Wedding, Family & Elopement Photographer in Helena, Montana

Welsh skies love a good rain shower. Fact.

I arrived in Swansea, Wales one lovely October 2018 evening already knowing this as I called Swansea my home for a good 7 months not too long ago. Rainy skies were the only skies I knew for the first month and a half I lived there! 

When the sun finally made its (intermittent) appearance, bus stops I thought I'd been well acquainted with were hardly recognizable! A brand new, just as beautiful terrain was before me.

Back to my October arrival-- I drove in to meet up with Isabelle and Markus to discuss apparel for our sunrise shoot the next morning. As it often does in Great Britain, the weather came up. Rain was of course going to be in the forecast. This adventurous couple agreed to do our shoot regardless of the weather! Which, ladies and gentlemen, is the way to go! Granted, do what you would like with your shoots, but the some of the most incredible elopement and wedding photographs come from opportunities provided by unique weather!

  Rain was pouring when we left Markus and Isabelle's Swansea flat*. While the rain cleared along our way, had we not decided to go on with the shoot as planned, we would have missed the kind of wind, light and perfect clouds that only come right after a storm.

10 out of 10 recommend going outside regardless of rain, wind or snow! Life's too short to miss out on the beauties of nature.

*Flat: British for apartment :)

Rwy'n dy garu di

Ik hou van jou

I love you

Here is some Welsh, Dutch and English love for you. Why?

Ymke's from the Netherlands. 

Ed is from Wales.

 They met in Thailand (I haven't the slightest of what "I love you" in Thai is...) and fell all in love and stuff somewhere between all three. Just look at them. Aren't they just beautiful? What a fun, adventurous couple to work with!

I have wanted to visit this place for almost two years now! I used to live so close but was always far too busy to see it. What a perfect location for photographing this couple! I flew out of Salt Lake City, UT into London, rented a car and drove straight to Swansea where I met up with this couple! Hiking into this location was easy, hiking out was a bit steeper! Also, props to this couple, Ed and Ymke, for going barefoot on a Welsh beach in October! Wales is absolutely beautiful all year round, but definitely not the toastiest come fall and winter! 

Luigi proposed to Michela in this exact location! The week of their wedding, this adventurous couple from Italy wanted to come back for an intimate engagement  photoshoot. What a magical experience! Le Piagge Cuneo is absolutely beautiful!

You know in movies, when characters shout across an open valley or chasm and  there is an echo that goes on and on seemingly endlessly? Not just a thing of movies! This stunning location echoes perfectly. I loved capturing their love and excitement to start their married lives together, it was an extra bonus getting to shout into the wind a bit with them. I will forever daydream about going back to photograph in this beautiful Italy location. 

Can hardly wait for the next time I see this place.

Take a look at this couple's wedding session!

Get to know your photographer. Have them get to know you. The best photoshoots happen when everyone is connecting.

Michela and Luigi are Italian. She is from  the south, he is from the north. They met as camp counselors for a youth conference both were volunteers for. And they fell in love.

 They had two photographers to document their special day-- I was lucky to get to be one of them!

I should be super clear here. Unless you can count random music terms such as forte, piano, crescendo and lyrics from some random opera pieces-- I do not speak any Italian. Luigi and Michela's English is perfect, however the other photographer and I did not share a common spoken language.

 I loved this shoot for multiple reasons, but the working out the communication between all of us is one of my favorite reasons. 

The first part of the communication was that Michela called me every few months to sort out wedding details. If you have a question, a concern- ask your photographer, tell your photographer! Get it all taken care of and communicated.

The day of the shoot was glorious. It had been raining all through the drive but at the last minute the rain slowed to a stop. We all popped out of our vehicles and the shoot began. I'd ridden with Tiziano (the other photographer) and his cute little family. In the car, we got to know each other the best we could with my minimal Italian/ Spanglish, and his wife's excellent English. By the time we made it to the location, we were all already good friends. We would pause, ask via gestures, broken Italian/Spanglish, or through our couple. This lovely shoot is what happened as a result.

 I cannot tell you enough how much I loved every bit of it. 

Communicate. Connect. The reward is great.

You know that song by Ed Sheeran? The really catchy one with the hill and the castle and the country lanes? If not, google it: I would not be surprised if he had been singing about this perfect location here. Granted, Ed Sheeran is from England and not Wales, so Penard castle is probably not THE castle he sings of. But, we most certainly all had the tune in our heads as we roamed about these castle ruins. What a beautiful place!

Emma and Clarke are from England, working and attending University in Wales. She's an illustrator, he's a student- they've been happily married for a little over a year and a half now. What gems of human beings, I absolutely loved every bit of our drive, hike and shoot together. Such kind people!

Here are some trivia answers for you should you ever have a need for them: England and Wales are two separate countries inside of Great Britain. Wales and England are majestic lands full of hills, old castles, sheep (not depicted) and gorgeous shoreline (clearly depicted, hahah)! I especially love roaming the Gower Peninsula, for good reason. You will also never meet people any nicer!

Loved catching the fall colors with this couple! We roamed around Temple Square here in Salt Lake City for the first part of their Bridal shoot, then popped to Albion basin for some special intimate moments in the even higher altitude. 

The chemistry a couple has is special and unique to them. It is that chemistry I love to work off of when documenting weddings and elopements. Some of my couples worry about not being photogenic, about not knowing where or how to stand. The truth is-- roll off of your chemistry and your photos will be the best photos in the world! And of course, I will be there to give pointers and suggestions. Ultimately though, your love is beautiful. Just show it like you already have been. Show it by being you. 

Dance with each other. Flirt with each other. Love each other.

 I will most certainly be there will my camera, documenting away!