Friendship Park is a beautiful place to visit anytime of year. It's right along the Ohio River in Cincinnati. Here are a few images from my adventures there this past fall.
To see more of my iPhone images follow me on Instagram @nikitagross
I am so grateful for the amazing opportunities being a photographer gives me. Last year was by far one of my favorites. I started and ended my 2013 wedding season in beautiful Key West, Florida with great friends photographing the love.
I flew into Key West for Jon and Julie's wedding on Thanksgiving. When I arrived at the airport I was greeted by warm sunshine and smiles from Jon and his family. This wedding was very special to me. Jon has been a good friend of mine for many years. We have had endless conversations about love, life, and relationships. When he met Julie, who I adored from the first time we said hello, I watched him change from a man searching for happiness into a man full of satisfaction.
Jon and Julie had an intimate wedding surrounded by their family. It was a pleasure to be part of.
We spent Thanksgiving at the Casa Marina Resort where we had an amazing dinner. 
Who says you cant have eggs benedict for Thanksgiving?! Anything goes in Key West. :) 
After dinner we headed back to Julie's families condo for wine and music. 
I love this one of Jon. This was right when they picked me up for the wedding. He was so happy. 
Julie's bouquet was gorgeous. Mama's Flowers in Key West did a fantastic job. 
Jon and Julie decided to see each other before the ceremony. I love to photograph this moment. I am able to capture so much emotion.
The intimate ceremony was at the Ocean Key Resort. 
After the ceremony we had a very nice sunset dinner on the terrace at Ocean Key. The food and service was outstanding. 
I had a late flight home, so I spent some time riding around the island on a bike. It was so relaxing.
I used to share my favorite iPhone pictures on my blog once a week. Though I never stopped experimenting with my phone, for some reason I stopped doing the posts. I use my iPhone everyday to not only keep a visual diary, but mostly to make art. It's a powerful tool that is always with me. Im really excited to bring these weekly posts back to my blog.
Wintertime Trees
I photographed Rachel and Casey's maternity session a couple of months ago. I was so happy to get the email from Rachel telling me little Chase was born right before Christmas. I headed to their house last week to meet their little guy. He is precious. It was really sweet seeing Rachel and Casey nestle into their new life as parents. Chase was a dream to photograph. He was nice and comfortable being close to mom and dad. 
I remember the first time I met Emily to discuss her wedding. I was already booked on her date and she jokingly told me "that is unacceptable" and that she was changing her date so I could be her photographer. She made me and the work I do feel so special that day. She changed the date, and I photographed her engagement session and wedding. I got to know her and her husband Jay through the years. We stayed in touch via Facebook. I was thrilled when they sent me a secret message telling me they were having a baby and wanted me to photograph her. It's really nice to be part of and document all of these beautiful moments in my client's lives.
For their maternity session I took them to some of my favorite places in Kentucky.
The new family.
Emily is a doula, she provides support and education to expecting mothers during all stages of child birth. She offers classes to help couples make informed decisions about their care.
Emily had a beautiful home birth with her midwife and her husband. It was an amazing story to hear. 
I photographed Gina and Tanner's intimate ceremony earlier this year. Welcome to part 2 of their celebration, the reception. We started at Gina's parents house, then moved to beautiful Dree's Pavilion in Devou Park. The day started out rainy and gloomy, but not for long. The sun came out just in time for us to capture some really pretty images. Notice how big Gina's smile is in every single picture. The love these two share was wonderful to witness. Thank you for the amazing evening Gina and Tanner!
Caroline and Stephen's had a little hard luck right before the wedding. A car gone missing, dryers blowing up, cell phones breaking. There wasnt one time during their wedding, even for a minute that I felt any kind of stress from either of them. Instead they both were 100% present enjoying every moment of generous love and affection they were surrounded by on their wedding day. From the moment they saw each other for the first time, which was one of the sweetest moments in the history of my wedding career, they looked at each other and held each other full of pure happiness. Thank you for the fabulous day Caroline and Stephen.
See Caroline and Stephen's engagement in Rabbit Hash, Ky. session here.
Ft Thomas Florist created romantic bouquets and flower arrangements that were dreamy. 
Their very sweet first look at each other. Thank you to my amazing second shooter Andrew for helping me cover it so well. 
Their romantic reception was at the Bell Event Centre.
One of the best parts of being a wedding photographer is the fact that it allows me to be surrounded by my favorite thing in the world, love. Unconditional love, family love, friend love, lover's love, it's what makes life worth living and it's my greatest inspiration. People are all diffent at expressing their love. Some are shy and reserved, some are open and want to show it to the world.
I come from a family of huggers. I love to hold hands and touch and smell. Getting people to open up in front of the camera is my favorite. It takes trust. It involves all five senses working together. It's easy to simply make someone look good, it's when I capture real emotion that I feel like I have done something really special.
This shoot with Julie and Jenn was one of those shoots where I feel like I was able to capture the pure happiness these two feel for each other. We walked around Northside stopping whenever we saw something that caught our eye. Autumn was showing her most beautiful colors and Jenn and Julie were bursting with love. I am so excited for their intimate wedding next year and so thankful they trust me to capture their love.
Jen and Julie wore their Tie the Knot bow ties for part of their session. Here is a little more info about this organization from their website tietheknot.org.
"Tie The Knot was founded to combine all of our favorite things: humor, style, individuality, fashion, art, and equality. Founded by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita, the goal of Tie the Knot is clear: to advocate for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans throughout the United States and to look damn good while doing it.
It’s simple: We will release a collection of neckwear seasonally, inspired by our favorite art, fashion, things we see on the street, and things in our living room. Each bow tie will be produced in limited quantity to inspire and promote uniqueness & individuality. All proceeds from the sale of the bow ties will go to various organizations that are in the trenches fighting for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans every single day."
You can purchase these unique ties at The Tie Bar here.
This day was so special. Stephanie and Steven smiled and enjoyed every moment of their wedding. It was one of those beautiful September Saturdays, when the sun was shining and it was unseasonable warm. I met Stephanie and Steven at the Mariemont Inn where they got ready for their gorgeous wedding at Alms Park in Cincinnati. Their afternoon wedding was intimate and relaxed. I am thankful to have been part of it.
See Stephanie and Steve's engagement session here.
I just love both of these images!
The ceremony was officiated by Karen, Stephanie's cousin who you might remember seeing on my blog when I photographed her wedding and engagement last year. 
Rachel Lisa's makeup skills added a special glow to Stephanie's already perfect skin.
After the ceremony we headed to O'Bryonville to The Art of Entertaining for their reception. 
The succulent table decor had me swooning. 
Their thank you gifts to their guests were personal and unique. Steve loves to garden, so he made pickle jars for the guests. Stephanie's father made these cedar succulent containers. They smelled amazing. 
