KARINA + NINA

Karina + Nina… like, I cannot mention them without a huge smile on my face. They are overflowing with love… full of romantic glances and giggles, and a huge compassion for each other.

Covid affected their original wedding plans, but they pushed forward for the sake of love and being able to finally call each other “my wife”. So they planned a small intimate elopement in their own backyard, for just their family + friends. They rallied with loved ones to clean up their backyard, making it perfect and filling it full of personal touches and mementos. They had photos of their lives together, scattered through out the entire setting, as well as lgbtq rainbows for pride. We ended up with quite a lot of rain that day, but that didn’t stop the celebration! Everyone got some tents up and moved things around to fit underneath so all the fun could still be had.

Karina got ready in a small room off the kitchen, with some dear friends who could help her feel pampered. Their cat wandered in and made himself comfortable on a spare piece of fabric that was laying on the floor, and proceeded to nap. Karina had her grandma’s pearls and lipstick to wear, which was very dear to her, as well as a glass serving dish from her grandpa. And she had her darling mom come in to help her with put on her dress. Meanwhile, Nina was getting ready upstairs in their bedroom, with her parents helping to put on the final touches. On the way up to capture Nina’s getting ready, I spotted a note taped to the wall that showed just how it came to be for this special day.

We held their first look out on the corner of their house where a huge maple tree was in bloom, and snapped a few intimate images for them. There is a running joke between them about how Karina will always just be leading the way right into traffic while Nina holds back to even cross the street, being overly cautious. Then we were able to snag some family portraits in their side yard, before getting ready for the ceremony. Their cat was a flower kitten and their vows left everyone wiping away tears. The rest of the night was full of laughter and amazing food… very chill with everyone catching up from all that time spent in quarantine. An absolutely perfect way to celebrate love finally becoming official.