Michael Oppenheim Photography Blog

Julia and Kirby’s Highland Lake Inn Wedding: Part II

Michael Oppenheim — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:00:40 +0000

This is Part II of Julia Eve Preston and Kirby Crider’s wedding at the Highland Lake Inn in Hendersonville, NC on September 10, 2011. You can view Part I here. They chose the Highland Lake Inn because they wanted an outdoor ceremony near a body of water but according to Julia, “preferred to have the reception inside in case of rain. The Highland Lake Inn was perfect in these respects, and very close to the towns where we both grew up (Celo and Bryson City). ”

Again, I loved shooting this wedding…a sweet and beautiful couple, great families, and absolutely gorgeous day at the Highland Lake Inn. Plus you have to love a wedding where the bride plays drums with the band! Congratulations Julia and Kirby and rock on!

Julia’s wedding dress was by Lazaro (http://www.jlmcouture.com/Lazaro) and shoes by Nordstrom.

Venue: Highland Lake Inn

Flowers: An English Garden

Cake: Cakes du Jour

Julia and Kirby’s wedding at Highland Lake Inn: Part I

Michael Oppenheim — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 16:24:45 +0000

I’m excited to share this beautiful wedding that I captured for Julia Eve Preston and Kirby Crider at the Highland Lake Inn, in Hendersonville, NC on September 10, 2011. Julia (an attorney) and Kirby (training specialist) met an UNC Chapel Hill and now live and work in Washington, D.C. They found out about me through Julia’s uncle, Jeff Muller. I used to work with Jeff when he was marketing director at The City of Asheville and I provided public relations and advertising photography for them. We always enjoyed working with one another and he now works for the World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C. After passing my name along to Julia I received a call from her stepfather, Jeff Goodman, who is a professor of photography at Appalachian State. Fortunately for me I had a successful interview with Jeff which allowed me to capture these images of a truly beautiful couple who clearly love one another and whose family and friends were a pleasure to document and get to know.

This is Part I of II. I’ll post Part II soon!

Enjoy the images!

A kiss from mom. Wedding dress by Lazaro

Venue: Highland Lake Inn

Flowers: An English Garden

Wedding Cake: Cakes du Jour

Wedding Dress: Lazaro

Bride’s shoes: Nordstrom

Ring Designer: Dominion Jewelers

Band: The Horses of Butter (family friends)

Chailee and William’s Country Club of Asheville Wedding: Part III

Michael Oppenheim — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 14:48:17 +0000

This is the final part of Chailee and William’s beautiful wedding at The Country Club of Asheville on August 13, 2011. This was such a fun reception to photograph with plenty of laughter, singing, and dancing. The hora is always one of my favorite wedding events to capture. The energy it brings out is amazing and I love how it gets everyone, regardless of age, out on the dance floor in celebration. As you can tell from the expressions on everyone’s faces a good time was had by all! Special thanks to Common Saints for providing the outstanding music for the reception! Congratulations again to Chailee and William!

And to reiterate from the previous two posts:

Special thanks to Pam Ball (The Country Club of Asheville); Rochelle Reich; Rabbi Ari Margolis; Pastor Debra Gaddy; Blossoms at Biltmore Park for their floral arrangements, bouquets, and table settings; cake maker Kim Aasland of the Country Club of Asheville; DJ/Band: Common Saints; wedding ceremony musicians (Jason Posnock, Dilshad Posnock, and Eric Schneider); Chailee and Rendi Mann-Stadt (who put a lot of effort into planning this wedding and entrusted me to capture Chailee and William’s wedding day!). As always it takes a truly collaborative effort to pull off great wedding!

Blossoms at Biltmore Park erected this awesome floral display over the bride and groom's table

Cake by Kim Aasland of the Country Club of Asheville

Bouquet toss

NC Honey with duponi silk as party favors for the wedding guests

Chailee and William’s Country Club of Asheville Wedding: Part II

Michael Oppenheim — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 07:30:14 +0000

This is Part II of Chailee and William’s wedding at The Country Club of Asheville on August 13, 2011. Chailee wore a robe during the ketubah signing so that William did not see her dress until the moment she walked through the door during the ceremony. I used my 50mm f1.0 lens (at f1.0) for much of the signing and this lens does such a great job of lending a really dreamy look to the images. Blossoms at Biltmore Park did all the floral arrangements for the ceremony including the beautiful chuppah. We were all treated to a beautiful sunset as the ceremony concluded. I will follow this post with Part III which will highlight their beautiful reception!

The ketubah

More beautiful flowers by Blossoms at Biltmore Park

They used a sewing machine to bind these handmade programs using a leaf stitch pattern.

Grandparents kissing

We captured lots of really nice portraits of family and friends. This was one of my favorites.

A beautiful chuppah on a perfect day for a wedding

Mazel Tov! And what a sunset!

Chailee and William’s Country Club of Asheville Wedding: Part I

Michael Oppenheim — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:30:50 +0000

I am excited to share the first installment of images from the Chailee Mann-Stadt and William Moss wedding held at The Country Club of Asheville on August 13, 2011. I had the benefit of getting to meet the families the night before at the rehearsal at the Inn on Biltmore hosted by William’s parents. This was followed the next day by an absolutely beautiful summer day at The Country Club of Asheville. Chailee was drawn to the venue “because of its stunning mountain views, paired with a beautiful facility for the reception. The CCA was particularly accessible for our guests with limited mobility, which was another important consideration for us.”

Rochelle Reich, Community Life and Events Director at the Asheville Jewish Community Center, served as the wedding coordinator. Although Rochelle does not currently promote her services online here is a little summary of her experience level:

“Rochelle Reich has over 20 years of event planning experience, including 14 years planning weddings at such places as the Parker House Hotel and Wang Center in Boston, MA and Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. In 2007, Rochelle began her own business as a ‘day of’ wedding coordinator and consultant in addition to her full time jobs in community non-profit work and as a mother of two. Rochelle is the recipient of the 2007 national “Wedding of the Year” award presented by the National Association of Catering Executives. Rochelle loves and truly enjoys working with wedding couples and their families to ensure that you truly enjoy the day you so carefully planned and invested in. 828-337-6826“.

I want to thank Zaire Kacz who joined me as a second photographer on this wedding. Due to the large nature of the wedding, the proximity of the ceremony to sunset, and the exquisite detail provided by Blossoms of Biltmore Park, the bride and groom wanted to ensure complete photographic coverage of the wedding. Zaire was outstanding and I really appreciated her creativity and energy throughout the day!

Wedding dress by Romona Keveza

Bridesmaids’ dresses by Ann Taylor; sashes made from dupioni silk and rosettes purchased on Etsy.com; the same rosettes were also used in their hair.

Miniature antiqued purple hydrangea, apricot parrot tulips, blue thistle, peach garden roses, schwarzwalder miniature calla lilies, purple lisianthus, umbrella fern, small succulent heads, lavender roses, fiddle head fern curls, silver berzillia berries, fresh lavender, & lamb’s ear framed by kiwi vine. Created by Blossoms at Biltmore Park.

Wedding rings by Tiffany & Co.

Asheville honey in jars with a dupioni silk cover and a dipper secured with a linen tag purchased on Etsy.com.

They used engravings found in vintage Asheville tourism brochures to accent the table cards, invitations, and even their wedding website (on TheKnot.com).

Melissa and Todd’s DIY Hidden River Events Wedding: Part II

Michael Oppenheim — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:19:38 +0000

As promised, here is the second set of images from Melissa Hunsucker and Todd Weakley’s DIY wedding held at Hidden River Events in Swannanoa, NC back on July 30, 2011. Although it felt like one of the hottest days I’ve ever experienced photographing a wedding (I’ve done a few in Charlotte, NC that were humid scorchers) everyone and everything seemed to hold up perfectly throughout the day.

Two of Todd and Melissa’s wedding vendors were Lady Luck Flower Farm and Short Street Cakes. According to Todd and Melissa, “the gorgeous flowers from Lady Luck [Flower Farm] and the beautiful cakes from Short Street go impeccably well together. Those artists defintely have a comparable style to our own.” Lady Luck designed the arbor, wedding bouquet and other wedding party designs, table arrangements, deer antlers and skull. Short Street Cakes did the cake buffet which included lemon blueberry, Ashevelvet, chocolate ganache, and carrot cake.

I was recommended to Todd and Melissa by Tamara Heston of Bele Soiree Events. According to Todd and Melissa she “thought [that I] would be interested in the “non-traditional” nature of our aesthetic and community. She was right on the money. From our first phone conversation I felt that you immediately understood where we were coming from — we wanted to capture the spirit of the event, not the endless collection of poses that so much wedding photography can become.” I think that “spirit” they refer to is reflected in these images of Melissa and Todd, their family and friends and I think the surroundings of Hidden River Events really allows that spirit to unfold naturally.

Again thank you to all the great vendors who contributed to this wonderful wedding. And congratulations again to Melissa and Todd! Cheers!

Melissa and Todd’s Wedding Vendors:

Venue: Hidden River Events

Wedding Coordinator: Kelly Gilles at Hidden River Events

Wedding Officiant: Jeanne Sommer of Hidden River Events

Photographer: Michael Oppenheim Photography

Florist: Lady Luck Flower Farms

Caterer: 12 Bones

Cakes: Short Street Cakes

Music: DJ SteadyLove

Melissa and Todd’s DIY Hidden River Events Wedding: Part I

Michael Oppenheim — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 12:34:08 +0000

I am excited to share this first set of images from Melissa Hunsucker and Todd Weakley’s DIY wedding held at Hidden River Events in Swannanoa, NC back on July 30, 2011. Surrounding themselves with their “artistic-minded friends and family”, and using local vendors that reflected their personal style, Melissa and Todd orchestrated what I would call an authentic Asheville wedding on a tight budget. They are a beautiful couple with a great group of friends and family and were so easy to work with throughout their wedding day.

The venue, Hidden River Events is an 18-acre farm 10 minutes from Asheville with a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains as the backdrop. It is owned and operated by Jeanne Sommer, a full-time Professor of Religious Studies at Warren Wilson College, who served as the officiant at their ceremony. Melissa and Todd found her “welcoming”, “accommodating,” and “sensitive to [their] non-traditional ceremony requests.”

Both Melissa and Todd fly-fish together so the fact that a river runs along the ceremony site was an added bonus. Hidden River Events was affordable and included housing for some of the guests as well as many of the basics (i.e. tables, dance floor, candle holders, etc.), And to top it off, it included a horse and carriage which Todd thought might be “embarrassing and cheesy but ended up being fun and a convenient getaway between the ceremony and reception”.

Melissa looked absolutely fabulous in the custom-made dress that her mom made for her. And her “old trusty boots” finished the wardrobe perfectly especially given the surroundings. Her bouquet and all the flowers were done by Katie at Lady Luck Flower Farm.

Without further ado, here is Part I. Check out Part II on Monday.

Congratulations, Melissa and Todd!

Check out Part II on Monday!

Melissa and Todd’s Wedding Vendors:

Venue: Hidden River Events

Wedding Coordinator: Kelly Gilles at Hidden River Events

Wedding Officiant: Jeanne Sommer of Hidden River Events

Photographer: Michael Oppenheim Photography

Florist: Lady Luck Flower Farms

Caterer: 12 Bones

Cakes: Short Street Cakes

Music: DJ SteadyLove

Ship to Shore wedding dress meets professional dancer

Michael Oppenheim — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:06:59 +0000

When professional dancer Kathy Meyers-Leiner told me that the talented R. Brooke Priddy of Ship to Shore Clothiers was designing her wedding dress I was excited to say the least. I couldn’t wait to see what kind of wedding dress Brooke would design for a dancer. Even without seeing the dress my mind instantly churned out images of Kathy maneuvering and dancing along water’s edge, in a deep forest, surrounded by fall color . Of course, it wasn’t so hard to conjure up these images since I had photographed Kathy earlier this year performing a dance at {Re}Happening at Camp Rockmont at Lake Eden in Black Mountain, NC.

So a week and a half before Kathy’s wedding we met on a beautiful October late afternoon at Camp Rockmont on Lake Eden. Deja vu! Kathy looked stunning in her custom Ship to Shore wedding dress and what we were able to capture over the next couple of hours totally exceeded my expectations. The dress seemed so natural on her. It allowed for freedom of movement. But it also had so many layers to it and wonderful attention to detail. Hopefully this is reflected in the images shown here.

I want to thank Kathy for really putting so much creative energy into this portrait session. It was a privilege photographing a professional dancer wearing a custom-made Brooke Priddy wedding dress! And I also want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kathy…this little blog post is a little birthday present for you!!! Congratulations again on your recent wedding and I can’t wait to share those images on my blog very soon!

Ship to Shore is located in West Asheville. You can contact Brooke at 828-242-1378 to arrange for a studio visit, or custom design. You can also visit her website at www.shiptoshoreshop.com

Bethani & Joel’s Grand Bohemian Asheville Wedding: Part II

Michael Oppenheim — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:46:40 +0000

After our portrait session at the Grove Park Inn with the bridal party and family members we hopped the trolley back to the Grand Bohemian. When I asked Bethani about the main considerations that went into planning her wedding in terms or design and aesthetic she replied, “We wanted the wedding to be an elegant, yet simple affair that adhered to classic traditions. Joel is a fan of a classic minimalist aesthetic while Bethani loves anything that sparkles. We were able to merge the two styles beautifully. ” And when I asked Bethani why she chose this particular venue for her wedding and reception she stated, ”We chose The Grand Bohemian because we wanted a small intimate setting where we would feel close to our guests. Also, since our families and friends were traveling from all over the Eastern seaboard, we wanted a site with a central location. The Grand Bohemian had an old world, classic ambiance that suited our vision for our wedding setting.” Hopefully these images from her ceremony and reception really highlight those sentiments.

I also wanted to share some kind words that Bethani expressed about her experience working with me:

“When choosing your photographer we believe it is important to get a feel for the main photographer’s personality as well as his shooting style. We were very happy with Michael Oppenheim Photography! Michael’s energy level was infectious and he kept a cool head throughout the day. He also impressed our guests because he was thorough, yet easy going and engaging. He captured our day as it happened and you can actually see the energy in the room through the photos. Simply put, Michael provided the highest quality service of all our wedding vendors.”

I regard it as a privilege to have been entrusted to capture these once-in-a-lifetime moments for Bethani and Joel and their families. Congratulations…it was a real pleausure working with you both and meeting your families. Again, a special thank you to Audrey Goforth for helping me out as a second shooter and to Daniel Taylor for his assistance. And a big shout out to Shay Brown Events and her staff for all their hard work on this exquisite wedding. I also wanted to give credit and provide links to the following vendors whose work contributed to these images. Thanks again everyone!

Wedding Coordinator: Shay Brown Events

Florist: Blossoms at Biltmore Park

Makeup: Pop of Color

Wedding Cake: Short Street Cakes

Groom’s Cake: Just Simply Delicious Cakes, Desserts, and Confections

Bethani & Joel’s Grand Bohemian Asheville Wedding: Part I

Michael Oppenheim — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:29:19 +0000

I am very excited to share these images from Bethani and Joel’s wedding at the luxurious Grand Bohemian Hotel in Asheville, NC in July 2011. I had the pleasure of getting to know Bethani and Joel earlier in the spring when they came to Asheville with Bethani’s mom, Sandra, to work on their wedding plans and to do an engagement portrait downtown, at the North Carolina Arboretum, and on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Bethani (who lives and works in NYC), Joel (who lives in and works in Washington, DC), and Sandra (who lives in Atlanta), were able to pull off a very elegant destination wedding thanks to the incomparable Shay Brown and her staff at Shay Brown Events as well as Connor Boyle of the Grand Bohemian. It was truly a huge creative team effort!

Melissa Deboer of Pop of Color makeup working with Bethani

Wedding Dress: Blu by Mori Lee

Bethani excited about seeing her bouquet by Blossoms at Biltmore Park for the first time!

Shoes by Cole Hahn

After photographing Bethani and Joel getting ready we jumped on the Asheville Trolley and made our way up to the Grove Park Inn for group shots of the bridal party and family. Sandra really wanted a view of the mountains and I thought the wedding party would enjoy not only the mountain views from the terrace overlooking the city of Asheville, but also the majestic beauty of the Inn itself. Thanks to the Grove Park Inn for letting us shoot there!

A big “Thank You!” goes out to the very talented Audrey Goforth (www.goforthphoto.com) who agreed to be a second photographer for me and did an expectedly amazing job. She stayed behind at the Grand Bohemian to get beautiful detail shots and candids of guests arriving while we were at the Grove Park Inn doing the group shots. I also had her positioned behind the bride and groom (out of view from the guests) where she could get some nice shots during the ceremony. She did not disappoint and captured some really beautiful moments! Also, thank you to my assistant for the day, Daniel Taylor, who also manned the photobooth that we constructed using a Drop It Modern backdrop. You can view some of those images in Part II.

Stay tuned for Bethani and Joel’s Grand Bohemian Asheville Wedding: Part II tomorrow! I hope you’ve enjoyed the images! Thanks again to all the great wedding vendors who contributed to such an awesome wedding!

Wedding Coordinator: Shay Brown Events

Florist: Blossoms at Biltmore Park

Makeup: Pop of Color

Wedding Cake: Short Street Cakes

Groom’s Cake: Just Simply Delicious Cakes, Desserts, and Confections