I've photographed weddings for colleagues and classmates but never before have I gotten to capture the love story of one of my good friends - until now, that is. When Clair first called me to ask if I would be her wedding photographer (Duh! I would love to!), I don't think I quite realized the enormity of getting to document the wedding experience of someone I know so well. After all, I had been there from the very start of the relationship, had talked with Clair about the two of them on countless runs (for those of you who don't know, Clair and I were teammates on the UNCA cross country and track teams) and had cheered from afar as they moved out west together for school. But as we started the engagement session and I got to witness their love, commitment and pure enjoyment of each other, I knew that this one would be extra special. 

The most challenging aspect of working with out of town couples is obviously just that, that's they're out of town. Luckily, Clair and JJ had planned to swing through Asheville during the holidays in order to meet with all of their vendors, so we planned their engagement session for a very cold December afternoon at the North Carolina Arboretum. And by "very cold" I mean that there were quite a few times between photos that I just told them to hug each other as hard as they could so that they could stop shivering (though, of course, this was also a ploy to grab some candid shots.)

Although it was the middle of winter, we lucked out with the remains of the gorgeous fall colors, which nicely accentuated Clair's perfectly-coordinated outfits. As a fan of all things color, whenever clients pay attention to detail not only in coordinated (and NOT matching) outfits with each other but also with their surroundings - and especially when those colors are beautiful, rich hues - my color theory nerdiness comes out. 

For their first and more casual outfit, we headed to the woods for some playful images. As I knew they were both a little camera shy, I wanted to simply let them have fun together to warm into our shoot, so we goofed around a bit with fake laughs and silly shots until they were relaxed enough to let their true personalities come through. We even hit the golden hour just right so that the soft rays of the setting sun added a dreamy atmosphere to their romantic woodsy images. 

After a brief interlude for wardrobe changes, we explored the gardens seeking out interesting architecture to frame their images. Again, luck (or great planning) was on our side as the gardens were still decorated for the holidays with seasonal lights, Christmas trees and even gorgeous crystal chandeliers. With the cold, the beautiful decor and the gorgeous setting sun, I wanted to keep the poses very simple, just use the festive backgrounds to accentuate their happiness.

An hour from now we'll head out to begin our wedding coverage with some "getting ready" shots and I could not be more excited to capture this special day for my sweet friend as she and her almost-husband begin this next step in their journey together.