Tina and Joe's Asheville North Carolina Wedding

It's not easy to put into words the gratitude and love I have for Tina and Joe.  I met them over a year ago when they were first discussing ideas for their wedding.  They asked me to dinner one night and after a long, very inspiring discussion about life and love they told me they wanted to elope in Asheville and invited me to come along to photograph it.  I was beyond thrilled.  Tina and Joe's story together started over 20 years ago.  They always had a deep connection, but life took them in different directions.    After a lot of learning and growing the universe brought them back together.    Tina has this soft, calmness about her personality and Joe is just the right amount of intenseness to be the Ying to Tina's Yang.  I think this is so important in a relationship, balance is everything.

Joe likes to mountain bike, they stumbled upon The Bike Farm through his adventures.  Once they visited it together they knew it was the perfect place for their intimate wedding.  The farm is surrounded by lush green foliage.  There was a creek running through the land and a giant waterfall at the top of one of the hills.  It was simply breathtaking.  What a magical place to celebrate love.

Tina and Joe were joined by their dear friends, Erin and Ciara for the ceremony.  Erin actually officiated it.  David from Studio 213 documented the whole thing on video.  I can't wait to see what he captured.  Thanks to my awesome assistant/boyfriend, Chris for helping us out throughout the day.  He captured some very cool phone and polaroid pictures I will share later.

Thank you so much for your constant support of my work and for inviting me to document this very special time in your lives Tina and Joe.  I am happy to say I have gained two very good friends through this experience.  I am beyond grateful!

I love the way Joe is looking at Tina here.  She makes him light up. Tina is absolutely  beautiful.  Inside and out. :) After we were all ready to go we headed to the farm for the ceremony. We all stayed at a wonderful place called Cloud 9 Farm.   It is a working farm that has chickens, cows, blueberries, and bee hives that produce honey.  Aiden, Tina's son would get up every morning and help the owner, Janet feed the animals and do farm chores.  I got up to take a few photographs of them at work.  Coming from the city, having no experience whatsoever with any kind of farm animals, it was a real learning experience for me.  Here are a few pictures of Aiden working on the farm.  

Julie and Jennie's Downtown Cincinnati Wedding

It doesn't matter where you are, what you're wearing, or how much you spent on your flowers, to me the most important thing you can bring to your wedding day is a heart full of love and a smile on your face.  Don't get me wrong, I adore all of the pretty details that make a wedding day special, but it's the emotions of the day that really sweep me off of my feet.

Julie and Jennie's intimate wedding was held at Venue 222 downtown.  About 50 of their closest friends and family came to help them celebrate and support their lifetime commitment to each other.  They presented each other with very personalized vows with promises to not only love each other but to also give each other the space they need to grow, and to be present while enjoying their journey together.  It was so heartfelt and their chemistry together is inspiring to be around.  During the reception I stopped taking pictures for a minute and just let myself really enjoy what I was apart of.  It was overwhelming.  There were people laughing and enjoying themselves in every direction I looked.  The joy in the room was explosive.  During that moment, there was no where in the world I would rather be.  I was experiencing right in front of me nothing but pure love and it felt great.   As I floated back to my car I just sat and soaked in how lucky I am for these amazing people that let me tell a piece of their story.

 Thank you to all of Jennie and Julie's friends who helped make the day perfect for the couple.

This is why I love when couples do a first look.  You get to spend some time enjoying each other alone, and I get to capture it. :)

The cutest ring bearer ever. Julie and Jennie's very talented friend Nuria made the ring bearer bag and designed all of their flowers.  

Fall Portrait Sessions

The energy that comes with fall brings about the best in me.  It is my absolute favorite season for pictures.   I  love the color, the light, and the feeling of change.  I like being too cold for a sweater, but too warm for a coat.  A few days ago I ran around and enjoyed the fall weather with a couple of very sweet families.  It was an absolute blast!

Racquelle

It's refreshing to meet young people who are working hard to plan what their impact on the world will be.  Racquelle is in her senior year this year and plans to study psychology in college next year.  She has a very sweet demeanor and calmness about her personality.   I am sure whatever career she chooses will be one that benefits people in a meaningful way.  I had a really great time running around downtown with her and her mother who I have known for years.

I just love the way her senior pictures turned out.    

iPhone Friday 24 Hours in Chicago

I need a winter project and I just got a new phone, so here I go again.  This time I am going to make it stick...iPhone Friday is back on my blog.

This week I am sharing a few pics from a 24 hour trip to Chicago I took with Chris this week.  He got me tickets to see one of my favorite bands for my birthday.  Since this is the busiest time of year for me we only had time to stay for 24 hours, but thats ok.  We managed to squeeze in all of our favorites...Good food, good music, and the beautiful lake.  We tried Air b&b for the first time.  The experience was very simple.  I chose a place that remindined me a lot of our place, but I booked last minute not paying attention to the fact that the only bed in the apartment was a twin.  Needless to say, we snuggled hard that night.  Here are a few pictures from the trip. Our apartment in Logan Square.  Im telling you, the plants and old furniture, it was just like being at home.  There was even a polaroid on the fridge.  The show was sold out.  Before we went we had a nice dinner and drinks.  I told Chris I planned on letting loose at the show.  And I did.  These are the only pictures, because  I screamed and stomped my feet enjoying every second of it.  I can't leave Chicago without a visit to Lake Michigan.  It was a gorgeous day. I joke that this is our CARaoke album cover.  I sing Chris's ears off when we are in the car together. 

September Love

September, you have been so good to me. :)

I am very grateful for the people who come into my life through photography.  I leave every wedding with a greater appreciation for love.  Photographing weddings is a job that is constantly giving to me, in return I am able to give back by capturing the raw emotion that makes the day so special.  Before I share the full blog posts from these weddings, I wanted to post a few peeks and thank all of my clients for giving me the opportunity to not only document their day, but to also make art with them.  This year, I have felt more free than ever to photograph weddings the way I feel most comfortable.  I have been able to really get in touch with and trust my instincts to create images from my heart.  I wouldn't be able to do this without the trust and confidence I receive from my clients.

Thank you!

Here are a few images from my weddings this month.  (Im actually working ahead of schedule, so my first wedding,  Becca and Greg already have a full blog post here)  I will have full blog posts coming soon.

Jennie and Julie

Tina and Joe

Rachel and Brad

Kate and Erik

Becca and Greg's Ohio Wedding

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of driving to Jackson, Ohio for Becca and Greg's wedding.  The forecast called for rain, instead we got a glorious sky perfect for pictures.  Their wedding was laid back and fun.  Their friends and family were such a pleasure to be around.  I have really enjoyed getting to know Becca and Greg through their wedding planning process,  and I love that Facebook allows me to keep up with their lives.  They will start their new life as husband in Texas where Greg just got an awesome job opportunity.  I am sad to see them go, but so excited for their new adventure together!  Becca and Greg, thank you so much for allowing me to share in this special day with you two.

Fall Mini Sessions

Since weekend dates for fall photo sessions are very limited, I have decided to set aside a day for fall mini sessions.  This is a great opportunity for an updated family portrait or headshot.

The session will take place on Saturday October 4 at one of my favorite local parks.  The session will be 20 minutes.  You will get 10-15 edited images available for downloading and printing all for $150.

Session times are below.  I will update the times as they are booked.  Please email me for more info and to select your time nikita@nikitagross.com

2:00 Booked

2:30

3:00

3:30 Booked

4:00

4:30

5:00 Booked

5:30 Booked

Warped Tour Cincinnati 2014

Photographing Warped Tour started as something to do while my little sister hung out with her friends.  It is fun to watch all of the bands and their fans.  I love seeing how impactful music is to everyone there.  This year I had the opportunity to  photograph the show for cincymusic.com.  I was given more access than previous years, but honestly it didn't really matter.  I enjoy shooting at the smaller stages from the crowd more than anything.  Here are some of the pictures I captured that day.