This wedding at Poplar Grove Plantation in Wilmington, North Carolina is one for the books!  This is one of my all time favorite venues in the Wilmington and Hampstead area.  Therefore, I’m always excited to work here!  I was especially excited about photographing this couple, as the groom is the brother of one of my high school friends!  Aren’t they just the most gorgeous couple?!

Wedding at Poplar Grove Plantation

We started the wedding day upstairs in the plantation house, which is where the bride got ready.  The venue has one of the best getting ready spaces for brides that I have ever seen!

For some reason, it seems that many venues don’t put a priority on the getting ready suite.  Because of that, I have photographed in a lot of dark and dingy basements, tiny rooms, and even bathrooms.  Sometimes there isn’t any furniture, or even hooks for the dress.  Alternately, I find in many cases that the groom’s suite is often better than the bride’s, at least in terms of preferred lighting conditions.

But Poplar Grove has taken care to make a lovely getting ready area for the bride.  Plenty of natural light, and pretty pink and blue walls make the space perfect for photographs.  Plus, there are also rooms filled with original and beautiful antique furniture that make a great backdrop.

Portraits Around The Venue

After the bride and groom were dressed and ready, we explored the grounds for some portraits of the two of them and the wedding party!  The old cabin has a great porch that I used for the groomsmen as well as for the bride and groom.  The grounds have such nice landscaping, there are so many options for backdrops.  This bride’s dress has such great movement.  I loved having her dance around in the yard to show it off.