Hi, I’m Deanna! I am a wedding, elopement, and portrait photographer. My elopement packages are customized for every couple and can even include an officiant.
Serving Western NC
I’m Deanna, an Asheville native and professional hype woman who loves capturing life’s sweetest moments through timeless images and a luxury experience. My mission is to show how beautiful life is, even in the messy moments.
In any stage of life, your beauty shines through, whether it’s a difficult or joyful season, from engagements and weddings to maternity, motherhood, and beyond. We don’t need to focus on perfect hair, makeup, and planned poses to see your true beauty through my lens, and I love taking the magic of any moment and turning it into timeless art that reminds you of your most beautiful self.
I attended Western Carolina University as a Cross Country and Track athlete, where I studied education and art, and that’s when I discovered my love of photography and learned to use a camera. I grew up on the river with parents who were always outside, so it made perfect sense when I took a summer job as a photographer for a white water rafting company. I had to put the camera in a dry box, attach it to my boat, paddle down to a rock beside one of the rapids, and sit on that rock and take pictures of the guests as they boated down. It was a blast to capture the pure enjoyment folks enjoyed with friends and family on the water and was definitely one of the coolest jobs a teenager could have.
After college, I became a fourth-grade teacher, which was much less fun than being a white water river photographer. After becoming a mother, I realized I kind of lost myself and my own identity outside of being a mom and needed to create something (other than a human haha). I wanted to get back into the world of photography and creating art, and then came Deanna Becraft Photography.
As a photographer who focuses on couples, motherhood, and branding, I feel like it’s pure magic to make a memory last forever. Being a photographer is about more than taking a picture – it’s about showing people an honest reflection of their beauty, strength, and connections with others.
When it comes to weddings, I love everything about being a vendor. I love working with other vendors and helping couples find vendors. I love that it’s a team of people that don’t work together on a normal basis, coming together to create a magical moment for the clients. I help my elopement couples based on what they want. I can help find the location, an officiant, and I’ve even booked hair and makeup for a bride before. I’m a photographer, but I am definitely happy to help in as many ways as I can.
Whether you are having an intimate backyard wedding, a mountaintop elopement, a family session in a studio, or a maternity session in a field, I’m ready with my camera. It’s all about allowing raw emotions, creating an atmosphere of fun, and capturing memories that will last a lifetime. When I have my camera in hand, I’m just myself. I feel like being genuine and relaxed (while also really excited) helps my couples to feel comfortable. I also communicate with them a lot prior to their elopement, so we get to know each other.
My husband and I have two toddlers, Eleanor and Emerson. We also have a dog named Bear, and a cat named Phish. My hobbies include basically any outdoor activity, including whitewater rafting, snowboarding, paddle boarding, and distance running. Although it’s hard to find the time for hobbies with 2 toddlers, I really look forward to introducing them to all of the fun things you can do in nature. My love languages are food and sarcasm.
A: Deanna Becraft – Owner and Photographer
Q: What’s a fun fact about yourself?
A: My first job as a photographer was for an outdoor adventure company, photographing white water rafters!
Q: What is your favorite thing about elopements?
A: The intimacy and the adventure!
Q: Tell us about your favorite elopement!
A: I had a couple who wrote the most beautiful vows I had ever heard. There was a small crowd of tourists at our destination, on top of a mountain of course, and when the ceremony began it was like they disappeared completely because the couple was so focused on each other and their love. This wasn’t the most extravagant elopement, by any means, but it truly proved to me that even the most simple of elopements are beautiful celebrations of love.
Q: Is there a wedding detail on your bucket list?
A: I would love to have a couple in the water after the ceremony!
I hired Deanna for my small and intimate spring wedding! We decided to have a short engagement and plan the wedding before my husband’s best friend was deployed. We had only a few months to get everything together and the number one thing I had to have was a wonderful photographer. We were fortunate enough to find Deanna and by a stroke of luck our wedding date was her last availability for the spring. We talked over the phone and I immediately felt so welcomed by her! We eventually had an in person meeting where we went over every little detail to make sure that we were on the same page for the big day. After leaving that meeting I felt so at peace and so excited for our big day. The day of the wedding was such a breeze. Deanna was such a joy to work with and did a wonderful job of managing our family’s as well as completing our must have shot list. The pictures she took are gorgeous and we will cherish them forever. She even made us the cutest wedding album that matched our colors and style perfectly. I could not recommend her enough and I’m so grateful for who she is as a photographer and as a friend
