On a dry, golden Saturday at the end of September, Miles and Makenzie and I headed into the mountains just northeast of Mt. Mitchell Golf Club for their Mount Mitchell engagement session. Temperatures sat in the 70s, the trees were just starting to turn, and the whole afternoon had that slow, easy feeling you only get in the mountains in early fall.
Starting on Family Land
We started just northeast of Mt. Mitchell Golf Club, on wooded property Miles’ family had bought in the area, the most personal backdrop we could have asked for. There’s something different about photographing a couple somewhere that already means something to them. They weren’t posing in front of a view. They were walking through a place they’ll keep coming back to for years.
Under the cover of the trees, the light came through soft and dappled, and the two of them could just walk, talk and hold hands. Some of my favorite frames from the day are the quiet ones: the two of them far down the trail, a close-up of Makenzie’s ring against Miles’ denim, a moment where neither of them was paying any attention to the camera.
Up to the Blue Ridge Parkway
After a quick outfit change, we drove up to a pull-off on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the second half of the session, a complete change of scenery from the shady woods below. The pull-off opened up into a meadow full of yellow wildflowers, with the first fall color creeping in around the edges and the mountains stretching out behind them.
Makenzie laughed most of the time, Miles kept stealing glances at her when he thought no one was looking, and I mostly tried to stay out of the way.
We spread out a quilt in the meadow and let the mountains fill in the background as the light turned golden.
A Champagne Toast to End the Day
To close out the session, Miles and Makenzie popped a bottle of champagne with the Blue Ridge behind them, a toast to the engagement and to everything still ahead.
Planning a Mount Mitchell Engagement Session
Mount Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi, and the valleys around Burnsville, plus the stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway above them, are some of the prettiest spots in Western North Carolina for engagement photos. If you’re planning a session in the area:
- Plan two looks and two locations. Something wooded and personal, then wide-open views on the Parkway, gives you two galleries in one session.
- Go in late September or early October. Higher elevations change color first, so you’ll often catch early fall color before the rest of the state.
- Bring a layer. It’s cooler up on the Parkway than the forecast down in Asheville suggests, especially as the sun goes down.
- Pack a quilt and something to toast with. It gives you something to do with your hands and makes the end of the session feel like a celebration.
- Leave time to wander. The best moments come when you stop worrying about the photos and just enjoy being out there together.
Nine months after this session, Miles and Makenzie said “I do” at Overlook Barn in Banner Elk, and their wedding day had the same relaxed, joyful energy as this afternoon in the mountains.If you’re planning a mountain wedding in NC too, my guide to mountain wedding venues in NC is a great place to start.
See their Overlook Barn wedding in Banner Elk →
