Skylar and Jesse’s Asheville engagement session felt less like a photoshoot and more like a perfect day spent beside two of my favorite people. These two have been dear friends of mine for nearly six years, so when it came time to photograph their engagement, I knew I wanted to tell their story in a way that felt true to them: by following them around on their ideal day together.


A Slow Morning at Home


We started in their home, where the day began exactly as it would on any other. Jesse picked up his guitar and played while Skylar danced and played with their two cats. It’s the kind of quiet, familiar moment couples rarely think to photograph.

A bearded man with long blond hair sits in a pink armchair, embracing a tattooed woman seated on the rug in a cozy, art-filled room.
Two women sit close on a couch playing an acoustic guitar together in front of a sunlit window overlooking green trees.
A couple embraces beneath a tree in soft natural light, he in a plaid flannel shirt and she in a white lace dress with a wrist tattoo.
Two women relax on a brown couch in a sunlit living room with a large window, while a small dog sits on the floor nearby.
Two women sit close together on wooden porch steps beside a house with gray siding, surrounded by green trees in warm sunlight.
Two people in a sunlit wood-paneled living room, one playing acoustic guitar while the other dances in a white dress holding up a hat.
Two people with long hair kiss in a narrow wood-paneled hallway, one in a plaid shirt and sneakers, the other in a white dress and boots.
Two people in a sunlit living room under a ceiling fan, one playing acoustic guitar while the other lifts a cat overhead.

Exploring Downtown Asheville


From there, we headed downtown and let the city set the pace. Skylar and Jesse browsed the shelves at Malaprop’s Bookstore, and lingered over coffee at Old Europe Café, before wandering through Chicken Alley and flipping through vinyl at Static Age Records. Every stop felt like a small chapter in their love story, told through shared interests, inside jokes, and the loving way they move through the world together.

Two women with long hair sit close together in theater-style chairs in front of a tall wooden bookshelf filled with colorful books.
A smiling woman with long dark hair leans down to kiss a bearded man on a brick-lined city street in warm, vintage-style light.
Two women browse crowded shelves of books in a cozy vintage bookstore with brick walls and a red patterned rug.
Couple embracing in a city alley, a blonde man in a plaid shirt facing away and a woman in a white lace dress with tattoos looking back.
Couple in a white dress and plaid shirt embrace in a brick alley with string lights and a city skyline behind them.
A couple browses vinyl records together in a sunlit record store with wooden stools and album covers displayed on the wall.
Hands flipping through a crate of vinyl records at a record store, with a divider labeled Rock visible in the bin.
A woman in a white lace dress sits on the floor browsing books while a long-haired man stands nearby in a cozy independent bookstore.
A tattooed woman in a white dress embraces a bearded man with long blond hair in front of a wall of vintage vinyl record covers.
A woman in a cream dress and a man with long hair in a plaid shirt hold hands in a cozy bookstore lined with wooden shelves of books.
Two people chat over coffee at a cozy window counter under a glowing Old Europe neon sign, with bar stools and autumn floral decor.
Couple embracing on a sunlit sidewalk beneath a vintage theater marquee, the woman with a tattooed arm glancing over her shoulder.
Couple embracing in a cozy secondhand bookstore aisle lined with wooden shelves of books, with a red patterned rug and warm lighting.
A couple in casual clothing leans together against a brick wall featuring a vibrant blue wolf mural, surrounded by green plants.

Sunset on Black Balsam Knob


As the day wound down, we made the climb up the Black Balsam Knob trail to catch the sunset from the summit. It was, without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. Golden light spilled across the skyline while Skylar and Jesse stood wrapped up in each other, completely in the moment, with the whole world stretched out below them. Just them, the mountains, and the last light of the day. It was almost too perfect to be real. We wrapped up the day the best way possible: with dinner at Bottiwalla. Truthfully, this is where the camera took a backseat. The food was so good that we got completely distracted, and not a single photo was taken once the plates hit the table. It felt like the perfect ending.

A smiling couple embraces on a mountain trail, with a woman in a green dress leaning on a long-haired man in black.
Couple standing back to back holding hands in a grassy field, gazing upward under a soft cloudy sky in this dreamy film-style portrait.
Two people with long hair embrace on a rocky coastal outcrop in a dreamy double-exposure film photo with warm orange light leaks.
Two women walk along a narrow path through golden tall grass on a mountain ridge with blue hazy peaks and a soft sky behind them.
Couple sharing a romantic kiss in soft focus, framing a scenic mountain valley landscape in the background.
A long-haired couple lies on grass in a romantic moment, noses touching as the woman gently cups the man's face.
A long-haired man and a dark-haired woman lie facing each other on a grassy hillside at sunset as she gently touches his face.
Two people with long hair stand together in a golden grassy field beneath a bright blue sky with wispy clouds, framed by bare branches.
Couple in dark clothing relaxing together on a grassy hillside at golden hour, with tall dry grass and a soft cloudy sky behind them.
Two people relax in golden grass on a mountain summit, gazing at layered blue ridges under a wide sky of soft clouds.
Two people lie face to face on a grassy mountaintop with golden grass and hazy blue mountain ridges stretching into the distance.

Why Trusting Your Photographer is the Most Important



Skylar and Jesse are so genuinely in love that they make photographing them feel effortless. But, what meant the most to me was the trust they placed in me and the freedom they gave me to tell their story in my own way. That’s where the most honest images come from: when a couple feels at ease enough to simply be themselves.


If you’re looking for an Asheville engagement photographer, or a documentary-style engagement photographer who will travel to wherever your story lives, I’d be thrilled to talk with you.

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