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My mission as a wedding photographer is to help happy couples celebrate life's biggest joys with high quality photos and a dang good time. I believe the experience is just as important as the photos and that you deserve beautiful, lasting memories.

Hey!! I'm Gabriella.

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philadelphia wedding photographer

Let’s talk about rest …

… and how much I suck at it.

headshot of gabriella marie photography, a pennsylvania wedding photographer

A few weeks ago, I worked a 15 hour day on Saturday (including commute). That’s a long freaking day, and weddings require lots of time on your feet while carrying around heavy camera gear (& I almost always come away with bruises on my knees somehow lol). Wedding photography is very physically and mentally demanding. After a day like that, you’d probably want to take a rest day, right?

Right. So I planned to … and found myself filling my “rest day” with chores and errands and — yup, you guessed it — WORK.

I’m not sure why I have so much trouble resting. I can rest when I’m with family, friends, my boyfriend … but I can’t seem to let myself rest when I’m by myself. Why watch a movie for two hours when I can probably bang out 100 edits in that time?

But rest is vital. And I’m learning that. Excruciatingly slowly, but I’m still learning. Repeat after me: IT’S OKAY TO NOT BE PRODUCTIVE. In fact, I would argue that rest itself is productive because it allows you to be refreshed for when you do need to focus. (I’m preaching to myself here, y’all.)

I’ve found that I need to be proactive with rest — I need to rest before I collapse. Just like how you should fill your car with gas before it dips below the E. Or how you should keep up with oil changes before the oil change light comes on. Yes, you can do these things for a while without any noticeable effects … but it’s detrimental to the lifespan of your car. Being proactive with taking care of your car prolongs how long it runs well. Likewise, being proactive with taking care of yourself prolongs how long your business runs well.

I’m trying to be better. It takes a long time to break habits, so I need to have grace with myself. And I also recognize that I’m in the beginnings stages of running a business which naturally requires more time working to make sure it gets off the ground running. So there’s a give and take for sure. But from here on out, I want to air on the side of rest.

Reply...

- Melissa & Johnnie

“Gabriella was absolutely amazing!!! Words cannot even describe how perfect she was, but I’ll try my best. Right from the beginning, I knew she was the one. She was so caring, calming, organized, and just a genuinely happy person. She made me feel even more excited for my wedding. She was so helpful throughout the entire process right down to the big day. AND THE PICTURES - OH MY GOD. They are absolutely breathtaking and she definitely tells the story of your day in the most perfect way. She captures every precious moment while having a smile on her face the whole time she’s with you. I can’t say enough amazing things about her. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone looking to have the BEST photographer for any occasion. We had such an amazing experience with Gabriella and we can’t thank her enough!”

"WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE HOW PERFECT SHE WAS"

- Aaron & lydia

Gabriella is the BEST photographer and we could not have asked for anyone better to capture our proposal! I had intentions of interviewing multiple photographers, but after seeing her work and talking to her over the phone, I immediately booked with her. Her passion for photography is so evident. She goes above and beyond to make your shoot about YOU. She does a great job of taking control and guiding you with poses that you will love, and her candid shots are unbelievable. She had a smile on her face the entire time and we felt like a close friend was there doing this for us. Would recommend her 100 times out of 100!

Gabriella was absolutely amazing. She made the photography session so easy and effortless. Her personality is so warm and inviting, she made us feel so so comfortable during these pictures. Gabriella went above and beyond for us and I’m so grateful my significant other found her as a photographer. I would highly recommend!

"SHE GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND"

- Alex & mike

Gabriella is not only an amazing photographer, but she is an amazing person! She was incredible to work with and made everything from our engagement photos to our wedding day extremely easy. She really understands your vibe and does everything she can to help make that come true! My husband is extremely camera shy, but he was so comfortable with her and the photos were amazing!

"SHE IS AN AMAZING PERSON"

- kevin & riya

Gabriella is the BEST photographer and needless to say she went above and beyond our expectations! She was hired by my fiancé for our surprise proposal and she did a phenomenal job at capturing every single detail of it. She made our lives easy by understanding us, our personality, the way we wanted to be captured and she did just that! From showing us every beautiful inch of Longwood gardens to telling us about different poses to capturing the beauty and essence of nature! She made my dream come true with these beautiful pictures. We spent 2 hrs with her and there was sign of rush of ending the session and it was more like whatever we felt in the moment which is what I truly enjoyed. She sent us our sneak peak pictures the day off just several hours later and needless to say not only did our jaws dropped but every single person who viewed those pics while asking who the photographer was! We proudly share her information with every member of our family and friends because she truly deserves the best❤️ Thank you Gabriella for capturing the most beautiful and intimate moments of ours and We can’t wait to work with you again!

"SHE MADE MY DREAM COME TRUE"

- brandon & nasia

Gabriella captured our special moments perfectly! She photographed our proposal, Holud night before the wedding, and wedding day. She was very easy to work with and always communicative and responsive. She was able to handle a 300 person wedding with ease and always got the shot. I've only seen the sneak peek from our wedding weekend but I am already in love with the pictures. She truly captured the joy and happiness of the weekend through her photos, which I will treasure forever. She is also just a genuinely kind person, which makes working with her even better :) Highly recommend.

"TRULY CAPTURED THE JOY AND HAPPINESS"

Testimonials