New jersey and hudson valley wedding photographer specializing in mountaintop, vineyard, estate, barn and mansion weddings
“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.”
— Don McCullin
Hey Friend! I'm laura!
My favorite thing in life is sitting out by my fire-pit with a glass of Riesling and a s’more in hand with friends and family surrounding me. I'm rarely ever found without a warm blanket wrapped around me, and if my wallet didn't frown upon it, I’d probably buy everything in Anthropologie Home and Free People. I'm completely obsessed with traveling, going on adventures, and elephants, and actually foster one named Kamok in Kenya!
I can do the worm. No Really, I can.
I have an array of terrible dance moves.
and I could eat cheese for every meal. Let's be friends?
I am a lover of all things outdoorsy: mountains, lakes, forests, beaches, cliffs, you name it. I love hiking, paddle-boarding, scuba-diving, skiing and kayaking, amongst many other things and actually became cool enough to rock-climb this year. (Only once—but hey, gimme a break!) I feel extremely lucky to have found the love of my life, Scott, when we were studying abroad in Copenhagen, and we now spend our days dreaming up our next adventure!
I'm so glad you're here! I absolutely LOVE what I do, and love telling stories. I'll do my best to tell you mine.
My Story
My passion for photography began when I was just a year old. We had a dark room in my house growing up (as my mom was a photographer) and I remember crawling in there constantly out of curiosity for the things she was creating. At age 3, I proclaimed I wanted to be a photographer when I grew up and I constantly attempted to take pictures on our vacations when I was just a toddler! This passion never really went away, but got buried by school until 2012.
I couldn't quite put my finger on why I was drawn so strongly to photography until I studied abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2012. On my first night in Copenhagen, I popped into a cafe with a few friends from school. A lonesome traveler walked through the door with a suitcase bigger than me and I desperately felt myself yearning to know his story. From this day forward I didn’t leave my dorm without my camera in hand.
On my second night in Copenhagen, I met Scott, the love of my life. After hours of talking at the bar the first night, we had already planned our two week spring break together, amongst a number of other adventures. I knew in less than a week that I’d be spending the rest of my life adventuring with him by my side (especially since he patiently waits for me while I take pictures of EVERYTHING). AND, BONUS, he is pretty dang awesome about taking pictures too.
In four months time we had visited ten countries (and hadn’t even been in America together yet!), seen some of the most breathtaking sites you could imagine, fallen head over heels in love, and gone on countless adventures that I could never forget.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen will forever be mine and Scott’s favorite place in the world because that’s where we met! We were both studying abroad there in 2012 (and actually went to the same college but never knew each other). Out second night abroad, we met up at a bar with all of the people from our college, and we hit it off right away. We spent four months here falling in love with the city, and with each other. Our first kiss was in front of the Royal Playhouse on the harbor and I think it’ll always be my favorite night ever. We’re always looking for excuses to go back!!
Cinque Terre, Italy
On spring break during our semester abroad in Europe, me, Scott and two other friends went to Cinque Terre Italy. It was (and still is) one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. We got to do the entire hike through all five towns, and a vineyard tour with one of the local winemakers. I’m pretty sure we ate pizza on focaccia bread three meals a day while we were there (Scott did at least) and had gelato at least once a day. The colors were spectacular in all five towns and gave me a gallery of the most beautiful pictures I’ve ever taken! I hope someday I can photograph a wedding in Cinque Terre!
Cliffs of Moher, Ireland
During finals week when we were studying abroad, for some reason, we thought it would be a good idea to go to Ireland for a week! Seven of us went on this trip from Copenhagen to the Cliffs of Moher. We stayed in the most wonderful Airbnb just a km from the Cliffs, and walked there every day passing farms of cow and horse and sheep. While we were in the country, we also went to the Aran Islands, Galway, and Lahinch as well as Burren National Park! We lucked out with clear weather all week and we were so thankful we got to experience such a beautiful country!
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
When we went out to Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a ski trip in 2016, I was determined to get a picture of the stars. One night, we finally had clear skies, and drove out to Antelope Flats to the famous Mormon barn to set up for a night of taking pictures. We used a headlamp to light up the barn for the shot, and walked about a mile down a closed road (closed to cars) to the barn. About an hour into the night, we heard a wolf howl. Seconds later, an entire PACK of wolves started to howl, and we knew we were being hunted! We quickly packed up and walked as fast as we could to the car. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so scared in my life!
Zermatt, Switzerland
I have never cried from pure excitement or natural beauty before... until we went to Zermatt for a ski trip. When we were approaching the Alps for the first time on the Matterhorn Express (train), I think all four of us on the trip started to cry. We skiied for a few days, and stayed in a tiny mountain mining town one train stop away from the main village. We picnic-ed on a glacier, skied above the clouds, and had the time of our lives. This is a trip I will never ever forget. And, I made one of my best friends on this trip (pictured here!) who now works for my team! I feel so thankful!!
Iceland
In 2016, I went to Iceland for a photography workshop and my breath was completely taken away by this country’s beauty. We stayed in an Airbnb and got a van to drive around the country. We visited all the famous waterfalls, the black sand beaches, the blue lagoon, and a glacier that we actually got to hike on! After the workshop was over, I stayed an extra few days to go to Reykjavik and ended up doing a tour called “Inside the Volcano”. We hiked through a (inactive) lava field, climbed to the hole of the volcano, and then took a window cleaning elevator 750 down into the earth. It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life.
The Fjords, Norway
When Scott and I were studying abroad, we always wanted to go to Norway, but never got there because there were so many places on our list!! In 2015, we decided to go. We went to Oslo, and then rented a car and drove through tons of fjord villages! We stayed in Flam, where we took a boat out in the Fjords. Luckily we had a sunny day, because it was FREEZING! We had to wear winter clothes and a dry suit on top to stay dry and warm. They were some of the most majestic natural landscapes I’ve ever experienced, and we couldn’t believe that some of the towns don’t even have roads to get to them! They have to take boats! We can’t wait to go back someday.
Hallstatt, Austria
During our spring break trip abroad, we went to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. Choosing our Austria destination literally happened because I saw a picture the back of a calendar in Staples. So to Hallstatt we went! We didn’t know it was the “off-season” for the town, so there wasn’t much to do besides hike and bike. We hiked to the top of the town, through the fog, and enjoyed the breathtaking landscapes. To get here, we literally took a bus, to multiple trains, to a ferry, to another bus, and then finally to a dirt road. It was insane, and so so worth it! We hope to go back during their “on-season” some day!
Chamonix, France
In 2016, we went back to the Alps- this time to Chamonix, France. While the skiing was amazing, one of the coolest things we did was take the world tallest ski lift up to the top of Aiguille du Midi, one of the peaks in the Mont Blanc Massif. From the top, you get spectacular views of the entire mountain range, of Mont Blanc’s peak (the highest peak in the Alps) and you can see hundreds of miles! You can even ski down a 12 mile run from here, down the glacier. (You can see the skiers walking down the glacier in the distance). We opted out of skiing, but enjoyed the views and went into one of those glass boxes cantilevered over the cliff - so that was pretty crazy!
Here are a few of my favorite things...
Scott and I met in Copenhagen, where we were both studying abroad. After two days of knowing him, I knew he was the one! After 6 years together, we've been to 15 countries and and 15 states together.
Scott
I've grown up living on and going to the mountains since I was born. I am happiest when I'm on one, whether it be hiking, skiing, photographing, or climbing.
MOUNTAINS
Firepits are my happy place. We sit out by ours in ever season, and nothing makes me happier than curling up with a blanket out there!
Firepits
Elephants are my favorite animal, and I'm not sure where it stemmed from but it's always been that way! I foster this cutie to the right, named Kamok through the DSWT fund in Kenya.
ELEPHANTS
I am so thankful this guy loves to travel as much as I do! We are constantly planning our next adventure or destination, and I'm excited for a lifetime of this together.
adventures with him
Gosh, this needs no further explanation other than, I could literally eat cheese for every meal if that wouldn't be the death of me. I LOVE it all. Except Blue Cheese- yuck.
Cheese, obviously
I am always cold! And even in the summer months, I'm always always found with a blanket wrapped around me. I have quite the collection of throws.
BLANKETS
NOTHING makes me happier than a wedding inquiry for a mountaintop wedding! I love adventurous couples who love the outdoors as much as I do, and am SO ready to photograph your mountaintop wedding!!
mountaintop weddings + adventurous couples
So here’s the thing. This life is such an incredible gift and photography allows me to express how I see the world in all it’s beauty. All the moments, the split seconds of time, the soulful smiles and belly laughs, the places, the passions, the people, the legacies. This yearning for documenting life’s every heartbeat continued throughout my four months in Europe as I met fascinating people during my travels. When I got home I truly missed taking pictures every day as school consumed me and realized that what I missed most was telling stories.
So that’s it. I am a storyteller. I LOVE the fact that photography gives us the power to remember and preserve fleeting moments in time and that is SUCH a wonderful gift. I live to tell stories through photography and have such a huge passion for learning about people which helped me quickly grow this into a beautiful career.
Photography is, and has always been my voice, my expression, and my way of showing how I see the world. I'm able to document and preserve lives the way I see them unfold and the enormous amount of happiness this brings me is astounding. To me, photography is about capturing moments that take our breath away. It's about bringing back the butterflies from your wedding day, capturing an artist as they get lost in their painting, documenting a florist as she forages through the forest for her greens, and capturing the soulful, glimpses of time that capture my subjects just as they are in that moment. Photography is my gift, and I'm so thankful that I get to share it with the world. This is my why, and this is my story, what's yours?