Around September last year we received a hopeful email from a gentleman named Anthony who was in the midst of planning the perfect proposal for the love of his life, Melea. Given their mutual love for the outdoors & adventure, Anthony had envisioned a sunrise proposal at Craggy Gardens. For anyone who hasn’t followed our work before, coordinating time, day, and weather up at Craggy can be hectic! After planning everything out we finally decided on a day where it looked like everything would line up just right! The morning of the proposal, we pulled up to Craggy and as it has been many times, the weather was perfect and clear down the mountain, but at 6000ft, the clouds and cold had both rolled in heavy, making it nearly impossible to see around 10 feet in front of us. We knew Anthony would already be there and set up so we made our way up Craggy and emerged at the top into the sea of clouds and haze. As cloudy as it was, it was beautiful and thankfully we were still able to see (barely!). Anthony had picked out the perfect spot for the sunrise but the clouds had other plans. Even though mother nature had thrown a little curve ball, it made for a beautiful aura with the lighting and before you knew it Anthony was down on one knee. On top of the clouds, he asked Melea to spend the rest of her life with him, and she said yes! The pure excitement and joy on Melea’s face was priceless and something I’m sure neither of them will never forget! After, letting these two take it all in, we introduced ourselves and descended down the mountain to take some more photos where the lighting was better and the fall colors made way for a beautifully warm environment that embraced their love beautifully!
We were so excited after their proposal session that we asked if it would be okay to submit their story to How He Asked by The Knot. How He Asked agreed that it was as inspiring as we thought and their love story was featured soon after! Check it out here! https://howheasked.com/melea-and-anthony/
Fast forward to January and we were blessed to receive a message from Anthony and Melea as they were in the process of planning their wedding and they honored us with asking if we would be available for their wedding day! Initially they had a handful of venues picked out and as with most weddings and wedding venues here in Asheville, you have to plan ahead and plan early! After some suggestions, more venue research on their part, and a few weeks of weighing their options, they finally landed on the The Farm a Gathering Place, which is a gorgeous and accommodating venue near Asheville. To our delight, we were also available on the same date the venue had available! We absolutely could not wait to work with these two again!
When the day had finally come it looked like the wedding may be initially plagued by some rain and indeed when we arrived, it was coming down steadily. When we arrived at the venue a few minutes early, I started detail shots as Jenny and Regina went to the cabin with the ladies! The talented Kelli G. Myers put her floral skills on display! The table-scapes along with the ambiance of the Farm’s interior and exterior décor was superb! After this, it was on to hang with the fellas for a few before the ceremony!
After getting ready and exercising a ton of patience on what can be a stressful day, the clouds started to part and the rain eventually went away! Anthony and his groomsmen were able to squeeze in a few pictures beforehand and I would usually say this is about the time I had to get them loosened up but this fun bunch was laid back and laughing from the get go!
The wedding ceremony was complimented perfectly by the live music of Alex Travers on the violin! Throw in the softly lit scene and overall excitement of everyone present and we had all the makings of beautiful union between Anthony & Melea.
Even though we were here all day, this wedding was jam packed with so many memorable moments that just flew by! Our personal favorite was the genuine laughter and joy during the best man and maid of honor speeches! Amazing job to the best man Zach and the Maid of Honor Heather! We get to hear a lot of wedding speeches throughout the year and you two absolutely nailed it!
Did we mention the awesome entertainment provided by Sound extreme and the sweet dance moves to follow???
