Venue: Honeysuckle Hill
Planners / Day of Coordinating: Mingle Events (in-house for Honeysuckle)
Hair: Bri McKinley Hair r Stylist | AnaRie Bridal Hair & Makeup
Makeup: Aesthetics By Hannah
Catering: Ivory Road Cafe
Flowers: Bloom WNC
Unless you’ve been married before or been working in the wedding industry for a few years, it’s hard to understand exactly what you’re getting into when planning your wedding. Even with a planner, there’s lots to be done, things to be checked off, emails to be sent and lots of pricing shopping — choosing the right vendor for your wedding is hard enough! A lot of times when I get the chance to work with couples through engagement sessions or a bridal session, I get to hear mini updates of their wedding planning experience — which typically sways between things are going “okay” or “why didn’t just elope instead, this is too much” both responses are completely valid. Sometimes you have to go through the hard parts, the chaos and the uncertainty if it’s all even worth it so you get to enjoy a magical day (weekend, really) marrying the love of your life celebrating with friends and family!
Needless to say that Emily and Ronnie experienced the full spectrum of emotions of what it’s like to plan your own wedding. Especially when Ronnie suffered a terrible injury just a month before the wedding that required his leg to be put in a cast which in turn threw huge parts of their wedding day into uncertainty. But with lots of confidence in their amazing vendors and faith their wedding day was an absolute dream: perfect weather, beautiful day, on schedule AND they got to do a first dance despite Ronnie’s injury.
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Those “pre-ceremony photos” are some of my favorite photos to capture! Where and how you get ready for your wedding day is very, very important. It’s good to start the day somewhere you are comfortable, close to the venue, and enough space to get hair and makeup done. Thankfully Emily was able to get ready at Engaged Asheville located in Woodfin, a complimentary service provided by Mingle Events who runs and operates Honeysuckle Hill. We love inclusive packages! Ronnie got ready with his groomsmen at an Airbnb near the venue.
Following hair and makeup being done Emily put on her gorgeous wedding dress at Honeysuckle Hill. Her and Ronnie opted to not do a first look before the ceremony, so it was important to plan the pre ceremony photos of Emily with her bridesmaids around Ronnie’s arrival to the venue. I think it adds to the fun of the day!
I loved their choice in florals we well, pops of yellow with whites and greens is a quick way to my heart! And the plum color being present in the bridesmaids dresses, Ronnie’s tie and the napkins along the head table. So many cute, well-thought-out details! It really makes all the planning really pay off!
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Honeysuckle Hill has one of my favorites and most unique ceremony spots in Asheville. Of course, nothing can beat mountaintop views for your ceremony but not everyone wants to be outside and or hike to their ceremony location. Some want to have a somewhat religious ceremony but not particularly in a chapel. Honeysuckle Hill’s onsite ceremony location is a wooden barn attached to the reception hall and the rest of the building which makes it super convenient for the couple and your wedding guests.
Once the ceremony is done there’s a weight lifted off your shoulders!! You’re finally married to the love of your life, the hardest part is over and now we all can celebrate! As a photographer there’s still more to photograph and typically after the ceremony is when family formals which is a staple in any wedding photographer’s shooting routine. For photographers and future couples: always have a family list handy for family formals, with “clans” of families and names of each person, it will help make it way less chaotic being able to call out peoples names and ensures that you won’t miss any important family shots!
Also following the ceremony are photos of the bride and groom with their wedding party and with each other. Honeysuckle Hill has no shortage of great spots for photos! For starters they have a huge open field that gets beautiful light all day and provides ample space for wide angle shots of the bride and groom and wedding party! It always helps to have a wedding party that will hype you up and have fun when photos are being taken — Emily and Ronnie’s wedding party had plenty of energy and we all had a blast! I love the pond and gazebo at Honeysuckle Hill as well, it’s a picture-perfect location and I was excited to photograph them there! Emily mentioned wanting a mixture of shots that don’t show off Ronnie’s cast as much and being able to photograph them from further away under the gazebo was an excellent chance to do that! I loved how they turned out and you can tell from the photos that they were happy to have their wedding day be how they imagined it and that the stressful parts were over — now it was time to eat, dance and celebrate!
Also following the ceremony are photos of the bride and groom with their wedding party and with each other. Honeysuckle Hill has no shortage of great spots for photos! For starters they have a huge open field that gets beautiful light all day and provides ample space for wide angle shots of the bride and groom and wedding party! It always helps to have a wedding party that will hype you up and have fun when photos are being taken — Emily and Ronnie’s wedding party had plenty of energy and we all had a blast! I love the pond and gazebo at Honeysuckle Hill as well, it’s a picture-perfect location and I was excited to photograph them there! Emily mentioned wanting a mixture of shots that don’t show off Ronnie’s cast as much and being able to photograph them from further away under the gazebo was an excellent chance to do that! I loved how they turned out and you can tell from the photos that they were happy to have their wedding day be how they imagined it and that the stressful parts were over — now it was time to eat, dance and celebrate!
Let the fun begin!! Raise a hand if you’re just looking forward to the dancing, food and drinks when attending a wedding?!? Everyone loves a great party and Honeysuckle Hill has an outstanding event space for large weddings. One of Emily and Ronnie’s biggest worries about his recent injury was the question about their first dance. I was so happy to know they had found a way to still have a traditional first dance and practically “roll” into their ceremony with thunderous applause from their guests! Ivory Road Cafe catered the event and Honeysuckle Hill provided their own in-house bartenders.
As sad as it always is, every wedding has to come to an end and nothing makes the day even more magical then dancing and kissing with your newlywed under sparklers and your guests cheering you on! At the end of the night Emily and Ronnie had enjoyed a fairytale like wedding day and it felt like everything was perfect! The vendors and team involved did an excellent job that day and made it all so wonderful for Emily and Ronnie! Can’t wait to be back at Honeysuckle Hill back in fall 2023!
Contact me today to inquire about my wedding photography services!
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