Author: Hannah Chillag

02 Apr Collin & Leann {16 Hands Farm}

Image by Deuel Studios

A camping trip with friends is the perfect place for sparks to fly—at least, that was the case for Collin and Leann. After that fateful trip, Collin pursued Leann for months by bringing her chai lattes to work (raise your hand if you need one of those right now). She finally agreed to go on a date with him, and now says, “It ended up being the best decision I ever made.” Many dates (and most likely many more chai lattes) later, Collin strategically planned the picture-perfect proposal: The adventurous twosome was mid-hike in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains when Collin claimed he wanted to get some shots of the landscape. He asked Leann to stand in front so that he could get it, as he said, “dialed in.” He set the timer, jumped into frame, got down on one knee and asked Leann to marry him. Hearts melting over here. This pair had the dreamiest of Big Days at 16 Hands Farm with a subtle camping (the night they met, duh) and coffee (their first date was at a cafe) themed details sprinkled throughout their September day. Mother Nature even aiding in the decorating by covering the ground in crisp fall leaves (there hadn’t been a single leaf on the ground the night before) for the ceremony. Sit back, relax, and enjoy all the rustic details of this gorgeous al fresco fete. 

Venue: 16 Hands Farm

Photographer: Deuel Studios

Planner: The bride

Florals: Shady Grove Gardens (flowers); Foraged & Cut (arrangements)

Cake, Catering: Stick Boy Bread Company

Rentals: Boone Rent-All

Beauty: Haircut 101

Jewelry: Village Jewelers, Ltd.

26 Mar Lennon & Megan {Chetola Resort}

Image by Austen Taylor Photography

Get ready to fall in love with today’s cutie patooties! Megan and Lennon are high school sweethearts, but their friendship goes all the way back to sixth grade. In September, they’re coming up on ten years together – holy moly! The High Country was an obvious choice for this pair, as they hail from the area and it was important to them that all of their friends and family could be in attendance. They even knew their priest beforehand—he was the director of the summer camp Megan attended for eleven years. The details in their Big Day are what make it so special-from the smallest things like Megan’s ring (the diamond was from Megan’s great-grandmother’s ring and the band was Lennon’s grandmother’s wedding band) to their “relaxed” dress code (chill Megan told her bridesmaids they could wear whatever shoes they wanted). The twosome pulled of a wedding with “a boho chic yet classic theme,” and with the help of, April Flowers, made it as pretty as can be. Now Mother Nature may have made an untimely appearance (a light snow sprinkled the day) but there’s no doubt she made these Austen Taylor Photography images all the cooler.

Venue: St. Mary of the Hill Episcopal Church (ceremony); Chetola Resort (reception)

Photographer: Austen Taylor Photography

Planner: The bride

Florals: April Flowers

Cake: Hallmark Cakes

Music: Laura Costen (ceremony); DJ Dave Blanks (reception)

Rentals: Boone Rent-All

Beauty: Canvas Beauty Bar

20 Mar Amanda & Matt {Westglow Resort & Spa}

Image by Joy Davis Photography

Sparklers, fireworks, and love at first sight— only a few of the magical words and phrases that describe the relationship of cuties Amanda Jackson and Matt Baker. These city slickers (they reside in the “Queen City”, Charlotte, North Carolina) met on New Year’s Eve back in 2015 when several of their closest mutual friends introduced them. “As cliché as it may sound, as soon as I saw Matt, I knew he was the man that I would marry and the one that I had prayed for my entire life,” says Amanda of their first encounter. Fast-forward through a year-and-a-half of dating, and elementary school teacher Amanda found herself joining Matt on a surprise romantic getaway to The Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville (how dreamy!). As the sun was setting over the mountains, he popped the question and with tears streaming down her face, Amanda had no other response then, “Yes!” The darling duo knew immediately that a destination wedding at Westglow Resort & Spa would be the most picture-perfect (I mean, check out those views) place to swap “I do’s.” Decked to the nines with glitzy gold details and mirrored lanterns, and a palette composed hues of pink, coral, blue, and pearly white, the two shared handwritten vows amongst their family and and friends on the sweeping lawn of the venue. Following the sweet ceremony, wedding-goers and the newly married couple retreated to a tent where they danced the night away under the rare, beautiful “blood moon,” (a lunar eclipse, y’all) peeking out over the Blue Ridge mountains. In keeping with how they met, the newlyweds said their goodbyes and exited the reception by way of a sparkler send-off. Shout out to shutterbug Joy Davis Photography, for letting us join in on one heck of a memorable night!

Venue: Westglow Resort & Spa

Photographer: Joy Davis Photography

Planner: Jennifer Williams, Westglow Resort & Spa

Cake: Ugga Mugga Bakery

Florals: Callista Designs

11 Mar John & Grace {Overlook Barn}

Image by Boonetown Story

Happy Sunday, all you lovelies out there! To wake you up on this sleepiest of mornings, we have Grace and John’s spectacular (and we really mean it) Big Day at Overlook Barn. John first locked eyes with blonde bombshell Grace while getting their individual undergrad degrees at North Carolina State University. While the pair were “just friends” for the first several years of knowing each other, fate united them as one when John began grad school and their inner circles of mutual friends really clicked. Fast-forward through a few moves across state lines and some job changes, John found himself ready to pop the question, in the bathroom no less. Groomie-to-be found himself so excited to ask his leading lady that he couldn’t wait for the “perfect” spot to present itself—he just had to do it. And we don’t blame him one bit. The couple chose the High Country for their swap of the “I do’s” and although rain did happen to fall on said special day, both Grace and John took to heart the old wives tale that rain on your wedding day meant good fortune in the future. No doubt this is true for these lovebirds. Here’s to a life of looking back on these beautiful images, remembering this stunning day, and cherishing the love that these two have found in one another.

Venue: Overlook Barn

Photographer: Boonetown Story

Planner: The bride

Florals: Fuschia Moss Floral Design

Catering: Woodlands BBQ Restaurant & Catering Service

Cake: Publix

Signage: Shotgunning for Love Letters (chair signs); TheBeezeKnees (“reserved signs); the bride (remaining signs)

Beauty: Hair by Emily Dunn; Jacqueline Villalpando (makeup)

Rentals: Miss Match Rentals

Stationery: Minted.

Music: DJ One Touch

19 Feb Jenny & Lance {Beech Mountain Club}

Image by Michelle Lyerly Photography

There are weddings that make you smile and then there are weddings that make your jaw drop to the floor. Jenny and Lance’s Beech Mountain-set nuptials captured by marvelous mountain girl photographer Michelle Lyerly happen to be the latter. The gown, the bride’s up-do, their ceremony setup (a teepee, get out!)— all utter perfection and details of this wedding that still have us giddy to this day. And if their first encounter wasn’t precious enough (they met at summer camp in their youth) then how about the fact that their two pooches, Chi Chi and Champ, joined in during the ceremony? “I made sure to kiss Chi Chi and have Lance kiss her, too,  as we were a packaged deal,” says Jenny. Yes, hunny, yes. And to make sure guests had a great time, the couple along with Reid’s Cafe & Catering Co. treated everyone to a seven-course lavish meal that ended with some sweet sorbet. Umm, how about yum? Let’s raise our sparkling champagne glasses to these two, a host and hostess after our own heart.

Venue: Beech Mountain Club

Photographer: Michelle Lyerly Photography with Rodney Brown Photography

Planner: Embellished Events for You

Florals: Fuschia Moss Floral Design

Catering, Cake: Reid’s Cafe & Catering Co.

Rentals: Miss Match Rentals (specialty china, glassware); Chair & Equipment Rentals (tables, linens, flatware); The Star Group & Company Inc. (teepee, furniture)

Beauty: Canvas Beauty Bar

Music: Deans’ Duets (ceremony); Dillon Cable (cocktail hour); Grindstone (reception)

Videographer: Dorn-Long Films

11 Feb Go for the Gold {Styled Shoot}

Image by Wayfaring Wanderer

It’s no secret over here that we are fans of the sparkle. So when Wayfaring Wanderer’s glitz & glam styled shoot popped up in our inbox one fine morning, we couldn’t contain our excitement and knew that it would delight you all as much as it delighted us (hence it’s four page feature in our current HCWG). It puts a new twist on a High Country wedding, mixing a posh location (hello, Westglow Resort & Spa) with a glittering aesthetic that reminds us of all the good parts of The Great Gatsby. Painted gold florals, a skyhigh cake whose ruffle tier looks good from every angle, and a sequined tablecloth complete this look and make it one of our favorite styled shoots from 2017. And how about those precious His & Hers chairs topped with Millefleurs floral creation? Makes us want to get married over and over again.

Venue, Beauty, Catering: Westglow Resort & Spa

Photographer: Wayfaring Wanderer

Cake: Ugga Mugga Bakery

Florals: Millefleurs

Jewelry: Village Jewelers, Ltd.

Vintage car: Air Haven Limousine

Rentals: A Bushel and A Peck Vintage Rentals (furniture); Miss Match Rentals (tabletop)

Bride’s Attire: Did Someone Say Party?

Groom’s Attire: Bridal Traditions Wedding & Prom Attire

22 Jan Caroline & Dominic {The Inn at Crestwood}

Image by Jordan Maunder

Holy cow. Could this wedding be any dreamier? As soon as these Jordan Maunder images popped up in our inbox we knew (and I mean instantly) that they just had to grace the pages of our newly published High Country Wedding Guide 2018 (and our blog, obvi!). So let’s meet Caroline and Dominic, the darling duo of today’s featured wedding at The Inn at Crestwood who met one balmy summer night on Lake Norman in Charlotte, North Carolina. While the couple resides in North Carolina where they spearhead their cinematography business, Arden Film Co., their hearts reside in the mountains. The bride, who knew she wanted to keep the decor as neutral and natural as the venue’s surroundings, opted for a color palette of dove grey, cream, and verdant greenery and we just simply cannot get enough. And how about that drool-worthy Ugga Mugga Bakery cake? Gimme. Keep those fingers scrollin’ for one of our favorite High Country weddings of 2017!

Venue: The Inn at Crestwood

Photographer: Jordan Maunder

Planner: Love & Honey Weddings

Catering: The Table at Crestwood

Cake: Ugga Mugga Bakery

Florals: Millefleurs

Stationery, Signage: Vicki Hanson-Burkhart, The Curated Estate

Rentals: Boone Rent-All

Beauty: Jennifer Abercrombie Beauty

Videographer: Arden Film Co.

15 Jan Windswept Wonderland {2018 Cover Shoot}

Image by Common Dove Photography

As the saying goes, “Good things come to those who wait,” and for all those talented vendors involved in making this cover shoot a reality, we think they would tend to agree. After months of keeping this Common Dove Photography gallery a secret, the time has come at last to share with one and all the images and fun behind-the-scenes details from this tremendously special editorial. We all woke up very early one August morning (and by early I mean 4:30 a.m., yikes) and drove up the Blue Ridge Parkway in fog and chilly pre-dawn temperatures. We were chasing that sunrise (that oh-so beautiful mountain sunrise that takes your breath away) and I’m happy to report that we found it. HCWG is eternally grateful for all those that helped make this event so memorable! Scroll down through all of these stunning images to see who all was involved in making this day the BEST day. 

DETAILS:

Photography: Common Dove Photography

Planner: Events by Elizabeth Ashley

Venue: Grandfather Mountain

Videographer: Matt Powell Productions

Florals: Bundles & Blooms

Cake: Christina Banner Cakes

Catering: Reid’s Cafe and Catering Co.

Bride’s Attire: Did Someone Say Party? (lace gown); BELK (two-piece gown)

Jewelry: Village Jewelers, Ltd.

Beauty: Canvas Beauty Bar

Stationery: Champagne Maker

Calligraphy: Kristen Henderson Calligraphy

Rentals: A Bushel & A Peck Vintage Rentals; Miss Match Rentals

Harp: Deans’ Duets

Model: Style Souffle

08 Jan Laura & Aaron {Crossnore Presbyterian Church}

Image by Alayna Kaye Photography

If you’re a fan of lovely lavender, blush pinks, and fresh greenery, then you’ll definitely want to save all of Laura & Aaron’s  Alayna Kaye snapped images to your secret (or not-so secret?) Pinterest board. The precious twosome met in college choir at East Tennessee State University, shared their first official date over slices of delicious Main Street Pizza Company—sounds like the perfect first date to us—and a few years later began planning their High Country nuptials at the Crossnore Presbyterian Church, an ideal meeting point for guests traveling from Tennessee (where the couple resides) and North Carolina. Laura, who describes her bridal style as “very simple,” but yet oh-so sweet, planned a ceremony that highlighted the beautiful, historic rock facade of the church and as a complement, planned a reception with a rustic mountain theme. Delicious cupcakes topped with purple icing (Laura’s fave color) and a breathtaking view of Grandfather Mountain greeted guests upon entry into the Hugh Chapman Center, setting the scene for one heck of a reception. After lots of dancing and frivolity, the newlyweds exited to a sea of sparklers and well-wishes, starting off on their journey as husband and wife. Cheers to these lovebirds on their lifetime a of happiness.

Photographer: Alayna Kaye Photography

Venue: Crossnore Presbyterian Church (ceremony); Hugh Chapman Center YMCA (reception)

Florals: Callista Designs

Catering: Pedalin’ Pig BBQ

Cake: Chance of Sprinkles Bake Shop

Rentals: Boone Rent-All

Music: Piero Bonamico (piano); James West (guitar); Showtime Productions DJ

Bridal Gown: David’s Bridal