Erin tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on Saturday, and I have to admit that I am in love with their venue. Blackberry Farm in Walland is an amazing little hotel hidden away in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. It blends country charm and beauty with modern luxuries to create a relaxing retreat, the perfect backdrop for a romantic wedding celebration.
Blackberry has been called a Ritz-Carlton in the woods, and their service and hospitality live up to the reputation. If you really love the beauty of the mountains but prefer not to shiver all night in a tent while swatting bugs and eating out of cans, you'll love this place. Blackberry Farm is about as far from "roughing it" as you can get. With their award-winning food and wines, exquisite rooms and cottages, and four thousand acres of maintained fields and forest, this is the sort of place to go if you enjoy being pampered. For those who can afford the very best, this is it - the very best place to stay or get married in the Smoky Mountains. Can you tell that I am impressed?
As we all know, last week was WET in East Tennessee, and the bride wasn't the only one worried about having a rained-out wedding. Erin and Ellis live in Kentucky so we hadn't met, but I email with my brides quite a bit before the wedding. Erin is just so sweet and easy-going. I really wanted her to have an amazing wedding day so I was checking the weather daily and crossing my fingers for a dry Saturday. Luckily, the rain let up for a few hours in the afternoon and evening, and the couple had a touching ceremony against a beautifully pastoral backdrop.
When a beautiful venue and a great couple come together with their family and friends to create an amazing wedding, I am so honored to be there to witness and document the day. Those are just the best days to be a wedding photographer.
Wedding days can be really stressful and hectic, but it's great when couples actually have some "down time" to just relax and be in the moment. This wedding was about as stress-free as any I've seen. While the guests were transported to the ceremony site, I had a few free moments to photograph Erin in her cottage. She's such a gorgeous bride.
