Lynchburg, VA Elopement: Taylor & Kim || Central VA Wedding Photographer

I've been DYING to share this gorgeous elopement & am so so so excited to finally be sharing it today! Taylor & Kim had their family coming to visit them in Lynchburg for Thanksgiving and they decided to elope while everyone was here! I LOVE elopements because they are so personal and intimate! Just the couples very closest friends and family without the stress of planning a huge wedding! Taylor and Kim had both sides of their families there, and a couple of good friends, as well as her daughter. 

Their ceremony at Riverside Park in Lynchburg, Virginia was so sweet and special. They choose a tucked away part of the park that overlooks the James River. The leaves were still on the trees and the sun was coming though so perfectly.  It truly was a gorgeous day! Kim's daughter was an important part of the ceremony- she held the rings and Taylor gave her the sweetest necklace to symbolize them becoming a family. 

After their ceremony, the families headed to Bootleggers in downtown Lynchburg for a celebratory dinner. Taylor's parents decorated the bar tables and truly made it a special dinner for them! 

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Ashley Eiban is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Central Virginia. Serving the Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, and surrounding areas. Available for travel world-wide.  Ashley is passionate about cultivating genuine relationships built on mutual understanding, trust and lasting friendship.  

Currently booking a limited number of wedding and portrait sessions for 2018.  Contact Ashley today for additional information! 

Congratulations! You're engaged!! Now what? || Lynchburg Wedding Photographer

Ahhhh! Friend! Congratulations! I know you're SO excited to have that sparkly ring on your finger! But, I also know you might be a little bit overwhelmed with everything on your new to-do list! Don't stress- I know it might seem like there are a million things to do at once, I totally remember this feeling! I've written out a few steps to help know what's the most important things that HAVE to get done right away, then the rest will fall into place! 

1- First things first, start narrowing down some dates. If possible, try to have a few options as you start looking at venues to be able to narrow things down.  

2- After you've gotten a few dates in mind, you need to talk budget. Trust me, I know this part is not fun at all, but it's essential to knowing what venues you can look at and which vendors to interview! Knowing if you're parents are going to be helping, if you and your fiance' are paying for it all out of pocket, or if there's an all of the above option, it's important to know and not make assumptions. 

3- Once you have the budget nailed down, start researching some wedding venues. Narrow this down by determining if you want a rustic/barn wedding, a vineyard wedding, a classic estate wedding, to get married in a church, etc. There are a ton of amazing venues in Lynchburg- so do some research online and ask around with your friends! Once you find a venue you love, you'll be able to narrow down the actual wedding date.

4- Now that you have a budget, start thinking about priorities. In the perfect world, we'd be able to choose the best of everything, but that's not always practical. Decide what's the most important things to you and your fiance' together! For a lot of Brides, these things are photographers & videographers, a venue, dress and florals.  Things that can sometimes take a back burner are the cake, catering, etc.  

5-Start researching other important vendors. Again, use google, ask your friends who they loved, and start your interviewing process. Photographers, Coordinators, Videographers, Caterers all can book up as early as a year and a half in advance or more, so the earlier you can reach out, the better. 

6-Begin working on a guest list. Knowing how many guests you think you'll invite and may attend will be helpful in knowing how much you can spend out of your budget for food and other important things! 

7- Decide who you want in your wedding party! This can sometimes be a really hard decision, but it can be so much fun to have your best friends celebrating with you! Remember to only ask those you're the very closest with- someone you think you'll be friends with forever- who will be there to support you and be so thrilled to be with you and a part of the wedding process! 

8- Go wedding dress shopping! Oh my goodness this part is SO much fun! Invite your Mom and a best friend or two and start playing dress up! Make it a fun day by grabbing brunch together and some celebratory mimosas! Try on lots of styles before deciding- and once you've found the one, stop looking! 

9- Relax! I won't be the first person to tell you- but this time will seriously FLY by! Don't let the stress and the to-do's get to you! Be sure to schedule some alone time with your hubby-to-be for a date night, with the wedding planning topics off limits! 

Congratulations again! I'm so very excited for you & I would absolutely love to talk with you about your wedding day plans & what you're looking for in a photographer! Contact me today to chat! 

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Ashley Eiban is a Wedding & Portrait Photographer based in Central Virginia. Serving the Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, and surrounding areas. Available for travel world-wide.  Ashley is passionate about cultivating genuine relationships built on mutual understanding, trust and lasting friendship.  

Currently booking a limited number of wedding and portrait sessions for 2018.  Contact Ashley today for additional information! 

Trivium Estate Bridal Portrait's || Kimberly

I'm seriously so ecstatic that I finally get to share Kimberly's bridal portraits!! Kimberly is one of those people that you meet and you just instantly fall in love with her and want to be her best friend! AND she makes you feel like you really are! She's just the sweetest, most uplifting and encouraging person! I've been holding onto these images for a few weeks just DYING to share them with you guys! You can see from these photos, her beauty is beyond just being gorgeous- but her joy and soul shines through to just make her absolutely stunning! 

Venue: The Trivium Estate in Forest, Virginia 

Hair: Kristina's Beauty Shop in South Boston, Virginia

Makeup: In your Face Makeup Art in Lynchburg, Virginia

Florals: Bloom by Doyles in Lynchburg, Virginia

Bridal Gown & Accessories: David's Bridal

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographer based in Central Virginia.  Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, Roanoke and surrounding areas.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley has been photographing couples for over 6 years and is passionate about cultivating genuine relationships and images you can cherish forever.  Currently booking a limited number of weddings for 2018.  Contact me today for additional information! 

Stress-free Wedding Series || Getting Ready

I'm so excited to be continuing my 'stress-free wedding series' today! This is a topic I am super passionate about, and I truly spend extra time with each of my couples in the planning period of their big day to ensure they feel confident and at ease on their wedding day! When a bride is stressed out, it truly can affect her entire day, which always shows up in the photos. I never want a bride to look back at her wedding photos and just see how stressed out she was! This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life- don't you want to remember that joy and happiness forever?! 

Today, I want to talk about the getting ready portion of the day! This part can really make or break how a bride feels for the rest of the day, so in my opinion, this is the most important part of the day to truly get right! 

1- Do a trial run of your hair and make-up, and take special note of how long each took during your trial run! If you only budget for 30 minutes to do your make-up, but it your makeup artist really needs 45 minutes, you are going to be starting out the day feeling rushed and behind.  Allow for extra time during this time of day, so you can truly relax and enjoy the moments with your bridesmaids! 

2- Have your Mom and Bridesmaids come over and get you fully dressed into your wedding dress. Once again, I've seen brides allow for 5 minutes to step into their dress, but it ended up taking 15 minutes to get everything on and secured.  Along these same lines, make sure that your girls practice your dress bustle as well! These are little things that really can take up too much time if not planned accordingly.  

3- As your packing up the week before your wedding make sure to create a box/bag for your wedding day details that your wedding photographer is going to need. Things that are included in this are your invitations, jewelry, shoes, garter, all sets of rings, and anything else your photographer mentions or you think is special, like your Grandfathers Bible.  

4- Set expectations on who YOU want in the bridal room and what their duties are going to be.  When everyone feels like they can pop in and say hi, you will feel constantly interrupted and not really able to enjoy getting ready and the morning with your closest friends and family members.  If you have envisioned your Mom zipping you up in your dress, make sure that you communicate to her that you want her there so she doesn't disappear to check on something just before you're stepping into your dress! 

5- Remember, sometimes things don't happen exactly as we planned and you may be running a little late.  Your photographer and planner should help you with creating buffer times and being able to make necessary adjustments. Trust the vendors that you hand-picked to know what they are doing! You're going to be getting married in just a few hours- so enjoy this time! 

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographerbased in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments.  Contact me today for additional information! 

Tips of stress-free wedding planning || Central Virginia Wedding Photographer

Oh the pressure I felt when wedding planning. How could you not feel the pressure?! You are constantly told that this is the happiest and biggest day of your life! Friend, I've so been there. And to top it off had to plan a wedding on a super tiny budget, without the help of Pinterest.  One of my passions in my business is helping couples lessen the stress and be able to be fully present in their big moments! 

As someone that goes to weddings almost every weekend, and has planned a wedding myself, I put together some tips to remember as you're planning your wedding day: 

1- Prepare your budget.  Doing some research on what things are going to cost will save you a lot of heartache. Sit down with your fiancee' and discuss, what's the most important things to you, will help you decide where you need to splurge, and where you can cut back. For example, you can put less money towards a wedding cake, and more towards your flowers.  Do some research on what things cost, so you're prepared on how to divi up and divide your money. Ask friends that have been through it.  Being prepared will help save you some heart break- if you are expecting to pay $400 for a videographer, it will break your heart to find out that isn't realistic. 

2- Be ready for lots and lots of opinions. Oh girl, there will be SO many opinions, from friends, family members, and even strangers. There was a time where all weddings were suuuuper traditional, every bride walked down the aisle to the same song, all of the centerpiece tables had the same floral arrangements. Some people still don't understand that there's been a shift to planning a wedding that reflects YOU as a couple.  You're never going to make everyone happy- just remember- this is your day- do what you love! 

3- Follow your heart. Be sure to not let the opinions of others change what you want to do. Every single couple has different priorities and visions on their wedding. Some people really do want a traditional wedding, in a ballgown, walking down the church aisle to their groom. While some people want to just have a small, outdoor wedding with just their closest friends and family.  If you want to have a first look, don't let your parents talk you out of it. I know I personally let other people talk me into things, and those moments are really the only regrets I have from my own wedding.  

4- Only hire vendors that you 100% trust. You're wedding day is going to be busy, and you are going to want to be in the moment and enjoying the day with your friends, family, and your new HUSBAND! If you're having to worry about a vendor, do not hire that vendor. You're vendors should be making your life easier, and your wedding day BETTER. Not more stressful.  

5- Remember, at the end of the day, you're going to be MARRIED! Things go wrong, problems come up. Just remember to breath, and remember and enjoy the day. Even if something goes wrong, You are getting married, and this is about your marriage- your life together, way more than it is your wedding day.  

Oh sweet bride, I hope that this helps you. I know this time can be so stressful, but hopefully you're able to enjoy this exciting time together! 

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Ashley Eiban is a wedding and portrait photographerbased in Central Virginia. Serving Lynchburg, Charlottesville, Farmville, Richmond, Roanoke, and surrounding areas. Currently booking a limited number of weddings and portrait sessions for 2017.  Available for travel world-wide.  

Ashley is passionate about capturing moments as they authentically happen to ensure a successful session that gives you time to enjoy each other and savor the wedding day moments.  Contact me today for additional information!