I attended the WNC Magazine Bridal Party at the Doubletree Biltmore Hotel on the night of February 5^th, 2010.  I took some photos during the fashion show and wanted to highlight Asheville’s very own Brooke Priddy, dressmaker and designer and owner of Ship to Shore Clothier and Beth Hohensee, floral designer and owner of Studio Flora Diva in the historic Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville.

Brooke provided a beautiful lace wedding dress for the fashion show and it was worn by model Morgan Purdy who also works with Brooke at Ship to Shore.  The dress is a handmade wedding gown in crotchet lace and teastained silks and retails for $3,800.

Brooke was also kind enough to lend two other dresses to my wife, Muriel and my good friend Jesse Kitt who wore them as they handed out some of my promotional material to prospective brides at the Party.  They were all stunning!

Beth provided all the flowers for the fashion show.  Beth’s shop is located in the historic Grove Arcade in downtown Asheville.  If you have any questions about these flowers you can contact her directly.

Erin Tolliver and Corey Cain live in Nashville, Tennessee but chose our very own Asheville, North Carolina as their wedding destination.  They were looking for an outdoor, woodsy venue for their wedding ceremony but they did not want to venture too far from the fun and eclectic nightlife of downtown Asheville.  So they chose Homewood in the historic neighborhood of Montford for their ceremony and were married down at the secluded little hideaway in the forest that Homewood calls the Glen on November 1, 2009.  Julie Corey from Homewood was very instrumental in helping them realize their vision for the perfect setting.

As a brief aside, Homewood is one of Montford’s more unusual buildings.  Its castle-like appearance is complete with a stone tower and arches and is reminiscent of English Norman architecture.  To the best of my knowledge it boasts Asheville’s only flying buttress; you’ll find it on the south side of the building.  And if you don’t know what a flying buttress is you will  have to read about and see images in my forthcoming book on Asheville architecture called Look Up Asheville to be published in 2010 by Grateful Steps Publishing.  You can also read about the history of the building on Homewood’s website.

The ceremony details were simple, natural, and elegant.  Beth Hohensee from Studio Flora Diva created beautiful wedding bouquets, boutonnieres, and other arrangements that brought to life exactly what Erin had envisioned for her wedding day.  Rachael Schendel designed their invitations and programs and is an art director at redpepper, the advertising agency where both she and Erin work in Nashville. You can find more of her invites and designs on Etsy at Raspberry Creations – http://www.etsy.com/shop/rasideas.  The beautiful ceremony music was provided by violinist Ruben Orengo and guitarist Robert Anders.  And the minister was Tim Lolley of Blue Mountain Weddings.

Following the ceremony and post-ceremony portraits they headed downtown and ducked into the New French Bar for a beer. When I first met Erin and Corey my studio was right next to the Green Man Ale tasting room.  This is where Jack of the Wood brews all of their signature beers. With pints in hand we discussed the vision they had for their wedding.  We forged a great rapport with one another and I’m thrilled that they chose me as their wedding photographer!

From the New French Bar we walked over to Fiore’s.  After speaking with owner Anthony Cerrato during one of their previous trips to Asheville and tasting the food, they knew it was the perfect place for their intimate wedding reception.  Being included in the meal I can attest that the food was stellar!  The cake was made by Sarah Resnick, pastry chef at City Bakery, and she made all Corey’s chocolate dreams come true!  Fiore’s provided the should-be-famous Tiramisu.  And as a finishing touch Erin and Corey provided a little box of chocolate from French Broad Chocolate Lounge for each of their guests!

I love meeting with couples early in their wedding planning stage and then seeing all the fruits of their efforts come to life on their wedding day.  They pulled off a great wedding that really reflected their personalities.  It was awesome being a part of it!  Congratulations Erin and Corey! And it was nice to get this message from Erin:

“Michael, you were awesome! Thank you so much for making our day so special. We would recommend you to anyone.”