Lindley and Justin's Wedding at Wonderlust Acres

“Love her but leave her wild”

— Atticus

Oh my goodness, I love how deep connections to my couples comes full circle a decade later. I captured sweet Lindley’s cousin Kathryn’s wedding over 10 years ago and have, of course, stayed connected with family photos through the years and I was so excited when Lindley popped into my inbox to let me know it was her turn and Kathryn insisted she message me!

The only potential hiccup was my plan to hike my next Appalachian Trail Section the next morning, so they agreed it would be fine for them to wait an extra week for their photo delivery, but then my start date got pushed back a couple days so I get to write their sweet story before I take off!

I’m pretty sure there couldn’t be a more perfect couple to kick off my next adventure though. These two are also avid adventurers who will be going white water kayaking for their honeymoon! Once I received that information, coupled with two empty kayaks sitting beside the venue’s pond… I mean there was really no other option than a trash the dress moment after the reception. Just sayin…

Gregory asked the family to pass around the wedding rings at the beginning of the ceremony to give the couple blessings before they exchanged rings. Then he asked Lindley and Justin to look at each others hands during the ceremony. Hands that would hold them and comfort them and protect them forever more. You could feel the love they had for each other as they took in each detail and fingerprint. When they added the rings which had been blessed by the family, the love surrounding them, and the legacy in the heirloom involved, everyone felt the weight this beautiful moment carried.

Lindley and Justin were just as excited as I was to get to the fun part and we were willing the sun to move into position just a little bit faster. After splashing around in the creek, they jumped into the kayak and had a blast splashing each other and playing with the resident alligator :)

You guys thank you so much for including me in your special day! It was the perfect adventure to start off my next AT Section! Hope you have a blast on your trip!

The Vendor’s who made the day possible:

Photographer: Cynthia Viola

Venue: Wonderlust Acres

Dress: Watters from BHLDN

Her Ring: Clean Origin

His Ring: A family heirloom

HMU: Kaylee Davis

Officiant: Rev. Dr. Gregory Possman

Catering: Can-Do Catering

Cake: Stick Boy

Elopements on the Blue Ridge Parkway

For Earth Day, it seemed appropriate to highlight the beauty of our Blue Ridge Mountains with all the magical elopements I’ve had the honor of capturing lately. There’s just something about the rolling land and vast sky that draws so many to make their commitments here.

Sha’Lanika and Mike drove up from Florida, seeing mountains for the first time on this trip, and while a little nervous on the roads, were overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding them. We chose Thunder Hill both due to its ease of access for hiking and also because it happened to snow and ice just the day before closing off the rest of the parkway to access by vehicle. You never know what kind of weather you’re going to get up here!

Keith and Rebecca drove down from Illinois and chose Carvers Gap on the Appalachian Trail at Roan Mountain State Park because they are newly avid backpackers who met during covid and fell in love with backpacking and each other! We swapped hiking stories while we walked as Roan Mountain is still, in my opinion, the most beautiful section of the Appalachian Trail I’ve seen to date and I frequent the balds both for shoots and for camping! We were freezing in the 38 degree temps of course but Rebecca was such a trooper, you’d never even know her teeth were chattering.

Oh my goodness, when Claire told me they were driving down to Blowing Rock from Ohio and their big day would be more of a “private affair,” I knew exactly what she meant and my heart broke into a million pieces. Sometimes these elopements can have a bittersweet feel to them, however, the love these two share, CANNOT, be denied. They were so precious to witness all day. The friends and family who came to support them were all they needed to feel loved and adored. Tears flowed from each of us all day but the flood gates came when Claire got down on her knees to promise to love and honor Erica’s kids as well. I know this little family will be there to support each other for life.

And just yesterday Jon and Kristianna said their “I dos” at The Blowing Rock. Their kiddos couldn’t have been happier to participate and celebrate with them and the weather was Carolina perfection. I can’t believe I’ve never been to The Blowing Rock before… in all the years I grew up and built my business in these mountains, for whatever reason had simply never made it. So grateful to know what I’ve been missing though! I’ll be back very soon! All Kristianna wanted was a photo standing on the edge of the rock and she walked up there like a damn queen. I am really beginning to love these intimate affairs. The freedom of the schedule to adjust with the weather and wind or an upset child or delayed friend. There are no rules, just overwhelming love and support from those present.

I am grateful to each of you for including me! Can’t wait to see all that is to come!

Gabrielle and Ruby's Engagement at Craggy Gardens

“I’m glad I found you because before you I never knew what to wish for”

— Atticus

You guys I had the very best time cruising down the Blue Ridge Parkway toward the Asheville side this weekend. I’ve very familiar with all the over looks in the high country, but haven’t taken the time to drive south yet. Ruby and Gabrielle were coming up from Columbia, South Carolina and didn’t know much about the area either so I went early to scope it out for them. They had heard good things about Craggy Gardens and so had I, so we set our plans for that. I must say, it did not disappoint. Super unique tree systems line the trail and of course the Blue Ridge as far as you can see.

These two met at West Point and are currently serving our country (thank you!!). While technically already married during covid, they wanted to go ahead and capture an engagement in the mountains, and we’re hoping for a Mexico wedding in 2022!

There were about 30 other visitors at the top of the trail but it was incredibly heart warming to find all of them very welcoming and so very happy to offer to move out of the way so we could get some photos of the love birds without others in the background. That is not always the case at crowded locations, but it made me love these Blue Ridge Mountains even more. The heart of the people is openness and generosity and I was so happy to call them mine and give our visiting guests a good experience.

The haze from the western forest fires is still making an impact on us, not only with the air quality, but with the view. At certain points it was as if they were walking off into the abyss. But it lifted a bit for us at the top and we were able to capture at lease a few dozen miles of blue ridge, if not the 100 or so you can typically see.

You guys I could not be happier for you!! Thank you so much for trusting me with this special memory! Love you!

Meghan and Andrew's Elopement on the Blue Ridge Parkway

“Go as far as you can see. When you get there you’ll be able to see farther”

— J.P. Morgan

When a couple is willing to get up at 4am to climb a mountain with you in the DARK just to catch the sunrise you know you’ve found the right couple. Meghan and Andrew wanted a simple ceremony at Beacon Heights with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background so we made it happen!

She literally had to put on her dress and adjust her make up in the dark while we waited for the sun to make an appearance, but it was totally work the effort.

With a few 20s crooners playing in the background, they shared their first dance and spent some time taking in the moment.

It was truly the perfect ceremony and I am so honored you chose me to be a part of it you guys!

Anna and Steve's Elopement at Rough Ridge

“Actually, the best gift you could have given her was a lifetime full of adventures”

— Lewis Carroll -Alice in Wonderland

I became friends with Anna when I started shooting her bother’s family photos a few years ago. We’ve since hung out several times and I must say I have never seen her as happy as I did this weekend. Steve just gets her in a way that makes her feel free and adored and it brought me so much joy to capture these moments for them.

We had to change around the plans a little since the mountain weather was being a little finicky, but we did the first look and ceremony at their cabin and followed up a couple days later with a hike a Rough Ridge Hiking Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway at sunrise.

I am obsessed with their Wooden Flowers from Forever Floral! They were so easy to tote around everywhere we went and never lost one petal. The wood is actually really soft and nearly feels like actual flower petals somehow.

They *might have kissed a half a dozen times throughout the ceremony, but we didn’t mind ;)

It was 42 degrees at sunrise but they weren’t afraid. She threw on some leggings and hiking boots under her Rustic Grace dress and blazed down the trail. Definitely my kind of people. ;)

Anna I cannot tell you how much joy it brought me to see you so happy this weekend! Thank you for including me on such a special day! SO happy for you both!

Gülşah and Vanessa's Engagement on the Blue Ridge Parkway

“Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses.”

— Ann Landers

I could not have been more excited when Gülşah and Vanessa asked me to photograph their engagement and big day, just through our initial video chat I knew we would be great friends!

These two beautiful souls met in their Counseling/Psychology profession at Old Dominion University. So naturally we hit it off right away as my major was also Psychology focused on counseling. When you meet them, you’ll know right away they have to be in a field like that because they are both simply so easy to be around. They ask great questions and listen intently, they are truly the type of friends you want to have in your corner.

When the weekend finally arrived them them to travel here from Norfolk, VA the weather looked like it wasn’t going to cooperate for our scheduled day and I already had shoots booked every other day surrounding it, so we decided to have them meet me a day early just a little bit before my other shoot that evening so we could at least guarantee a few glowy sunset photos if we weren’t able to get them the next day.

So the duck pond in Banner Elk served as our first backdrop and worked out perfectly. I had them climbing all over rocks and dancing in tight spaces but we made it work and it was totally worth it!

The rain held off just long enough for us to also capture a few memories at Rough Ridge on the Blue Ridge Parkway as well! We brought a couple umbrellas just in case and were so glad we did, we walked right through the center of a cloud on the way up and brought the rain back down with us on our way. The rain splattered hair simply added to the romance though and those final photos were some of my favorite from the whole weekend.

Katherine and Michal's Engagement on the Blue Ridge Parkway

“When you trust someone, you don’t need to know everything.”

— Bob Goff

Kate and Michal had quite a journey traveling up to the mountains for their Engagement shoot, but that didn’t overshadow their excitement in the slightest. While we walked she would whisper “I love you’s” and he would tell her how beautiful her green eyes were in the evening light as if they’d just met.

It’s so beautiful to watch a love story unfold right in front of your eyes. They talked about how they’d met in undergrad, experienced a mud run together and how they knew from the very beginning something was different about “this one.” As they talked about their common career paths in Physical Therapy, they also dreamed about their future and potential matching Jeeps. They couldn’t be more natural together.

We began at Grandfather Meadows where they host the Highland Games every year, and finished nearby at Flat Rock Overlook just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. We couldn’t have asked for better weather!

I cannot wait for your big day in Roaring River this spring you guys! It’s going to be perfect!