Wedding at the Barn at Greers Ferry Lake in Central Arkansas

One of my first clients, after moving down to Northwest Arkansas, were Cory and Kelsey. They reached out on Instagram just days after my family and I arrived at our little yellow house in Fayetteville and we instantly scheduled a session to capture their newly engaged bliss. Although they have ties to Arkansas they currently live in Texas and just so happened to be in the area, it was a perfect setup.

Engagement Photos

I chose Natural Dam Falls as our location as it is both a beautiful spot for pictures and also close to I-40 as they were driving from Little Rock to Dallas. The engagement shoot was on an abnormally warm summer day (now I might say just a warm day, little did I know!) The park is more than just those photogenic falls, it offers a lot of spots for photos upstream right below the falls and the little bridge. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Barn at Greers Ferry Lake Wedding Venue

Now to the wedding at the beautiful Barn at Greers Ferry Lake just a few hours south of Fayetteville. I arrived early to capture all the getting-ready photos, the boys were outside playing football when I pulled up and the ladies were just starting hair & make-up. I really love shooting these photos as it allows for a lot of playfulness and creativity with composition.

We just had a few moments to capture the details before the ceremony, here are a few.

First Look

Right before the ceremony, we had a first-look session with Kelsey’s father in the bridal suite, followed by a quick session with her bridesmaids. Kelsey’s dad just looked at her, stunned, it was honestly the first time I have seen such a reaction, he was both speechless and motionless as her mother and sister cried from the other side of the room.

The Wedding Ceremony

One of the great things about the venue, Barn at Greers Ferry Lake, is that it has spectacular light. That really came through during the afternoon ceremony as the windows are north-facing and the sun was in the south, which allowed soft light to enter. Cory and Kelsey’s vows were both funny and sweet and the ceremony had a lovely moment where they celebrated their parents (parents-in-law.)

Right after the ceremony we took a couple of quick portraits and snapshots in the barn and then gathered outside with their friends and family for group shots and a few more wedding portraits. The view and the lake are beautiful but I really wanted to wait until we got closer to sunset to have the actual wedding portrait session.

Once we were back in the barn, the entire area had been flipped for the reception. Tables were ready and the incredibly welcoming staff were setting up the food – Cory and Kelsey made their rounds saying hi to guests with smiles and laughter. It is often during this time when I try to be as candid as possible to capture honest reactions and connections.

The reception kept going into the late afternoon with the warmer rays of the sun continuously peeking more and more in through the large windows of the barn – changing the ambiance from the cool daylight tones to warmer light and longer shadows.

Then it finally came! Golden hour was here and we went outside for Cory and Kelsey’s official wedding photos. It wasn’t too hard to get them in character for pictures, Cory is one of the more affectionate people I have worked with and Kelsey was game for everything. In these moments I like to set up the shots and let the couple run with it in their own unique way. I think they nailed it!

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