One of my favorite weddings last year was at Khimaira Farm in Luray, VA. It’s been a little bit since I’ve shared a full wedding post with you so let’s go for it!

Travis and Heather were married in my absolutely positively FAVORITEST (!) venue in the whole wide world, Khimaira Farm, in Luray Virginia. I have to say… maybe it’s because we had our own wedding there and just being there gets us all nostalgic about our own wedding day, but I’d like to think that there is something beyond nostalgia that drives this element of magic to each wedding we photograph at Khimaira Farm. If you’ve ever been there, you probably know exactly what I’m talking about!

The wedding details from this event are my absolute favorite ever!  I am so happy that we were lucky enough to be chosen as their wedding photographers. Heather and her mom were a dream to work with, and listened to every suggestion I had while we were building the photography timeline for the day. This makes such a HUGE difference in how many pictures you will get, as well as how well the day will flow. There are so many options that they can use for their album, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what they choose for it! Enjoy the photos (there are quite a bit!), and let us know what we can do for you!

WEDDING VENDORS
Wedding Ceremony & Reception Venue:  Khimaira Farm ~ Luray, VA
Getting Ready Venue: Shenandoah Woods Cabin ~ Luray, VA
Wedding Dress: Jeanette’s Bride ‘N Boutique ~ Burke, VA
Tuxedos: Jos A. Bank
Florist: Vivian’s Flower Shop ~ Luray, VA
Catering: Main Street Bakery & Catering ~ Luray, VA
Cake: Bijou’s Sweet Treats~ Winchester, VA
Entertainment/ DJ: Josh Nichol at Khimaira Farm ~ Luray, VA
Photography: Swadley Studio ~ Martinsburg, WV

The girls got ready at their cabin at Shenandoah Woods in Luray, just down the road from Khimaira Farm.

When we all arrived at Khimaira, Heather wanted to check out her reception area. BREATHTAKING!!!

Heather is a professional dancer and so I incorporated images that portray her love for dance.

I’m obsessed with this shot of her and her bridesmaids, with her dance inspired shoes 😍

I always love the energy in these 5-10 minutes after the ceremony… nothing but pure ecstatic joy!

More details from the barn reception…

And OH MY GOODNESS, look at this dessert spread!!! SWOON!

Sadly, Heather’s father passed away so he couldn’t physically be there. But during this special dance with her uncles, it certainly felt like he was there in spirit. Not a dry eye in the house (including my own!).

So many amazing dance pictures!!! Someone PLEASE invite me to a wedding like this so I can partake in the dancing!!!

If you’ve been here to the blog before, you’ve probably seen this shot we captured toward the end of the night. If not, here’s the story again… Khimaira has this awesome sofa that you can use for your photography. Everyone uses it during the day, so I wanted something different (as always, lol). I knew I wanted to do a night shot, but it was somewhat cloudy and completely pitch black (no moon to help with lighting). I knew if I opened the shutter long enough I could get a nice blue or purplish tint to the sky against the mountain in the field where they held their wedding ceremony, so that’s where I decided to do it. While Travis & Heather were busy dancing and mingling with their wedding guests, I recruited a big strong guy to help Jon carry this sofa down steps, around a house, through a garden, past roaming critters all the way to the middle of this field. You can’t tell from this picture, but trust me when I say it was pitch black. I used my phone’s flashlight to guide the way, but it was still pretty dark and hard to see holes in the ground. Once Jon & I set up the shot, we went and found Travis and Heather.  I was in control of exposure and posing, and Jon was in control of lighting the couple. It took us one song to pull them away and have them sent back on their merry way. When looking at the shots on the back of my camera, I knew we got the perfect shot, but it was still really small so I couldn’t see the stars in the shot until I got home and pulled it up. After I brought out the highlights and bumped up the background exposure, I was thrilled when I saw this amazing shot of the Milky Way in the perfect position behind them! It’s like it was positioned there just for them (perhaps her dad had something to do with that!). Thank you so much Heather & Travis for trusting us in the complete dark to give you something special from your wedding night.

I couldn’t just choose one, so here’s another one!

Thanks for following along on our photographic journey! If you would like more info on our wedding photography, use the contact form at the top of this page to request our exclusive wedding magazine. We also shoot senior portraits, newborns and headshots and would love the chance to work with you! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest to get updates on everything happening here at Swadley Studio!