Blue Ridge Mountains Elopement — Katelyn Alexandria Photography

Where does one begin when blogging about their best friend’s wedding?

My best friend from college, Tiffani, met her now-husband, Andrew, through me! Andrew and I worked together at Appalachian State University and Tiffani and I were in the same sorority together. It has been such a joy to watch them grow in love throughout the years. They’re uniquely suited for each other, they understand each other, and I’m lucky to have such incredible best friends.

Andrew and Tiffani were engaged for over a year, and were planning an Italian elopement before the Coronavirus pandemic hit in full swing. Instead of pushing it off another year, they decided that their love couldn’t wait. They eloped on top of Max Patch Mountain in western North Carolina with their closest friends and family by their side - Andrew’s best friend, his brother, his brother’s wife, and me!

When Tiffani told me she wanted me to photograph her intimate elopement, I was overjoyed. What a special moment I got to capture for my best friend - and honestly, they’re some of the most breath-taking photographs I’ve created to-date.

Their wedding weekend began with their legal marriage at the courthouse in Asheville, North Carolina.

Following their short-n-sweet ceremony, we all went back to the incredible cabin they rented and - partied, hard -

We ate, drank, and were all kinds of merry. The groom got iced and we popped champagne, and the happy couple opened gifts!

The next morning, we all enjoyed breakfast, coffee, and the tree line on the back deck. (Tiffani and Andrew could not have spoiled us any better with accommodation!) Then, the hair and makeup artists arrive, and the real wedding day began.

Lilly supervised, and the boys shared a toast.

As we all readied ourselves for the trek to the top of Max Patch, I could not help but to notice the incredible detail and thought Tiffani and Andrew put into their day.

We piled into Andrew’s Subaru with the bouquet, my camera bag, and a GoPro and headed out. Before heading straight to Max Patch, we stopped in the Airbnb neighborhood complex’s greenery area and snapped some posed shots. On the drive up to Max Patch, we chatted about their future married life, and how much champagne we were going to drink that night in the hot tub. Personally, I think that the food and drink is or half the fun of any type of celebration.

Hiking up Max Patch mountain on the summer solstice was absolutely incredible. There are hardly any words to describe what I was feeling and experiencing. My two best friends, in their element, hiking among the holiday campers under the bright sun - to share their love in the tall grass on a mountain side. It couldn’t have been any better.

After the I N C R E D I B L E vow exchange - he dipped her low and the witnesses [literally] ran to congratulate them!

The newly-named Hudsons exchanged the rings, we toasted champagne, and hiked back down at sunset.

The cake was a single-tier carrot-cake which Tiffani adorned with flowers from her bouquet. The elegance of this mountain-top confession-of-love was absolutely incomparable. Tiffani and Andrew spent an incredible weekend getting married - and I am so blessed that I got to be a part of it! It will forever go down as one of my most favorite moments in life.