Nikki and Ashley’s Engagement Session at Kamila Gardens

I have to be honest with you. As an LGBTQ+ wedding photographer in Charlotte NC, I don’t get the chance to work with LGBTQIA+ couples nearly as often as I’d like. So when Nikki and Ashley reached out about their engagement session, I was genuinely excited from the first email.

We met up at Kamila Gardens on a warm, golden afternoon, and it did not disappoint! This was my first visit to the gardens and it was truly a lovely spot with lots of different areas for gorgeous photos.

Meet Nikki and Ashley

These two are the kind of couple who make a photographer’s job easy. They work well together, they’re clearly, deeply in love, and there’s an easy sweetness to how they move through the world side by side. Both Nikki and Ashley have kids from previous relationships, and their whole approach to building a life together (and a wedding) reflects that. They’re keeping things low key and centered on what actually matters to them.

In fact, Ashley is doing all the cooking on their wedding day herself! It’s going to be a full BBQ spread, made by the bride. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about how grounded and unpretentious this couple is, I don’t know what will!

A Little Bit of a Walk (Worth Every Step)

Nikki had her heart set on getting photos at the pond at Kamila Gardens, which meant a bit of a trek to get there. Between the walk and the heat (it was uncomfortably warm that day, no sugarcoating it), this session asked a lot of both of them physically. Ashley will tell you she’s not exactly a fan of having her photo taken, but she was an absolute champ through all of it, the walking, the posing, the heat, all of it. That kind of good humor under mildly miserable conditions says a lot about a person.

And the pond was worth it. The light on the water, the quiet at the edge of the park, it gave us some of my favorite frames from the whole session. I especially loved the lily pads floating in the water because they added such a nice touch to their images!

What Was Blooming (and What Wasn’t)

We were a little past peak bloom season at Kamila Gardens. The azaleas were still putting on a show in soft pinks and corals, but most of the other flowering plants had already finished for the season. Thankfully, this park does not rely on flowers alone to be beautiful. We had gorgeous mature trees for dappled shade, some really striking gates that gave us natural framing, and enough textured, layered nature in every direction that we never ran out of backdrops. Sometimes the best sessions are the ones that teach you to work with what’s actually blooming instead of what you wish was.

Why This Session Mattered to Me

I’ll say it again because it’s worth repeating. Getting to photograph more LGBTQIA+ couples is something I actively want more of in my work, and sessions like Nikki and Ashley’s are exactly why. Not because their story needs to be treated any differently than any other couple’s, but because every couple deserves a photographer who is genuinely excited to tell their story, walks the extra distance to the pond with them, and doesn’t mind the heat either.

If you’re an LGBTQIA+ couple in the Charlotte area looking for a wedding or engagement photographer who will treat your day like the celebration it is, I would love to hear from you. [Check my availability here] and let’s start talking about your day.