A Winter Engagement Session in the North Carolina Mountains
If there’s anything the Blue Ridge Mountains love to remind us of, it’s that weather here has a mind of its own. You can plan for months, track forecasts, hope for your ideal conditions, and then the mountains give you something entirely different. For Blythe and Andrew’s winter engagement session near Asheville, North Carolina… that “something different” arrived in the form of a full snowstorm. In early November!
And honestly? It couldn’t have been more magical.
This session was the perfect combination of Asheville adventure, moody mountain atmosphere, and snowy, cinematic winter engagement photos – the exact kind of unpredictably beautiful day that makes the NC mountains so unforgettable. AND one of my favorite places!
The Unexpected November Snowstorm
We scheduled this mountain engagement session months in advance, knowing November can go either way in Western North Carolina. Fog, sunshine, rain, wind – anything is possible. But a full snowstorm…well it was not on our radar!
About a week before the shoot, I started monitoring the weather daily (as every Asheville wedding and engagement photographer must do, hah!). My personal favorite is the Mountain-Forecast app, because it tells you exactly what the conditions will be at highest elevation of the location – meaning the top of the mountain where we will be shooting. This includes:
wind speeds, cloud base, temperatures, wind chill – everything that matters when you’re planning a session in the Roan Highlands or along the Blue Ridge.
Sure enough, a large winter storm was moving in. Six inches of snow. Ice. Sub-freezing temperatures. And winds that would easily shut down an overlook.
I reached out to Blythe and Andrew with two possibilities:
- We may need to move locations.
- We may need to move days.
- Shelby needed to think…fast.
Thankfully they were staying in Asheville for a few days, which gave us just enough flexibility to wait for the safest window.
Choosing Safety Over the Cold
Monday – the original shoot day- brought brutal conditions:
- over 6 inches of snow
- below freezing temps
- wind chills around –15°F
- gusts 30–40 mph
That’s frostbite territory. Beautiful? Yes. Safe? Absolutely not.
As a mountain photographer, I always prioritize safety over a photo. No image is worth someone getting hurt.
So we rescheduled for Tuesday, hoping the storm would settle.
The Roan Highlands: Where Winter Meets the Blue Ridge
Tuesday gifted us the perfect compromise: still wildly cold, still windy, still snowy… but survivable. At the top of Roan Mountain, it hovered around 0° to –5° with wind chill, with gusts around 20–30 mph. Not exactly balmy. But for a winter engagement session in the North Carolina mountains? Absolutely breathtaking.
The Roan Highlands have this rare combination of balsam forest, open rolling balds, and sweeping Blue Ridge views, making it one of the most cinematic locations near Asheville – especially in the snow.
And Blythe and Andrew showed up ready. I mean really ready.
These Two Are Tough (Like… Mountain-Weather Tough)
Most people would have turned around before we ever left the trailhead.
But Blythe and Andrew? Absolute troopers.
Blythe, being a photographer herself, came prepared (and knew what it would take) with the genius solution of skin-colored leggings as a base layer – which photographed perfectly while keeping her warm. We packed ourselves with body warmers, hand warmers, layers upon layers, and started the hike.
And the mountains rewarded us.
In the balsam forest, the wind lifted chunks of snow off the branches, making it drift around us like confetti from the sky. The trees creaked, the air sparkled, and every step felt like walking inside a snow globe.
We absolutely entered Narnia at that point!
They danced in the forest. They embraced the wild wind. They braved the gusts on the ridge just long enough to create some of the most cinematic winter engagement photos I’ve ever taken.
These two never once complained, never hesitated, never asked to call it quits. They were fully present – even in the cold – and that made all the difference.
Sunset Over the Valley: The Reward After the Storm
Just before sunset, the wind eased and a warm glow settled into the valley below us. After hours of pushing through the cold, that quiet moment felt like a gift.
The sky turned soft peach and gold, contrasting the blue-white snow. The mountains layered into the distance. The day tied itself together with peace.
This is what I love most about photographing mountain engagement sessions and Asheville adventure shoots – you work for the moment, you earn the moment, and then the mountains give you something unforgettable.
Blythe and Andrew worked for these photos. Truly. And the reward shows.
Planning a Winter or Mountain Engagement Session Near Asheville?
If you’re dreaming of:
- winter engagement photos in the North Carolina mountains
- snowy, moody Blue Ridge portraits
- an adventurous engagement session
- or Asheville wedding photography with a natural, cinematic style
…then I would love to help you plan your own day!
Whether you crave the fog, the snow, the wind, or the warm glow of sunset over the Blue Ridge—there’s beauty in every version the mountains give us.
