Here's what I know about you...
You want someone who gets the love, the inside jokes, and the weird little moments that are so specifically you.
fair warning: the real moments will make me cry too
You want someone who's fully on board with whatever your day looks like. even the parts everyone else may be quietly judging.
Angel and I got married on top of one of our favorite overlooks in Pennsylvania. Both sets of parents thought we were out of our minds. My 85-year-old grandma made it up the mountain anyway (which was very frowned upon) and it turned into the best day we could have imagined.
Having a photographer who trusted us to know what we wanted made all the difference. Someone who let us be completely ourselves without feeling awkward about it. That's exactly what I want to be for you.
I didn't always photograph weddings
My photography journey actually started at a paintball field in 2011 - which is also where I met my husband, so make of that what you will. Growing up painfully shy, photography gave me a voice I never knew I needed. I just had to figure out what I wanted to say with it.
I spent years shooting everything from large scale events to portraits before I finally found my way to couples. And honestly? It was never really a pivot. It was more like coming home. Turns out I've always been someone who loves love - I just needed a minute to find my way there.
Just a few of my favorite things…
Songs that hit you at exactly the right moment and make you cry in the best way. Long drives with the windows down. Singing as loudly as possible. Nostalgia. Memory boxes. Old things that tell the story of where you came from. Landscapes that make you feel connected to something bigger than yourself.
After growing up watching my grandparents' love story, finding my way into wedding photography made all the sense in the world.
My grandparents had that slow dancing in the kitchen, whispering sweet nothings, tackle-every-storm-together kind of love. It was steady, imperfect, and most of all, real. Their love was inspiring even to a 10-year-old me who barely knew what any of it meant yet. It's the kind of love that made me a hopeless romantic before I even had a word for it.
When I lost my grandfather in 2015, my world felt like it crumbled. But that was also when I started falling in love with photographing love itself. I realized that photographs are the one thing that help us share our story - not only while we're here, but long after we're gone. They're how we make sure the people we love are never really forgotten.
And once I found my way to couples, something shifted. I wasn't just taking photos anymore. I was doing exactly what my grandparents did for me - showing someone that their love was worth paying attention to. Worth preserving. Worth remembering forever.
That's why I do this. Not for the pretty light or the perfect moment, but for the feeling you get when you look at a photo twenty years from now and feel it all over again.
Just a few of my favorite things…
daffodils in March • the friends who became family • long drives with the windows down singing too loud • pizza on the couch with my husband • my cats who hate being hugged but get hugged anyway • hiking the same two trails because they feel like home • songs that make you cry at exactly the right moment • spring, always spring.
After growing up watching my grandparents' love story, finding my way into wedding photography made all the sense in the world.
My grandparents had that slow dancing in the kitchen, whispering sweet nothings, tackle-every-storm-together kind of love. It was steady, imperfect, and most of all, real. Their love was inspiring even to a 10-year-old me who barely knew what any of it meant yet. It's the kind of love that made me a hopeless romantic before I even had a word for it.
When I lost my grandfather in 2015, my world felt like it crumbled. But that was also when I started falling in love with photographing love itself. I realized that photographs are the one thing that help us share our story - not only while we're here, but long after we're gone. They're how we make sure the people we love are never really forgotten.
And once I found my way to couples, something shifted. I wasn't just taking photos anymore. I was doing exactly what my grandparents did for me - showing someone that their love was worth paying attention to. Worth preserving. Worth remembering forever.
That's why I do this. Not for the pretty light or the perfect moment, but for the feeling you get when you look at a photo twenty years from now and feel it all over again.
The details nobody else would think to notice -those are my favorite ones to catch.
Enough about me,
let’s talk about you for a moment
EVERY LOVE STORY IS SPECIFIC. THE WAY YOU MET, THE INSIDE JOKES, THE SMALL MOMENTS THAT NOBODY ELSE WOULD NOTICE. THOSE ARE THE DETAILS THAT MAKE YOUR STORY YOURS, AND THEY'RE EXACTLY WHAT I'M HERE TO CAPTURE.
I want to know your story. Not the highlight reel version, the real one. The details that made you choose each other and the moments that are going to matter most when you look back twenty years from now.
I'll be the first one on board when you want to hike to a waterfall at sunrise or reception hop through the city. And I'll be the one crying behind the camera when you tell me you sewed a piece of your grandfather's shirt inside your gown (may or may not be based on a true story).
Your story fuels everything I do. It inspires the hopeless romantic in me, and honestly? It makes me smile like an absolute idiot every single time.
The best part of this job will always be getting to meet you and hear your story.
My Bucket List Travel Destinations
If you're getting married here, my bags are already packed.
local:
- Acadia National Park
- Shenandoah National Park
- Asheville, NC
- Great Smoky Mountains
- Yosemite National Park
- Mount Rainier
- Lake Tahoe
- glacier national park
- rocky mountains
abroad:
- Banff National Park
- Ireland
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Austria
- Italy
ALICIA went above and beyond the job and I'm so grateful that SHE WAS able to do our engagement shoot and wedding day.
Alicia, thank you so much for all that you did to capture our day. You went above and beyond the job and I'm so grateful that we were able to have you do our engagement shoot and wedding day. If you are looking into Alicia Rivera Photography, I highly recommend her service. She is a talented photographer and a genuinely kind person. You can trust she will capture all the precious and beautiful moments and have your back throughout the whole process!
- Emily + Gavin
You will not regret booking Alicia - she's friendly, caring, true to herself, and that all shows in her photographs.
Alicia is AMAZING!! I have worked with her for so many shoots and they NEVER disappoint! You will not regret booking Alicia - she's friendly, caring, true to herself, and that all shows in her photographs. I always look forward to our sessions!
