Craggy Gardens Summer Elopement
You know what two things aren't a match made in heaven? Wedding planning and a pandemic. Yet, here we are in 2020 where that’s our reality and it’s changing EVERYTHING. My clients will have some pretty unique weddings stories to share, that’s for sure! Fortunately this Craggy Gardens summer elopement ended happily ever after, even if there were a few bumps along the way.
I think the biggest factor that allowed for this to be happy story is how flexible Carrie and Scott were. They were always focused on what was most important, simply getting married, and didn’t stress too much when the plans were constantly up in the air. They were easy going, patient, and content the whole time. Impressive I know! The icing on the cake was the insanely beautiful weather. A perfect summery June day meant that up in the Blue Ridge Mountains the weather was nice and cool and we didn’t sweat one drop! There was even a nice breeze. I love when couples come from out of town, Carrie and Scott traveled all the way from Chicago, and they get clear skies and great visibility to enjoy the views. They were constantly in awe of how beautiful it was on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Carrie and Scott had already planned to elope with just 12 of their family members which certainly made things easier. That’s one of the many benefits of eloping, you can easily pivot and change plans as needed.
The Blue Ridge Parkway will typically issue permits for weddings held in spots directly on the parkway. However, when Carrie submitted her application (months in advance) for her June wedding, the virus made its appearance and began closing all of the parks and their offices. It was radio silence for weeks and we had no idea if they would be able to get their permit. Heck, we didn't know if the parkway would even be accessible. For weeks, we emailed back and forth running over the different options and asking ourselves "what if?" We went through plan A, B and even C to try to make sure we were covering all of our bases and would be able to get these two married!
Incredibly enough, as June neared, the parkway reopened. Carrie and Scott, along with their family, were able to travel to Asheville a few days before their elopement. And yet, we still hadn’t heard back from the permitting office. We were holding our breath until the Thursday before the wedding, eeeek!, when the silence had finally been broken. Carrie was told that an application had already been processed before hers and the location they chose, Craggy Gardens, wasn’t available.
Disclaimer: Typically obtaining your permit is much simpler and faster; so don’t worry! This was a unique situation that happened only because of the offices being closed for a long period of time during the pandemic.
Fortunately, the Blue Ridge Parkway is covered with beautiful and accessible spots where you can easily have your elopement with a handful of guests and mountain views. (And where dogs are welcomed!)
So we hopped on the phone, chatted through our options, and Carrie and Scott choose another location they were happy with. Ultimately, we ended up having their engagement session at Craggy Gardens and we chose an overlook nearby for their ceremony. This also allowed them to have their portraits on the stunning Craggy Pinnacle trail like we originally planned. After their sweet ceremony, that had a few tears and collective feeling of relief that it FINALLY happened, they soaked in the views during their portraits and finally met their family at The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville for dinner on the stunning terrace.
Craggy Pinnacle is the most popular trail because it is the closest to Asheville, just an easy 40 min drive up the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a very short (but somewhat of a steep) climb to beautiful overlook with 360 views. Unfortunately, they no longer allow wedding ceremonies at this location. The space at the overlook is very limited and often crowded because it is so popular and accessible. They have had to close off certain portions, as well, because people would climb over the stone walls and damage the fragile area by their foot traffic. They are working hard to protect and maintain the area while allowing travelers and locals the chance to enjoy its beauty. So while you can’t have a ceremony here for good reasons, the two of you can absolutely go for portraits in your wedding clothes.
Pro Tip: If you are interested in the Craggy Garden area for your wedding or session, plan for right after sunrise to avoid the crowds!
Pandemic or no pandemic, plans change, things fall through, and you are inevitably going to face some roadblocks when planning your wedding or elopement. When you choose me as your photographer, I am there to help you every step of the way. Yep, even when your location changes or your dress doesn't get there on time. I'm more than just a photographer in this sense. I am here to support you, find creative solutions, and make it a perfect day, with you.