From First Photos to Wedding Days

I think one of the reasons I fell in love with photography so early is because I grew up surrounded by it.

If you have spent any time searching for photographers here in Western North Carolina, you may have also come across Wendy Frederick Photography floating around online somewhere. That is not a coincidence. Wendy is my mum, and photography was always quietly woven into my childhood because of her. Some of my favorite memories growing up are tied to the photos she took and the way she documented our lives so intentionally. Looking back now, I think that is where a lot of this started for me long before I ever realized it.

I was the kind of kid who did not just want to live in a moment. I wanted to keep it. I would spend hours watching old home videos and flipping through photo albums, completely fascinated by the idea that you could freeze time without even realizing how important it would become later. The grainy footage, the shaky camera work, the laughter in the background that no one paid attention to at the time, all of it felt meaningful to me.

I loved the feeling that photographs carried more than what was actually visible in the frame. They held emotion, atmosphere, memory, and pieces of stories that you could almost feel even years later.

That curiosity followed me into high school when I signed up for an elective photography class. At first, I didn’t think much of it. I just thought it sounded interesting. But once I picked up a camera, I realized I actually enjoyed it.

It changed the way I paid attention to things. I started noticing light, angles, and small details that I normally would have overlooked. Photography made me slow down and look at the world a little differently.

I was hooked.

First Photo

One of the first photos I remember taking is still one of my favorites. I picked a big purple flower from the side of the road and placed it between the two yellow lines before taking the picture. It wasn’t anything complicated, but I liked how the colors stood out against the pavement.

Looking back, I think that photo says a lot about why I enjoy photography. I like taking ordinary things and finding a way to make them interesting. It doesn’t have to be a huge moment or an incredible subject—sometimes it’s just about noticing something simple and seeing what you can create with it.

Starting to be known as the Girl with the Camera

After that, I brought my camera everywhere. Friends, sports games, small moments, random drives, everyday life. I documented constantly without really realizing I was teaching myself at the same time. Eventually people started asking me to bring my camera places, and slowly I became the person documenting memories for everyone around me.

By seventeen, photography had become much more than a hobby. It had started shaping the way I experienced the world.

Traveling out of my hometown

Right before college, my mum and I drove from Florida to Idaho over the course of two weeks, and that trip completely changed me creatively. It was the first time I had really experienced landscapes that made me stop in my tracks. The Grand Tetons barely felt real, and Yellowstone felt alive in every direction. Steam rising out of the earth, colors in the water that looked impossible, wildlife moving through spaces that felt untouched. I remember standing in those places, realizing how massive the world really was and how badly I wanted to capture even a fraction of what it felt like to be there.

College in Idaho

When I got to college, I started working in a photography studio, and that was where I really began learning the technical side of photography. Lighting, composition, posing, studio work, all of the things that happen behind the scenes to intentionally create an image. It challenged me in a completely different way because I had always approached photography more emotionally and instinctively. Learning the structure behind it helped me grow so much.

Getting Into Weddings

After spending some time in college, I eventually moved back to my hometown in Florida. Not long after that, I made another big move to Western North Carolina.

Somewhere between those two moves, I decided I wanted to see if photography could become more than just something I enjoyed. I started reaching out to wedding photographers, asking if I could shadow them and learn however I could.

One of the first people to respond was Nick Levine of Nick Levine Photography. He invited me to shadow three weddings that fall, giving me my first real look at what wedding photography was actually like. Watching how he worked, interacted with couples, and handled the pace of a wedding day taught me more than I could have learned on my own.

Those experiences confirmed that this was the direction I wanted to go, and they’ve shaped the way I approach weddings ever since.

Building a name for myself

Not long after, I photographed my first wedding on my own.

It was completely different from anything I had done before. Weddings move fast, and there’s always something happening. You have to pay attention, adapt quickly, and anticipate moments before they happen. I loved the challenge of it.

When I got home and looked through the photos, I realized this was what I wanted to keep doing. It combined everything I enjoyed about photography with the opportunity to create something that would matter to people long after the day was over.

From that point on, I knew I wanted to build a career around photographing weddings.

Today

Today, I’ve been photographing weddings for four years, and I still love it just as much as I did when I started. Alongside weddings, I also photograph proposals and graduations, but no matter what I’m documenting, my approach is always the same.

I don’t believe the best photos come from perfect poses or forced smiles. The images that people treasure for decades are the ones where they were fully present—laughing without realizing it, hugging a little longer, wiping away a tear, or getting lost in the moment with the people they love. My goal is to create photos that don’t just show what your day looked like, but remind you what it felt like. I want your children and grandchildren to be able to look through those images one day and feel connected to moments they never got to experience themselves.

My editing style reflects that same philosophy. I’m drawn to true-to-color images with warm, glowy light that feel timeless rather than trendy. I want your photos to look just as beautiful twenty years from now as they do today. You can usually find me chasing the last light of the evening, hoping for one more vibrant sunset, because there’s nothing quite like the way golden hour brings a photograph to life.

Looking back, it’s funny to think that all of this started with a kid who couldn’t stop watching old home videos and flipping through family photo albums. In a lot of ways, that’s still who I am. I know how powerful a photograph can be, and it’s an incredible privilege to create images that people will carry with them for the rest of their lives.