Molly & Keith both currently attend graduate school in Chicago, but are originally from the Bay Area. After reaching out a few months ago, we emailed back and forth and were able to coordinate their engagement session while they were home visiting family. We were a little worried about the unpredictable December weather, but the weather was perfect and we were #blessed with the most amazing sunset!!
Molly and Keith couldn’t take a bad photo if they tried. I can’t wait to see them in their wedding getup next September for their Nestldown wedding! (Also, La Croix if you’re reading this please sponsor us)
File this wedding under: MOST LIT. When I first met with Mouang and Jacob in the Oakland forest to do their engagement session, I knew their wedding was going to be a lottt of fun. Not only did Mouang make the most stunning bride, but their four year old son was the cutest guest of honor. Canyon View has a beautiful view of the valley and I’m kind of obsessed with pampas grass, so of course I was super excited to do their family photos in front of some. The sunset that day was absolutely perfect and we were able to get some of my favorite sunset portraits to date!
WOWOWOW. After rescheduling Olivia & Nate’s engagement session a few times due to the crazy Bay Area weather (excessive smoke and then excessive rain), we were finally blessed with this MAGICAL foggy morning. I went out to Mt Diablo in Walnut Creek on a sunny day and scouted this perfect spot, but of course by the time the session rolled around the weather had totally flipped. Classic Bay Area. The fog was so heavy at some points I couldn’t even see 10 feet in front of me. Rather than reschedule again, we decided to power through and I’M SO GLAD WE DID.
Katrina reached out to me about two weeks after her actual wedding to ask if could redo her couple portraits at Casa Real at Ruby Hill. Actually redo would require them to have actually been done in the first place. Unfortunately, the photographer she hired for her wedding day was a huge let down and didn’t actually take any couples portraits of her and Raj once they were officially married… LIKE WHUT. They are not expecting to get their photos back for months and months and months, but already knew they needed to get some portraits done asap.
Cecilia and Calvin!! The day started with their ceremony at San Juan Bautista Mission, a stunning church dating back to 1797. The mariachi band and stained glass windows were a perfect backdrop as Cecilia & Calvin exchanged vows and merged families. Once it was sealed with a kiss, the mariachi band carried the party over to a romantic, outdoor reception at Jardines. Lavender was the theme and the whole place was adorned with lilac roses and beautiful succulents.
Seth and Elena met in eighth grade and have been together for 11 years!! LOL WHUT. Seth sealed the deal and proposed to Elena this April in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The love they have for each other is so easy to see and I’m so stoked that I have the honor of photographing their wedding next June!!
We chose to do their engagement session at China Beach and this September evening was so perfect, we pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves.
The power of social media can be pretty unBOOlievable. I first saw Ashley tagged on another Instagram account and I thought 'damn, I would love to shoot with her’. I realized she was also in the Bay Area, so I slid into her DM’s like a creepy dude and you can imagine my surprise when she actually replied and wanted to set up a shoot!
Both of our schedules were crazy busy at the time, but we managed to set a date for mid-October. Ashley has such an awesome look and it only seemed right that we took part in the Halloween festivities with some spooky glam.
You know that feeling when you walk into a room but then forget why you’re there? That’s been my constant state these last few weeks as a Bay Area wedding photographer. I’ve met so many amazing couples and shared the most genuine, happy moments but boy, is it overwhelming at times. My off nights mostly look like wine, cookies, edit, repeat.
Okay, this may seem like the ideal situation to most… but it’s actually pretty easy to get burnt out and blurry eyed when the only person you interact with all day has four legs and a tail.
This styled shoot with my past bride Lexie was exactly what I needed for a breath of fresh air!
Instagram @nicolaleighphoto:
Six months ago I attended Unravel Workshop and it was hands down the best thing I’ve ever done for my business. I met some of the most creative souls and learned SO many valuable things. Sure, I learned how to take better photos, evoke better emotions, edit more consistently, but I think the most eye-opening thing was being reminded how powerful my job is. After the wedding day (or any session) I am literally the only person that is left with those tangible memories. Pretty scary thought… you bet I back those suckas up to 4 different hard-drives now.