Trash the Dress Shoot at Brown Mountain Beach Resort

“The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

If you have followed me for any amount of time, you know trash the dress photography is my all time favorite type of shoot. The wild abandon of breaking the “rules.” The sheer joy that comes with splashing water on your love when you’re “not supposed to.” The simple fact that you get authentic memories of a moment that wasn’t buried in tradition and expectation, but wild and free, just like your new love.

Katie and Dan wanted those moments too and with as much fun as we had on their adventurous engagement session at Otter Falls, we knew we made a great team.

Of course Brown Mountain Beach was the perfect venue for capturing everything they were looking for. They wanted to include their best girl Kimura, ride off on their motorcycle, hop in the canoe, and of course, jump in the icy mountain water! I couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect shoot if I wanted to!

While perfect photos in a proper, clean dress and suit certainly hold value and help you remember your wedding day, you cannot deny that you could ever forget holding onto your train so it didn’t get caught in the engine as you road away on a motorcycle, or dying laughing as your splashed your love and danced in an icy mountain river barefooted as the sun set in the background.

There are days that need to be remembered, and then there are memorable days. And I submit that the spontaneous moments that catch us by surprise in between the planned ones, are the ones that will never leave us.

I’m ready for your next adventure whenever you are.

Deanna and William's Engagement on Lake Toxaway

“Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder”

— E.B. White

It had been raining all week leading up to Deanna and William’s engagement shoot and was threatening to this morning as well with heavy, dense fog blocking visuals all around. But right before I pulled in, the fog lifted and we were able to start! Better yet, the sun even made an appearance half way through! I was so excited!

These two cuties met at work a couple years ago and got to know each other on a recruiting trip to UNC. When William proposed a couple years later he recreated that entire trip, remembering every detail about what she showed him, where they walked and where they shared meals. They are just the sweetest and I had so much fun getting to know them and little Loki at their family’s home at Lake Toxaway.

We were exploring the property, taking photos, telling stories and playing with Loki when we came across the canoe set up by the lake….and well…you know what had to happen next! Luckily they were just as excited as I was and we made it happen! Loki was even excited!

Thank you so much for trusting me with your memories you guys! I cannot wait til April!

Cindy and Logan's Engagement on Watauga Lake

“The ship is safest in the port. But that’s not what ships were made for”

— Paulo Coelho

Sometimes you come across people who you know will be lifetime friends the moment you meet them. Cindy and I chatted back and forth for months before this shoot happened and talked about all sorts of adventure options. She and Logan can be found on some sort of adventure just about every week.

The fact that they met snowboarding on Appalachian Ski Mountain was a great indicator to where their relationship was heading. (He did propose while snowboarding in Brekenridge after all) And with their first date canoeing on Watauga Lake, we just had to reenact it for their engagement photos. Little Marcie certainly approved.

Sunrise was not the easiest of course, the lake was almost an hour away and we needed to be there by 6 to make sure we caught the light, but it was totally worth it, as it always is. I met them at their house bright and early and they offered me some Chai…which I happened to already have in my thermos, so I knew we’d be besties before the day was over. ;)

We had a cute little duck follow us around for a good part of the morning which we all loved. But when we got to the island where we planned to shoot, we found about a dozen tents with tenants sound asleep! We tried to sneak around and whisper to get some of the photos, but one of their hounds alerted them of the intruders and we dove back into the boats to give them some peace. Oops!

It was such a perfect day and I’m SO excited to see what adventure awaits their wedding guests next year!