Hullo! I’m Celia (she/her). So you're gettin' hitched (YaaY!), but maybe you’re not super into the idea of a ~ Traditional Wedding ~. Maybe entering this world of planning is giving you lots of cringe feelings. Maybe you’ve been looking for inspo and find yourself bored and/or numbed by an overload of manicured, monotoned photos that feel a bit too self-serious (are we attending a funeral here?! Where’s the joy?!). If you can check any of these boxes, or you simply want something FUN, then you belong here.

I tend to think of myself as an anti-wedding-photographer wedding photographer. It seems confusing, but it’s actually pretty simple. I’m a skeptic when it comes to this industry. And much of my work is outside the wedding realm (in the documentary one, to be exact).  But I DO love love and pretty things and making weird art. So when I pick up my camera, I don't really see "a wedding." I see humor and irony and color. I see people who are geeking out, goofy, unabashedly happy and imperfect and going through a gushy mess of emotions. This doesn’t mean that I don’t love a good posed pic (portraits are often my secret favorite).  It just means I approach them differently, meeting you where you feel the most comfortable, whether it’s epically silly or subtly candid. And it also means I don’t shy away from shooting the awkward dance moves and runny mascara, because I believe that stuff is human and real and awesome.

I float between the journalism and art worlds, and split my time between NYC and further upstate in the Finger Lakes (my childhood turf). I move around a lot. I was previously based in Mexico City for five years, and before that in western Montana for four. I love telling stories almost as much as I love listening to the stories of others. I’m the type of person who makes up musicals for my own amusement and nurses a soft spot for sci-fi and fantasy and all things space. If I’m not taking photos, I’m usually dancing. Or cooking. It’s possible I may have a baking addiction and try to mitigate the damage by forcing the goods on loved ones. I grew up on a farm and will forever most comfortable surrounded by trees and wild spaces.

There’s a long list of why I continue to work in this part of the photo world, shooting weddings and families and love. But more than anything, I think it’s because they’re some of the last remaining spaces that feel truly free of cynicism and fear. On a selfish level, they serve as a salve and antidote to much of what I cover in journalistic work. They offer a precious refuge for the kind of hope and optimism that can sometimes be difficult to summon these days. They reflect so many aspirations that we hold dear. They are a brave statement in a messy world, and that’s worth a lot these days.

(To scope out how I spend my weekdays, click here)