What an amazing day for this Brevard, NC Outdoor Wedding! A beautiful waterfall + sunset on a mountain made for an amazing experience. Follow along for this beautiful all-day elopement!
Trisha + Heinrich
When we first hopped on the phone with these two, we were immediately excited about their passion for adventure! They had been so many epic places together, and it was such a blessing to create an adventure elopement for them in the mountains of SC/NC.
While Asheville, NC gets a lot of attention for adventure elopements, the mountains to the south have so many opportunities for great scenery & far less crowds. Trisha & Heinrich were looking for a unique experience and privacy, and we knew just the places to show them near the border of North and South Carolina.
If you’d like to learn more about eloping in this area, we have some resources to share with you! The NC side is close to Asheville, so you might like to check out our Guide to Planning your Epic Asheville Elopement. Or for the South Carolina side, we also have a resource How to Elope in SC & you might also be interested in taking a peek into how we create customized South Carolina Elopement Packages. We’ve lived here for years and would love to share with you all the great places for an adventure elopement!
Free Download: Elopement Budget Spreadsheet
Morning in a Mountain Valley
For the first part of their day, we started at a beautiful State Park just over the border on the South Carolina side. We love how this park is tucked into a mountain valley with a picturesque river running through it. It’s only a short distance north of Greenville, SC too.
Such a great backdrop of rushing water, rhododendron everywhere, and classic architecture from the CCC days when the park was first built.
After getting our feet wet in the river and a quick wardrobe change, we explored a little more of this hidden gem of a park. The park building has such a mountain lodge vibe to it, and the river bend nearby was just perfect for their photos next to the water. So in love with the happy spirits of these two!
First Look | Brevard NC Outdoor Wedding
We absolutely LOVE waterfalls for a first look! From the groom’s perspective, the waterfall sound is soothing and gives you a moment in time to wait and anticipate your bride. And from the bride’s perspective, you know he can’t hear your footsteps behind him, so it really is a surprise!
Beautiful waterfalls in peak season are incredibly busy places. But there are ones you can have all to yourselves out there – this one is actually in a private neighborhood, but accessible to those who own or rent property within. With their airbnb in the community (another great reason for rental property research) this was a great option for a private, first look!
Mark walked down with Heinrich first to get him to the right spot and at an angle where he wouldn’t see his bride coming down the trail. Carolyn walked down a few minutes later with Trisha, and we kept in touch with our portable radios to make sure everything was set for their moment together.
Just check out the photos below – absolutely precious!
Ceremony | Brevard NC Outdoor Wedding
For their ceremony, we chose a mountain top overlook which was a short drive away from their airbnb and south of Brevard. Trisha & Heinrich were looking for a spot that would allow a short walk for family, and they needed someplace with enough mobile signal to Zoom their ceremony. Heinrich’s family is from overseas and many time zones away so we also needed to work out their ceremony time too to be close to “daytime” for everyone.
Thankfully we knew just the spot! Cell service is notoriously spotty in the mountains, but we had on our list one place that would cover all of their needs. There is one spot here that generally works for mobile signal, and we were thankful that it was fast enough the whole time to broadcast their ceremony to the whole family. This spot is also on the border of North and South Carolina so it’s great for having a marriage license in either state.
Catch these moments below and you might agree – even with a first look, seeing your bride again walking down the aisle towards you is still crazy emotional! Trisha had a little surprise for Heinrich with a song and they shared a dance right before their ceremony, and took time to say hi to family online. So much joy!
Sunset Elopement on the Mountain
This had been a foggy day at elevation, but just after their ceremony the skies cleared up towards the west and we were blessed with the sun peeking through the clouds. What a perfect time for photos! These soaked up the view, two danced even more, and had so many smiles and laughs with each other. We were so thankful that the light lasted long enough for us to capture them together and with guests. Trisha’s family was able to attend in person, and her good friend was so awesome throughout the day helping out in so many ways. Best friends are priceless!
First Dance by Moonlight
This mountain top is actually controlled by gated access (closes an hour after sunset) so we had just enough time for their first dance together under the moonlight! As the sun disappeared, the fog rolled back onto the mountain and created this beautiful effect around them. What an incredible ending to their beautiful day!
After their dance on the mountain they drove back to town for dinner at our favorite restaurant in Brevard, the Square Root. We know they were taken care of well there, and highly recommended for an elopement reception – either for two or with family.
We are so thankful that this joyful couple chose us for their elopement near Brevard, NC. Congratulations Trisha & Heinrich!
