Lynchburg, Virginia Wedding & Portrait Photographer: Edward & Elizabeth

Man! Has it been a hoooooooottt July here in Lynchburg, Virginia or what? No- don't take that as complaining- I LOVE summer! But it sure can make photo sessions difficult when you have to take mini breaks to sit in the AC or grab a cup of iced tea!! 

Edward & Elizabeth were such troopers at our downtown Lynchburg, VA engagement shoot! We met down at Percival's Isle  and walked some beautiful trails, and even headed down to the water front out there before we walked around downtown Lynchburg! There's such an abundance of amazing photo locations- cool old buildings, and old churches! Oh man- the churches!! Poor Edward had to wear jeans and it was still 90 degrees when we met up at 6:30pm!! 

These two are SO adorable- editing through their engagement photos makes me SO excited for their wedding day this Fall!! YAY! 

Ashley Eiban is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Lynchburg, Virginia- but available for travel worldwide.  Contact me today!! 

Sunset Beach, North Carolina: Our Vacation!

Finally sharing photos from our AMAZING vacation to Sunset Beach in North Carolina! We had the best time, and are honestly still depressed to be back in Lynchburg! ;) If we can just move Michael's job out there, we could move there and be in paradise forever! ;) Can anyone make that happen for me?!? haha

We stayed in the most adorable beach house on the island of Sunset Beach, just a quick walk to the beach- it was PERFECT!! I loved taking a week off of the craziness to just relax and enjoy the sunshine!! Sunset Beach is the most perfect sleepy, little beach town- just our favorite kind of vacation setting! 

The second half of the week we had some friends come out and join us! I'll be posting those photos soon!! 

Ashley Eiban is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Central Virginia- but available for travel worldwide! Sunset Beach, NC is one of my favorite places to visit- so if you are interested in family photos, a wedding, etc. please contact me!! 

Sunset Beach Photographer: Chloe turns ONE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE!!! 

I cannot believe Chloe is already ONE! I know, it sounds cliche, but time really does fly! My sweet friend Audrey had Chloe last year when we were on vacation in Sunset Beach- it killed me to not be there for her birth and visit them- but you better believe the day we were back in town I was over there snuggling that sweet girl!! 

This year, our friends joined us on the 2nd half of our family vacation and I was so excited to shoot Chloe's photos for her first birthday! We headed down to the beautiful oceanfront at Sunset Beach and got some amazing shots! There was a storm blowing in and the skies were stunning! Plus Chloe is THE happiest baby with the biggest smile! Seriously makes my job SO easy!! 

Ashley Eiban is a Wedding and Portrait Photographer located in Central Virginia and available for travel worldwide- including North Carolina Beaches such as Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Holden Beach.  In fact- it's a true dream of mine to shoot a wedding at Sunset Beach, so please contact me if you are interested! 

Planning your Wedding: Creating an Effective Timeline

I'm so excited to start a new blogging series to help YOU in planning your own wedding.  As you can imagine, I've seen lots and lots of weddings- some have gone so effortlessly, and some have, well, not gone as smoothly. One of the many hats I wear on any wedding day is time-keeper! I help brides know when they need to step in their dress, when the groom needs to be downstairs for the first look, what time the reception starts and photos need to be done.  

In my opinion, one of the most important things you really have to nail down (after your photographer, of course! ha) is a solid time-line.  This is something I am so happy to build for each of my brides- in thorough detail based on their specific wedding day, and I'm excited to share with you how you can create a time-line to help keep everyone on schedule! 

I start out by discussing with my bride what their wedding day will look like! Pretty simple! 

Some of the questions we go over are: 

-What time will the ceremony be?

-Are you going to be doing a first look, a first-look no peek, a first-look with your Dad?

-How many family photos are you planning on needing (there's a blog post on this coming!) 

-What time does the reception start?

-Are you doing a send-off? 

With those questions, I can start building an outline and plugging in the main details: (below is an example for a beginning time-line WITH a first look): 

     5:00 Ceremony Begins

     5:30 Ceremony Ends / Cocktail Hour Begins

              Extended Family Photos

     6:00 Reception Begins

     10:00 Send-off

With these details, I start adding in our additional information. I know that I want my brides and grooms to be 'in hiding' at least 30 minutes before a ceremony so all of their guests that arrive early don't see them. This couple wants to do a first look, so we are able to do the Bride & Groom photos, the bridal party photos, and the immediate family photos before the Ceremony even begins!  

So just by getting those questions answered, I am able to fill out this 8 hour time-line of the wedding day! 

2:00 Photographers arrive- shoot detail photos, Bride & Groom getting ready/dressed

2:45 Bride & Groom First Look 

3:30 Bridal Party Photos- Girls/Guys/Combined

4:00 Immediate Family Photos

4:30 Bride & Groom in Hiding

5:00 Ceremony Begins

5:30 Extended Family Photos

6:00 Reception Begins

8:15 Bride & Groom Sunset Photos

10:00 Send-off 

I'll be back with the Planning Your Wedding Series to go over topics about the Reception Time-Line, creating quick & painless Family Formal Photos, Getting Ready, etc.  I would LOVE to hear your input if there's anything else you would like to see in this series! Planning a wedding can be SO overwhelming- but it doesn't have to be!  Keep in mind, when hiring me as your wedding day photographer, I help you with this process every step of the way! 

Sunset Beach, North Carolina Engagement Photos: Justin & Meghan

I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am to share these photos of Justin & Meghan's engagement session!! They really wanted photos on the beach, something that Lynchburg, VA just doesn't offer- so we planned a trip out to Virginia Beach for a day to get some photos around there- but a huge storm rolled through and we had to postpone, but I am oh so glad we did! Why am I so glad it got rained out? Because it worked out for us to do their engagement photos at Sunset Beach in North Carolina- one of my favorite places.  We were heading into town for our family vacation, and Justin & Meghan stayed in Myrtle for the long weekend and drove up to meet us.  You know it's a special couple when they will drive 10 hours round-trip for their engagement session! 

We started out at the West end of Sunset Beach- and got some awesome shots on those amazing walk-ways beach entrances, headed onto the beach for the cutest shots of them on her beach cruiser, and even got some romantic shots on them walking in the water, and on the dunes! 

Loose these shots with her adorable beach cruiser! 

We then headed down to the Sunset Beach Pier! I love these shots and the lines this awesome pier creates! Meghan had the cutest props and blankets- I can't wait for all the details she's going to have at her wedding in August!! 

We ended our session overlooking the Marsh area and watching the sunset! 

Thanks again Justin & Meghan for driving all the way out to Sunset Beach for your engagement photos! I had the best time and it really was such a dream to take photos at my favorite little beach!! 

Want to see more of Justin & Meghan? You can view their Proposal here, and their Save the Date session here! 

Ashley Eiban is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer on the East-Coast and is available for travel world-wide--- including sessions at Sunset Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, Emerald Isle, Holden Beach, Calabash in North Carolina. In fact- it is a dream of mine to shoot weddings on these stunning beaches, so please contact me at ashley@ashleyeiban.com for more information!