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I am SO honored to say that I have been recognized as one of the Top 25 Wedding Photographers in Charlotte NC by WeddingRule. After moving here when I was 8 years old, I seriously never thought I would make such a mark in The Charlotte area. Along with this amazing accomplishment, I have to give a shoutout to all my other friends in the industry that also were recognized. HOW COOL RIGHT?!

Ritchie Hill is the perfect venue for this fall wedding! Taylor & Brett met at Appalachian State and started off as friends. After hanging out all the time, the rest was history! They picked Ritchie Hill for their wedding for their big family in Charlotte. “They have great accommodations for our grandparents who can’t walk upstairs,” Taylor and Brett said. The biggest goal for them was to have all their family and friends party the night away! Split Second Sound brought the kickass party and Joy’s Catering had some delicious food and drinks. All the small details were done by Becky Pierce with Hillside Florist! The day wouldn’t have gone so smoothly without her.

Angie & Adam met in college at ECU and live in Charlotte. They wanted their wedding to be a good party, and for all their guests to be happy! Their bridal party was READY to party! The two of them loved everything dark & moody just like I do. The Cadillac Service Garage caught their eye right away with the black and while tile in the front lobby. This venue is a hidden gem for Greensboro, or even all of North Carolina! The exposed brick, the loft for cocktail hour, right in downtown Greensboro, and an outdoor patio for photos.

same sex elopement in asheville north carolina

Abby & Amanda wanted to elope because it felt like them! No stress, little planning, and get to have a vacation in one of their favorite places in North Carolina! They met in college at Liberty University while studying to be nurses and now live in charlotte with their two dogs. After dating for 6 years, they knew it was time to start their forever! When we met at Queen City Grounds in Charlotte, I fell in love with these two! They told me they wanted a fall ceremony with just them, their officiant, their two witnesses and family. After helping them plan, the decided to have their ceremony at Buck Springs Overlook outside of Asheville, North Carolina.

Charlotte & Alex are from the same small town in North Carolina. They went to the same high school and had mutual friends. Their grandparents even went to the same church and were friends, but barely knew each other. 10 years after their high school graduation, they met again and the attraction was pretty much immediate. They got engaged 3 years later. After buying a house and taking a trip to South America, they decided 2019 was their year to get married. They didn’t want the stress of planning a big wedding but still wanted to make the day we marry extra special and memorable. They decided on Olivette Riverside Park for their Asheville Micro Wedding after Katrina from Destination Elopement WNC helped them decide! Olivette Riverside Park has a beautiful view of the river yet still accessible for wheelchairs. This was very important for their family to be able to move around without hiking a mountain!

Jennifer and David drove 13 hours to get married at Hawkesdene in the Nantahala National Forest. Hawkesdene was BEYOND beautiful for their June mountain wedding. This little venue is tucked away in the North Carolina mountains and has an amazing view that doesn’t require a hike, but a ride on the properties ATV! One of the biggest benefits to this wedding is that the majority of your friends and family can stay right on the property! No DD needed. As for Jennifer and David, their Friday nights are mainly spent at home or with friends and a good drink! The most important part of their wedding was to be surrounded by their friends and family.

Nicole & Tim’s Engagement Session in Asheville, North Carolina was beyond amazing! We were SO happy to pick a weekday where there were little to no people at the top. YAY! We didn’t plan to hike all the way to the top until we were driving on the Parkway and I told them, “Y’all it’s TOTALLY worth it!”. Nicole and Tim were SUCH good sports for hiking all the way. Their love was so amazing to witness and capture! My favorite part of their outfits was the blue flowy dress Nicole wore. She matched super well with Tim’s grey shirt without being too matchy matchy. This is key for having a wonderful photos!

We can’t wait for their wedding on May 9th, 2020 at the Champagne Manor! This wedding venue is tucked away in Monore and has picked up some major attention in the last year! They snaggled this date just in time! Even though wedding planning feel like a full-time job, they both have been killing it hard with their planning! Nicole got her dress from Hayden Oliva in Uptown Charlotte and her bridesmaids dresses from Brideside. I can’t WAIT to blog their wedding!

Jackie and Britt got married on their Seventh Anniversary! Not only does Jackie have an obsession with all things vintage and antique, but their wedding venue, The Asheville Masonic Temple was built in 1915.

“We met one fateful Tuesday evening at a dive bar in downtown Asheville where I attempted to appear callous and uninterested while he dove into a failed magic trick and nervously name-dropped his band. He was the most ridiculous, brazen, yet hilariously resilient guy I had ever met and I suppose the rest was history, as the cliche goes! Britt and I are both huge fans of music and spend hours geeking out over our records or going to shows, and spend just as much time gushing over all our crazy animals.Their wedding day in Asheville was a wet, foggy, and cold February. Not only did this weather set the perfect mood, the color of the bridal party was grey and navy. How perfect?! The bridal dresses were custom made from Etsy specifically for the long, navy, velvet dresses!

I did an amazing thing with Phylicia from Posh Moments Photography for this Winter Style elopemetn in North Carolina! She put on the Honestly workshop and GUYS! IT WAS PHENOMENAL! Learning from her about Two Bright Lights, how to find vendors, styling these elopements for North Carolina brides, and creating that relationship was so inspiring and helpful. At the end of the workshop, it was no wonder she sold out in 30 minutes of starting ticket sales! My favorite part was meeting other photographers in the area from the BabeCharlotte group on FB. It’s an AMAZING group for anyone starting out and there is no shame posting any question you have on there. Some of my favorite ladies like Avonne, and Hilary were there too from North Carolina! 

A few weeks before this workshop Phylicia messaged me and said one of her male models dropped out! She asked me to help her find someone for this elopement. With my connections to working at Belk, I texted my friend Dylan in North Carolina and bam! He was able to make it! She gave me a shout out during her talk and I was so surprised to have a thank you in front of EVERYONE! All I saw it was helping a friend. 

As for our AMAZING VENDORS, Phylicia got the best of the best! Some vendors for this North Carolina Elopement I already knew like Meagan Kelly, and Honey Silks. But I am SO happy to have met some new ones like Glammed and Groomed, The Antique, and Vintage Soul Floral Design. It made me laugh when Phylicia said “Yes, I am being extra dot com for this elopement! You don’t have to with styled shoots but that is just me!”. What was amazing is that she was SO ORGANIZED!! I have no idea how she does it.

Thinking about proposing to your best friend? Why not hire a photographer! Evan and I went to high school together, go Class of 2011! For my Charlotte OG’s we went to Mallard Creek High School. It had been almost 8 years ago when Evan noticed I was a photographer in the area still! Evan messaged me saying he was about to propose to Allison in Charlotte, North Carolina and wanted me as his photographer! I was BEYOND excited but kept my cool when I showed up in South End. I pretended I was photographing buildings as the two of them strolled along the skyline! I’ll tell y’all, it was oddly warm that day. But that’s North Carolina for you! Evan said “I chose this spot because we broke up after a fight. We didn’t see each other for a while until we ran into one another right here!! We joke about it overtime we walk our dog Nigel!!” His tip for looking out for them was “Just look out for the hot blonde!!” I mean he wasn’t kidding.

Aly Barnett Photography, LLC