Kelly and Jared’s wedding was our first at Hawkesdene in Andrews NC. Even though it is an hour and 45 minutes away from Asheville it was SO worth the drive. The venue and the views were spectacular.

Honestly though, our favorite thing about this wedding was this couple… and I am not just saying that. Kelly was genuinely happy all day. She had a permanent smile on her face and radiated joy. Jared was super nice too and Michael and I got really “close” to him as we all crammed on a 4 person gator to go to the view. (Jared sat between Michael and I… the poor fellow!

This is Jack. Kelly and Jared’s rescue pup… who was seriously camera shy! He was super sweet though and you can tell they adore their pup.

First look with dad.


A sweet moment with Jared and his dad.







Here comes the bride.

That moment when a groom sees his bride for the first time.

Kelly’s mom. 🙂










Michael always follows the couple out to capture moments like this.

Michael also sticks around to capture moments like this when the family comes to congratulate the couple. These are some of the best moments we have ever seen during this time. When I saw these photos pop up on my computer (Michael had taken all of them) I absolutely swooned. SO much joy and sweetness.
















This is the view from the top of the mountain. It was absolutely stunning!





We were so thankful that Hurricane Matthew had already dumped it’s rain here in WNC so we could have the reception outside!




Kelly and Jared surprised their guests with a choreographed dance. Everyone went nuts and loved it!















Toast from Dad.

Jared’s mom and Kelly’s mom.





We had to take a moment away from the reception for some photos with Jack.

He got a treat for being so awesome.

A dance with grandma.

We love moments with grandparents!




Kelly’s grandfather.


Michael and I might have snagged some of these awesome sunglasses. 🙂 They busted them out during the reception along with boas and top hats. As you can see in the photos below their guest had a blast with them!











Last song.. last moment on the dance floor. What a great party!!!


Congrats Kelly and Jared!! Here’s to a lifetime of awesomeness.

Be sure to check out their Trash the dress session here—> Asheville Trash the Dress

A bit about Kelly: Born in Charleston, SC. Navy brat. Also lived in Great Lakes, IL; Jacksonville, FL; La Maddalena, Italy; and Yokosuka, Japan before her family settled down in North Carolina. Attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) for her junior and senior years of high school before continuing to UNC Chapel Hill for college and law school. Loves hiking, camping, cultivating a sprawling patio garden, and loving on our dog (Jack) and cat (Joey).

A bit about Jared: Born in Austin, TX, moved to Sewanee, TN for college and continued east to Chapel Hill, NC for law school.  Loves music and playing guitar.  Avid basketball (Spurs and Tarheels) and football (Longhorns, Tarheels and Cowboys) fan.  By day, a lawyer; by night, anything else.

How did you meet?  Kelly and Jared met near the end of their first year in law school.  Over Spring Break that year, while Kelly was on an outreach trip providing free legal services to rural areas in eastern North Carolina, Kelly’s apartment nearly burned down.  A tenant in her building was doing laundry and the drying machine caught fire.  One of Jared’s good friends, Justice Warren (who served as the officiant in their wedding), was with Kelly on the outreach trip.  Upon return, Jared asked Justice about Kelly, whom he had noticed around school earlier in the semester.  Among other things, Justice mentioned the fire.  At the time, Kelly and Jared had the same landlord and lived on the same street.  Jared ran into Kelly in the mailroom of the law school just before the last weekend of Spring Break, and armed with a topic–the fire–he struck up a conversation with her.  Unfortunately, he forgot to mention his name. Over the next few weeks, Jared made every effort to “run into” Kelly around school or in their neighborhood.  Kelly still did not know his name and was sure she would inevitably be embarrassed by that fact later on down the road.  Luckily, the law school had an online picture directory where she was able to find him.  After a number of short (probably awkward) conversations, Jared met Kelly in the courtyard of the law school while she was studying.  Despite being annoyed that he asked to sit with her instead of sitting at one of the many empty tables, she acquiesced to his request to study with her.  After a small bit of studying and a large bit of conversation, Jared had successfully convinced her to have dinner with him.

Describe your first date?  Jared got hit by a car.  Not a fender-bender–Jared wasn’t driving.  No, on their first date,  Jared took Kelly to dinner at a restaurant called Acme in Carrboro, NC. After they had parked the car, on the walk through the parking lot toward the restaurant, a car backed into Jared.  Fortunately, there were no injuries, other than to his already-anxious sense of pride.  Nonetheless, it sparked what was to be a funny, enjoyable evening, filled with talk of each other’s travels, life history and interests.  Without recalling how long it lasted, it was certainly not long enough.  They subsequently went on dates two, three and four, in the span of about five days. It may not have been perfectly clear then, but that was the beginning of what each hopes to be a lifelong friendship, partnership and marriage.

How long have you been together?  A little over 4 and 1/2 years.

What are your favorite hobbies and activities to do as a couple?  Travel, cook (mostly vegetarian and vegan food), and plan our future restaurant and brewery endeavors.  We love life and enjoying it together. We brew our own beer, cook as many traditional and odd things as we can, and love to travel to new, and familiar, places.

Who popped the question and HOW?  Jared planned a day trip to Paris.  Paris, TX.  It’s about a two-hour drive from Dallas.  After spending the first part of the day running errands, we set off to see the little town and have a nice dinner at one of the quaint restaurants in downtown Paris.  Jared had the ring in his pocket the entire drive out there.  Kelly had no clue what was going on.  We arrived first at the local landmark–a miniature Eiffel Tower with a cowboy hat on top (Texas, for the win).  After taking the obligatory selfie and a few other photos, we asked the only other couple there to take a photo of us.  After taking a few photos, Jared asked if they wouldn’t mind getting just one more.  As the couple backed into position to snap the final shot, Jared (with the ring slyly in his hidden hand) dropped to a knee and proposed.  The couple kindly snapped as many photos as they could and congratulated us.  We enjoyed a nice evening and dinner in Paris, and after getting pulled over for speeding on the drive home (no ticket, thank you officer), we celebrated with champagne and late-night pizza.

Why did you pick your venue, Hawkesdene?  We were searching for a venue that met three key criteria: (1) it had to be located in the mountains of western North Carolina; (2) it had to be relatively full-service as far as the essentials go; and (3) all of our family and wedding party had to be able to stay on-site or within walking distance.  Hawkesdene was one of only a small few that met all three.  Further, it had excellent reviews.  We visited about a year prior to the wedding date.  Despite being rainy and cold, it was stunning–we knew it was the perfect venue.  We cannot say enough good things about Hawkesdene.  It is a beautiful place, and the staff and ownership are incredibly professional.

What adjective best describes your spouse on your wedding day?  Kelly (for Jared): Charming   Jared (for Kelly): Glowing

What tangible detail of your wedding day did you love the most? We love our wedding rings. We purchased them many months before the ceremony, on a trip to San Francisco. And several times in the months leading up to the wedding, we would be sitting on the couch in the evening (usually after several glasses of wine) and one of us would say “want to wear our wedding rings for a bit?!” The other one would inevitably respond with “YES!” and we would pull them out of their little boxes and wear them for a few hours, all the while talking about our upcoming wedding.

How many guests attended the wedding?  Approx. 115

What did you and your guests eat at the reception? Flank steak, grilled salmon, green beans, mashed potatoes, caprese salad, and baguettes.

What was your first dance song and why did you pick it?  Tony Bennett – “Steppin’ Out with My Baby.”  We knew we wanted to do a fun dance; likely swing, but we didn’t have a specific song in mind.  As we watched a movie one night, this song came on at some point.  Musically, it was perfect.  We looked up the lyrics and confirmed it fit for a wedding dance song.  It did, we prepared a dance, and there you go. Not particularly romantic, but the song we often identify most as “our song” (or something close to it) is “Wait So Long” by Trampled By Turtles–a bit too fast for a first dance.

What stood out to you the most when you think of your wedding?  The people–friends and family–that went above and beyond to make sure the day was as perfect as it could be.  We didn’t have a wedding coordinator, so we leaned heavily on our wedding party and parents.  They came through, big time.

What is on your “bucket list” to do together as a married couple?   Wow. That’s a long list.  Here are a few.  We want to travel, everywhere.  In particular, we’d like to explore the beauty nearer to us–the national parks in Utah and the West, generally; Canada; etc.  We also want to travel across Southeast Asia (Thailand, in particular; Kelly studied abroad there for 7 months in college, and she is dying to take Jared) and New Zealand.  We want to live in Paris for a while, maybe New York too.  We’d also like to start a cafe/brewery/coffee shop at some point, for which we’d make and serve dishes we’ve cultivated over the years, our own brewed beer and interesting coffees sourced from around the world.  There is no particular order to the above, and we have so many other goals, but we look forward to checking each off our list.

Shout out to these professionals that made this wedding rock!

Venue coordinator –Jamie at Hawkesdene

Dress Designer – Watters

Where you purchased your dress – A and Bé Bridal (Dallas, Texas)

Makeup artist – Rachael Hoch

Hair designer – Rachael Hoch

Floral designer – Andrews Florist (for the boutonnieres and bouquets). Kelly and the bridesmaids are in charge of all floral decorations for the rest of the venue (wholesale flowers ordered online from Global Rose).

Caterer – Hawkesdene

DJ or Band – Emerald Empire Band

Officiant – Justice Warren (friend of the bride and groom)

Cake designer – Magdalena Sanders

Videographer – Michael Clark