Resort Elopement: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

B&S escaped the cold fall in Alaska to elope in Mexico surrounded by their friends and family and it was a BLAST!

We woke up on the wedding day, did a quick walk through “rehearsal” and then enjoyed the beach until it was wedding time.

We LOVE first look moments.

Our favorite part of the day was taking a sunset walk/smoke break with B&S during the reception.

And we ended the night with FIREWORKS!

Engagement Session in the Port of Anchorage, Alaska

We rescheduled this engagement shoot twice. And 3 hours before these photos were taken, we canceled again due to weather. It was raining sideways so we decided to call it. I went to teach a yoga class and T&A went to the brewery for a date to drink away their sorrows about our canceled shoot (not really but it sounds more dramatic.)

But when I got out of my class the rain had stopped. I looked at the sky, the clouds began to break and you could actually see the sun. I dont remember who texted first. But we were both like “ummm…. should we do this? like right now?”

SO WE DID.

They came straight from the date in what they were wearing instead of their planned outfits and I picked a location that just FELT like them.

And. It. Was. Perfect.

A Family Elopement In The Mountains

C&R originally planned to elope in Moab September 21st, 2022 and we were stoked! And then…. we found out there was as surprise baby boy on the way (hooray!) and due in August. The date was important, the location could shift. So exactly 3 weeks after I had the honor of photographing the birth of W, we got to photograph their intimate ceremony in the mountains on the perfect rainy foggy day in the mountains near their cabin.

Weddings and elopements that involve the whole family are really special to us, as we’re a blended family and our kids were very involved in our wedding. These kinds of ceremonies aren’t just about uniting a husband and wife, but an entire family and it is so beautiful.

Everyone got ready together at their cabin and then we drove up the mountain.

When we arrived to the spot, it was rainy and foggy. C&R exchanged private vows and had a moment alone and then as family and friends surrounded them for the ceremony, the rain paused and the fog lifted. As soon as we were done with family photos, the clouds began to roll back in! It was magical.

Barefoot On The Beach

Getting to know D&G during their engagement session was such a joy!
We had so much fun and as you can see from the photos, there was LOTS of laughter and PDA (two of my favorite things)

Picnic In The Mountains

Wild Lovers & Wild Horses

When L&C reached out about getting photos done at home with their horses I was so excited! L explained to me that they had purchased their dream home on 4 acres the year before and had dove head first into the horse life and they wanted photos to represent that and celebrate their love of 12 years!

We always send out a questionnaire before our sessions to get to know our clients a little better. And everything that they shared felt so similarly to how we feel as a couple- getting to do life day in and day out with your best friend and lover doesn’t have to be hard. In fact we both agreed, it’s pretty easy. And thats not to say there aren’t struggles and trials and life is hard sometimes, but thats the thing- life is hard, but love shouldn’t be.

“People say relationships are hard, but we just dont get that. Our relationship is easy. its the easiest thing we do every day. No matter how crappy life outside our home can get sometimes, our home together and out love is our safe haven. Its easy, its peaceful, its the one thing we can always count on.”

A Fall Wedding at Majestic Valley Lodge in Alaska.

N&A know how to throw a PARTY! When we arrived to photograph their wedding, the whole crew was enjoying breakfast and hanging out together. There was a calm, relaxed vibe and the majority of their guests camped out at the wedding venue (Majestic Valley Lodge) and enjoyed the sunshine and gorgeous views for the day.

Before the ceremony, we took the N&A to another beautiful location for their first look and private vows. This is always my favorite part of the day because its a time to just be together, soak it all in, slow down and be absolutely present. And then, we headed back to the lodge for the ceremony.

There were lawn games, a bonfire, great food, lots of drinks AND a hot tub for the end of the night (which we thoroughly enjoyed after our 12 hour day- highly recommend having a hot tub at your wedding! ha!)

Its always an honor when clients choose (and trust) us to document such an important day in their lives. Our hope is that your wedding (and photos) reflect your love story in the most true, authentic way and years from now when you look back at the images you can FEEL it. And knowing we got to be apart of that, ooof- its really the coolest thing ever.

Our WILD LOVE story

It all began with a little app you might have heard of: tinder.

Yeah yeah. Laugh all you want. We laugh about it often. But here’s the story. We had a mutual friend tell us about each other for a couple years. And we had over 30 mutual friends on Facebook. And HOW did I know that, you might ask? Well… Jonny popped up on “friends you may know” once and I took a screen shot and texted my friend. But we decided it would be weird for me to add him on FB so nothing came of it.

Fast forward a bit… to one night I decided- fuck it. Im downloading the app and we’ll just see what happens. But I made a promise to myself that I would actually take it seriously (as serious as one can take tinder) and only swipe right on people I would actually want to meet. And low and behold… who was my first match? Jonny. I knew right away it was him. And if we’re being 100% honest (as we always are) had I not known it was HIM I probably wouldn’t have swiped right. I broke my rule for him. I swiped right on a photo of a guy holding up a fish. And up until this point… that had been a huge no no. But he had a bare butt photo on top of a mountain that was pretty cute and made me laugh.

So I message him.
I didn't tell him that I knew who he was. We just talked. And talked and talked.

We talked for a few hours before he realizes it and texts our friend. And that’s when I got a call from her, “why the fuck are you on tinder? are you kidding me? what’s wrong with you?” But I think here was a little bit of happiness in there because she had known, for too long honestly, that we were a match.

The conversation continued. Pretty much all day and night. And the next morning he texted me and offered to help me hang a sign at my yoga studio. Looking back this is comical to both of us. Because 1, he says he didn’t offer to do things for people like that and 2, I never accepted help. But it felt different.

He walked into my studio, with a tool bag, saying he was “reasonably handy,” and its actually kind of a miracle that sign is still up because I dont think he had any clue what he was doing. But he made me smile and laugh. A lot. It was the best first date ever. We closed down the restaurant, went to a bar and played skeeball, went to another bar and ran into all his best friends and ended the night in tears in the parking lot.

I dont know how many first dates end in a serious enough conversation to cry but that’s what happened. We said goodnight and parted ways. Later he revealed to me that he thought I’d never talk to him again. Little did he know, I love a man who cries on the first date. We met up again the next day and that second date never ended.

I used to hate when people said, “when you know, you know” or “its just different” or “the first kiss made time stop and I saw fireworks.” It all sounded like bullshit… until I experienced it myself. And the rest is history. Our relationship started with both of us being so true and honest to each other but also ourselves. Nothing felt forced. It felt real. From day 1. And it still feels that way.

We have taken lottttts of pictures over the years. And I am so glad we’ve documented it. Ive been a photographer for over 12 years. But I had never had a partner who also wanted to document day to day things. Jonny would get out his phone before I said anything to take photos and I loved it. But it wasn’t until our own wedding that we began to see kind of what was missing in the industry and it was hard to find what we wanted, with people that really got it.

And thus, The Wilds was created. We love love and we love life and we LOVE pda. And its fun getting to work with couples and document their love because THEY GET IT. Not everyone gets it, and that’s okay. But the ones who do… ah, those are our people.