Nikayla & Co.

A couple of favorite things from this afternoon: Emma and Peter got to the church extra early in order to peacefully pray a rosary (in Latin!) together while not seeing each other. Bishop Cuzzins’ face when he heard them saying their vows. And lastly, Emma gazing up at Jesus after they received the Eucharist together | Part 2 📿⛪️

📍 Sacred Heart Parish in Frazee, MN

It’s not often the sun pours through the window like this at the most opportune time, but I think The Father was just beaming seeing sweet, pious Emma all ready to go get married 🌞✨🤍 | Emma & Peter, part 1

📍 Synclaire Event Venue, downtown Fargo, ND

Part 3 featuring the cutest cake cutting of all time, sunset portraits, and Maria’s reception dress 🤩💃🏻🧁🪩

Part 2. A beautiful nuptial mass where (my little) toddler girls carried Maria’s veil like sweet cherubs, family and friends beamed when they watched Maria & Einar’s vows, and the giant gold mosaics were like heaven shining behind it all 🌞⛪️

📍 St Joseph, Husband of Mary in Las Vegas, NV

Logan looking at his mommy in awe. Oh how I wish we could re-live this day again because it was so wonderful 🤍 part 1 of Maria + Einar!

📍St Joseph, Husband of Mary in Las Vegas, NV (just wait til you see the giant mosaic inside)

Hello!! I just wanted to re-introduce myself here to new faces and give a few little 2025 updates!

So, hi, I’m Nikayla! I shot my first wedding 12 years ago and have done like 300 since. I’m based in Sioux Falls, SD after moving around a good bit. My business is centered on Jesus and His Church and so is my life. I have two sweet little girls named Avila & Siena 💘 and a husband who I still can’t believe I got the privledge of marrying.

At the risk of sounding like everyone else, I really love coffee & traveling. I also love making calendars, gold and brass, writing in notebooks, cooking fall dinners, sour beer, using my Polaroid camera, and planning my kids’ birthday parties.

I have a big team that also shoot weddings for me and I take on 3-5 floral gigs per season too . My team is full of amazing photographers that I am so happy to know and work alongside.

In 2025, I will be taking on 2-3 more weddings total. My team has a lot more availability still, as I would be happy to have them shoot more in 2025 than they did even this year.

Thanks for listening! If you’re going to comment, please let us all know what state you’re from and if you’re a past client! 💍🗺️

And part 2: where it is just incredibly obvious that Blake is absolutely captivated by his bride and that these two are grateful to have found each other. Praise God for their beautiful love & for youth group kids who grow up to be holy married people 😭

Bri has been writing letters to her future husband for a long time, and pasted them all in this “letters to my husband” book to give to Blake at their first look. They cried, I cried. It’s so crazy to me that I get to be so close up for these intimate moments that I don’t even deserve to be a part of, especially for people who are so special to me🥺

Bri and I met when she was a high schooler coming to the youth groups and events that I put on when I was just a little college student. 10 years later we’re *both* married off to really wonderful men. I’m so proud of you Bri! Cheers to you both and I’m praying for your marriage often 🤍

Alex & Jotham, part 1. Starting off getting ready at the with a sweet first look and then a ceremony at St Mary’s in Lowertown (which has an incredible young adult group by the way) 🥺⛪️

Part 2 | Oh how I love when the images I take are a representation of something even deeper. Like Mary stretching out her arms in tender love over this couple. ⚜️🩵

“From Mary we learn to surrender to God’s Will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God!” - St JPII

📍 Basilica of St Mary, Minneapolis, MN

⚜️I like to think about how many brides and grooms have walked out of these legendary gold doors just married and how this is just really a threshold of joy and hope. Part 1 of Ava + Luke, married at one of the loveliest churches in Minnesota.

(And I might be biased, because I married the love of my life here almost 7 years ago 🥺)

Peyton + Micah. I can’t believe I took all of these within five minutes of my house 🙏🏼🥹 Downtown Sioux Falls, Mckennan Park, AND these two give such a chic, sweetheart vibe✨

Emily + Connor. Emily raising her eyes to look at Jesus in this first image gives me chills. “Let us go forward in peace, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors.” - St Thérèse of Lisieux

📍Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Crosse, WI

And finally, here are some incredibly sweet moments from when Lillie & Xander met in the gardens of their church to pray a decade together and hold hands before they got to see each other as Lillie walked down the aisle ⛪️💓 sorry part 4 is out of order 😅

Lillie & Alexander, part 3, with a soft pink & blue sunset session, a champagne tower that didn’t exactly go as planned, and a “reception flat lay” that was super fun to set up (mostly because I’m absolutely obsessed with Lillie’s shoes) 🎀🍾☁️

And of course after a ceremony like that, we had to do a bubble exit from the church and some portraits of the couple and Lillie’s jaw dropping dress at the Seminary grounds 🫧🌿🤍🫧

Xander was a fourth year medical student when he met Lillie at a Catholic SEEK conference (thanks ) and they got talking about how she was in training to be a (home birth loving) midwife. This conversation led to them exchanging info as Lillie got excited to teach a med student about midwifery and Xander just couldn’t wait to get to know someone so holy & lovely. All of this turned into a cross-country pursuit and the type of story people read books about. And now, here they are kneeling under a nuptial veil. 🙏🏼

All of my clients have unique and captivating stories and it’s a question I am always so excited to ask. The stories are never boring, but are enchanting and sweet and full of moments where “he took me to adoration” and “she prayed for me to get the job.” And I think there a couple of things that make these stories so special.

💘1) The pursuit of a woman’s heart is just captivating. The fight to show up as a man worth her attention and love is inspiring. Sometimes it’s across state lines, other times across circumstances. Sometimes it is a simple set up from friends and sometimes it’s being from the same little town since 4th grade and sometimes it’s meeting at a random conference hundreds of miles from home. But that pursuit is always there.

💘 2) The discernment is so real and is taken so seriously. Marriage is not about giddy dates that lead to passion. Even though it begins that way, marriage is about a serious and total commitment to another person. A sacrifice of self to grow together and become rich in holiness together despite the curveballs thrown at you and despite both of your shortcomings.

📍St Stanislaus Catholic Oratory, Milwaukee, WI.

When life gives you lemons, spread them all over your reception dinner tables with your stunning deep pink & sunset orange summery “Coco” aesthetic 🧡🌺🌯🍏💖🐎

Honored to be both the photography & floral team for this day (at my very own parish)