I had the honor of meeting TaylorAnne & Colton last May when I shot TaylorAnne’s brother & sister-in-law’s wedding! (You can check out Abigail & Tanner’s wedding gallery here!) TaylorAnne is also a wedding vendor and did Abbie’s hair on her wedding day. It was the most stunning braided hairstyle I’ve ever seen! (You can check her out on Instagram over at @hairbytayloranne if you need an incredibly talented hair artist!) I was SO excited when they reached out to me because after just one phone conversation, I knew that they were my kind of people! These two are some of the kindest & sweetest souls ever – and they’re high school sweethearts, just like me & my husband! They were already in the Asheville area for a family reunion, so we opted to meet in one of my all-time favorite spots with a stunning mountain view to take their engagement photos.
We spent the warm summer evening hiking around the mountain, talking about their wedding plans, and finding out how much we have in common! Not only are these two high school sweethearts, but we also have a bunch of mutual friends! How wild is that?!
TaylorAnne’s yellow dress and hat complimented the goldenrods in bloom perfectly! The end of summertime is always one of my favorite times to take photos, because it’s peak time for goldenrods. Just look how perfect they look together!
This spot is one of the top reasons this location is one of my favorites! The view from this ridge line is unmatched and it really looks like you’re standing on the edge of the world!!
Next, TaylorAnne & Colton changed into something a little bit more casual for the second half of their engagement session! I love that TaylorAnne had two different hats to match both outfits! Hats make an amazing accessory for photos and she definitely rocked it! Just look how cute they are!
TaylorAnne has the most GORGEOUS hair, so when I saw some cute little white flowers blooming near where we were shooting, I had a fun idea to use them in the photos. One of my favorite things about shooting in the Blue Ridge Mountains during the summer is all the wildflowers that bloom! They make the most fun addition to photos and are such a great prop! Also, HOW PERFECT ARE THEY?! Truly could not be more obsessed with these two and cannot wait for their gorgeous wedding in May of 2022!
The most wild thing happened at their shoot, too! There were some *somewhat intoxicated* college – aged guys camping out on the mountain who kept cheering on TaylorAnne & Colton every time we passed them. As we were finishing up their shoot, the guys asked if they could been in a photo! I’ve never had something like this happen at a shoot before, but TaylorAnne & Colton were both great sports and down to take a photo with them! They were shouting their addresses at us as we walked back down the mountain saying that they wanted an invite to the wedding. It was such a hilarious and unique experience, haha!
(PS. dear guys from the mountain, I definitely forgot your address as soon as you told us, but if you happen to stumble upon this blog – you made it into their engagement session gallery!!)
Finally, we finished up with some of my favorite pictures to take at a session – slow shutter speed photos! To achieve this look, photographers turn their shutter speed way lower than usual, so that it makes the subject blurry! Since photos aren’t able to capture movement in the same way that a video could, I think it’s always so fun to add a few shots that really show the movement and life happening in the moment. They’re also so creative and the possibilities of how you make the photos artistic are endless!
The future Mr. & Mrs. Rice were so much fun to hang out with and I’m so in love with how their photos turned out! I absolutely cannot wait for their beautiful spring wedding in May!