FIRST THINGS FIRST...
Holy shit. You're getting married. Congratulations.
Which means you've probably suddenly acquired approximately 700 decisions to make.
Venue. Guest list. Food. Flowers. Outfits. Music. Timeline. Seating chart. Whether your cousin's boyfriend of three weeks really needs a plus-one.
And somewhere on that list:
Find someone you trust to photograph all of it.
Because choosing your wedding photographer isn't just about liking someone's editing style.
You're choosing the person who will be all up in your business while you're getting dressed, standing ten feet away while you exchange vows, meeting your grandparents, wrangling your wedding party, witnessing the ugly crying, navigating whatever weird family dynamics show up, and quietly documenting the moments you didn't even know were happening.
That's... kind of intimate when you think about it.
I want you to know exactly what it's like to have me there.
I'm Not Going to Spend Your Wedding Day Making It All About the Photographs.
Which might sound like a weird thing for a wedding photographer to say.
But hear me out.
Your wedding isn't a photoshoot with a ceremony inconveniently scheduled in the middle.
It's your fucking wedding.
You're supposed to be hugging people.
Crying.
Eating the food you paid an unreasonable amount of money for.
Dancing badly.
Sneaking away together for five minutes.
Actually listening while your grandparents tell you the same story for the seventeenth time.
You should not spend twelve hours wondering where your photographer wants you next.
My job is to build enough structure before the wedding that you don't have to think about photography all day.
I'll tell you when I need you.
I'll give you direction when you need it.
I'll wrangle the family.
I'll keep an eye on the timeline.
I'll find the good light.
I'll notice when your grandma is crying across the room.
I'll pull you outside when the sky suddenly decides to show the fuck off.
And then?
I'll get out of the way.
Because the best wedding photographs don't come from spending the entire day performing for your photographer.
They come from actually having a wedding worth remembering.
BEFORE THE WEDDING
We Plan Enough That You Can Stop Thinking About Photography.
I am a professional overthinker, and this is one of the rare occasions where that's actually useful.
Before your wedding, we'll talk through what you're planning, what matters most to you, what you couldn't give less of a shit about, family dynamics I should know about, and all the little logistical things that determine whether your wedding day feels relaxed or like everyone is constantly yelling “WHERE ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BE?!”
I'll help build your photography timeline around your actual priorities, not cram your wedding into some generic template I've used 150 times before.
We'll plan family photo combinations ahead of time. Talk about locations and light. Figure out when portraits make sense. Leave breathing room for shit to happen.
And if something you're planning is likely to create a logistical nightmare?
I'll tell you.
Not because I'm trying to run your wedding.
Because the whole point of planning this shit beforehand is that when the day finally gets here, you get to stop planning and go get married.
GETTING READY
I'm Probably Already in Your Business.
By the time you're half dressed and somebody realizes nobody knows where the rings are, we'll know each other pretty well.
Which is good, because getting-ready coverage is intimate as fuck.
I'm walking into bedrooms, hotel rooms, cabins, bridal suites, bathrooms, kitchens, and whatever other mildly chaotic space you've filled with your favorite people and approximately seventeen thousand belongings.
I'll photograph the details. (And try to avoid the mess)
But I'm also watching for everything happening around them.
Your mom seeing you dressed for the first time.
Your best friend quietly losing their shit.
Your dad pacing outside.
Someone drinking champagne suspiciously early in the morning.
The friend who somehow became responsible for steaming everyone's clothes.
The five-minute conversation nobody realized mattered until they saw the photograph later.
And yeah, I'll probably also pin a boutonnière, fix a necklace, hide a bra strap, straighten a tie, carry a bouquet, find somebody's phone, and answer:
“Aireal, what the fuck are we supposed to be doing right now?” approximately 17-million times.
I'm there to help tell the story.
Sometimes that also means being the only person in the room who knows how the fucking boutonnière works.
THE CEREMONY
This Is the Part Where I Shut the Fuck Up.
You do not need me directing your ceremony.
You need me paying attention.
I'm watching the two of you, obviously.
But I'm also watching your parents.
Your grandparents.
Your wedding party.
The kid picking flowers instead of listening.
The friend already crying before you've even made it down the aisle.
The person squeezing somebody else's hand during your vows.
All the tiny stories happening around the big one.
I'm not going to interrupt because I want a different angle.
I'm not asking you to redo your first kiss.
I'm not staging reactions or turning your vows into a photoshoot.
I'll put myself where I need to be, anticipate what's about to happen, and document the hell out of it.
You get married.
I'll take care of capturing what it looked like.
Family Portraits
Yes. I Can Herd Cats.
Listen.
I know family photographs aren't usually the part of the wedding everyone is absolutely fucking pumped about.
But they're important.
So we're going to get them without allowing them to consume half your cocktail hour.
Before the wedding, we'll build a family photo list based on your actual family. Divorced parents. Stepparents. Estranged relatives. Chosen family. Grandma who needs a chair. Uncle Bob who will absolutely disappear toward the bar the second the ceremony ends.
I want to know that shit before we're standing there with forty people waiting for instructions.
On the wedding day, I'll call the groups, put people where they belong, make sure everybody can actually be seen, get the photograph, and release them back into the wild.
You don't have to remember which combination comes next.
You don't have to yell for anybody.
And you definitely don't need to spend thirty minutes negotiating family politics while wearing wedding clothes.
I've got it.
“Aireal could probably herd cats because she managed to get all of our family and friends to stand still.”
— Alyssa + Emily
Honestly, I am proud to put that on my résumé.
Your COUPLES PORTRAITS
I'm Not Stealing You From Your Own Wedding for Three Hours.
Do I want beautiful portraits of the two of you?
Obviously.
Do I think you should miss your entire cocktail hour, dinner, and half the reception so I can manufacture an editorial photoshoot?
Absolutely fucking not.
Your wedding is still the priority.
Depending on your timeline, we might do a first look earlier in the day. Steal fifteen minutes after the ceremony. Sneak outside when the light gets ridiculous. Take another five minutes after dinner.
Small pockets.
Different light.
Different parts of the story.
I'll give you direction. I'll fix the hands. I'll tell you when the angle isn't doing anybody any favors.
But the philosophy is the same one I bring to every couple I photograph:
I don't want you to look in love. I want you to be in love.
So once I've got you where the light is good?
Be together.
Talk shit.
Laugh.
Touch each other.
Take five fucking minutes to realize:
Holy shit. We just got married.
I'll photograph that.
Then I'll send you back to your people.
DURING THE RECEPTION
Go Have a Fucking Wedding.
At this point?
I'm watching.
Obviously I'll photograph the entrances, speeches, first dances, cake, and whatever traditions you've decided to keep.
But the reception isn't just the shit written on your timeline.
It's your grandma on the dance floor.
Your college friends seeing each other for the first time in three years.
The kid asleep across three chairs.
Someone crying during a speech they swore they weren't going to cry during.
Your parents quietly talking at their table.
The friend who has made a series of increasingly questionable decisions since the bar opened.
The two of you disappearing outside for five minutes because you just needed a fucking minute to take it all in.
That's the stuff I'm looking for.
You shouldn't have to wonder whether something is “photo-worthy” before you enjoy it.
Dance.
Eat.
Drink.
Hug people.
Take your shoes off.
Disappear into the crowd.
Go have your wedding.
I'll make sure you know what happened while you were busy living it.
When shit goes wrong
Because Something Probably Will.
Not necessarily something catastrophic. But something.
The timeline runs twenty minutes behind.
It rains.
Somebody forgets the rings.
A zipper breaks.
A vendor is late.
The flower girl decides she's absolutely fucking done with this entire operation.
A family member disappears immediately before family photos.
The ceremony moves.
The weather changes.
Someone spills something on something expensive.
Weddings are made of humans. Humans are unpredictable.
I've photographed more than 150 weddings at this point.
I've learned that being experienced doesn't mean knowing how to make sure nothing goes wrong.
It means knowing what actually matters when it does.
We adjust the timeline.
Find another location.
Change the order.
Grab an umbrella.
Work with the weather instead of fighting it.
Figure out what can be skipped and what absolutely shouldn't be.
And sometimes the thing that wasn't supposed to happen becomes one of the best parts of the story.
Krystal + Matthew got married in Seneca Rocks during a torrential fucking downpour.
The mountains disappeared into fog. The clouds rolled in. Everything was wet.
And instead of pretending their wedding day was supposed to look like something else?
We photographed the day they actually got.
“Despite it being a torrential downpour on our wedding day, she did a WONDERFUL job of getting as many pictures as possible and making the rain/fog/clouds work in our favor.”
— Krystal + Matthew
You don't need a wedding day where everything goes perfectly.
You need people around you who don't completely lose their shit when it doesn't.
I'll bring the cameras. And the ability to pivot.
A LOVE NOTE FROM ALYSSA + EMILY SHIVELY
"Aireal is the best! We chose her to photograph our wedding because she is an LGBTQ+ friendly photographer, which is pretty difficult to find in this area (West Virginia). We thought that her website was easy to navigate, and she has really detailed descriptions of packages, so you know exactly what you’re getting. She was super easy to work with both before and during the wedding.
We appreciated all of her check-ins and she even made a photography timeline for us to help us know when specific photos would take place. We were afraid we wouldn’t have enough time during our wedding to get everything captured but we actually ended up having extra time at the end. Aireal is super friendly and she made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. She also gave us suggestions of poses to do instead of letting us stand there awkwardly. Aireal could probably herd cats because she managed to get all of our family and friends to stand still. The finished photos are absolutely beautiful. We are so excited to fill our wedding album with them!"
SAY "HEY."
Introduce yourselves & inquire.
MAKE SURE WE VIBE.
Consultation call (phone or video) + rough wedding discussion. No commitment, no heartstrings attached.
MAKE IT OFFICIAL.
We vibed? Sign a contract + pay a 25% retainer. Donezo.
WE PLAN THE SHIT OUT OF YOUR WEDDING DAY.
Engagement session, planning resources, questionnaires, timeline discussions, final call.
YOU GET MARRIED.
Live in the moment. I'll capture it all as it unfolds.
RELIVE IT.
Sneaks → full gallery → prints/albums → Facebook memories.
Think We Might Be Each Other's Kind of Weird?
You've seen how I work. Now let's talk about what actually fits your wedding.
Wedding and elopement coverage begins at $2,499, with most couples investing $3,999–$5,999.
Love Notes/Reviews from Previous Clients
"I’m honestly convinced Aireal is wizard. I’m not sure how she manages to make me look good in all my pictures, but she does every time. She’s so easy and fun to work with and takes the time to make you feel comfortable. She goes above and beyond to help you get the most genuine smiles for your pictures too, none of those forced awkward smiles. Overall just a 10/10 experience, she’s the best!"
- Johnathan + Desiree Baugh
Intimate Cooper's Rock Elopement
WEST VIRGINIA IS HOME. YOUR WEDDING DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.
Based in Fairmont. Traveling throughout WV, PA, MD, DC, VA, OH, KY, TN, NC and wherever else you've decided to do this thing.
My passport is ready, too.
Okay. Your turn.
I've told you how I work, what I care about, and what you can expect from me.
Now I want to hear about you two.
Tell me what you're planning. Tell me what you're excited about. Tell me what you're nervous about. Tell me the weird little details you're including because they make absolutely no sense to anyone else but you.
And if you don't have everything figured out yet?
That's completely fine.
All I really need to begin is you, your person, and a date. Even a maybe date works.
Fill out the form below and I'll usually be in touch within 48 business hours.
Don't expect a reply on the weekends; I am usually busy shooting people.
Let's see if we're a good fit.
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