On this mid-fall day, my couple chose a late afternoon wedding time.
My bride and groom had been a couple for several years before making the decision to become official. They both radiated the emotion and joy of the day.
Having spent most of the morning and early afternoon with Mandi and her bridesmaids, I got a great glimpse into their relationships and the amount of love and happiness the group shared.
My bride's mom was there for most of the activities also. I was able to capture a great image of mom and daughter talking in front of the wedding dress.
More importantly, Mandi had received a letter from Brian during the morning and read it as she had her hair done. The amount of love he shared with her through the letter was overwhelming and I don't think there was a dry eye in the room when she was done reading it - except mine.
Once dad arrived in his restored Firebird as the official chauffeur to the venue, we completed the bride and bridesmaids images offsite at Lion's Gate Inn. We finished with those and we headed over to the venue.
By the time we arrived, the sun had begun it's descent behind the trees, which made it lucky that bride had run late getting to the venue.
The entire ceremony area was very lightly shaded from the sun by the large hardwoods surrounding the site.
In contrast, the forest and field in the background only grew brighter and more glowing as the ceremony went on. Being up on a hill, it continued to receive a tremendous amount of late afternoon sunshine.
The entire ceremony was backdropped by this beautiful fall coloring.
And by the time the couple shared their first kiss, the colors of the distant trees provided a magical backdrop to frame them on, while throwing gentle soft light on them.
Nestled away just outside of the Wake County town of Youngsville is a sprawling wedding venue, The Pavillion at Grace Haven. Created by Grace Haven Baptist Church, and future site of the actual church, this beautiful location offers an outdoor wedding space 2nd to none in the area.
The covered patio provides a great location for your reception meal, while providing ample room for post-meal dancing.
But the best part of the venue is the surrounding natural area. Open and expansive fields, natural streams and large trees provide great opportunity for wedding photography.
I love that the church built a stone arbor for the ceremony location and actually placed it perfectly for such gorgeous backgrounds.
In addition to the stone work for the ceremony site, there is a hand built stone bridge across the small stream running down one side of the expansive tract of land. This detail makes it a great entering spot for the bridesmaids and bride as they walk to the alter and a stunning spot for bridal and couples portraits.
If you are getting married at Grace Haven (as it is known), I would love to talk with about your plans! Feel free to call me or drop me a line via email and I'll be glad to talk with you about your day at this magical venue!
Location: 726 Hicks Road, Youngsville, North Carolina 27596.
1/640; f/2.8; ISO 400; 200.0 mm.203 Cedar Key Way, Newport NC - (252) 341-0974 - Call Today
