Professional Wedding Photography in Milwaukee, WI

I’ve always had a hard time being concise with words and I find it difficult to condense my life experiences into one short paragraph. So, after pondering over this part of my website for years (quite literally), I’ve decided to share it all.

 

We are living through an unprecedented time of waning attention spans, distraction and disconnection. I feel like my purpose here is to slow things down, to draw focus to the present moment and to create and capture joy for my photography clients. 

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I’m a wedding and lifestyle photographer because I have a desire to connect with others and to share in the honest emotions that surface.

 

I feel that our experience on this planet is a quest for truth and understanding of what this life is. It is an experience full of beauty, ugliness, light, dark, highs, lows, blessings and agony. 

 

The fact is that we can all feel deep hurts at times and so, the moments of lightness and love must be enthusiastically celebrated. I’m here to celebrate with you, and to document the real joys in your life.

 

I preserve others' most cherished moments. I curate memories. 

 

I was born a dreamer. Always excited and enthusiastic about the possibilities of life. 

 

From a young age, I had a desire to maximize my time on this planet and have always had a strong urge to experience as much as possible. Some would call me fearless and adventurous. 

 

I’m a strong believer that experiences supersede material objects and that creating happy memories is really the best part of life. 

 

I’m an advocate for personal development and have been a self-proclaimed high achiever and creative problem-solver since elementary school, when I landed in Junior Great Books & Odyssey of the Mind. In high school, I was part of the Rotary Youth Exchange and was sent to live in France for a year. I had studied Spanish up until this point so without any prior French knowledge, immersed myself in the culture. I spent a year living with a French family who owned a bakery (hello fresh baguettes!) and traveling throughout Europe. 

 

This experience amplified my love for experiencing new cultures, languages & ethnic foods.

 

I have 27 stamps in my passport and tattered luggage that has seen better days!  For me, life is one grand adventure.

 

In college, I bounced around a bit from one major to another and found myself teaching English in a Parisian middle school during 6 months abroad. This is when I started dabbling in photography and learning about the art of taking beautiful pictures.

 

When I returned back home, I completed my undergraduate in French & Global studies and entered the workforce. 

 

I always knew that I wanted to be my own boss, so as soon as I started working for someone else, I began developing a strategy for my exit. I can’t deny this fact about myself any longer. 

 

In 2015, on a whim, I moved out to Denver, Colorado. I had optimism for my new life in the mile high city but fate would have other plans for me. My family experienced the devastating impact of divorce while I was living in Colorado and my mental health took a hit. Although my time in Denver was brief, it served as an opportunity for exploration and learning.

 

I moved back to Wisconsin and found an apartment on the Upper East Side of Milwaukee. Living in such close proximity to both Cafe Hollander and Bel Air Cantina was dangerous! 

 

At the end of 2016, my now husband and I rekindled a romance that had been ongoing since middle school. 

 

We bought an old farmhouse in 2017 and began a homesteading journey thereafter, planting lots of gardens and fruit orchards. 

 

Photography was a side hustle for 7 years before I worked up the courage to go all-in on myself. During the years that photography served as a side hustle, I honed in my craft, nurtured client relationships and established myself as a leader in the wedding and family photography market.

 

At the end of 2019, I resigned from my full time role as an agency recruiter and decided that it was the right time to roll the dice on my photography career. With a 5 month gap in my calendar, my now husband pushed me to pursue another life long dream of an extended international backpacking trip. In quick succession, I quit my job and planned a 3 month trip to Asia. 

 

By the beginning of January 2020, I was on a long haul flight to Bali, Indonesia, the first leg of my 8 country itinerary. My time spent in Asia was incredible. So many sights, smells, landscapes and bucket list experiences. My camera had a field day!

 

A few highlights from my adventures:

• Motorcycle trip in the northern region of Vietnam, the Ha Giang loop

• Safari in Sri Lanka

• Elephant sanctuary in Thailand

• Holi on the beaches of Goa, India

• Sunrise at Angkor Wat in Cambodia

• Bicycling around Cát Bà Island, Vietnam

• Cooking classes in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Hoi An, Vietnam & Ella, Sri Lanka

• Nighttime squid fishing in Halong Bay 

• Sunrise jungle trek to see the iconic blue train through Ella, Sri Lanka

 

My trip was cut short by a couple of weeks in March of 2020… I ran the risk of getting stuck in New Delhi, India as international borders were shutting down due to the pandemic.

 

Life as we all knew it was in the midst of changing forever. 

 

I returned to Wisconsin after traveling throughout southeast Asia and landed back on the farm. 2020 was a profound, weird year… one that I think we’re all still kind of recovering from. 

 

On the eve of 2021, Chris and I became engaged. My engagement ring is a vintage piece from the 1920s; two rich turquoise stones with a vertical line of diamonds connecting the two turquoise stones, set in a 12k gold dainty band. We played around with the idea of an elopement initially and in March of 2021 decided to host our wedding celebration on our farm. We planned everything in 4 months and said “I do” on July 3, 2021.

 

We threw tradition out the window and did things our own way.

 

Our ceremony was held in front of our lush flower gardens and was detailed with a handful of unique components.

 

I walked down the aisle to “Sweet Emotion” by Aerosmith, we exchanged personal vows, we had a handfasting ceremony and we had our guests participate in our nuptials by having a ring warming ceremony. We had a live band, a bounce house for the kids, and an epic fireworks show after the sun went down. It was pure magic! 

 

We discovered that we were expecting a baby in April of 2021. I had a healthy and happy pregnancy. Until I didn’t.

 

On December 2, 2021, when I was 38 weeks pregnant, our life took a devastating turn when we experienced the stillbirth of our daughter Eden. 

 

In the last 15 months, I have wrestled with the meaning of life. I have experienced deep, painful grief but also moments of intense clarity. The big questions have been at the forefront of my mind and my heart. What is the point? Why are we here? Must we suffer? Is there a God? Of course there’s a God. Epiphanies have sprung forth in the wake of trauma and light has been shed on what purpose actually means. 

 

Eden being taken away from me has been the most profound life experience I’ve had and it has changed my perspective forever. We are meant for so much more. We are here to cultivate love and connection. We are here to bring joy and contribution to each other. We are here to celebrate this very existence. To put it succinctly, experiencing such a tremendous low makes even the most subtle high something to be treasured. 

 

Life is not meant to be lived on a constant high. If we were not dealt great trials and difficulties we would not even be able to understand the concept of things being good. The light must partner the dark. 

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Making time stand still during those happy, joyful moments in your life is what I’m here to do.

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Reflecting on the highs in our lives creates a ripple effect of goodness that reaches outward in paramount ways. I am honored to be a part of this process as I use my God-given skills behind the camera. I acknowledge the finite nature of life… we live, and then we die. Photography is important because it establishes a legacy, a driver for memory retrieval. It pays homage to lives once lived. 

 

I want to be present with you. I want to see the masks come off and I want to see you so in the moment with the people who mean the most to you. I want you to honor your feelings of joy, love, & happiness as they surface and I want you to be comfortable to be your true selves. 

 

Today, my husband and I live on a quaint 8 acre farm in small town Wisconsin with our two pups, Timber & Rose. Summers fly by quickly as they are filled with lots of photography projects & weddings as well as gardening and leaning into the short-lived warm weather. We are pursuing the homesteading lifestyle and love to grow our own food as well as practice the art of self-sufficiency. I enjoy baking bread, making soap, brewing kombucha, preserving garden fruits & veggies, and learning about the medicinal properties of herbs. When I’m not behind the camera, you can find me either in the kitchen chopping garlic for a recipe that I will most certainly abandon halfway through, or laying in my hammock with my nose in a book. I usually have 5 going at once. 

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I’m a person who sincerely appreciates sunshine on my face & seeing my dogs’ tails wag as I take them on a hike around my farm. I stop to smell the roses. 

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What all of this means for you… 

 

My biggest priority when you are in front of my camera is being right there with you. Living in the moment with my clients creates an environment in which real memories are captured, honest laughs emerge, tender embraces are felt and genuine photos are rendered. My mission is to make you feel relaxed & comfortable during the photography experience. 

 

Exchange your nerves for confidence and know that letting your guard down with your loved ones will result in a curated gallery of beautiful images that will weave the story of our time together. I promise to take care of you.

 

I invest my heart and soul into my work and I truly enjoy cultivating relationships with my clients. The people who gravitate towards me most often have a zest for life, nurture a positive outlook, laugh easily and are willing to play. Bring your creative ideas to me and I will help bring them to life!  

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If all of this resonates with you, get in touch! I can’t wait to hear from you!