Christie and Alex's Wedding at Twickenham House and Hall

“I’m not good at making specific plans. Just meet me under the sky somewhere and be alive with me”

— Victoria Erickson

I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who’s loves snow as much as Christie and Alex. We went back and forth on engagement dates waiting for the PERFECT snow day, and all the effort paid off! Banner Elk was finally forecasted to receive several inches and we started planning. What started as fun snow ball fights and hikes around the The Banner Elk Mill Pond, ended in a romantic sunset on top of Beech Mountain. It set the perfect tone for their wedding day to come!

Fast forward to the big day. They reallllly wanted snow on their wedding day as well, so they chose December in the mountains. Twickenham House and Hall provided the most beautiful backdrop and while it didn’t snow the day of, it did one step better and snowed a couple days prior, ensuring the roads were accessible by the wedding day AND they still had snow on the ground for photos! Wins all around!

And those wins could not have arrived at a better time. The High Country endured the trauma of Hurricane Helene just a few weeks prior to the wedding washing out the road to their venue as well as countless others nearby. With many discussions about changing locations, we kept our fingers crossed and the road workers pulled through just in time! It was a grand celebration indeed!

Christie chose to have a first look with her father (complete with custom gift to her pops) as well as her excited bridesmaids. We had to take a couple quick warm ups inside the house in between of course ;)

Then Alex and Christie shared their first look together on the front lawn where we still had some snow followed by their sweet private vows and a sip of a special bottle of bourbon they had been saving for this day.

While the scenery was breathtaking, the temperature and winds were a little harsh the morning of the wedding so they made a quick switch from a cliffside ceremony to a backyard ceremony which was absolutely lovely. We took the happy couple up to the cliffs afterward for a few portraits and the rest of the evening was spent laughing, crying and dancing the night away. Wouldn’t change one thing, we had an absolute, blast you guys! Thank you for trusting us with your big day!

The Instagram Handles for the Vendors who made the day possible:

Photographer: @cynthiajviola with assistance from @jlrobertsphotography

Venue: @twickenhamhouse

Planning: @heatherlyeventdesign and @kelseystricklandevents

HMU: @justwingitartistry

DJ: @ultimatesounddjco

Catering: @morchellaprovisions 

Cake: @sassy_cat_bakery

Transportation: @wilcoxtravel

Jessica and Corey's Wedding at Twickenham House and Hall

It’s not often I get to capture a wedding in the middle of the week, but this Wednesday wedding at Twickenham House was an absolute delight. The hurricane that bore down on the area all week cleared literally just a couple hours before the ceremony, all the fog it brought with it lifted and we had the most beautiful day anyone could ask for.

Jessica chose to wear her mother’s wedding dress with a few alterations and it fit like a glove. Her father loved it so much and said she looked just as beautiful as her mother 37 years prior. As an extra special feature, her mom and sister sewed into the dress her “something blue.” They created a lace pocket with the leftover train material to place a photo of her Nana and Zadie wearing blue. Every guest who caught a peek went wild with love for them both.

Corey was a bit more quite and thoughtful during the preparations. As I hadn’t met him before today I wasn’t sure if this would remain his style all day, but I was blown away when the ceremony was over. He and Jessica danced their way through photos, climbed to the highest peak for the perfect shot, ran and skipped their way down to the shuttle and entered cocktail hour wildly in love and ready to party!

Together these two brought the party with them everywhere they went. Dragging friends into the photobooth and onto the dance floor, back to the patio for a quick drink then onto the dance floor again. They were showered with love and celebration by everyone and it was an absolutely unforgettable night.

You guys I cannot thank you enough for trusting me with your special day! Let’s do it again soon!

The Instagram handles for all the vendors who made the day possible:

Photographer: @cynthiajviola

Venue & Catering: @twickenhamhouse

Planning: @kelseystricklandweddings

Hair: Haley 

Florals: Village Florist

Officiant: @revrichardtidyman

DJ: @ontargetdj

Social Media Curator: @furandlacephotography

Cake: @sassy_cat_bakery

Jodi and Matt's Wedding at Twickenham House

“Just in case you ever foolishly forget; I’m never not thinking of you”

— Virginia Woolf

Despite the torrential downpour we received right as the reception began, Matt and Jodi’s wedding was one for the books! I have been dying to shoot at Twickenham House in Jefferson, NC and it did not disappoint! The views are unbelievable and of course the coordinator, Leigh, was so super helpful the entire weekend. They have tons of rooms for your guests to stay in if you want to make a weekend out of it and beautiful hiking spots all around. We were able to hike right up to the edge of the mountain at their Cliffside Ceremony location and the backdrop was incredible for photos.

While they are from Wisconsin, and currently living in Florida, the mountains have always held a special place for them, so they had all their family meet in the middle in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. Matt proposed on a 4th of July trip to the Great Smoky Mountains back in 2015. They had been exploring all day and ended up hiking to Cataract Falls where he got down on one knee to propose. They were the only ones at the bottom of the waterfall until suddenly there was a large family watching them to celebrate the proposal! The mountains seemed like the perfect way to capture that important piece of their story.

They, of course had to include their fur baby Slinky in the big day. She was very excited and showered them in kisses all day while also being the perfect companion to the sweet flower girls.

It was thundering and lightening as we were finishing up all the photos and we knew we didn’t have much time but they were willing to risk it for the photos. Shortly after we reached the reception hall a huge thunder clap was heard all around and the lights went out! Luckily Twickenham has excellent generators so we barely skipped a beat before the bottom dropped out and all the rain that had so graciously held off all afternoon came all at once!

You guys I cannot thank you enough for including me in your big day! I had so much fun exploring the cliffs with you!

The Vendors who made the day possible:

Photographers: Cynthia Viola with Martha Shannon

Venue: Twickenham House

Dress: Alfred Angelo Bridal

Tux: Ike Behar from The Tux Lady in Jefferson

Her Ring: Jareds Galleria of Jewelry

His Ring- Custom from Celestial Rex

Hair and Make Up: Mark of Eden Salon, Tera Shaw

Florist: Log House Florist

Officiant: Gerard A. Murphy with High Country Ministers

DJ: Dan Etzler, On Target DJ

Videographer: HoneyDew Films

Catering: Frugal Gourmet Catering

Invitations: Minted.com, Artist - Grace Kreinbrink

Favors: Koozies