About
Hello!
Meet Your Maine Elopement Photographer
About Me
Hi, My Name Is Amanda
and this is my daughter, Riley. We are a mother / daughter team located in Bangor, Maine & ready to adventure wherever your elopement takes us!
While I capture & edit your wedding day, Riley is behind the scenes as a content creator to complete your elopement experience.
Explore below to hear more of my story & my heart on why I love Elopements & Micro Weddings.
Why I choose Elopement or Micro Weddings
2004 : Where it began
I had the big, traditional wedding in the Texas Hill Country in a castle! And it was beautiful!
But I know the stress, the months of planning, the financial burden to have a party for others & what it feels like to be lost in the busy-ness of the day!
We didn’t even get to eat or enjoy much of the food or the cake we meticulously picked out & paid for! Everything seemed to happen in such a blur & it’s hard to remember how I felt or what he looked like or said to me.
It was a constant go here, do this, now this, smile, move, go, do, speak to the guests, don’t forget to talk to….oh wait the bridal party, I can’t let them feel left out…is everyone having fun…are they still mad…did you say thank you to everyone…is it wrong to feel this exhausted….
That was our wedding day in 2004. And as much as I cherish that day, if I could do it all over again, I would choose to elope or I would choose small & intimate, something for us. I would tell myself to take the trip, its ok to roll the wedding & honeymoon in one. You may not have another opportunity to go once life starts being lived with jobs, family, & health.
2023 : Wedding Bells
From 2019 – 2023 I was a wedding coordinator for a venue in Missouri that was beautiful! Right on the river, gorgeous setting, small vineyard, & beautiful church or gazebo to say ‘I Do’ at.
But, I started to see a theme emerge over the years. The brides started out with so much excitement, ideas, & big beautiful plans, but by rehearsal night I consistently heard they were over it, stressed out, financially strained, or someone in the family or bridal party has caused drama.
Over & over I was told at the rehearsal “I don’t care anymore! I just want to get married!”
All of the things they thought mattered, didn’t. All of the centerpiece planning & execution was glanced over in the rush of the evening & the guests had them covered up by food & plates. I couldn’t help but see myself in those brides & want more for them! Why do we do this if we all want the same end result,
to be married!
I started to see the most important moments are not the details that took months or years to plan & money to make it happen, but it’s the moments that they have to steal away with each other, away from it all. That was when they were the happiest, when they were truly focused for a brief moment on each other.
That is why I choose elopements. Because the party doesn’t matter, the decorations don’t matter, you matter, your marriage matters, your love for each other & that feeling you have in those moments matter. Those are the moments & feelings that will get you through better or worse, in sickness & in health, until death do you part.
My story
Family
I have been married for 20 years, we have 3 children & a yorkie, my husband served for 20 years in the US Navy as an Air Traffic Controller.
Family is so important to me, especially not having it around due to military life. It is one of the constants that remains when all else goes.
If you want to elope but also have family there or included, I understand & encourage it. I know the term ‘Elope’ can give you the impression of running away from family & in secret, but that is not what modern day elopements are. It is a wedding day that solely focuses on the bride & groom, their needs & wants over the guests. But I can see how hard that would be to leave people out, maybe that is a fear of yours, how can you not have your parents or siblings there? Well, you can! This is all about what is important to YOU. And if family is one of them, I would love to work with you on how best to incorporate that without compromising on your vision for your elopement.
In Sickness & In Health
My dreams of photography came to a halt when I became gravely ill with Lyme Disease in 2005 & continued until 2019.
During this time, my desires had to be laid down but God was so gracious & merciful to grow me in ways I could never imagine.
My illness progressed to a number of neurological issues, memory loss, muscle weakness, pain, being wheelchair bound, &
eventually daily seizures.
I praise the LORD Jesus that I have been healed & seizure free since 2019! He has restored to me in abundance. In 2021, the Lord showed me it was time for me to pick up my camera again, time to act upon the desire that He placed in my heart so long ago.
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