A Sparkly Vineyard Wedding in Napa Valley | A Family Property Wedding | California
Some friendships find you before you know who you are yet.
I was seventeen years old when I met Lily. She was visiting Portland from her home in Napa, California — this bright, electric, completely unforgettable person who walked into my life and never really left. She eventually made Portland her home for a while, and we had adventures in the rainy city the way you only can when you're young and the whole world feels wide open. We wandered. We laughed. We took a trip to Belize with our best friends that I will never stop talking about for the rest of my life.
And then the years did what years do — they moved us, shaped us, scattered us a little. But Lily stayed Lily. That never changes.
When she asked me to photograph her wedding, I was so honored. This wasn't just a couple who found me through a website or a referral. This was my person. Someone who knew me at seventeen, before I had any idea what kind of photographer or human I was going to become. Being trusted with her wedding day felt like a full circle I didn't know I needed.
Lily got married on her family property in Napa Valley — surrounded by vineyards, rolling golden hills, and the kind of light that only exists in that valley at that hour. The sun was going down, doing that thing it does over the hills of Napa, where everything turns warm and amber and just slightly unreal, and there was Lily in a stunning lace gown that caught every bit of it. The intricate detail of that dress in that light was the kind of thing that makes you slow down behind the lens and just breathe for a second.
And then there were the bubbles.
Of course, there were bubbles. If you know Lily — and I have known Lily for a long time — you know that her world is sunshine and rainbows and glitter and pink and sparkle and a generous, joyful, completely unironic dose of whimsy. EDM is playing somewhere in the background. Everything is just a little more magical than it needs to be, because why wouldn't it be? That's not an aesthetic for her. It's just who she is. The bubbles floating through the golden vineyard light were one of the most genuinely perfect things I've ever photographed, because they were so completely, entirely her.
Peter is the guitar-playing, steady, quietly grooving constant that Lily deserves — her rock, her balance, the person who lets her be exactly who she is while being exactly who he is right alongside her. Watching them together is watching two people who just make sense.
Lily — from Portland adventures to Belize to a vineyard in Napa Valley, it has been one of the greatest honors of my life to grow up alongside you and to be there for this day. You were a radiant, bubbles-and-all, completely yourself bride, and I wouldn't have had it any other way.
Real Review:
Leah photographed our wedding at my family's property in Napa Valley, June 2024. Leah took lots of time to scope out the location and seemed to be absolutely everywhere during the wedding, at all the right moments. I didn't have to call her over once, because she was already there. She captured the emotions of the day, the little moments, the big moments, and made our day look like the fairytale wedding that it felt like. Once we got the photo gallery back (so quickly!) we relived the day all over again. We were tearing up and laughing at all the photos. I felt like I was looking at photos from a Brides magazine, but it was me! Another thing I'll mention is that Leah gives direction in a kind, calm and encouraging way. My husband is not too confident in photos and he felt SO comfortable posing with her there, and loves his photos too! I felt like she could guide me into more flattering poses when I felt uncertain about my angles. I love Leah and her work and would recommend her to anyone!
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