squeeze in all the best that the day could offer. This meant epic sunrise portraits for just the two of them, a nice break for brunch, resting and touch ups, and then an intimate ceremony and dinner at their accommodation, Diamond Falls Preserve, (which had the perfect ceremony spot). Here’s a glimpse at their timeline to see how we made it happen:

Timeline:

6:30am - Meet at portrait location

Lindsay get dressed

6:45am - Hike

7:25am - First look + watch sunrise + portraits

8:15am - Head to second location + portraits, explore, letter/gift exchange

10:30am - End

break/relax

5:00pm - Meet at the cabin 

5:30pm - Family portraits 

6:00pm - Ceremony

6:30pm - Champagne and cake cutting

6:45pm - Sunset portraits 

7:15pm - Dinner at cabin

8:00pm - Coverage ends

Lindsay was definitely speaking to my heart when she wrote this in her planning questionnaire: “We want to feel like we are able to enjoy the day. We know it will be a busy, whirlwind day but we want to be in the moment as much as possible and take time to slow down and pause to enjoy the moment. This includes a realistic and planned timeline for the day.”

Your wedding day will go by too fast in a beautiful whirlwind. Which is kinda how any day goes that is special and amazing - it always ends too quickly. Knowing that, it is so so important to be intentional with your time and ensure you slow down and do your best to soak it in. And Lindsay nailed it on the head when she said that this includes a realistic and planned timeline for the day - BINGO. Your wedding day is one of those days you want to plan for relaxing, flexibility and even spontaneity. I know that sounds counter intuitive but I promise it will serve you well on your day.

And Lindsay and Brett’s day was special and amazing. From the INSANE sunrise we had, to ending the evening eating her moms homemade Mexican food that she had always made for them growing up (and I swear the best Mexican food I’ve ever had in my entire life).

Here’s what Lindsay + Brett had to say: “My husband and I knew we wanted to elope in the mountains but had no idea where to start. Wedding photos were super important to us so I googled a few photographers based near Asheville. Erika got back to us quickly and set up an intro call where she not only answered all my questions but made us feel like she was someone we could lean on as an expert on eloping in the area we weren't from or very familiar with. She was a huge help in planning the day and everything went off without a hitch. Erika got to know us and what was important and was able to bring out the best of us from behind her camera. She put us at ease and captured every perfect moment from our day. She shot not only our wedding day but also an engagement session with us in NYC where we are based so we really got the best of both worlds with engagements photos in the city and wedding photos in the mountains and they turned out equally as beautiful. I would highly recommend Erika!”