Cades Cove in the Smokies
I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are now decked out in full on winter gear, singing Christmas songs, and wrapping presents to go under your tree. You would never know by looking at these pictures, but it was FREEZING the morning of Taylor and Austin’s pictures. I kept asking Taylor if she was frozen yet, and she was SUCH a trooper as she responded each time with, “I’m actually not that bad.” Meanwhile, my toes are literally aching from the cold, and I have on two pairs of socks under my duck boots. Cades Cove in the Smokies is the only location that I require my couples to do sunrise sessions. Trust me, it’s not because I want to. It’s over an hour from my house, and sunrise is somewhere between 7am and 8am at any given time of the year. I’m a morning person, but even the wake up time to get there by 7am is a little early for me. It’s even harder for my clients who want to fix their hair and do their makeup, whereas I’m just rolling out of bed, brushing my teeth, getting coffee, and going. But Taylor and Austin knew they wanted Cades Cove in the Smokies. There was no doubt about it. It is one of their favorite spots, and they visit at least a couple times a year. So, we made it happen. Sunrise is necessary because otherwise, we would be stuck in exponentially slow moving traffic while the sun sets, and we would still be trying to get to that perfect spot half way down the one way loop. Therefore, I require sunrise. Then, I KNOW I will not run out of lighting, and I KNOW that we won’t be stuck at Cades Cove in the Smokies for an obscene amount of hours. My longest time stuck on that loop has been 5 hours. Oh, and there’s no cell service so Dustin was FREAKING out thinking I had been eaten by a bear when I wasn’t home at the 3 hour mark like I told him I would be.
But all the mess, all the planning, the early wake up time, and the frigid air is so worth it because look at this place. If there was ever a more diverse, gorgeous view of the Smoky Mountains, it’s in Cades Cove. How fortunate we are to live in such close proximity to it.
I’m a Knoxville Wedding Photographer that loves to travel… I shoot anywhere! If you have any questions about pricing or booking with me, click here to contact me now! If you liked what you saw above, go ahead and follow me on Facebook or Instagram to see my daily updates of the latest sessions!
If you loved this session, you’ll also love:
The Stables at Strawberry Creek Engagement
The Guide
A lot of moving pieces go into planning a wedding day timeline, and we know it's easy to feel like a hot mess! Grab our free guide to plan the perfect timeline for your day.
