A few moments to relax, before delivering the picnic basket to our newlyweds.  Then they'll be off into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the day!  What a perfect beginning.

Lilies! It must be summer!

I spend my springtime in two happy pursuits: enjoying the balmy weather, and watching the the lily plants grow.  And then, it happens - sometimes all at once - Lilies!

And of course, there's Spring Cleaning.  Check out the blog at Timberwolf Creek for more on that...
http://www.timberwolfcreek.com/blog/2011/06/kitchen-organization-reorganization-and-treasures/ 

--Sandee
The Wedding Fairygodmother

Smoky Mountain Elopement - Wedding for Two

Each wedding is so unique and special, and we get the most wonderful folks at Timberwolf Creek!  You'd think it would start seeming ho-hum after a while, but it doesn't.  Instead, we get excited as every wedding day approaches.  There's always a special story, or new vows, or some wonderful spin each couple puts on their ceremony.  New friends to make, laughter to share... and cake.  Oh yeah.  We do like the cake.  :)

I think we laughed more with Ricky and Jessie than with any other wedding couple, yet!  What a great day.

Head Over Heels in Love

These two folks took their time finding each other.  Once they did, it was just a matter of finding the perfect place for their wedding.  We are SO glad they chose to be married here!  What a gloriously happy day.

April Weddings in Maggie Valley!

Loving how elopements photograph in the springtime afternoon...

Smoky Mountain Outdoor Wedding Chapel

The Primrose Path



Yes, I know, it's too early to plant in the Smokies, and we're supposed to wait until after Mother's Day. I've never been good at waiting... So, assured by the folks at Painter's Greenhouse that the pansies and primroses were hardened off and ready to go in the ground, I buzzed over there and bought all I could stuff into the car and get home! The brides officially have a Primrose Path now, all the way to the chapel.


As soon as I got back to Maggie Valley, I started planting... no time left in daylight for pictures! But all those flats of primrose and pansies went into that half-acre of ground. Today -in the pouring rain- I ventured back to get some snapshots. Mind you, I'd never have attempted this with the big fancy wedding camera equipment! Nope, it was my handy little Pentax. Not quite a disposable, but if the rain destroyed it, I wouldn't have to cry myself to sleep. Off I went!



Stepped under the shelter of the little garden shed's porch when the rain kicked in.



I love how the Great Rhododendrons encircle the wedding cove.

When the downpour subsided, it was time to peek at how the plants had fared. The pansies were eating it up. And the Japanese Maple is in bud-- Hooray, spring! Loved finding raindrops suspended on every budding branch...




And how's this for beautiful: the creek is really racing in the rain storm - gorgeous whitewater!



What an incredible setting for a spring wedding. Next one's in six days! Sigh -wonderful.

Ah, Winter Weddings in the Smokies!

Top Ten Reasons Maggie Valley Brides Elope

1.    Want to get married outdoors in the mountains

2.    Just want a meaningful, intimate ceremony

3.    Her mother

4.    It's romantic to keep the wedding their special secret

5.    Too many people telling them what their wedding should be

6.    Not all the family on both sides could attend

7.    All the family on both sides could attend

8.    Rather spend the budget on the honeymoon

9.    His mother

10.  Nothing more breathtaking than a bride emerging from the forest

A stolen streamside kiss

Why yes, we *are* deep in the forest.

Timberwolf Creek
Maggie Valley Weddings
Maggie Valley, North Carolina

Gotta love the boots. Gotta.

Absolutely have to love the boots. The boots ROCK. I love it when the wedding couple has a sense of humor. These two are going to laugh together their whole lives. I wish they lived right next door. Don't you?

Timberwolf Creek
Maggie Valley Weddings
Maggie Valley, North Carolina

Makes YOU smile, too, doesn't it!

Nothing better than True Love. :)

Timberwolf Creek
Maggie Valley, North Carolina

A breathtakingly beautiful bridal portrait

Sometimes, it just all comes together - even without a studio! A beautiful bride, an exquisite gown, and a gently removed background. She was simply aglow, and deserved to be the only thing in the portrait.

Timberwolf Creek
Maggie Valley Weddings

Outdoor Wedding with Five Bridesmaids

If there were a prize for Most Attendants in our little outdoor wedding chapel, this one would win --hands down. Ten! Imagine! In our tiny chapel!

And I have to say, it was beautiful, it was wondrous, it was magical - to see the forest adrift in women in lovely gowns accompanied by tuxedoed gentlemen. They each emerged from the top of the clearing, floated along the stone path by the pond, down the steps, and followed the curving pathway to the altar. One would be approaching the alter, as the next was in the middle, just coming down the stairs, and another appearing from deep within the forest. Again, and again, and again.

Like a dream.

Sunny day in Maggie Valley

We had to move this couple's wedding to their reception site because it was raining like mad. The ceremony was still lovely, the friends and family and celebration just as warm, but OH how wonderful that they wanted to come the next day for their photo shoot on the property! All the guests at Timberwolf Creek had checked out, and we had access to everything. The bride and groom were so happy to be in the sunshine, that they climbed right down to the edge of the creek for the shot of the year. Doesn't this one just take your breath away?! And they had lots of fun coming up with innovative ideas, like the bride up in the balcony of the upstairs gazebo, with the groom standing on the ground below. "What light through yonder window breaks? Tis the East, and Juliet is the sun." Sigh! Such romance.

Getting her complete attention

Wow.

Handsome Groom in Smoky Mountain Wedding

Well, of COURSE all our grooms are handsome men, and we do enjoy taking their pictures. But there was no way I was going to let this one get away without a tip of the hat. I do wish all our grooms would wear hats, sigh! This one is timeless.

Mountain Elopement filled with Laughter

We never laughed so much with a wedding at Timberwolf Creek.  Ever.  This entire event was wreathed in smiles and overflowing with the sound of laughter!  My very favorite moment?  When the somewhat nervous bride murmured to her new husband that she wasn't sure how to cut the cake.  The groom was overheard quietly reassuring her that she could slice it any way she liked, and it would be just fine...  Until she actually touched the knife to the cake and he cried out, "No!  Not there!"

What a great day.  What a wonderful, warm, fun-filled beginning to a lifetime together.  Congratulations, y'all

Our Wedding at Timberwolf Creek

The picture just says it all. Ah, true love!

What a GLORIOUS day for a wedding!

Now, I knew it was a spectacularly beautiful summer day in the mountains.  But when I saw this photo, I asked asked Larry, "Is this retouched?"  Because just look at that sky.  But he just smiled and said, "Nope.  We live in paradise."  And surely heaven smiled on this wedding day.  Glorious is exactly the right word.

Facebook Friends get married at Timberwolf Creek!

This was more fun for me than I can tell you.  Ok, it's not like I had a facebook friend who decided to get married here.  Instead, it was a bride who had booked her wedding at Timberwolf Creek, and then became my facebook friend.  By the time the wedding day came around, it was like we'd known each other forever.  What a fabulous treat to be able to perform your friend's wedding!  I hope to see lots more of Mike & Kathy, and also the great friends they brought with them.  It was a great bunch of warm, loving people and plenty of laughter to go around.  What a pleasure!