Weddings

Asheville Wedding Photographer | Crest Center & Pavillion | Shannon & Mike | yah Photography by Kelli Conley

Shannon has been one of our family friends for years! I was ecstatic to find out that when Mike proposed she wanted me to photograph her wedding, and even more excited when I found out she was having it in Asheville! We had just recently been to Asheville for our wedding anniversary and loved every part of it. The Crest Center was decorated beautifully, and although she was not able to get her outdoor ceremony due to weather, the two of them had the most beautiful ceremony; and they were still able to get gorgeous pictures outdoors afterward. Their reception was also one of my favorites. Everyone was enjoying themselves and having a great time, Mike even sang some karaoke to Jesse's girl! It was such a blast photographing their wedding, and I wish them all the happiness in the world! 2014-03-21_0014 2014-03-21_0013 2014-03-21_0012 2014-03-21_0011 2014-03-21_0010 2014-03-21_00082014-03-21_00012014-03-21_00062014-03-21_0007  2014-03-21_0003 2014-03-21_0002 2014-03-21_00092014-03-21_00162014-03-21_0017  2014-03-21_00182014-03-21_0015   2014-03-21_00192014-03-21_0005 2014-03-21_0004

Asheville Wedding Photographer | Crest Center & Pavillion | Shannon & Mike | yah Photography by Kelli Conley

Shannon has been one of our family friends for years! I was ecstatic to find out that when Mike proposed she wanted me to photograph her wedding, and even more excited when I found out she was having it in Asheville! We had just recently been to Asheville for our wedding anniversary and loved every part of it. The Crest Center was decorated beautifully, and although she was not able to get her outdoor ceremony due to weather, the two of them had the most beautiful ceremony; and they were still able to get gorgeous pictures outdoors afterward. Their reception was also one of my favorites. Everyone was enjoying themselves and having a great time, Mike even sang some karaoke to Jesse's girl! It was such a blast photographing their wedding, and I wish them all the happiness in the world! 2014-03-21_0014 2014-03-21_0013 2014-03-21_0012 2014-03-21_0011 2014-03-21_0010 2014-03-21_00082014-03-21_00012014-03-21_00062014-03-21_0007  2014-03-21_0003 2014-03-21_0002 2014-03-21_00092014-03-21_00162014-03-21_0017  2014-03-21_00182014-03-21_0015   2014-03-21_00192014-03-21_0005 2014-03-21_0004

Ripley's Aquarium Wedding Photographer | Gatlinburg, TN | Stefania & Paul | yah Photography by Kelli Conley

Stefania and Paul are near and dear to my heart. Not only did they have to postpone their wedding due to unforeseen circumstances, they also had to move themselves and the wedding to another state. But life has its way of turning situations around and when one door closes, another door opens... this door happened to be Ripley's Aquarium of Smokies in Tennessee. When the day came, I was excited that there might be snow (there was some just the week before here in the Carolina's), but the weather actually flipped around and was beautiful and sunny! This led us to capture an amazing variety of pictures of the two of them. We started with their first look in the middle of the aquarium, then an intimate walk along the river just in front of the aquarium, then once the sun had set we used the lights of downtown Gatlinburg for some amazing night shots. What made this wedding special was not only the fact that their ceremony and reception were amidst the beauty of swimming rays and a surprise entrance from one of the aquariums penguins; but the journey that Stefania and Paul went on to get to the alter that day. And although it was tough, they made it and their closest family and friends were there to share the day with them! 2014-03-13_0001  2014-03-13_00022014-03-13_00032014-03-13_00042014-03-13_00052014-03-13_0007  2014-03-13_0006 2014-03-13_0014 2014-03-13_00082014-03-13_0015    2014-03-13_00132014-03-13_0017 2014-03-13_00122014-03-13_00112014-03-13_0016  2014-03-13_0010 2014-03-13_0009

Ripley's Aquarium Wedding Photographer | Gatlinburg, TN | Stefania & Paul | yah Photography by Kelli Conley

Stefania and Paul are near and dear to my heart. Not only did they have to postpone their wedding due to unforeseen circumstances, they also had to move themselves and the wedding to another state. But life has its way of turning situations around and when one door closes, another door opens... this door happened to be Ripley's Aquarium of Smokies in Tennessee. When the day came, I was excited that there might be snow (there was some just the week before here in the Carolina's), but the weather actually flipped around and was beautiful and sunny! This led us to capture an amazing variety of pictures of the two of them. We started with their first look in the middle of the aquarium, then an intimate walk along the river just in front of the aquarium, then once the sun had set we used the lights of downtown Gatlinburg for some amazing night shots. What made this wedding special was not only the fact that their ceremony and reception were amidst the beauty of swimming rays and a surprise entrance from one of the aquariums penguins; but the journey that Stefania and Paul went on to get to the alter that day. And although it was tough, they made it and their closest family and friends were there to share the day with them! 2014-03-13_0001  2014-03-13_00022014-03-13_00032014-03-13_00042014-03-13_00052014-03-13_0007  2014-03-13_0006 2014-03-13_0014 2014-03-13_00082014-03-13_0015    2014-03-13_00132014-03-13_0017 2014-03-13_00122014-03-13_00112014-03-13_0016  2014-03-13_0010 2014-03-13_0009

Family Pictures at your Wedding by Kelli Conley

We all know that Family pictures on the wedding day are a must. Family is what got us to where we are on that day and we want their involvement in our life to be documented on that day. I have a couple of quick tips for how to deal with family pictures on the wedding day. 

Make a list of all the family members that will be in attendance that day.

Next, decide Who in that list is important for you and your immediate family to have pictures with. You need to think that each grouping of family members takes approximately three - five minutes in order for us to gather the people, pose them, and get a couple pictures taken. (Photographers will take more than one picture of a family grouping because chances are someone will have their eyes closed).

Typically you will not want these pictures to take up more than 30 minutes of the cocktail hour.

The reason for this is, that means the remaining 30 are spent taking pictures of you. If you find that you have more family pictures than time allows, you might want to consider a first look. (Click Here! to see our post about first looks) We work one on one with our brides to plan this part of the day to make sure that we get the pictures they are wanting, not only of their family, but also of the two of them. 2014-03-03_0001 Hopefully this little tip will help you in planning out your family pictures for your wedding! Has anyone reading this had a good or bad experience during their family pictures on their wedding day? Comment below!