Kevin & Sarah had one incredible wedding in the mountains of North Carolina. They chose to hold their nuptuals at the Garden Retreat in Poplar, North Carolina, which is just over the state line near the Tri-Cities. They literally searched all over the world for the perfect ceremony location, but I do believe they found the perfect spot nestled deep in the forest. Kevin is from New Zealand, and Sarah spent her childhood in many homes, but calls the Tri-Cities one of her homes. She and Kevin met while living in London, where they live. The fact that they did the majority of their wedding planning via internet from accross the pond is pretty impressive. And what is even more impressive, excuse me, jaw-dropping impressive, is that ALL of the reception decor is D . . . I . . . Y. That’s right. Sarah and her super crew of friends did all of the decor themselves. My wonderful husband, Brian, came along to help out wth the wedding, and when he first saw the reception tent, he even said, “wow,” a huge compliment from someone who really could care less about anything wedding related.
I wish I could tell you that this was a super beautiful day, but there were some hurdles along the way to the ceremony. Hmmm, could it be rain?? Yes, RAIN! Even when I go to other states, it rains. I swear that whenever I stepped indoors, the rain would stop, and as soon as I set foot outdoors, the rain would come again. Sara’s bridal portraits were pretty challenging. As soon as we began, the rain began to fall. Kevin was inside the only shelter, so I had to take her photos under the reception tent. You can see the rain falling behind her in a few shots. But lemons into lemonaide, friends. The sun went down really really fast, especially in the heart of the forest, but thankfully there was just a teeny little bit of twilight left to let me shoot their ceremony . . . at f/1.6 . . . 1/100th of a second . . . . at iso 6400. Impressive, huh??? And sure enough, when it was time for their portraits, we were working by torchlight in the darkness. No problem! We rocked out a few images in time to get Sarah and Kevin to their cocktail hour, only to find the most adorable photobooth–another super awesome DIY project. After a beautiful, emotional reception, Brian and I hauled our soggy selves back to the hotel room in Tennessee. I was worried that Kevin and Sarah wouldn’t be happy with their small selection of portraits together, so being the awesome person I am, I drove up to Kingsport on the Monday after the Bridal show, and rocked a short newlywed session. A few hours later, Kevin and Sarah boarded a plane back to London.
I really hope you guys had a wonderful trip back to the states (well I guess for a lot of you, your FIRST trip to the states!), and I hope you enjoy this sneak peak. Thank you so much for having me along.
My favorite shots from each of my weddings in 2009.
