To be honest, we almost didn’t know where to start with Elyssa and Lee’s wedding! We had so much fun getting to know these two that we had writer’s block. It was like, well we could talk about how, or wait, maybe we could mention that one time when, no (lol). It was like somehow everything we came up with wouldn’t do justice to this love story. In truth, there were so many things about our time spent with them that were memorable that we struggled to pick one particular time to start so we decided to first talk about them! From our first correspondence via email with Elyssa, you could tell that she had a bright spirit from the tone of her message, her kind words, and her profile picture. She exuded joy and we were surprised as well as pumped when she told us she wanted to meet that evening! Elyssa was just as sweet in person and before you knew it, she was taking us on her and Lee’s journey! I won’t give all the details of how they met, but we soon found out that one of the things that caught Lee’s eye was Elyssa’s curly hair! As you will soon see if you couldn’t tell in the cover photo, she is the cutest, so we’re firm believers that Lee never had a chance :) Lee couldn’t be a part of our first meeting due to his schedule, but by the end of our meeting we felt like we knew him. You could see Elyssa light up as she talked about her handsome snowboarding, cross fitter! We had to wait until their engagement session to meet Lee but it was all in good time. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting Lee, he is the definition of a gentleman and he definitely holds the key to Elyssa’s heart as anyone around them can easily see. One of the other things we came to love about these two was their ability to go with the flow. Even with a festival going on downtown, rain, and eventually heavy fog in the mountains (all things that made their engagement a bit of a challenge) they never lost sight of each other through all of the adversity of the elements and totally rocked their engagement session!
Elyssa’s bridal session brought us back to Black Balsam and instead of fog, we were greeted by one of the most beautiful nights we could remember in recent times! The temps plummeted as the sun went down and the light only got better and better. Elyssa was visibly cold, but true to her spirit, she was willing to tough it out for those last few shots!
When their wedding day finally arrived we were filled with excitement! On top of just being elated to be a part of Elyssa and Lee’s big day, we were also excited to be shooting at their venue again, Ambrose West! This was our second visit to Ambrose West and our first wedding there! They are a relatively new Asheville wedding venue, but you wouldn’t know it by their amazing team! One of our favorite aspects of the venue is Haywood Hall, where they hold most of their receptions! The unique character of the exposed ceilings combined with the natural light from all of the windows makes for a reception space that is glowing!
By far our favorite parts of this beautiful day were the moments! Elyssa and Lee’s first look was beautiful, intimate, heartfelt, and though there were tears present, it was also filled with joy. Of course that joy was written all over their faces when they first saw each other, but even more so it was written on their hearts as they listened to each others’ vows. The moments continued on throughout their special day from there, but by far our next favorite was Lee and his mom’s mothers/son dance. Don’t pull out the tissues just yet. They started off traditionally slow and together as Lee’s mom held him close, but the music changed in an instant and they went through a an epic sequence of dances and songs that no one saw coming! This perfectly set the mood for the rest of the reception as the party was just getting started!
Getting to be a part of of Elyssa and Lee’s big day was a pleasure, but getting to be a part of their journey was a true privilege. Many hugs and congratulations to you guys!
Special thanks to all of the wedding pros who helped to make this day awesome!
Venue: Ambrose West
Coordinating: Keys Events LLC
Florals: Keys Events LLC
Hair: Hair Works, Stacy Allen
Cake: Shara’s Cakes
DJ: A Bride’s DJ
Video: Be Creative Films
Catering: Luella’s BBQ