Beautiful Blooms at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville North Carolina – Jojo and Derek Engagement Session April 2023

One of the most magical things about asheville north carolina is the biltmore estate

Drenched in history and a huge magnet for tourists all over the world, the Biltmore Estate stands alone as a marvel of the Gilded Age. It’s one of my favorite places to visit and I sometimes can’t believe that I live so close to something so beautiful and unique and I can go whenever I want! Whenever I get an inquiry for an engagement session, I hop on it! Even though I’ve shot there many, many times there’s always something new I discover on the grounds to photograph and every session and couple is unique! Check out the rest of this blog to see how I approach photographing an engagement session at Biltmore Estate.

The front lawn of the biltmore estate

When you first arrive at Biltmore you’re greeted with a mile and half driveway that’s beautifully landscaped and brings you deep into the gorgeous Biltmore Estate. The first stop on any engagement session is the front lawn where you can take in the enormous home from afar and get a glimpse of how huge the Biltmore Estate truly is. For couples who are visiting Asheville, North Carolina and Biltmore Estate for the first time I like to see their reactions to seeing America’s largest privately owned house. Rolling mountains act as the perfect backdrop for the gorgeous Estate and you can see the walled gardens and calculated bussing of guests to and from the house.

picturesque areas ARound the Estate

You are allowed to photograph anywhere on the property and estate except inside the actual house. Thankfully the areas around the house are just as gorgeous! I love trying to capture the size difference between the house and the couple so people can get a feel of how big the Biltmore Estate really is! Check out the photos below to see the various spots I like to photograph at closer to the house! You can photograph in front of the house and on the balcony to get the mountains in the shot too! I would say the hardest part of photographing here would be the amount of people that are shuffling about but if you plan your session in the early morning or later in the day (4-5pm) typically there aren’t as many guests.

The Gardens at biltmore estate

Aside from the gorgeous Estate, the gardens at the Estate are just as breathtaking and marvelous to see. Throughout the year Biltmore Estate plants various flowers in the gardens that attract thousands of visitors! From roses, tulips, azaleas and many more — the gardens at Biltmore Estate are always a sight to see. My favorite is the Italian Garden (first photo below)

The garden was designed in 1895 by Charles L. Marshall to serve as an outdoor ballroom when guests at George Vanderbilt’s house danced under the stars. Complete with water features and high hedges, visitors can marvel at his design and imagine being part of another era while viewing sculptures and art placed throughout the garden.

the conservatory at the biltmore in asheville, NC

As an avid houseplant lover I never turn down the chance to step into the conservatory at Biltmore Estate! Since it was built in 1892 they have propagated over a million plants! WHOA! I love seeing all the tropical plants inside flourishing and massive, it’s like seeing the older version of the plants I have at home (such as monsteras, rattlesnake plant and many more!) I love all the greens and colors inside, it really helps when you’re there during the winter to still have greenery and plants in your photos. As you can see there are many, many different spots and areas to photograph at Biltmore Estate and we’re just getting started!

Fun fact!

Did you know the conservatory is also named “The Orangery” because it was originally used to house oranges and other plants during the cold winter months. How cool!!

Beautiful blooms — even alongside the road!

In order to get from the house to the rest of the property you can drive, hike, or take horseback (no, really!) We obviously drove from the house to the rest of the property and along the way I noticed these massive, colorful azaleas bushes and couldn’t resist stopping to get some photos of Jojo & Derek. Thankfully, Biltmore has plenty of shoulder parking along these roads so stopping and admiring the beautiful blooms is not a problem or a disruption to traffic. These photos were my favorite from their session — when I photograph couples for their engagement photos usually they aren’t used to being photographed so it can be awkward at first but halfway through we hit what I call “the zone’ in which the three of us are totally in sync and posing and being photographed comes naturally to the couple. For Jojo and Derek this is when we hit the zone and we got some really beautiful photos!!