"A gorgeous, authentic, and delightful experience from start to finish - which is saying a lot since our elopement journey included a canceled first attempt due to a gnarly bout of Covid for this bride & groom.
From conceptualizing our vision for our elopement to helping us navigate the logistics of getting married in a national park (twice, due to the aforementioned Covid) to helping us feel totally at ease in front of the camera and sharing their post-hike snacks with us when they overheard that we forgot ours (even though snacks were definitely on the stellar elopement-day packing list they thoughtfully shared with us as well), Julie & Colin went above and beyond to help us craft and enjoy our perfect elopement weekend.
Oh, and our photos are STUNNING.
Julie & Colin’s creativity, intentionality, and adventurous spirits were instrumental in helping us experience a truly perfect wedding day - AND they captured it all beautifully to boot. We wholeheartedly recommend working with them if you have the opportunity!"
"When I found Julie online, I knew I had to have her shoot my wedding. The vibes I was going for absolutely matched hers and her dark and moody photography encapsulated what I wanted for my big day. When I finally met her, she was so kind and genuine and thoughtful! I can't stop staring at all of my photos and the backgrounds and all the magic she worked! I would absolutely recommend her for your wedding day, especially at a dreamy destination like the mountains! Thank you thank you THANK YOU Julie for everything! You were a dream!"
"Working with Julie was an absolute delight. As soon as I spoke with her on the phone, I knew she was the right photographer for our wedding (a destination wedding in Joshua Tree National Park) . I wanted someone to capture natural and adventurous photos, instead of traditional portraits that are more posed. Our wedding photos turned out amazing! They are exactly what I had hoped to get from our wedding. And I have gotten so many compliments on them. Julie is a gifted and creative photographer. In addition, she is dream to work with. She was flexible and easy going, and also had great advice and answers to all our questions. She was so accommodating and easy to work with throughout the day. The little touches she puts into her work, and the sweet gestures she makes to her clients were wonderful. I would 100% recommend hiring her for your photography needs!!"
"Julie did the most phenomenal job photographing our very [un]usual wedding. We are avid climbers and she enthusiastically went with us on a pretty serious climb to reach a spot that is especially sacred to us. Our number one priority was to capture images of us together in our special place and I'm 100% certain Julie is the ONLY photographer who could or would do that with and for us. We are eternally grateful. Not only that, Julie served as a maid-of-honor in practice for our tiny wedding (with no wedding party). She helped me with my dress and accessories, fixed my wind-blown hair, and did all manner of attending to my needs along with her actual job of photographing our event. We knew it would likely be the last time our family gathered with our 90-year-old grandfather. I shared this with her and the photos she carefully and mindfully captured of him interacting with our family are priceless heirlooms. Her thoughtfulness, professionalism, talent, and willingness to "rough it" make her an easy choice for any wedding! I would use her services again in heartbeat!"
"I’ll start by saying Julie’s photos are clearly gorgeous. Her style gives a whimsical kind of vibe, with a highlight on nature which is exactly what my husband and I wanted. Julie herself is prompt in responding, SWEET as can be, and catches beautiful moments effortlessly. She loves what she does and it’s evident in her work. We love our wedding photos and are grateful she was available on our day!"
"Working with Julie was truly positive from the start. On my first conversation with her I knew immediately she was the one…LOL She was very knowledgeable about everything from start to finish. She gave us plenty of plan options for that day that fit exactly what we’re looking for. I’m so thankful I listened to her recommendations because she was right about our views being EPIC! (My new favorite word) Anytime I reached out with any questions or concerns she responded quickly and literally had all the answers or a piece of advice to give if that was what I needed. On our day it would be the first time we met, I instantly felt like we had known each other for years. She was on time and got right to work taking detail pictures of my dress and special items we had for our day. After that we got in our cars and started the day of hiking! Julie was very prepared with walkie talkies incase cell service was bad and she knew the route and were the last chance bathroom breaks were. On our hikes she encouraged us to go at our speed, I never felt rushed. She knew all the best places to take photos. I’m so thankful that she was the one to marry us, she did a great job and it was a perfect ceremony, we all (including Julie) laughed and cried with excitement."
"I couldn't have imagined a more perfect surprise engagement, thanks to the incredible talent of Julie. From the moment my boyfriend (now fiancé) began planning this adventure, she was there every step of the way, ensuring I had no clue about what was coming. She is a true artist with a gift for capturing the most genuine and intimate moments.
Her communication, attention to detail, and commitment to making everything perfect was evident in every aspect of the proposal. The entire experience was meticulously planned and executed flawlessly. I was so happy when I saw our pictures, she not only captured the moment but the connection between us.
I am incredibly grateful to Julie for helping make the proposal so memorable and creating stunning images that we will cherish forever. Thank you, Julie for giving us a beautiful keepsake to help us remember our special day!"
"I don’t normally give reviews, but Julie Crawford of Magnolia + Ember deserves it. While she is quiet, she observes and knows what kind of pictures are important for your wedding day. As the day goes on, she learns who you and your spouse are so she can snap those special moments between you two without you realizing. During our session with her, she even had moments where we heard her exclaim, “Oh that is such a good picture! I love my job!” I knew at that moment that we had absolutely picked the right person for our adventure elopement. She is knowledgeable of Leave No Trace principles and was also well versed in desired wedding activities, places to go, and things that need to be achieved for smooth elopement. I would 100% recommend her for your elopement (or any other activity). To us, this was our one day to truly focus on us, and she complimented that without effort and provided us with helpful planning and beautiful pictures that we will cherish for many years. Thank you, Julie!"
"Absolutely recommend! Julie and Colin are amazing at their craft and such great people to work with! Every step was well thought out and planned, they made our adventure such a breeze and we not only had a great time seeing beautiful trails and nature but the pictures were so natural and definitely less stressful than i anticipated. They had a changing tent they hiked up the Smoky Mountains with for us to change in, they kept communications open while traveling through dead zones, very clear and upfront about the experience itinerary so everyone was on the same page, included in the booking is a consultation to create the mood/photos we had in mind. AND THE PHOTOS 😍😍 so very talented! Truly memories that will last a life time!"
"Julie at Magnolia and Ember is one of the most beautiful souls I've ever met. I saw her work from the waterfall at The Trillium and knew I needed her to be my adventure photographer for my wedding. From the moment I started talking to her I knew our passion for adventure was the same, and I felt so deeply connected... I can't thank her enough for keeping me calm, and being a part of our adventure. I am obsessed with every single picture she took!"
"We had our engagement photos done by Julie and they are phenomenal! She is definitely down for adventure and met us at a remote location for our session. We’ve never had a photoshoot together and thought we might be a little awkward but Julie made us feel so comfortable, we didn’t even feel one bit awkward! I’m so glad that she captured our engagement photos that we can forever look back on!"
"We couldn't have asked for a better kick off to our wedding adventure than our shoot with Julie to set the tone. Her creativity is so natural and she made the task of capturing little moments together seem so simple for us. The final images turned out to be super versatile and timeless but modern so we are able to use them for so much more than just scrap-booking or memories."
"To say I was amazed by Julie is a gross understatement!!! Her want to connect with the bride and groom to share their specific story is unrivaled! She caught moments of my husband, of our families, I missed during our wedding day, that I will treasure forever in her photos! We entrusted one of the most important days of our lives to someone we barely knew and it turned out better than I could’ve ever imagined!!! Julie truly captured the love that day, not only between us, but the details of everything; the process of finding the perfect dress, the details that stood out to us, the love of two families coming together as one, the love of ones who were watching in Heaven, and so much more! I could spend hours telling the world how much I will forever cherish these photos, these precious moments frozen in a single image that causes an emotional floodgate. Fellow/future brides: your special day will fly by in a blink of an eye so trust your important day to someone who is able to capture it fully!!! For me, this someone is Julie Crawford!!! From all of my heart, thank you!!! Thank you for giving me something that my heart is able to relive forever and ever!!!"
"You know how we all think that we look cute in our heads, you know, until the unfortunate glimpse of ourselves happen in the grocery store window reflection on a bad hair day? (no one? or is that just me?) Imagine that someone could actually capture the way you actually picture, and the way that she captures you allows you to truly love the way you look. Now imagine someone capturing not just the ideal image of you, but also capturing your connection with your most cherished one in a way that authentically reflects your connection. And if you work with Magnolia + Ember, you honestly get the best of both worlds. It isn't just a photo shoot with Magnolia + Ember, they really go the extra mile to create an experience that is impossible not to get lost in. And they make sure that you look good doing it."
"Julie is the most authentic person with the best personality. She made sure that we were comfortable and made us feel like we were the only people on the mountain despite her and others being there for our adventure wedding. Her photos are worth every penny. The photos she took of us exceed beyond expectation and were absolutely breathtaking. If you want amazing pictures with the best view and something adventurous please contact Magnolia and Ember. We will use her for every picture opportunity in the near future."
