Kelsey & Mike’s Stroudsmoor Terraview wedding was completely unique– from the father-of-the-bride re-creating dance moves from the bride’s childhood, to Kelsey & Mike’s one-of-a-kind wedding day transportation, riding in the back of Mike’s pickup truck!
Why Rhinehart Photography?
Kelsey shares, “Lisa’s photographs are the most creative wedding photographs I’ve ever seen! They also truly capture the uniqueness of each couple, even for couples that are camera shy, like us! Besides her amazing artistic skills, she is awesome to work with! Lisa is so easy-going and fun! She makes everything fun and helps it all to run so smoothly! She literally took away our stress. She made the entire planning process so easy and she was so helpful and flexible and organized!”
Kelsey smiles, “I swear Lisa was secretly trained as a ninja— we never even saw her when we were exchanging vows or enjoying our first dance– she allowed us to just be present and enjoy it and kept us on time, too! I am most excited to see what surprises Lisa has in store for our photographs. Every blog she posts has so many surprising “wow” shots that take your breath away. She’s just so talented!”
Stroudsmoor Ledgemere Suites Wedding Preparations
Kelsey smiles, “The girls got ready in a Ledgemere Suite. My mom had decked out the suite and stocked it well with food and mimosas. She always goes over the top with making sure everything is perfect for me! She is amazing!”
Mother of the Bride!
Kelsey shares, “My mom is my best friend and such a great support system. My mom was such a huge help in wedding planning. From picking out decorations to going to our floral appointment with Mike the day before the wedding.”
She continues, “I think we were both emotional on the day of the wedding because it had been such a long time coming with having to postpone the wedding due to COVID.”
I loved seeing how supportive Kelsey’s mom was throughout wedding planning. She’s also a super fan of my work and dang she’s gorgeous, too!!
Daddy’s Little Girl
Kelsey shares, “I am very close with my parents. I made them each an album of pictures of me with them all throughout my life and gave the albums to them at the rehearsal dinner. There was one picture in particular that my dad loved. It was from a father-daughter dance.”
She continues, “I was wearing a dress from a wedding I was in. In the picture, we’re dancing and my dress is all flared out. During our father-daughter dance at the wedding, Lisa was able to capture the exact same moment! It was perfect. I can’t wait to put the photos side by side. They were taken over two decades apart.”
Kelsey and her dad’s first look was so special! Keep reading to see the photo recreated at Kelsey’s own wedding!
The Wedding Day We Dreamed Of
Kelsey shares, “Postponing our wedding was a hard decision. We were so excited to get married but wanted to make sure that our loved ones could celebrate with us safely. It felt like we planned two weddings back to back. Ultimately we were glad we postponed so that our wedding day could be more what we envisioned.”
Unsave the date- only in 2020!! I love that they put their engagement photos to good use and had the wedding day of their dreams!
Stroudsmoor Cabin Groom Preparations
Kelsey shares, “The boys got ready in my brother’s cabin at Stroudsmoor. My brother attended a wedding at Stroudsmoor in the past that had an after-party at the cabin. He insisted he wanted to have the same cabin for our wedding so that he can host the guys to get ready and the rehearsal dinner after-party.”
Kelsey continues, “I’m so grateful that my brother’s girlfriend, Kim, was there to make the cabin look nice and clean for when the guys and Lisa’s second photographer arrived”
What a great shot by my second photographer, Justin!
Sentimental Wedding Day Gift
Kelsey shares, “For Mike’s wedding present, I gave him a leather belt with one of his grandfather’s belt buckles that he inherited. He had told me once that he wanted to get the belt buckles put on belts.”
She continues, “I knew I wanted to do something special for Mike for his wedding present so I knew that had to be it! His parents and extended family also loved the belt and the memories it brought of his grandfather. They were passing it around later at the reception!”
Stroudsmoor Ridgecrest First Look
Kelsey says, “We really lucked out the day of our wedding. We loved the reception space at Terraview the most and really love the ceremony location at Ridgecrest best. We ended up going with Terraview.”
She continues, “Fortunately for us, there was no wedding at Ridgecrest the day of our wedding so we were able to have our first look and take couples portraits at the Ridgecrest ceremony site. The views were amazing and it was super private!”
He’s My Best Friend & She’s My Dream Come True
Mike shares, “Kelsey is the perfect woman for me. From when we met, to our first date, to our wedding day it’s all been a dream come true.”
Kelsey shares, “I love how Mike is my opposite in so many ways and we keep each other balenced. I’m easygoing but also stress a lot but Mike is always calm and laid back. He is my rock and knows just how to make my worries go away. He really is my best friend.”
Tailgating😉!!
These two sure know how to travel– Mike’s truck has taken them to the Smoky Mountains, Acadia, Assateague…
Kelsey shares, “Riding on the back of the tailgate was a last-minute plan. We were deciding how to get from Ridgecrest, where we took our couples portraits, to Terraview, our venue. It became obvious that the most natural thing would be to sit on the back of his tailgate. That truck has been on many adventures with us including our engagement photo shoot with Lisa in Shenandoah National Park.”
We Have Each Other’s Back
Kelsey shares, “Our “finger thing” as people call it, is a comfort move. It means we have each other’s backs or we are thinking of each other. Whenever I looked stressed, he puts out his pointer finger. It seems so silly but it works!”
A Family Affair!
Having styled group photos is one of my specialties and I’ll have your family looking like celebs in no time! All I need is a couple of chairs and a few minutes to set it up!
Stroudsmoor Terraview Wedding
Kelsey shares, “We chose Stroudsmoor – Terraview for many reasons. We love the outdoors and the mountains, and Stroudsmoor is nestled in the forest and mountains. The views are incredible!”
Mike shares, “We chose Stroudsmoor because it’s near Kelsey’s hometown, we love the mountains, and the view… oh and the food is amazing!”
Kelsey continues, “It was also important to me to make sure our families and bridal party could all be together for the weekend. We all stayed on site and had our dress rehearsal, day of preparations, wedding, and post-wedding brunch all at Stroudsmoor. It was great to spend time with the ones we love the most!”
Climb rocks to get the best angle? I’m in!
Kelsey says, “Lisa is like a ninja! She is so stealthy and gets herself into wild positions to get the perfect angle. She was climbing cliffside at one point!”
As a photographer, I’m on your team and will do just about anything to get the shot. My legs have dangled from 30 feet up in a ski-lift with the sun in my eyes and snow in my face as I waited for a couple to scale moguls together on a ski slope, so climbing up crumbling rocks in sandals for this one was a no-brainer!! And the compression from that view, when using a telephoto lens resulted in the close-up wedding party image.
Stroudsmoor Terraview Wedding Reception
Kelsey says, “I wanted a classic, woodsy, elegant, and dark moody theme for my wedding. I wanted everything to be timeless, from my dress to the baby grand piano to the candles on the table.”
I think they captured their theme perfectly!
Daddy’s Little Girl, Part 2
This is the photo I described earlier! The recreation years later is perfect! Kelsey and her dad opened the dance floor with so much joy and the rest of the guests quickly followed suit!
It’s All About the Vision
Kelsey shares, “Lisa photographed us through a cool glass wall at the reception. I think some of our guests thought the three of us were crazy but they don’t have the vision Lisa does!”
As a photographer, I want to capture not just what the day looks like, but how it feels… here I’m trying to get that tipsy vibe, using only elements available to me in the actual ballroom. I certainly had fun and I had the support of my second photographer, Justin holding my lighting equipment for me:
Your Kind Referrals are Greatly Appreciated
Kelsey shares, “We chose Rhinehart Photography after Lisa photographed my friend’s wedding that I was maid of honor in 7 years ago. We go way back! I followed her on social media ever since (my Mom too – we both knew Lisa was the only photographer that we could dream of photographing the wedding!)”
It was such a pleasure to see Kelsey and her friend Sarah again. I actually earned a fearless award for Sarah’s leap down the stairs, which you can see on my fearless awards blog post here.
Kelsey & Mike’s Stroudsmoor Terraview Wedding Slideshow
See more of Kelsey & Mike’s Stroudsmoor Terraview wedding set to music in the slideshow below!
Stroudsmoor Terraview Wedding Vendors
Kelsey & Mike share, “All of our vendors were amazing! They took the thinking out of everything. We really lucked out with our vendor team. They were all so supportive and accommodating!”
- Venue: Stroudsmoor Country Inn – Terraview
- Cake: Stroudsmoor Bakery
- Florist: Stroudsmoor Floral
- DJ: Sonic Entertainment
- Ceremony & Cocktail Hour Music: Music for the Moment
- Videographer: Bar None Weddings
- Bride & Bridesmaid Dresses: Silk Bridal
- Groom & Groomsmen Suits: Suit Shop
- Hair & Makeup: Alisha Nycole
- Rehearsal Dinner: Mullally’s Clubhouse Cafe
Hungry for More?
- Check out Kelsey & Mike’s Shenandoah engagement session here
- See my other Stroudsmoor weddings here
- View my Fearless awards post here (Kelsey’s bridesmaid is featured in photo 11!)