October 13, 2020

Mountain View Farm Sunset Picnic Session | Sydney & Casey

I met Deb Shaver at a Tuesday’s Together meeting in early 2020. We hit if off immediately and she told me she had a brand new wedding venue, Mountain View Farm, south of Harrisonburg, Virginia. The venue has a beautiful mountain view with the best sunsets and the more we talked I knew I had to see it for myself.

Deb invited me out, but of course Corona Virus hit the states, so my visit kept getting pushed back. Finally in the summer I got the chance to make it out to her venue. I got a tour to see the views, the adorable bridal suite, and their amazing barn that they have worked so hard on. The sunset was seriously to die for!

I absolutely fell in love with their wedding venue. The property was picture perfect so I asked Deb if we could set up a photo shoot. She agreed and we created a plan to have a session soon. I planned to get a picnic basket from Heritage Bakery in Harrisonburg and she would get her daughter, Syd, and her boyfriend, Casey, to be models for the session. I wanted it to be relaxed and fun so we could enjoy the time and get to know each other for future shoots.

On the day of, I picked up the picnic basket from Heritage Bakery. They had filled the basket with delicious goodies and fine china for us to use. The other best parts were Syd and Casey, who were so great to work with! We had the best time setting up the picnic, tasting all the treats, and chatting while watching the sunset. While we were setting up, the farm’s three ducks came to investigate, and one of them even bit Casey in the butt. When the food came out, Lilly the family dog came up to find out what was going on! It was adorable and made for some really great and genuine shots.

After a while, Deb and the rest of the family came out to join us. We enjoyed the rest of the picnic and watched the sunset. The evening was a great example of how awesome and relaxed a session can be, and how it can make for some really memorable times.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, I couldn’t resist getting a few last photos. Syd and Casey packed up the picnic basket and walked towards me hand in hand. Those shots made for the most beautiful ending to a picture perfect session.

Thank you to Deb for the most amazing wedding venue and greatest sunset spot in the Shenandoah Valley! Also thank you to Heritage Bakery for the amazing goodies. Lastly, thank you to Syd and Casey for being amazing models! I absolutely cannot wait to spend more evenings at Mountain View Event Farm in the future!