Biltmore Estate Wedding Reception Asheville NC (Heather + Jesse)

First off… If you haven’t had a chance to see Heather’s Biltmore Estate Bridal Portrait Session it can be found by clicking on that bold link. The Biltmore House is a beautiful backdrop for almost any shoot.

When the words “fairytale wedding” cross the lips of those in North Carolina and beyond, visions of The Biltmore Estate are often at the forefront of everyone’s mind. While NC can boast hundreds of amazing ceremony and wedding reception locations, few are as unique, elegant or as grand as The Biltmore. I joined Heather, Jesse and their wonderful family and friends in Asheville for the entire weekend and I can say that it was truly an unforgettable experience. Even the intermittent rain was a welcome addition, as it created some beautiful skies as the tapestry for this wonderful marriage.

I had photographed at the Biltmore before, but I always forget how truly expansive the grounds are. You literally have to drive miles to reach each of the locations. If your planning on getting married there (or even just visit) make sure you carve out enough time to make it to each area. It’s a full day’s experience! Understandably, we were not allowed to photograph inside the mansion estate, but we found plenty of other places to capture some amazing moments.

I had invited my good friend Jonathan along to second shoot with me. He is a talented professional from Greensboro and his style is very close to mine. Since I knew I was going to be creating a wedding album, I felt it was important to have someone with me that closely matched my style. Also since he’s from Greensboro, it was also a plus on the travel side. He did an amazing job and I hope to work with him again soon!

When I first spoke with Jesse and Heather, I wasn’t sure how “traditional” they wanted their photography to be. They seemed to be very professional, yet still excited about getting some great photography from their wedding. As I got to know them a bit on facebook and through emails, I learned that she is currently at Uniformed Services University for medical school and is a commissioned officer in the US Navy and has non deployable status while she trains to be a physician and will be applying for psychiatry residency soon. Jesse was also in the US Navy and served for 5 years on the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier and attended Penn State for electrical engineering. He’s currently a patent examiner at the US Patent and Trademark Office where he evaluates the merit of people’s inventions. I didn’t quite know exactly what to expect…

My style is definitely a mixture of fun portraiture and unscripted captured moments. I love to get to know my couples before any session so that I know which end of the spectrum they prefer. I still wasn’t sure how they would react in front of the camera on their wedding day though. I decided that even if they are were a little more reserved, I’d still try to find those moments of genuine laughter and the close connections that they shared with friends and family.

Heather and Jesse threw me a curveball though AND were up for anything though! They were off the deep end of fun and I truly loved working with them! Beneath that tough Navy exterior beat two hearts of gold and wonderful personalities to match! They also have an amazing engagement story which I asked them to email me after the wedding… For those interested, I’ve posted the engagement proposal story at the bottom of this post…

I can’t wait any longer to show you some of the photographs and I’ll admit that I don’t know how to type (I still hunt and peck with 2 fingers) so I’ve been working on this post for hours. :) So I hope everyone enjoys these!

Heather’s sister was her wedding makeup artist. She did an awesome job and totally looked the part with all that rockin’ artistic ink!

Heather was wearing this really cool Kimono.

I think this might be my favortie “getting ready” photo.

Here’s an exciting moment as the ladies help Heather strap up her dress…

…and a quiet moment afterward…

Dad joined us for a second before we left. As you’ll seem, Heather’s brother’s hat “made the rounds” onto many heads throughout the day.

Jesse wins a prize for having the coolest cufflinks. It’s the internal gear structure of a watch that actually winds. VERY cool and very tech! Perfect for an electrical engineer!

… and here’s his wedding boutonniere.

The ringbearer sees the Biltmore for the first time through the window of the limo. It truly is a site to behold and looks gigantic… especially if you’re half as tall as the average man.

I love this photograph of the guys ascending to the top of the veranda next to the Biltmore mansion.

The ladies arrive by limo as well.

The bride blushes a bit after finding herself to be the center of attention of the hundreds of the estate’s patron’s that day… BUT I think she secretly enjoyed it deep down. :)

The ladies walk with me to join the men at the estate.

Meeting before the ceremony for the first time can be an important moment for many couples. If you choose to this at can be just as special as when you see each other as you during the wedding processional. I sometimes like to place the groom with his back to the bride and let her slowly walk up behind him…

…then they join hand before turning around…

The emotion can really build and can create a truly unique experience.

I love this shot of Heather as she did a twirl to show off her dress from all angles… Jesse approved as he looked at his beautiful bride to be.

The rest of the wedding party joins us in a walk through the garden terrace.

Jesse wards off the rain with his hopeful eyes.

We then left for the some portraits on the Estate grounds…

… but paused for a few photos with each member of the band The Oakridge Boys. This is William Lee Golden who was playing a concert at the Biltmore Estate later that night. How many couples do you know that have a photo like this from their wedding day? :)

Heather’s wedding veil caught the wind and went wild a few times. That’s what happens when you’re in the mountains… This one made for a great unexpected laugh!

This is possibly my favorite photo on the front lawn. It really captures a lot of the elements of a Biltmore Wedding that make it so.

As I got to know the bridal party too I knew they’d be up for some fun…

… and they didn’t disappoint… Leapfrog uphill so I could keep the mansion in the background? Sure! No problem!

I loved this long dual row of trees out front and thought it would be perfect for a formal shot.

I think this one deserves to be turned into a canvas for their wall… Really sweet with just a touch of the Estate in the background.

As we left for the wedding ceremony at The Biltmore’s Deerpark Restaurant I spotted another couple and their photographer. They were doing their wedding portraits too and I told Heather “She’s not only trying to steal your ‘saved wedding date thunder’ but now she’s treading on your turf… You should put up your dukes as we go by…” It was a pretty funny moment but afterwards we all wished each other congratulations… BUT secretly we knew we could have taken them… :)

Before the ceremony started, Heather’s father played with his band and later sang an original song for Heather. How awesome was that?

Here’s dad proudly walking his daughter down the aisle.

Jesse’s family were very excited…

… but maybe not as much as this SUPER CUTE kid!

The sisters created some wonderful acrostics where they used the letters in Heather and Jesse’s name to convey a meaningful message to the couple of hope, love and happiness.

During the sand pouring ceremony Heather blocked Jesse’s “pouring path” and sand went all over the table.

I’m not sure if that’s good or bad luck but Heather sure got a kick out of it!

Although most of my photographs I capture are from a wedding photojournalistic approach I’ve come to believe that if a photographer can gently intervene while letting their subjects be themselves it can often improve the strength of a moment.

A perfect example of this happened when out of the corner of my eye I saw a few kids playing with the flower petals from the ceremony. I quickly gathered up all of the children and told them to “grab as many petals as they could.” They had a blast throwing them up into the air at me. The authentic joy on their faces really made me smile as I was proofing the images.

A newborn baby couldn’t stop Jesse’s sister from making it to the wedding… We’re so glad she and her husband could join us.

After the ceremony they took a wonderful carriage ride. I almost turned down the request to join them but I couldn’t resist the wonderful vistas that I knew I would find along the way.

The couples shared their first wedding dances after returning…

We made sure to photograph plenty of the details of the wedding. The decor was gorgeous and elegant…

And on the other end of the spectrum we had Jesse’s awesome ZOMBIE WEDDING CAKE… That’s right! Did I say zombie cake?!? Yes indeed… complete with a “rat” (instead of a mouse) The details on the cake laptop keyboard were meticulous and the creative pieces of “frosting flesh” on the zombie added a nice touch… Now that’s a lot of words and phrases that you wouldn’t think fit together right? I told you this couple was fun…

… so of course there was a little cake smashing!

But this move “took the cake” when Heather “iced” Jesse’s face with the cake knife.

A portrait of Jesse. I always love photographing in front of light bulbs…

The wedding toasts…

Jesse and Heather retreat to a quiet spot to enjoy their dinner and take a breather from all the excitement.

I have a lot more reception dancing photos but this was one of my favorites… I told you the hat would make another appearance!

The final dance of the evening…

I LOVE how this photo came out! Thanks for everything guys!

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Heather and Jesse’s engagement story (in Heather’s words)

BACKSTORY:
“We had talked for about a year about getting married in the future and the more we talked the more we knew that it would be best for Jesse to graduate from college before we got engaged (I graduated in 06 and he in 08). We had been looking at rings off and on during that period and I really thought that it was mostly Jesse teasing me and now and then he would drag me to stores to look and then I would just get mad honestly and he knew it! Every time a holiday came around or some celebration, I got a little excited and then let down so I stopped and that’s when it came…”

THE PROPOSAL:
“Jesse told me that we were going out for our 2 years to this fancy pants restaurant that we had been to once before and really loved and that we should get all dressed up for it because it would be fun. I agreed and was very excited to celebrate. He then tells me that some guest lecturer is giving some stupid lecture on solar energy or something the same day on campus and asked if I would go before we went to dinner and I was like NO but you can go and then pick me up ( I was driving up from DC for the weekend and did not want to sit through an EE lecture, please). He was like there’s not enough time and I really want to go so let’s just go in our dress clothes so we can leave to make the reservations. He asked me several times before I agreed to go (still can’t believe I agreed). So we get all dressed up and get in the car to go to the Forum for this stupid lecture on our anniversary celebration day. We get out of the car and start walking to the Forum, but instead we go to the art museum where we had our first “real” date which is next door! So we walked around the museum and talked about the paintings that we liked and the exhibits that had been replaced by new ones. When we had seen everything, Jesse asked me which was my favorite painting. We walked back to a landscape that I LOVE and sat on the bench in front of it for a few minutes. Then he asked me if I wanted my present now or after dinner. And being me I was like NOW! So he starts patting down his coat pockets and pretending to not be able to find it. Then out came the box! He opened it and asked me if I would marry him and my fabulous response was “Duh!” I got teary …he tried to put it on my finger and it wouldn’t go and he started to freak a bit and I was like it’s cool, I’m just all flustered so my hand is bigger (note that in our shopping times my finger had been sized like 12 times and the ring is perfect!). So he hugged and kissed in front of our painting and then we got up to leave for our dinner reservations. As we walked out the front door, the people at the welcome desk clapped and whistled. We turned around and saw the security monitors! We drove to the local winery and did a wine and chocolate tasting before our fancy schmancy Italian dinner! It was amazing!”