Grandfather Mountain State Park Elopement with Family / Amanda + Carter

Amanda and Carter gathered a handful of guests and traveled to Banner Elk, NC to have their wedding at Grandfather Mountain State Park. And you could say it was a long time in the making. Amanda and Carter were best friends in high school but did not start dating, long distance I might add, until college! This was just preparing them for their future together where they were long distance on and off for years while dating. Dating and growing with another person especially through those pivotal years is already a challenge, adding distance to it is not for the faint of heart. (Jake and I also did long distance while dating and during our engagement!) But I think it’s a huge testament to the strength of their relationship and may have made the wedding day just a little sweeter, knowing now, they’d be together for good. After all, one of the best things about marriage is knowing that everyday you get to wake up and be with your best friend.

For their wedding plans it was important to them to have time with each other and their guests (sounds like a no brainer right? but often times this isn’t always the case when wedding days are too jammed pack) and have a gorgeous backdrop of nature for their ceremony. It was important to them that the full day was covered from getting ready to their intimate dinner prepared by a private chef, so their timeline looked like this:

12:15 - Getting ready at cabin

1:15 - First look + letters + portraits

2:00 - Family portraits

2:30 - Drive to Grandfather Mtn

3:30 - Ceremony + first dance

4:00 - Bride + groom portraits while family heads back to cabin

5:00 - Drive back to cabin for cocktail hour

6:00 - Dinner on the deck Private Chef + speeches + cake cutting

7:15 - Coverage ends

This day allowed them the ease of utilizing a cabin rental for getting ready, first look, family photos and their reception. I always find this to be a great solution for elopements with a few guests! It feels cozy, intimate and easy without losing the celebratory feeling since they still had dinner set up with tables, decor and a crafted meal by a local chef. Amanda and Carter had lots of time to actually spend with their guests, enjoying the cocktail hour, sitting around and chatting. But they still got their ceremony with epic views and some private portrait time in the mountains thanks to nearby Grandfather Mountain State Park

One thing that’s great about the Blue Ridge Parkway is that there are accessible ceremony spots to include guests. At Grandfather Mountain State Park it was easy to do so at this overlook that you can easily drive right up to. We had the whole spot to ourselves where Amanda and Carter could share their vows with their friends and family. Did you know you could get views like this without hiking?! This is just one of many spots that the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina has to offer. I have a whole curated list of location options for my couples!