Photography

Big Spring Farm

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sat our friends Buddy and Jill down when we first started dreaming of what it would be like to go full time together and told them everything. Our fears, our hopes, and all of the big decisions that needed to be made. There is something so powerful about sharing your dreams and your burdens with close friends. They prayed for us and with us and were a part of the whole process. So fast forward about a year…. Bud and Jill came to see the new house and as we were finishing the tour of the upstairs, the conversation changed and they said “So, we have some crazy news”.

I immediately thought they were pregnant! That wasn’t the case.. but their news was still unbelievable. They had been given an incredible opportunity to possibly live out a dream of a lifetime! It was there turn to share their fears, hopes and excitement about the prospective new adventure that they were about to begin. One thing led to another and before we knew it, they were calling us and telling us that it was a done deal! They were moving to an absolutely unbelievable farm right outside of Lexington, VA!! Not only were they moving to this stunning property but they were also opening a WEDDING VENUE!!!! Crazy right?!! Michael and I went to see the property and we immediately helped them start planning their first styled shoot so that everything could start moving forward!!

I don’t remember all of our conversations but I do remember randomly sitting outside of the food court at Short Pump mall and basically planning the whole shoot! We picked out vendors, talked about the theme, selected a date…..It really felt like we were just “playing house” in the wedding world because it was all too good to be true. Now, it’s becoming more real! Buddy and Jill just announced “Big Spring Farm” to the wedding world last week and launched a brand new website!! The images from the shoot are displayed all over the site and I have to thank our models Mark and Renee for taking off work and spending the day with us! And also, a huge thank you to Amanda from Anthomanic for her beautiful florals and Korie from The Weekend Type for the logo and hand lettering on the gorgeous stationary pieces! Also, thanks to Michael, John and Michelle for helping us shoot quickly! We had a ton to get done in a short amount of time!

Now that the secret has been released… I can officially share just how AMAZING this venue in…. and if I’m being honest, I’m really hoping to shoot here A LOT in the coming years!! I mean, what photographer wouldn’t want to spend the weekend shooting at one of their best friend’s venues?! Well, we don’t just love it because Buddy and Jill are running it, we love it because we know that God has big plans for BIG SPRING FARM!…. and it’s also a photographer’s dream. Waterfront ceremonies, restored farm house with amazing natural light, newly renovated event barn, rolling hills, mountain ranges in the background, vintage boat…. it doesn’t get any better than this!!

So, if you’re a bride that’s dreaming of a GORGEOUS barn wedding in the mountains of Virginia, let me be the first to introduce you to your dream venue…. Enjoy! Oh! And be sure to like their Facebook page!!

Thanks for reading!

— Katelyn

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