We had an absolute blast hanging out with Cassie and Matt at Craggy Gardens in Asheville for their engagement session! They chose Craggy Gardens because they love Asheville and wanted a backdrop that showed off the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains while also picking a location that had a reasonable hike. And since these two ares foodies we had so many amazing choices for eateries after their session!
Cassie and Matt met on Hinge shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began. They exchanged a few cheesy messages and then met up for their first date at a tapas and wine bar (the cheese board caught their interest in particular) but had to quickly switch locations due to an out credit card machine and no cash on hand. Instead their fancy first date turned into a more relaxed one when they settled on the Hibernian Bar watching Monday Night Football and chatting.
Once the pandemic hit these two had to get pretty creative for date nights since starting a brand new relationship with no where to go and no one else to be around was difficult. Cassie gifted Matt and adventure book for couples to do and they’ve enjoyed marking off activities on the list together and taking a picture to paste onto each page – what a great gift to set intentional time with one another while making great memories exploring new activities and places together!
These two chose Asheville and the Craggy Gardens for their engagement session because it was reminiscent of when they got engaged! Matt suggested they visit Asheville for his birthday after several “fake out” trips to keep Cassie on her toes. They went glamping together and Matt proposed at the camping site after admiring the views they wouldn’t get a glimpse of for the rest of the weekend due to rain. Cassie was so surprised and it’s a great memory in their journey together!
Advice For Couples Planning E-Session
“Trust that Ariel and Alex will give you good directions and when they tell you to laugh in pictures, it actually turns out great even though you feel really silly.”
I hope you enjoy a few of our favorite shots from Cassie + Matt’s engagement session at Craggy Gardens with all of the amazing mountain views!
This next sequence is probably my favorite and it literally happened like this:
Ariel: “So, what do you think about a piggy back ride?”
Cassie and Matt: *looking at each other* “Sure, we’ll give it a go!”
Cassie standing on a stump and hooking her legs around his waist.
Ariel: “Now run wild Matt!”
We decided to go back to the parking lot for a change of clothes and to start up the main peak of Craggy Gardens. We got to see the sun for a total of 2 minutes as it peeked out of the clouds!
We hiked through a slight drizzle to the top of the mountain. Luckily the rain stopped as we reached the peak for and we were able to get some gorgeous mountains view with some really cool fog hanging around at the final stop!
And after just a few more snuggles and lifts we hiked back down the trail to head to Bhramari Brewing Company for dinner and drinks followed by visiting my absolute favorite place in all of Asheville the French Broad Chocolate Lounge!
If you haven’t gotten enough of Cassie + Matt and would like to see their full gallery then head on over here!