When we opened our rustic wedding venue, we could not wait to start booking weddings.  We were already imagining our property filled with guests, rustic decor carefully placed around the farm, and beautiful brides walking down the aisle.  We have a quickly filling calendar for 2018 weddings here in Goldsboro, NC, and couldn’t be more excited about it.

 

What we didn’t expect was to stay so busy hosting photoshoots.  This has been a part of The Grantham House that we are really enjoying.  We’ve hosted several shoots, and we’re getting to meet some amazing local photographers and the families they are working with.

 

It’s so fun to see the kids running around the farm, checking out the animals, and then finally getting to see the the beautiful photos posted online by the photographers.  

 

We recently had a session scheduled by a photographer that we have a long history with, Holly Kearney Blanco.  Daniel and I first met Holly when she was just a teenager.  Daniel was a youth pastor and she was in our youth group. Holly quickly became like family to us, like so many of the students in the ministry.  

 

As a teenager, she already had an interest in photography.  We were in need of some family photos, so Holly took them for us.  Her talent from the beginning was so evident.  We had a great time and ended up with beautiful photos that we still love today.  

 

Fast forward about seven years and Holly is married to a great guy, and has her own thriving photography business.  As her former youth pastors it brings us a lot of joy to see that she’s stuck with something that has such a talent for.  She has continued to grow as a photographer and business owner and her work is absolutely stunning.  

 

When she contacted us about hosting a photo shoot at The Grantham House, we were really excited to get to work with her.

 1) We love Holly!

 

2) We couldn’t wait to see her photos of the farm!

 

When she pulled up on the day of the photo shoot, we were surprised to see that we also knew the family that she was working with that day.  The McLamb family got out of the car with their two adorable daughters, all dressed up in coordinating fall outfits.  

 

Sara and Matthew Mclamb attend Bethel Church with us.  Last year when hurricane Matthew came through Eastern North Carolina, it hit southern Wayne Country particularly hard and southern Wayne County is where The Grantham House is located. This area experienced extreme flooding that did lot of damage.  Many families lost their homes and all of their possessions.  It was devastating for many people who live around us.  While our home wasn’t effected by the flooding, we were without running water for several days.

 

The Mclambs live close to us, and graciously offered to let us come take showers at their home.  In case you don’t know, we have a huge family! Who just lets seven people come take showers at their house? The Mclambs do! This really meant so much to our family, and it really show us what kind of people Matthew and Sara are.  They simply love people and want to share what they have.  

 

Here are a few photos from their shoot with Holly at The Grantham House.

 

To find out more about working with Holly and to see more of her amazing work check out her website and her Instagram.

Looking at these photos its easy to tell why we are having so much fun hosting photo shoots.  Working with photographers has been such a great addition to include alongside our services as a rustic wedding venue.

If you’re interested in holding a photo shoot at The Grantham House or looking for the perfect rustic wedding venue, fill out the contact form and we’ll be in touch.