It’s June … and for those of us celebrating – Happy Pride! I knew coming into this year that I wanted a session that was incredibly romantic, soft neutral tones, and gorgeous landscape. I put out a model call in a local LGBTQIA+ social media group asking for a couple who might want to participate in my session – and I met MJ and Angela through that group…

This gorgeous romantic Hartford City Hall Elopement in Hartford, Connecticut was dreamy beyond belief – from the peach and greens of the florals, to the classic romantic wedding gown – this couple brought all the love and passion to this incredible city hall elopement

As soon as we decided to relocated to the east coast, and I knew we would be living near New York City, I decided two things. 1) I would need to visit because NYC has so many incredible places I’d been hearing about my whole life (museums, art galleries, restaurants…) and 2) I would need to photograph weddings and elopements there. Obviously breaking into a well-saturated NYC market when you haven’t ever photographed in the city before isn’t the easiest thing ever – so I took matters into my own hands, and went to the city armed with these beautiful humans, Nicole from Good Vibes Beauty Co, wedding clothes from Julie Allen Bridals, and some stunning florals from The Dirt Empress, as well as a huge nod to one of my favorite stationary companies: Oblation Papers out of Oregon….

I have only ever been a vendor at one wedding expo – but meeting couples like Eveline and Uriah made the experience worthwhile. We connected fairly quickly – and this incredibly sweet and quiet couple and I got along famously…

Elly and Jeremiah got married on an overcast day in early fall in Oregon. It’s always “iffy” with Oregon weather, but this day the rain held off and instead gave us stunning clouds over the vineyard….

A hazy Columbia River Gorge wedding in the late summer of Oregon – featuring a riot of color, naturalist themed wedding invitations, getting ready in a treehouse, and a vintage VW Bus Photo Booth. This is a wedding that is absolutely Oregon to every last inch!

I’ve always struggled with how to write about this particular elopement. These were more than just clients for me… the groom, James, was one of my dearest friends through some of the hardest years of my life. I met him in his early 20’s, watched him go through a struggle with becoming sober, he helped me through my divorce and then supported me as I got on my feet as a single mom…

We started mid-day in Vik – near a little chapel above the town, in the hills. To one side was the ocean and cliffs just past the town of Vik. Behind the rolling hills, in the distance, you could just make out a glacier. Talk about an insane setting! From Vik, we headed down to Reynisfjara – the famous black sand beach. It was somewhat crowded near the basalt cliffs, so we made our way down the beach with the clouds hanging softly in the blue sky over the ocean. There is something insanely magical about this place – awe inspiring in its beauty – that can’t quite be fully captured in photos…