We are wedding photographers in Charleston, South Carolina, but are regularly called to photograph weddings throughout the Southeast.
This small, intimate mountain wedding in Highlands, NC, was stripped down to what matters most – love and family. There was no coordinator. The bride did her own hair and makeup, as well as the flowers. The wedding dinner was made by their friend Trey, who is a professional chef. The bride and groom’s children, along with their nieces and nephews, made up half the guest list, which was immediate family only.
Crimens and Stephen, who live in Jackson, Mississippi, wanted exactly this. They wanted to be with the people closest to them. They wanted to be on their own schedule, with plenty of time to hang out with their family and play with their children in the hours leading up to the ceremony. They didn’t want the typical wedding-day formality of rushing from thing to thing to stay on a timeline. They wanted the freedom to be themselves and to focus on their family and their love.
Each family member pitched in on the preparations, from setting the table to sweeping the balcony to holding the mothers’ babies during ceremony readings. It was beautiful to watch and showed what a strong foundation this marriage is starting on.
The ceremony, officiated by Crimens’ father, was held on the balcony of their vacation rental home, a beautiful mountainside estate that once belonged to REM drummer Bill Berry. After the first dance and father-daughter dance, the family gathered around the long dinner table to sip champagne, toast the newly married couple, and feast on the beautiful meal prepared by Trey. After that, it was simply hangout time – ping pong, billiards, listening to records, changing into PJs, and watching sports on TV.
There are all kinds of ways to have a wedding, and we love them all – the big ones, the small ones, the exotic ones, the fast-paced ones with tons of events and formalities.
But to make it all work, you need two people who know that they’re doing this for all the right reasons. And you need people who love them and support them and want to celebrate them to no end. That’s what happened for Crimens and Stephen – just without all the other stuff. Not only was it enough – it was, in a word, perfect.
Planning your own mountain wedding? Make sure to check out photos from the other mountain weddings we’ve photographed.