destination wedding photographer

January 19, 2024

Goddess of Land & Sea Part II | San Luis Obispo Boudoir Photographer

There once was a goddess who reclaimed her life.
Where there was Heartache,
She now finds Strength.
Where she felt Small,
She now feels Seen.

Her once-wrecked boat carried her safely to shore,
Where she rebuilt from the ground up.
She followed her heartstrings,
And brought her dreamscape to life.

“There is nothing you can’t do,
No one you can’t be,”
Said the core of her being.

And so she did.
And so she is.

(see Part One of this goddess’ bare session journey)

November 17, 2023

Persephone Unleashed | Maui Retreat

When I first started down the path of realizing my dream of taking Persephone Unleashed to Maui, the first thing on my to-do list was to find a venue. This task turned out to be much more difficult than I anticipated. For weeks, I scoured the internet for retreat venues, but the only ones that fit what I was looking for were outrageously out of my budget. Then one day, I found myself thinking about a beautiful banyan tree on Kauai that I visit often in my mind. Suddenly my fingers were typing “Banyan Tree Vacation Rental Maui” in the search bar. And there she was. Something much greater than myself paved the path, pulled the strings, and I watched the most incredible retreat start to take shape before my very eyes.

Nicole and I arrived to the venue one day early, and we were barely inside the front gate before we were kicking off our shoes and being magnetically pulled to the far side of the house where we beheld the very tree who called me to me through the ethers all those months before. As I placed my hands on her roots, silent tears fell down my cheeks. For 12 whole months, I had planned this retreat from across the ocean, but it never felt real. Until that moment. Until the tree whispered to me, “You made it. I’ve been waiting for you. You did the planning, now let me do the rest.” And oh, how she did.

I will never be able to find the words to aptly describe what transpired over those 5 days. The healing, grounding, connection, and unconditional love we received from the island herself as well as the women around us. This particular group of women ranged in age from 30-somethings to 70-somethings. We had three mother-daughter pairs, myself and my mama included among them. Sharing Persephone with my mom is experience I won’t soon forget.

We floated in the ocean, swam with sea turtles, danced in the rain, soaked in the sun, and were wholly nourished body & spirit.
Thank you, Maui for inviting us onto your shores. For giving us the gift of your medicine. And just weeks before you experienced a great, fiery trauma.
I can only hope we gave back to Maui in some way while we were there. Because she gave so, so much to us.

If a retreat of this magnitude tugs at your heart strings, consider signing up for the Earth Medicine retreat on Whidbey Island in May.
This is the stuff that can change the whole course of your life. I can’t explain it. But I’ve seen it happen, time and time again.
And it can happen for you, too.

A HUGE THANK YOU TO THE TEAM WHO BROUGHT THIS RETREAT TO LIFE (especially the local babes!):
Venue: Banyan Bed & Breakfast | Private Chef: Kyra Bramble, Lotus Chefs | Florals: Tara Lei | Vintage Chairs & Styling: Kelsi Van Velden | Yoga: Danielle, Maui Mobile Yoga
Massage: Alchemy Therapeutics | Hair & Makeup: Rozetree Bridal | Shamanic Healer: Jade Lotus | Stationer & Hype Girl: Nicole Joy

>> EXLORE 2024 PERSEPHONE UNLEASHED RETREATS <<

October 13, 2023

Aaron + Stacey | Intimate Wedding in Cambria, CA

Aaron & Stacey were married under the Harvest Moon…. even if that moon was hiding behind a thick wall of fog at the time.
Before their oceanside ceremony in front of their friends and family, Aaron & Stacey were wed in an intimate shamanic ceremony enveloped in cypress trees and salt air.
The way Aaron couldn’t take his eyes off Stacey, not once, is the stuff we photographers live for. See for yourself…

Coordinator: Amanda of A Perfect Day
Reception + Dinner: Robin’s
Florals: Cambria Nursery

September 14, 2023

Lindsay + Sean | Intimate Couples Session

When Lindsay first reached out to me to celebrate her and Sean’s engagement alongside the launching of a new business, I never could have guessed that it would lead to one of the most powerful couples sessions of my career. As she described her empowered intimacy + pleasure coaching business, Wolf + Moon Coaching, I knew in my gut I’d finally found the perfect pair to experiment with a new and intimate style of photographing partners. I asked if they would be game to end their session in their chonies, and trust me to document the magnetism of their bodies tangling together.

The session began as most typical engagement sessions do: wandering hand in hand through nature, reminiscing on how they met. It didn’t take long for me to recognize that this isn’t the first lifetime Sean & Lindsay’s souls have found each other. They way they moved, laughed, and gently held one another was like poetry given life. This session moves in three parts, and just gets steamier with each outfit change.

I am so grateful that Sean & Lindsay trusted me with abandon for this session. There wasn’t a single moment that was weird or awkward, which speaks volumes to the safety and wholeness they feel together.
But don’t take my word for it…

September 6, 2023

Persephone Unleashed Retreat | Flying Caballos Ranch | San Luis Obispo, California

Back in May, a group of 9 beautiful women gathered at the Flying Caballos Ranch in the rolling hills of San Luis Obispo.
Each and every Persephone retreat is something so uniquely special and needed for that particular circle of women, and this was no exception. There were themes of grief, forgiveness, surrender, acceptance of true self, and an across the board power-level-up.

This retreat was also spectacularly special, because we got to celebrate my dear friend Rhyan’s 40th birthday. If you’ve followed Persephone for any length of time, or attended a retreat of your own, you’ve likely seen Rhyan’s face behind a makeup brush. She and her team at Rozetree Bridal have been responsible for the glamification of each and every Persephone goddess these past 3 years. So this disco queen get to experience it first hand was really freakin great.

See yourself attending a Persephone Unleashed retreat next year?
Join the mailing list for first access to details, which will be released soon!