There’s something so sweet and simple about a forest wedding. Lauren and Brian chose the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains in western North Carolina for their forest wedding. The ceremony was held at a gorgeous overlook and Twickenham House for their reception. Rob + Kristen Photography was on hand to capture every lovely moment.
Lauren + Brian
May 17, 2014
Jefferson, NC
Why did you choose the Mountains for your wedding?
Brian grew up in the mountains of North Carolina, and we both attended Appalachian State University. The bride lived there for approximately 8 years and we both call it home! It is the one place for us where you can venture off the main roads and hike to the top, sit on a rock and feel like you are at peace with the world.
Wedding Day Weather
Overcast and unexpectedly cold!!
Number of guests that attended
100
What was your theme for your wedding?
- Vintage
- Rustic
- “Back yard” with some flare
Where did you find your inspiration?
The groom’s mother gave the bride a handkerchief that was her mothers, as well as a pair of gloves that she wore for her wedding. The gloves were handmade from a family friend in the early 1900s. This inspired the vintage style décor. We also wanted to keep a rustic feel with lace, wood and burlap for the mountain scenery.
Your budget
$15,000
Biggest Splurge
The venue
Biggest Savings
The Flowers
How did you choose to personalize your wedding?
We went antiquing for the galvanized buckets, teapots, baskets and rustic décor. The bride handmade a lot of the décor like the square burlap center table runners, and burlap and lace accents for the baskets/buckets/mason jars. She also designed and handmade the boutonnieres. The groom built the cake stand made of barn wood.
What was your favorite part of the reception?
Just having everyone together under one roof. The Blue Grass band we hired also decided to ad lib and join the guests inside later, for an indoor acoustic set. It was just perfect.
What are three things you’re super glad you did?
- Chose to have a smaller wedding with our closet friends and family.
- Our wedding Guest book: we decided to go with something vintage as well. We bought a poloroid camera and had guests take pictures with photo props. They had some of the best captions and well wishes. It was so much fun and we got some awesome pictures of our guests goofing around.
- We had our place rented for 5 days. Our guests began arriving on Thursday before our wedding, which gave us time to catch up and be with a lot of our closest friends and family before the craziness of the wedding day arrived. It gave us personal time with everyone that you simply don’t have time for on your wedding day.
What was the biggest challenge in planning your mountain wedding and how did you overcome it?
Parking. The house we rented was literally on top of a mountain, with little room to park – which posed an issue on the day of the wedding. We addressed the issue ahead of time by having all the guests that were staying on-site drive their cars to a near by field to park – and then shuttled the drivers back. That created the space we needed for the “day of” crowd.
How did you find and choose your vendors?
- PHOTOGRAPHERS: I am a nurse and a patient’s parents suggested the most incredible photographers, Kristen and Rob Tesar – from Tesar Photography here in Charlotte NC.. We simply could not have asked for better photographers. They made our wedding.
- VENUE: We skimmed through a local magazine from Boone, NC. called “High Country wedding guide”, and saw the venue their. An aerial photo of the house – nestled on top of a mountain – sealed the deal.
- FOOD: We already knew of a good local BBQ place and kept it simple. Had them chop the BBQ on site!
What is your best piece of advice to other mountain brides who are planning their weddings?
Expect crazy weather! It was 75 and sunny when we arrived on Wednesday, but by the day of our wedding the temperature had dropped to below 40 degrees! it was freezing. We recently went to another wedding in the area and it was also cold and rainy. It can get cold even in July! Also, just remember to take advantage of your surroundings, the views and nature can be spectacular setting for photos that will last a lifetime.
Western North Carolina Wedding Vendors
Photographer: Rob + Kristen Photography | Event Venue: Twickenham House