A shout-out to all our fab vendors for making this day possible:

Betsy + Eric tied the knot in a summery outdoor wedding on July 9, 2016 at Mountain View Farm in Rougemont, NC. Their celebration featured a lovely mix of romantic elements (like a horse-drawn carriage!) and a few spontaneous surprises…like a dancing T-Rex.

Read the Q&A with this exuberant couple, featured below, to learn more about their wedding inspiration and photography experience!

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1. What are some of your favorite things about your partner? How were these attributes expressed during or leading up to your wedding?

I love the fact that Eric keeps me smiling and laughing and reminding me not to stress over the little things. I hadn’t been nervous through out the entire planning process or even the day of the wedding until it came time to walk through those doors with my dad. I was trying to keep it together and knew I was going to break down and cry or miss step and land flat on my face, but the minute I turned the corner and saw Eric, all of my nerves completely went away and it was just he and I and that infectious smile of his.

He’s also really good at keeping me on my toes and sneaking in surprises…T-Rex is a great example. I never saw this coming and it was such a huge hit!

2. What was most important to you in planning your wedding?

Trying to keep it as simple as possible! I normally handle stress pretty well and by keeping things easy and knocking them out when I had a spare moment, saved me the headache later on. I’m also one of the worst procrastinators so not waiting to the last minute to get things checked off was a bit of a hassle, but planning this wedding def helped with that!

3. Were there any details or moments during your wedding that were particularly special to you? (i.e. there was a double rainbow across the sky, you wore your momma’s dress)

a) Being able to wear my grandmother’s jewelry. She has always had the coolest jewelry. The pieces that she let me wear (gold bracelet with sapphires and diamonds, pearl bracelet, and her cocktail ring) were the pieces I used to wear when I was younger and she would let me play dress up with them (of course I was only allowed to wear them in the house with her watching over me like a hawk!)

b) As you well know we went back and fourth with the whole carriage ride. I’m so glad we were able to make this happen and include the Clydesdales. I’ve been around horses since I was 6 (that’s showing my age…haha) and have never felt more carefree and relaxed then when I’m with them. The fact that we not only had the Clydesdales, but the others horses in the field, truly made the day. I can’t wait to see all the photo bombs from Leo

c) Seeing Eric standing up there at the alter and being teary eyed and giving me a wink when I was close enough, is one of my favorite moments. It’s the little things like that, that mean everything.

d) Mountain View Farm is more than just a venue to me, it’s become a second home and a second job for me as well. The staff their is part of my family so having them help me make my day everything I could have imagined, meant the world. Because I have been working so many weddings there, I was able to get an idea of things I wanted and things I def did not. A lot of this applied to the music. I always expressed how much I didn’t like the club songs like Whip and Nae Nae, and the Boots with the Fur, or even Soldier Boy, and it never failed, that these were played at multiple weddings. So when the girls (Sandra, Renae, Lisa, and Krystal) all lined up and sat me down in a chair, I knew what was coming. It was hysterical and so us!

e) Walking down the isle with my Dad and then our dance. We picked a song that meant the most to him and never rehearsed it. haha. Which is typical of us. The entire time we were dancing, we were talking and making sure to not let the other one cry. He’s my rock.

f) Lastly…that damn T-Rex!!! How awesome was that?? I mean really, who does that! Leave it to Eric to try and out do all the other weddings we’d been to. I think he succeeded.

4. Now that you’ve tied the knot (and survived!), what advice would you give to other folks planning their wedding?

Just breathe!!! Remember that it’s about what you and your soon to be spouse want. Make it yours (but make some small adjustments to help satisfy the parentals). Have a strong group for your bridesmaids and groomsmen that help you remember your love for each other and will bend over backwards to make sure everything goes like it needs to. Lastly, if budget allows, get a wedding planner! Krystal saved my tail on so many things and went above and beyond to make everything perfect. This helped keep me calm to know she was handling everything.

5. What drew you to my photography style? What factors led you to choose me as your photographer?

Knowing how Eric and I are and how both of our families would be, I knew that we needed someone who could appease the parents with the formal shoots, but then break out and get the candids. We wanted every moment captured, from the planned shots to the crazy dancing and drinking. After looking through your portfolio (I basically stalked you) I knew that you were going to be perfect! Based on the few teasers, I knew that it was well worth hiring you, and I can’t wait to see what we get, plus I can’t wait to plan more photo shoots in the future!

6. What is the first thing you want to do with the images? Wallpaper the hallway? Internet fame?

Keep them all to myself and make the others squirm with anticipation! What will more than likely happen, is as soon as I get them, I’m going to blow up the internet and make all of our friends jealous of how awesome our wedding was And of course share them with my mother and mother in law, the threats are starting to get serious

7. What’s next for you as a couple? Any big plans?

Next up is starting a family. Sooner than later So that extra shoot might be for a baby announcement.

8. Anything else you’d like to add?

Thank you for everything Courtney! You were amazing to work with!!!

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Betsy + Eric, thank you so much for being such a fun, spontaneous couple and throwing an awesome shindig that reflected your personalities. Y’all were a blast, and I hope you love these photos for years to come!