Something is happening in wedding photography right now, and the industry is mostly talking around it instead of about it.
AI is probably already in your photographer's workflow. It might have culled the gallery. It could have corrected the color. It can smooth your skin, get rid of 'distractions' in an image...lots of things.
For a lot of photographers, it's given them their lives back. Faster delivery, fewer late nights, more time actually being present on the day.
And most couples? They got their photos faster. And, they loved them.
So here's the actual question: does it matter?
Not whether AI is good or bad. Not whether photographers who use it are 'cheating'. But whether the thing you care about, which is the photograph of the moments, is any less real because of how it got to you.
We've been inside the wedding industry for nearly a decade. Recently, we've seen a lot of opinions on this.
What we haven't seen enough of is an honest conversation between the people who make these photos and the people who keep them forever.
So we're opening the floor.
Photographers: how are you actually using AI in your work right now? Where does it help, and where do you not want it anywhere near your process?
Lovers: does knowing change anything? Are you asking about it when you meet photographers, or looking in your contracts for anyting about it. Would you want your photographer to tell you upfront?
*As always, this is a space for real. honest, conversation. Be good to each other in the comments ❤️
We spy a @shane.ave suit 👀
Finding a suit that actually fits who you are - not just your body, but you - shouldn't be hard.
But for so many in our community, walking into a bridal store or a suit shop still means navigating a space that wasn't built for you.
The divided racks. The hesitation. The feeling of being an afterthought in your own wedding planning.
It's not.good.enough.
Deb at @shane.ave got tired of that too. So she built something better.
Every Shane Ave suit is custom made - your design, your fabric, your colours, your cut. Private appointments. Stylists who get it. Over 500 fabrics to choose from. And those little details that make a wedding suit yours like monogram embroidery, a custom lining, both your names stitched into the fabric.
This is what formal fashion should have always looked like for our community.
We've written about why Shane Ave is one of the most important wedding vendors in the industry - and we mean that. If you've been here you'll know that we've been able to share their work for years, through so, so many stories.
Link in bio to read more about Shane Ave. And, you'll find 'em inside our online directory of inclusive wedding pros 🌈
Photography also by another one our of amazing partners @samantha.heather 😍
A mid-1800s Greek Revival farmhouse on the southern Maine coast. Two lounges with gas fireplaces, eleven rooms and suites, a wine bar, gourmet breakfasts, and an expansive lawn with English-style gardens less than half a mile from the Kennebunkport waterfront and a mile from the Atlantic.
@innatenglishmeadows was built for people who want something a little different. The owner's answer to the most adventurous thing she's ever done: marrying my incredible wife and raising two amazing kids.
There's also a 15-month-old Golden Retriever named Boy Georgie who wanders the property looking for anyone willing to say hello.
This venue is LGBTQ+ and woman-owned, with elopement and small wedding packages available. And, you'll find them inside our directory - the spot to find venues that embrace *all* love ❤️
/directory/the-inn-at-english-meadows
Claire (she/her) and Eliza (she/her) grew up going to the same summer camp in the Catskill Mountains as kids and never crossed paths. As adults, they ended up working there year-round. Same job title. Shared office. Shared housing. It took a matter of week 🌈
They also, quietly, had already eloped in Las Vegas six months before their wedding this weeding 👆 Sometimes you want the intimate moment to yourselves before you hand it over to a party.
This celebration was 55 guests at Cucina in Woodstock, New York. Family-style steak and pasta with locally sourced ingredients. Cake from Overlook Bakery, owned by the family of a former camper.
All on a rainy day, which they took as a good omen.
They both got their periods, which they decided was extra luck 💫
Claire surprised Eliza mid-dancing with an Elvis drag performance to All Shook Up. Eliza's family is Trinidadian and loves steel drum bands. Claire's family loves Van Morrison. So the family dance was a steel drum cover of Brown Eyed Girl, parents, siblings, partners, all of them.
At the end of the night, a local pizza place delivered fries, garlic knots, and mozzarella sticks.
They found their photographer, Marilyn Lamanna, through us, which is always a treat to hear - they'd been following for years and always knew they'd look here first ❤️
This story has just hit the blog - it's linked up in the usual spot.
Featured in @danicngwithher
Captured by @marilynlamannaphoto
Catering @cucinawoodstock
Cake @overlookbakery
DJ @purentertainment845
Rings @artystone_jewelry
Florist @woodstock.floraldesign
Hair & Makeup @beautifybyceleste
Shirt @mirto_oficial
Stationery @zazzle
Suit @mirto_oficial
Venue @cucinawoodstock
Dionne (she/her) and Ashley (she/her) started with a dream of a Tuscan castle. Then Italian venues started going quiet once they found out they were a lesbian couple. Some said nothing at all. Some said no outright.
So they kept looking.
What they found was a small island on a Swiss lake, a venue that said yes without hesitation, and a wedding day with eighteen people who love them most. Which, honestly, sounds like a better deal.
Villa Emden on the Isole di Brissago is surrounded by water and gardens and a kind of stillness that's hard to manufacture. The ceremony was outdoors. Lake Maggiore behind them. Dusty blue florals. Vows they'd both spent weeks writing, because some things deserve that kind of care.
They walked down the aisle at the same time - Dionne with her mum, Ashley with her best friend - and met in the middle.
After, a live mariachi band played songs that Ashley's father had loved. He was there in every note. Guests had aperitivos by the water. Later there was a jazz band, a first dance, and a waltz they'd practiced so many times they were still up at two in the morning the night before getting it right.
This one has just been featured over on the blog, linked up in the usual spot for you!
Featured in @dancingwithher
Photography by @sabrina_bartal_photography claudiazenderphotography
Couple @_dionnevargas & @atatypicalashley
Cake @sweetcupcakes.thecakestudio
Dress @cherieamor_official
Florist @miss.deco
Hair & Makeup @nichamakeup & @uniquelysamuela
Rings @tiffanyandco
Suit @suitsupply
Shirt @cherieamor_official
Venue @hotelvillaemden
Videographer @desidero.weddings
6d
let's be real, two moms are better than one🥹🌱
happy mother's day to those who celebrate!🤍
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#queerlove #queerphotographer #seattleweddingphotographer #seattlestorytellingphotographer #seattlequeerphotographer
Izzy & Maddy are engaged!! This was the kind of session that reminds me why i do this. Felt like something borrowed from an old movie. 🤍
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keywords
nyc photographer, nj photographer, new york city, new jersey, inclusive photographer, documentary photography, wedding photographer, storytelling, cinematic photographer, authentic moments, lgbt photographer, wlw
Lynelle had searched everywhere.Lynelle had searched everywhere. Traditional jewelry stores weren't making anything that felt right, nothing that honored queer love without forcing it into a shape it didn't fit.
So she found @kris.averi , a queer-led jewelry studio in New York's Diamond District, and they built it from scratch.
A cushion-cut teal Australian sapphire, oceanic and shifting with light. Rich yellow gold. An asymmetrical hammered texture that moves like waves. Lynelle was planning a proposal in the Caribbean.
"I know I wouldn't find anything like it elsewhere," Lynelle said afterward. "Highly recommend, especially for queer and gender-diverse folks who want to feel heard and understood."
@kris.averi was founded in 2017 and has since then every piece has been made with recycled gold and ethically sourced materials. C
ustom work starts from the design conversation, not a template. Kris's five-word style brief: feminist, witchy, nature, elegant, timeless.
You'll find Kris Averi inside our directory of inclusive and affirming vendors from around the world - ther perfect humans/small businesses to help bring your engagement, wedding, elopement, whatever it might be, to life 💫
Amy and Karly were deep in the late-night Instagram venue search when @rupertonrupert stopped them cold. It was the only venue they visited. They booked the same day 💫
We've been watching queer couples celebrate at Rupert in Collingwood for years now, and we finally wrote the piece it deserves.
The conservatory, plant-filled and transparent-ceilinged, with an aisle length that was made for a slow walk, or a part-ay, depending on your mood. The industrial bones are softened by an indoor garden. It's be.au.tiful.
Co-owner Mali, who describes her team as a motley crew of 'straight and bent, spectrum surfing and culturally diverse individuals.' Being neurodivergent-owned, shows in how the whole place is run.
There's a level of human awareness here that goes well beyond hospitality standard 💜
But more than any of that: when you walk in as a queer couple, you don't have to do the quiet, exhausting work of figuring out whether you're welcome. You just are. For our community, that's not a small thing.
We've featured quite a few love stories from Rupert on Dancing With Her. Amy and Karly, who brought their dogs Murph and Gigi and danced until their feet gave out. Kate and Maya. Ana and Erin. Rhiannon and Toni. They're shared on the blog, and in our magazines.
So, all that to say, Rupert is a Dancing With Her partner - alonsgside spotting them in blogs, you'll find 'em inside our online directory of inclusive and affirming wedding venues.
If you'd like to learn more about this loved venue, you'll find them linked up there in the bio 👆
McKenna + Olivia and our midday romp around The Ringling - thank you for the trust and the fun. I loveeeeeeed creating these perspectives - it felt like playing on the playground ✨🫶🏼
Queer love is a literal work of art every time, it’s only right that we photograph it at a museum 😍
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#jacksonvilleweddingphotographer #floridaweddingphotographer #orlandoweddingphotographer #sarasotaweddingphotographer #theringling intimate wedding photography, queer wedding photographer, LGBTQ+ weddings, inclusive wedding industry, documentary wedding photography, candid wedding moments, emotional storytelling, authentic love stories, nontraditional weddings, alternative wedding photographer, artistic wedding imagery, cinematic photography, romantic storytelling, modern love, diverse couples, lesbian wedding, gay wedding, queer love, intentional weddings, creative portraiture, moody tones, editorial wedding photography, fine art wedding imagery, museum wedding, museum couples session
Emily Chelsea doesn't have gender-specific ring categories on her website. Anyone can wear any ring. The team will ask your pronouns (or follow your lead) but they're not locking you in to a certain style that the industry might expect for you.
@emilychelseajewelry are a Philadelphia-based custom engagement and wedding ring studio, working with clients across the country and shipping worldwide.
Our fav part (and yours - we've seen quite a few EC rings over the years) is that everything is made to order using recycled and Fairmined precious metals, reclaimed diamonds, and colored stones traceable from mine to market.
Ethical by design, not as an afterthought 💚
If you can dream it, the incredibly talented teamed based in Philadelphia can make it 💍
You'll find @emilychelseajewelry inside our online directory of inclusive wedding vendors - the spot to find incredible vendors from across the world that are affirming and inclusive and just celebratory of *all* love 🌈
Photos of Emily Chelsea's rings by @beccamathiasphoto
Wedding pros you've worked with/hired, industry peers ... dont be shy to introduce yourself, you can be your own favourite too 👇
Photographers, videographers, venues, florists, jewelers, celebrants/officiants and everyone in between 💫
Tag 'em, introduce them, so they can be found by humans in love that want (and deserve) a safe and affirming to their identity wedding team around 'em.
Don't forget to let us know where in the world they/you are 🌍
