BRIDE AT THE BILTMORE ESTATE

Welcome back to the Biltmore Estate . It is the America's largest private residence owned by George Vanderbilt. It covers 8,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina.

Thousands of people visit the Estate everyday. They do not close it to the public for weddings either. This shot was taken by Neal before the ceremony. It is a beautiful shot with the Estate in the background. Cheryl had an amazing dress and we wanted to show off her train. We asked her to look out toward the Estate. Now, you think that would be a very easy shot just by looking at it. What you do not see were the thousands of people, limos, and buses that were on the front lawn. There were people everywhere. Neal wanted it to be Cheryl completely alone, so a major amount of editing needed to be done.

A few hours later, (that is how long it took to get rid of everyone on the lawn), this was the finished product. We could not be happier with the turn out! It won us a Silver Distinction Award at this years WPPI (Wedding Portrait and Photographers International) competition in Las Vegas. Silver Distinction is one of the highest awards in the competition just a couple points away from receiving Gold!

-Danielle

Biltmore Wedding Photography: Neal Urban Studio

Asheville, NC Wedding Ceremony, Photo Session, and Reception: The Biltmore Estate

Asheville, NC Coordinator: Mary Bell Events 

Raleigh NC, Videography: Heart Stone Films

WEDDING REFLECTIONS AT HAWKESDENE HOUSE

We love working with reflections. They can add such beauty to a photo. So, why not see it in double!

We traveled to the Hawkesdene House in Andrews, North Carlolina for this wedding. What an amazing private mountain estate, located near the Nantahala National Forest. They can accommodate small weddings and guests can stay right on the grounds in either the main building, or small cottages. 

This image was taken in one of the suites. There were huge doors that lead to a balcony off the room. We originally weren't paying attention to the giant mirror on the wall when we started. We wanted to take advantage of the doorway and drapery with the light coming through. Our first thought, was it could be a great silhouette shot. As Neal was taking those shots, I was looking for another angle and noticed the Bride and Groom in the mirror. I told Neal to stand where I was and see if we could do something with the reflection. He loved it. It is so great to find different shots within the same areas or poses. We could keep the couple exactly in the same pose as we did for the silhouette. We just needed for them to take a few steps over.

Now, the tricky part. We wanted them to stay naturally backlit from the doorway. However, this made the front of them a bit dark. It looked really nice though. We did try to add in some light on their faces, but it was super hard for me to not be in the mirror. We took a quick look in the camera to see the difference between the two. Neal and I both agreed on liking the first image without extra light better. We also loved that in the reflection, you can see light rays coming in behind the Bride! That definitely brought a more magical feel to the image!

When Neal first took this image he knew right away that the final result was going to be in black and white but the purple hue from the curtains gave this image a very unique tint so he thought it was best to leave it in color!

Stay tuned in the next few days for another image from the grounds at the Hawkesdene House! 

-Danielle

Destination North Carolina Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Andrews, NC  Wedding Ceremony & Reception - Hawkesdene House, Andrews, NC

Videography - Heart Stone Films

Dodging 1,000 photobombers

Today's image comes to us from the Biltmore Estate in Asheville North Carolina.  It is the largest private residence built by George Vanderbilt.  It is 8,000 acres of beauty!

The Biltmore Estate was always a dream location for Neal, and last year, it came true. The Bride grew up in Asheville and was having her wedding at the Biltmore. She wanted us to shoot the wedding! We were so excited! If you know anything about the Biltmore Estate, then you are probably familiar with the mansion on the property. If not, check it out! The Estate is a huge tourist spot. We also had the honor to work with an awesome husband and wife videography studio called Heart Stone Films. This was actually our second time working with them.  And the wedding planner that put this whole even together, Mary Bell Events, was amazing!

So on the wedding day, it was packed with thousands of people. Try taking a photo with at least a thousand people in the background. Instead of staying in the front of the mansion where everyone was, we ventured to other areas. Neal stumbled upon this beautiful pillard walkway and we had to stop. Originally, we had the bride facing us. It looked great, but we knew it could look better. The bride had an amazing train on her dress, so we had her turn around. Neal positioned her and had her bring up her flowers slightly. With a slight look to the right, Neal knew he got the shot.

Going to a location like this was unforgettable. Even though it was a huge tourist area, we were still able to create amazing images for the couple.

-Danielle

Destination Biltmore Estate, Asheville NC Photography by Neal Urban Studio

Ceremony, Photo Session & Reception - Biltmore Estate, Asheville NC

Asheville Wedding Videography - Heart Stone Films