Monday Minute: Lynchburg Wedding & Portrait Photographer

How is it Monday already? I'm not going to lie, but I could seriously use another day or two here! Maybe that means it's time for vacation?!? 

I'm so excited to share more from Heather's maternity session! I've documented her growing family for almost 6 years now- I love seeing how things change year to year with her sweet family! 

This weekend was exhausting, but filled with fun, as always! Saturday was Josh & Anjulea's wedding and what a day it was! You could see how much work and planning Anjulea put into her big day and seeing all of her friends and family there to celebrate with her and Josh was just so special.  Their rustic spin on their sentimental lawn wedding at the church they attended as kids was just an extra personal touch! I LOVED that we got photos with the thunderstorm rolling in on her Grandfather's gorgeous property! 

Sunday, we thoroughly enjoyed taking things a bit slower and the cooler weather. We ate breakfast sandwiches outside on the deck and drank lots and lots of coffee to help recover from the heat of Saturday's wedding day. I met up with the sweetest Cassie, who just graduated from Liberty University last weekend for some graduation portraits. 

The weekend ended with catching up on some work, editing, and enjoying more family time over dinner. Tell me all about your weekend! 

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments.  Contact me today for additional information! 

Garden Wedding at Trivium Estate || Lynchburg Wedding Photographer

Mike & Haley's wedding was seriously such a dream! The day really was so perfect- everything from the weather- her hair, floral crown & dress, their ceremony, and their celebration with friends and family! All week we were watching the weather so intently- it was calling for a chilly, rainy day, but oh my goodness- Saturday was GORGEOUS!! This couple buried the bourbon and I'm now 100% a believer that it works! Every single couple should do this for their wedding day! 

Haley has a little bit of a hippie heart & I was so excited to see her dreams come to life with her wedding! Her floral crown and natural waves meshed perfectly with her gorgeous dress- and her bare feet for her day! Their pergola wedding was beautiful and seemed so intimate and fitting for her garden wedding dream! 

We took some amazing portraits up at the Pergola, and then headed down to the pond around sunset- it was gorgeous- I am obsessed!! 

Congrats Mike & Haley!! I'm so excited for you guys as you start your life together!! 

Thank you to the amazing vendors that made this wedding such a gorgeous success! 

Venue: The Trivium Estate in Forest, Virginia

Bridal Gown: Celebration Bridal in Lynchburg, Virginia

Bridesmaids Dresses: David's Bridal

Hair & Makeup: DIY by the bride

Florist: Bloom by Doyle's in Lynchburg, Virginia 

Groom & Groomsmen: Men's Warehouse 

Catering: Charley's Restaurant and Catering in Lynchburg, Virginia 

Cake: Angela Hudson Cakes in Lynchburg, Virginia

Bartender: Tabby Bennett  in Lynchburg, Virginia 

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments.  Contact me today for additional information! 

Monday Minute: Dreamy weddings and Mother's Day

It's a happy Monday & the sun is finally back out!! It's officially wedding season and we're squeezing in engagement sessions, bridal portraits, and fun wedding days! This past week, I headed out to Bedford for Ryan & Andrea's engagement session, and then to Roanoke for Josh and Jennifer's engagement session, and a fun bridal portrait session that I can't share yet! ;) 

We had such a great weekend! Saturday's wedding was like a fairy tale- Mike & Haley's big day was so gorgeous! All week it was calling for cooler weather and rain, but some how the weather totally changed and we had THE best weather ever! 

Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day. We had a slow morning, where Emmie & Mike made me breakfast in bed, stopped by the new house, and headed out to Afton Mountain for a wine tasting, picnic, and down time. We've been so busy lately with getting the house on the market, wedding season, and now packing up to get ready to move, that it was SO refreshing! 

And we even let Emmie pick up the camera and snap a few of us... hahaha! 

BUT! At least one kinda sorta turned out! ;) 

So much goodness to come this week- I cannot wait to share more!! 

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments.  Contact me today for additional information! 

Spring Trivium Estate Wedding || Chris & Katie's Forest, Virginia Wedding

Ohhhhhh the beginning of my spring wedding season started out so perfectly with Chris & Katie's wedding at The Trivium Estate in Forest, Virginia.  Their day was so filled with love from all of their friends and family- and Chris truly had us laughing the entire day with his excitement and nerves of the day! 

These two started off the day surrounded by their friends and close family members while they were getting ready. Seeing Katie step into her beautiful dress and the smiles and tears on her bridesmaids faces totally melted my heart! But the true emotional moment was their first look! They decided to exchange letters right before and both of them started tearing up reading them, which means I totally did as well, luckily I have a camera to hide behind! ;) 

Their pond ceremony was beautiful and the rain held off! They buried the bourbon before their big day, and it totally worked- somehow the rain clouds shaded everyone the perfect amount, but there was no rain! We headed out for sunset portraits and oh my goodness they are beautiful!! So excited to share their big day today!! 

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The AMAZING vendors from the day: 

Venue: The Trivium Estate in Forest, Virginia

Bridal Gown: AmRheins in Roanoke, Virginia 

Bridesmaids Dresses: David's Bridal

Hair: Jerry Colman with Uptown Hair in Roanoke, Virginia

Makeup: Taylor Miller with Pure Spa in Roanoke, Virginia 

Florist: Kroger Floral Department in Roanoke, Virginia 

Groom & Groomsmen: Men's Warehouse in Roanoke, Virginia 

Catering: Pumpernickel Pickle Catering in Salem, Virginia

Cake: Angela Hudson Cakes in Lynchburg, Virginia 

DJ: Music, Music & More Music in Lynchburg, Virginia 

Beer & Wine: Wine Gourmet in Roanoke, Virginia 

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments.  Contact me today for additional information! 

Stress-free Wedding Series || Getting Ready

I'm so excited to be continuing my 'stress-free wedding series' today! This is a topic I am super passionate about, and I truly spend extra time with each of my couples in the planning period of their big day to ensure they feel confident and at ease on their wedding day! When a bride is stressed out, it truly can affect her entire day, which always shows up in the photos. I never want a bride to look back at her wedding photos and just see how stressed out she was! This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life- don't you want to remember that joy and happiness forever?! 

Today, I want to talk about the getting ready portion of the day! This part can really make or break how a bride feels for the rest of the day, so in my opinion, this is the most important part of the day to truly get right! 

1- Do a trial run of your hair and make-up, and take special note of how long each took during your trial run! If you only budget for 30 minutes to do your make-up, but it your makeup artist really needs 45 minutes, you are going to be starting out the day feeling rushed and behind.  Allow for extra time during this time of day, so you can truly relax and enjoy the moments with your bridesmaids! 

2- Have your Mom and Bridesmaids come over and get you fully dressed into your wedding dress. Once again, I've seen brides allow for 5 minutes to step into their dress, but it ended up taking 15 minutes to get everything on and secured.  Along these same lines, make sure that your girls practice your dress bustle as well! These are little things that really can take up too much time if not planned accordingly.  

3- As your packing up the week before your wedding make sure to create a box/bag for your wedding day details that your wedding photographer is going to need. Things that are included in this are your invitations, jewelry, shoes, garter, all sets of rings, and anything else your photographer mentions or you think is special, like your Grandfathers Bible.  

4- Set expectations on who YOU want in the bridal room and what their duties are going to be.  When everyone feels like they can pop in and say hi, you will feel constantly interrupted and not really able to enjoy getting ready and the morning with your closest friends and family members.  If you have envisioned your Mom zipping you up in your dress, make sure that you communicate to her that you want her there so she doesn't disappear to check on something just before you're stepping into your dress! 

5- Remember, sometimes things don't happen exactly as we planned and you may be running a little late.  Your photographer and planner should help you with creating buffer times and being able to make necessary adjustments. Trust the vendors that you hand-picked to know what they are doing! You're going to be getting married in just a few hours- so enjoy this time! 

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographerbased in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments.  Contact me today for additional information!