Aubrey + Chase's Wedding at The Shiloh in Lowgap, North Carolina
Aubrey and Chase’s wedding at The Shiloh was romantic, relaxed, and surrounded by some of the prettiest views in the North Carolina foothills. I had the opportunity to photograph their day alongside Hanna Frances Photography, stepping in as a second photographer and getting to document so many of the moments happening around the two of them throughout the day.
The Shiloh is tucked away in Lowgap, North Carolina, surrounded by open fields, rolling hills, and views of the Blue Ridge foothills. It has everything I love about a mountain wedding without feeling overly rustic—the landscape gets to be part of the day without completely defining it.
For Aubrey and Chase, it was the perfect setting for a wedding that felt beautiful without losing that relaxed, surrounded-by-your-favorite-people feeling.
A Wedding at The Shiloh in Lowgap, NC
One of the first things you notice about The Shiloh is just how much space surrounds you.
The venue sits on a large property in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, giving the entire wedding day this open, secluded feeling. There are mountain views, fields, and plenty of different areas around the property to photograph without needing to leave the venue.
That last part is something I will always love.
Your wedding doesn't need to become a tour of six different portrait locations just because they're pretty. When the venue already gives us plenty to work with, we can create beautiful photographs without pulling you away from the people you invited to celebrate with you.
Getting Ready for a North Carolina Mountain Wedding
Wedding mornings are always some of my favorite parts of the day because they're filled with the kind of moments nobody can really plan.
Everyone is getting dressed. Details are scattered around the room. Music is playing. People are coming in and out. Someone inevitably can't find something they definitely packed. And slowly, it starts to hit everyone that the wedding is actually happening.
Rather than turning the entire morning into a series of staged photographs, I love documenting what's naturally unfolding. The conversations between friends, someone helping with a dress, the little details being passed around, and the quieter moments happening between all of the excitement. Those photographs help tell the story of the day before anyone ever walks down the aisle.
An Outdoor Ceremony in the Blue Ridge Foothills
The landscape surrounding The Shiloh makes an outdoor ceremony here pretty hard to beat.
With the North Carolina foothills stretching out around the property, you don't need much to create an incredible ceremony setting. The scenery does a lot of the work for you.
But as beautiful as the mountains are, I'm always paying just as much attention to what's happening in front of them.
During a ceremony, I'm watching the person waiting at the end of the aisle, the wedding party trying to keep it together, parents watching their kids get married, and guests reacting to everything happening in front of them. The obvious moment matters.
But there are usually ten other moments happening around it. That's where a documentary and photojournalistic approach to wedding photography becomes such a huge part of how I photograph a day.
Wedding Portraits at The Shiloh
The Shiloh gives you so much variety for portraits without ever needing to leave the property.
The open landscape and mountain views are obviously beautiful, but what I love even more is having enough space to create portraits without making portraits the entire wedding experience.
My approach sits somewhere between documentary storytelling and an editorial eye. I'll give direction when it's helpful. I'll find the light, pay attention to composition, fix the things you'll actually care about later, and create the more intentional portraits that deserve a place on your wall.
But I don't want to pose every finger or manufacture every interaction. We'll make the pretty photos and then go back to your wedding.
Documentary + Photojournalistic Wedding Photography
Documentary wedding photography is really about paying attention. Instead of constantly asking what I can create, I'm also watching for what's already happening.
That might mean photographing your best friend's reaction instead of immediately turning my camera toward you. It might mean noticing your parents holding hands during the ceremony or your friends losing it across the dance floor.
Those aren't necessarily photographs we can put on a shot list. They're photographs that happen because someone was paying attention. And years later, they can be some of the most important images in the entire gallery.
35mm Film + Digital Wedding Photography
I photograph weddings using a blend of digital photography and 35mm film, and both formats fit naturally into a documentary approach.
Digital allows me to move quickly and respond to everything happening throughout a wedding day, while film asks me to slow down and be a little more intentional.
I love 35mm film for movement, portraits, guest interactions, quiet moments, and the perfectly imperfect pieces of a wedding day. The grain, texture, softness, and occasional unpredictability make those photographs feel tangible in a way that's hard to recreate digitally.
I'm not interested in using film just to make a wedding look vintage. love it because some photographs should feel a little imperfect, a little lived-in, and like memories instead of content.
Getting Married at The Shiloh in North Carolina
For couples looking for a North Carolina mountain wedding venue, The Shiloh gives you the best of both worlds: an established wedding venue surrounded by the kind of landscape that makes you feel like you've escaped somewhere completely different.
You get the open space and Blue Ridge foothill views while still having dedicated areas for the different parts of your wedding day.
And because there's so much variety on the property, you don't have to spend hours traveling between locations just to create a diverse gallery. You can actually stay at your wedding. Which is exactly where I think you should be.
Photographed as a second photographer alongside Hanna Frances Photography.
Looking for a Documentary Wedding Photographer in North Carolina?
I'm Maggie, a North Carolina wedding photographer documenting celebrations with a blend of documentary storytelling, photojournalism, editorial portraiture, digital photography, and 35mm film.
