Lightbloom Photography

Wilmington Wedding & Travel Photographer

Greenfield Lake Engagement Photography | Jen & Paul

I met Jen & Paul last weekend at Greenfield Lake near downtown Wilmington on the warmest, sunniest afternoon for their engagement photos. No, we did not see any gators, but these two did keep me laughing the whole time. They’re so relaxed and comfortable with each other it made my job so simple! Jen’s dress was giving me ALL the witchy American Horror Story – Coven vibes and I mean that in the BEST way possible. With a little help from the wind and the sunlight we were able to score some DREAMY fairy-tale photos. They also brought their two fur babies, Chum and Rocco! I’ve said it before and I’ll never stop saying it, but I ALWAYS love when couples decide to bring their dogs to their engagement photos! I may be a crazy dog lady, but so are a lot of you, and I’m just here to support you 🙂 hint – if you get married at Ironclad you’re able to include your pup in the ceremony if you choose to do so.

Anyway, meeting these two made me even more excited for their wedding day. I know I’m in store for a lot of belly laughs and a whole lot of love when they tie the knot at Ironclad Brewery in August!

– Allison

Fort Fisher Engagement Photography | Aleasha & Chris

Fort Fisher Engagement Photography

Aleasha & Chris met up with me for their engagement photos on a gorgeous day last weekend at Fort Fisher Historic Site. They brought Aleasha’s son, Bryson, after just getting home from a trip to Disney World! So basically these three were troopers for signing up for their photos right after getting home from vacation. I love getting to know my clients during their engagement session and learning things about them, for example, just how small of a world we live in. We learned that Aleasha is from a small town in Ohio just 40 minutes from where I grew up, and even CRAZIER – she went to high school with my best friend that actually started this photo company with me! Normally if we have a connection like that we end up getting together out of word-of-mouth referrals, but Aleasha found me completely randomly on her own. I love it!!! Thanks to both of you for being so easy to photograph, for bringing fun and energetic little Bryson, and for dealing with my crazy last minute out of town trips! I can’t wait for their wedding next year!!

– Allison

Figure Eight Island Engagement Photography | Kristin & Bryan

Figure Eight Island Wedding Engagement Photography

I got to adventure around one of my favorite places in Wilmington recently to photograph Kristin & Bryan’s engagement photos. Kristin’s grandmother has a home on Figure Eight Island, which also holds a special place in my heart, so it was even more fun for me. I grew up vacationing on this island, and ultimately it’s the reason I moved to North Carolina. We went all the way down to the end of the island, we explored some beach walkways, and we ended up at the docks near the clubhouse. We brought their energy ball of a pup, Oscar with us, and he was a blast. Kristin walked around in 45 degree temperatures with no shoes on and didn’t complain ONCE, and Bryan laughed at our weirdness the whole time. These two actually found me because I photographed one of her good friends’ weddings the first fall that I lived here, Caitlin & Michael, so I felt like I already knew them! Thank you for making me laugh so hard the entire time, I seriously can’t wait for your wedding!!

-Allison

Wrightsville Beach Engagement Photography | Jenni & Drew

I met Jenni & Drew the other week at Wrightsville Beach to photograph their engagement session! I love including an engagement session in each wedding package because I love the opportunity it gives me to hang out with my couples before their wedding. These two were absolutely great. They were charming, sweet, they have adorable dogs – WEARING FLORAL NECKLACES – and they were so easy to photograph. A couple that purely enjoys being around one another are the best ones to work with, they can be silly and laugh with each other in front of the camera. We absolutely lucked out with a warm day and a gorgeous sunset at the end, too. Thanks for enjoying the beach with me, Jenni and Drew – and I can’t wait to be there for your wedding! They’ll be getting married at one of my favorites – Brooklyn Arts Center, in May and it’s going to be amazingggg!

Allison

Wilmington NC Engagement Photography | McKenna & Will

McKenna & Will had me over to their home to take their engagement photos, just a few short weeks before their wedding! I loved getting to know these two and I LOVED photographing them – they made it so easy for me! When you meet awesome couples like this, you get even MORE excited to be at their wedding. They even let me become besties with their two fur babies, which is always a bonus in my opinion. Just under two weeks until their big day and I can’t wait to see how it’s all come together! Here are a few of my favorites from our session.

– Allison

Carolina Beach Boardwalk Engagement Photography | Elizabeth & John

Carolina Beach Boardwalk Fort Fisher Engagement Photographer

I met up with Elizabeth and John to take their engagement photos at Fort Fisher as well as heading over to the Carolina Beach Boardwalk. They brought their adorable dog – which I ALWAYS encourage doing, by the way – and he happily wore a bow tie and smiled accordingly for every photo! I love taking engagement photos of all my couples because it really gives me the chance to get to know them before their wedding day. After meeting Elizabeth and John, it reminded me once again how grateful I am to do what I do – I get to work with the BEST couples. They made me laugh the entire time and I’m that much more excited for their wedding day, now. Thanks for sweating it out with me during the afternoon sun, and for showing me around some of your favorite spots in Carolina Beach! Ahem – Britt’s donuts, anyone?? Now go look at all my favorite pictures from our shoot!!!!

– Allison

Downtown Wilmington Engagement Photography | Nicole & Dylan

Downtown Wilmington Engagement Photographer

Nicole and Dylan are getting married in September, and I had the pleasure of walking around downtown with them and taking their engagement photos last weekend! Downtown Wilmington has so much to offer for photography backdrops, I just love the variety of options. I do find myself wandering back to a few of my favorite spots a lot of the time, but I try to do something different with them each time I come back. These two were so relaxed and casual, which are two of my favorite things about my clients. It gives me a taste of what their wedding will be like, and I know with Nicole and Dylan that we’re going to have a great time come September. I’m excited to be a part of their wedding day, but for now, enjoy some sneak peeks of their engagement pictures!

– Allison

Wrightsville Beach Engagement | Xan & Joe

Planning out your engagement session is pretty simple, mostly you just try to pick out beautiful location and look for some decent weather. When we were trying to think of the perfect place in Wilmington to take their photos, we had some great ideas. Most of them ended up falling through at the very last minute, but luckily we have a LOT of back up options in this gorgeous town. And when we picked out the end of March for engagement photos, we knew that we’d be having warm weather by then. Well, the day arrived and it was only 40 something degrees. In Wilmington. What!? That is SO uncommon here. It’s a good thing that I have literally the most amazing couples as my clients, because Xan and Joe showed up with positive attitudes and big smiles (and hot coffee) and they did it anyway! We walked along the beach and froze our butts off and it was all worth it – my favorite part of sending the photos to them was Xan’s comment – “we don’t even look cold!” Mission accomplished.

I can’t wait for their wedding in May. They’ll be tying the knot at 128 South in downtown Wilmington, which is yet another amazing location and I have a feeling that we’ll have a little warmer temperatures 😉

– Allison

Downtown Wilmington Engagement Photography | Carly & Josh

Downtown Wilmington Photography

I met Carly and Josh before they got engaged, through some previous clients of mine who have turned into some of my best friends here in Wilmington. I remember when we were hanging out, having some drinks and making jokes about why they weren’t engaged yet, and now look at them! We started their engagement session at their house, which sits on some awesome property and they have farm animals galore! We included a few of the horses in the beginning, and then after having some laughs we headed downtown to finish up with walking along the Riverwalk as the sun went down. I loved being able to get two totally different locations for their photos, and I like to think we had a lot of fun in the process. These two are going to be getting married all the way in St. Lucia, and have invited me to come along for the trip! I. CAN’T. WAIT. Now check out how awesome these photos turned out – and stay tuned for their wedding next summer!!

– Allison

Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography

Oak Openings Engagement Photography | Nicole & Justin

Oak Openings Engagement Photography

Whenever I take trips back to Ohio for weddings, I try to squeeze in as many shoots as I can while I’m there. Ohio has always given me incredible clients, and sometimes I really miss being so accessible to them now that I’m in North Carolina! I love every moment of living here, but I also love getting to go back to Ohio for visits and see some of my favorite places all over again. This little area in Oak Openings will forever hold a special place in my heart. Nicole and Justin will be getting married here next Summer, so we thought it only appropriate that we do their engagement photos in the same park! These two were so sweet, I absolutely loved running around the forest with them and catching some sun rays and finding random teepee’s. Yes, that’s a thing. I can’t wait to see how their wedding comes together next year!

– Allison

Photographer: Allison Eding, Lightbloom Photography

  • Can we just take a brief pause in sharing pretty portraits and travel photos to talk about how I just started watching Game of Thrones for the very first time and how I just finished season 2 and how I’m so addicted it’s hard to focus on anything else?!?!?! Help.
  • Two posts before noon and I don’t even care because my friends are so cute and they’re heading to the hospital TONIGHT to get ready for their little Henry to arrive!!! 😍
  • Last night I got to do a DOUBLE maternity session with some of my besties and I can’t wait to edit these beautiful photos and also i can’t wait to meet these beautiful babes ♥️
  • GRAD PHOTOS WITH FRIENDS! Email me to book: lightbloomphoto@gmail.com
  • One day I’ll start posting photos of couples again. But for now, just more pretty places 😍
  • Missing my cute camel friends.
  • Best view in the house 🙌🏼 also any fellow Harry Potter nerds like myself will be happy to know that this park is where JK Rowling got inspiration for the Forbidden Forest while she lived in Porto and taught English at the university.
  • Have you ever eaten dinner inside of a cave followed by some flamenco dancing? Try it sometime. 😂