5 out of 5 stars and 97 reviews Best of Weddings (6x).
5
(97)Flagstaff, Phoenix, Sedona, Tucson, Anywhere in Arizona!
About this vendor
I’m Carmela, a wedding and lifestyle photographer based in Arizona. The reason I love photography is simple – I love people & I love stories. I am passionate about capturing the genuine interactions, spontaneous moments, and candids that make your personality and love unique. When a couple asks me to join them on one of the best days of their lives, it is something I take great responsibility and joy in. When I see the way you laugh together, the way you look at each other, and your wild passion for each other - I see your love as a work of art and it’s such an honor to capture those moments.
Details
Business Attributes
- Asian-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo Shoot Types
- Boudoir
- Bridal Portraits
- Day After Session
- Engagement
- Trash The Dress
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Photo
- Second Shooter Available
- Social Media Sharing
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Classic
- Documentary
- Lifestyle
- Modern
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
Awards and Affiliations
6-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2025.2024.2023.+3 more.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Hall of Fame
Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.097 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 9
We hired Carmela for our wedding in Arizona and we are absolutely blown away! The first time we worked with her was for our engagement photos. We were so nervous and she made us fe...
el super comfortable. She had music playing and told us exactly what to do but also made everything feel so natural. When we got the edited photos we were shook. We knew we had made the right choice. Our wedding experience was even better. She ended up staying past our negotiated time because she knew there was certain shots we wanted that we hadn’t gotten yet. She even helped bustle my dress! Carmela alone was great but we also hired her partner Jacob for Video and just wow!! They truly felt like friends and I’m sad that our wedding is over. Our guests and bridal party can’t stop talking about how amazing they were. Hire them!!!! Worth every penny. Now we have the most amazing photos and videos forever to remember our special day thanks to them!
We are absolutely overjoyed to have had Carmela Joy as our wedding photographer! From the moment we met her, her warmth and genuine passion for her craft shone through. She has an ...
incredible talent for capturing every little moment, making each shot feel truly special and filled with emotion.
Carmela has a way of making you feel like a million bucks, effortlessly creating a comfortable and fun atmosphere during the photoshoot. Her sweet demeanor and professionalism made the entire experience enjoyable, and we felt so at ease in front of her lens.
When we received our photos, we were blown away—they looked like something straight out of a Vogue edition! Each image is a beautiful representation of our day, and we couldn’t be happier with how she captured our love story. Thank you, Carmela, for your amazing work and for helping us preserve these cherished memories. If you’re looking for a photographer who is not only immensely talented but also a joy (pun intended) to work with, look no further than Carmela!
If you’re thinking of using Carmela’s amazing photography skills for your wedding….SAY YES! She took our engagement photos as well. My husband and I were very uncomfortable in fron...
t of a camera and during the session she immediately made us comfortable and helped us open up and enjoy the process. When it came to the wedding we already felt 100x more comfortable taking our photos and had a blast doing it. She created my dream wedding album and I can’t stop staring at all the photos she did. Her edits are my absolute favorite- which is what initially attracted me to her work. She is such a sweet fun loving soul and cannot recommend her and her work enough. Thank you Carmela, you’re an absolute gem🩷
I am so happy to write this review and even happier that Carmela was the photographer on our wedding day! We got married in Tuscany, it was a small wedding and the things I care mo...
st about was the family & friends at our wedding and the photographs of the day we would have forever. I spent a good amount of time interviewing other photographers, trying to find the right fit but when I spoke to Carmela it just felt like she was exactly who I was looking for. Leading up to the wedding, Carmela was just simply amazing. Going beyond just her role as the photographer, she would check in with me, offer assistance where she could- I was so grateful for all the effort she put in. Now when the day actually came, she was SO much fun to work with! My husband and I are definitely not naturals in front of a camera but Carmela made us comfortable, gave great direction and I am just over the moon with how our photos turned out. If you choose to work with Carmela, you will not be disappointed. She's a true professional with years under her belt and she knows what she's doing to capture your day exactly how you always imagined!
I truly do not know where to start with praising Carmela! She is every bride’s dream in terms of photography! She came HIGHLY recommended when I was seeking a wedding photographer ...
and I can say hands down she was the best decision we made throughout our wedding. Not only is Carmela crazy talented, she is genuinely the most warm and sweet soul I’ve ever met. She made my husband and I feel immediately like we’d been friends with her for years at our engagement shoot! From there, she kept in touch with us and really sought to understand what types of photos/vibes we wanted for our wedding day! She made a true effort to get to know us as a couple so that it would show up in our photos! When she showed up on wedding day, it was like all my nerves were gone and I felt so calm - she really has the effect!!! My entire bridal party and family adored her and so many people told me how great she was to work with! I had a LARGE bridal party (24) and she so seamlessly organized us quickly and captured the most incredible photos! I would choose her again and again and hope some day she’ll be able to capture us again as a family! She truly is the most talented, genuine and humble person and I adore her!!!
Carmela made our day the absolute best. We live out of state from where our wedding was so we weren’t able to fit in an engagement session with her like most couples do, but I coul...
dn’t have asked for a better photographer! Without ever meeting before she made us feel so comfortable and confident throughout the entire event. Carmela is a seriously such a pro and knew our venue perfectly. She captured the most stunning photos that encompassed all the emotions of joy, gratitude, and celebration we felt. If you are looking for a photographer who knows how to find those genuine candid moments from your day then she is your girl! Not to mention she is an absolutely lovely person to be around with her bubbly and kind personality. Carmela is a true artist and we were lucky to have her. :)
Carmela is the best vendor we could have asked for! Photography was one of our biggest priorities and Carmela was one of the first vendors we booked. From Day 1, she put me at ease...
. She is not only extremely professional, but one of the sweetest people you will meet. Carmela has worked with so many venues, vendors, and couples that she is a well oiled machine, taking so much stress out of the day. She was such a huge help with setting up our day of timeline too. Carmela turned around some sneak peak photos so quickly, we were able to create a post within a few days of the wedding. The entire gallery came over so quickly as well. Our photos our so beautiful, we have received so many compliments on them. She is one of the best, could not have asked for a better experience!
From a former bride to another — if you are considering working with Carmela for your wedding, DO IT! Invest in her! I promise it will be the best and easiest decision you will mak...
e.
I knew as soon as we got engaged, I wanted to work with Carmela to document our wedding day in San Francisco this past September. In fact, she was the very first vendor we secured :) I love that she is able to capture love and happiness in its purest form. Her photos are timeless, intimate, and authentic to the couple. We are so grateful we can relive our special day through Carmela’s photos.
I also loved that her package included an engagement photoshoot. It gave us a chance to meet and get to know each other. It was our first time taking professional photos and we were nervous going into it/thought we wouldn’t be comfortable in front of the camera. But Carmela has a gift at making you feel comfortable and bringing out the best in you and your partner. We had SO MUCH FUN and our photos turned out beautifully. It felt like we were hanging out and laughing with our closest friends. This made our wedding day even better and we were even more at ease. We had A LOT of really stunning photos from our wedding. We have so many favorites! We also received a lot of compliments from our family and friends on our wedding photos.
Carmela is professional, experienced, responsive, and so incredibly supportive and caring. She was very helpful in preparation for our engagement photoshoot and ahead of the wedding; her guidance made us feel more assured and prepared. And her wedding guide is amazing! It was detailed, thorough, and included things to consider that I hadn’t even thought of.
Carmela, we are your biggest fans. Thank you for being you and sharing your gift with the world.
Carmela was absolutely fantastic to work with! My husband and I felt so comfortable around her and she was so fun to work with! Our photos could not have turned out better! I knew ...
I could relax on my wedding day because Carmela had everything under control. I could not recommend a better photographer for your big day, I know you will love her like we did!
After having Carmela do both our engagement and wedding photos, there is no other way to describe her besides "true professional". We were blown away by both our engagement and wed...
ding photos, and couldn't be happier with how they are turning out.
Our pictures are not only perfect, but she is so fun to work with. Carmela will play your favorite music as she helps make the photography process natural and painless.
We can't recommend Carmela enough! We love our pictures and feel that we have gained a new friend through the entire process.
From the moment I laid my eyes on Carmela's Instagram profile, I knew I wanted her to be my wedding photographer one day. So when my now-husband eventually proposed, I told him tha...
t I already knew who I wanted, and he had no say in the matter! Carmela was the first person I reached out to at that point, and she was the first vendor that we booked aside from our wedding venue! Getting to know Carmela throughout the process - including a gorgeous engagement shoot - was a joy (pun intended) and she did a terrific job making us feel at ease. She was so easy to get along with, made us feel comfortable and natural, and we even built a friendship where my husband and I went on double dates with her and her boyfriend, Jacob Sanchez, who is an incredibly gifted wedding videographer that we wound up booking for our wedding as well! Carmela's work speak for itself, and they are the dynamic duo you should want to hire for your wedding! Our wedding day was rainy and I was very anxious, but she was able to capture the day so beautifully regardless of the weather, perfectly recording our happiness against a beautiful mountain backdrop. She did a terrific job posing our huge wedding party and family to keep everything running smoothly and on time, but she also made our bridal party feel natural. We had a blast together while she, Jacob and her second shooter Emily hyped us up the entire time! We couldn't stop laughing and felt like we were the stars of the show. We received the wedding gallery sooner than we had even anticipated, and it was more beautiful than we could have imagined! Picking our top 10 photos is impossible, and it's a testament to how good Carmela is at what she does! We can't thank you enough, and we will forever recommend you to anyone in need of a talented, fun and genuine photographer!
Carmela is a lovely human and amazing photographer!!! We are so glad we hired her to photograph our wedding day. She made us and our families feel super comfortable, and her warmth...
and great vibes were much appreciated! The photos are beautiful and she did an amazing job capturing our love. Thank you Carmela!!!
We've had the pleasure of working with Carmela for several years now, and her photography never fails to amaze us. Her keen eye for detail and ability to capture the essence of eve...
ry moment is truly remarkable. From our engagement photos to our wedding day, Carmela has been there to document our most cherished memories with elegance and grace.
Her professionalism, creativity, and genuine passion for her craft shine through in every shot she takes. Carmela's warm and friendly demeanor makes every session a joy, and her ability to make us feel comfortable in front of the camera is truly remarkable.
For our wedding videography, we entrusted Jacob from Sancho Weddings with capturing our special day, and we couldn't be happier with the result. Jacob's skillful videography perfectly complemented Carmela's photography, bringing our memories to life in a way that exceeded our expectations. His attention to detail, creative vision, and professionalism were evident throughout the entire process, and we're grateful to have had him as part of our team.
If you're looking for a dynamic duo to capture your special moments, look no further than Carmela for photography and Jacob from Sancho Weddings for videography. Their talent, professionalism, and dedication to their craft make them an unbeatable team, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have had them document our most precious memories.
We are so thankful for you! You made us feel so comfortable and kept us laughing. You also took a bummer situation of me braking my foot the day before our engagement session and m...
ade it the most magical session. You saw my vision but made it better then I could imagine! You truly have a talent for this!
She got sneak peeks within 24 hours!!!!
Also her editing skills are 🔥. I broke my foot and had surgery a month before my wedding and she took my scars off my foot 🥲 and she made my photos look amazing you can’t even tell I only was able to stand on 1 leg.
She is amazing!!!! I can’t say that enough!!
I've been a huge fan of Carmela's work, so it was a dream come true when my husband and I were able to snag her to capture our special day. We first met at our engagement shoot in ...
a quaint pistachio grove, where she made two camera shy couples act so relaxed and natural. By the time our wedding day came around, we were nearly pros! She truly has the eye to capture the most beautiful and candid moments. We are so happy to have these timeless memories that we will cherish forever. We highly recommend Carmela to anyone in search of a talented and personable photographer for their special day. Thank you for capturing our love story so perfectly!
I don’t even know where to start with how amazing Carmela is as not only a photographer but also as a friend throughout the entire wedding process. The first time we spoke to Carme...
la on the phone prior to booking she truly radiated her excitement and kindness through the phone! We had no hesitation in booking her as our first vendor and we never ever questioned that decision! She made our engagement pictures so amazing and brought our vision to life so well!! She always was there to answer any questions that we had whether it was about our photos, recommendations, or just simply some validation. She made our wedding day the absolute best and everyone had nothing but amazing things to say about her! It was so nice to see such a familiar and kind face and we always knew that she understood our vision so well. She delivered our photos so fast and we seriously look at them every single day. My husband and I seriously can’t stop talking about how much we loved having Carmela as a part of our big day!! CAN’T RECOMMEND ENOUGH 🤎🤎🤎
The number one piece of advice that I have given my friends that are getting married is, INVEST IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER. Choosing Carmela was easily the best decision my husband and I...
made for our wedding and engagement photos. We are not the type to be super comfortable around or in front of a camera, but you’d NEVER be able to tell from Carmela’s photos. She instilled this sense of confidence in both of us that I, seriously, think could have only been achieved by her. Her light hearted, energetic, comforting and kind personality/demeanor was a huge game changer for us- especially when it came to our wedding day. We were both SO nervous and emotional that day and her just being in our presence was like a warm hug!!!
Now let’s talk about the pictures she took… unreal. I was told by so many people that our pictures looked as though they were straight out of a bridal magazine. I happen to think they’re even better than that! When I look at our photos, I instantly get transported to the moment the photo was taken because she captured the true feelings and emotions of each particular moment and I’ve never been so impressed by someone. We knew our pictures would be amazing just from our engagement session, but our wedding pictures turned out unimaginable. I recommend her to everyone I know that is getting married because she is SOOOO incredible. I’ll never get over her or our pictures. We love you, Carmela!!!!
Carmela was seriously THE BEST photographer we could’ve ever asked for! She did both our engagement and wedding photos and we were blown away with how comfortable she made us feel ...
in front of the camera. She is the nicest human and it was such a pleasure to be able to work with her! Not to mention, her photos are truly beautiful and we literally loved them all! She was also SO helpful with wedding day timeline questions and she was so patient with me when I had a million questions for her! I truly could not recommend anybody more! Thank you Carmela!!
Investing in Carmela was the best decision my partner and I could have made. We got married at the Ruin Venue in Joshua Tree this May, and she made sure we had everything we needed...
. She captures all of your special, authentic moments in a way I haven’t seen anywhere else.
Carmela is so good and bringing you out of your shell in front of the camera, no matter how nervous or awkward you are! We had so much fun during our engagement shoot and during our wedding with her. She seriously caught every detail and all of the love, laughter, and excitement from our day. Plus, everyone at our wedding loved her. All of our friends kept asking how to convince her to come to Oregon and hangout with us.
Throughout the process, Carmela was always responsive to our questions and excited to make our vision come to life. Our photos were so much better than we could have ever imagined—they are seriously art. Her kindness and sense of humor made our whole wedding process even more unforgettable. I can not recommend Carmela highly enough, she is seriously one of a kind. You get a bestie, hype woman, and photographer all in one!
Thank you for everything Carmela!
Carmela Joy was absolutely amazing to work with! Personally, I'm not very comfortable in front of the camera, but after meeting with her, she put all my nerves at ease. She has a v...
ery calming, positive, and professional demeanor that helped us instantly connect with her. She gave us great cues, made the photoshoots super fun, and was very clever on catering the poses unique to us. She also has a little speaker to play music during the shoots which was such a nice touch to help enhance the mood/atmosphere! The photos turned out INCREDIBLE, and it's so hard to pick our favorites. Her editing has just the right amount of brightness vs. "moody" lighting, and she includes so much variety of pictures. Carmela truly is so talented, and we feel so lucky that we got to have her as our photographer to capture our special day!
Do not hesitate hire Carmela! From the moment we booked her for our engagement shoot and our wedding she was professional, helpful, kind, and responsive. Carmela captured every mom...
ent of our wedding perfectly and we will cherish the photos forever. She does such an amazing job and goes above and beyond to get the shot! She is worth every penny.
Carmela is truly amazing!! I travel a lot for work so there were moments where I felt very unorganized and rushed but Carmela was very patient and supportive throughout our engagem...
ent + wedding process. My husband and I never had photo sessions ever but Carmela made it so comfortable and fun for us that we want to have more taken by her in the future!
I am so happy I found Carmela, we have had the best experience and the quality of her photos is truly amazing!! My and my husband had never had a professional photo shoot done toge...
ther so our engagement shoot with Carmela was the first, we were so nervous but Carmela made us feel SO comfortable and made it so much fun, and the pictures turned out amazing!! Fast forward to wedding day, she was everyone's biggest hype woman and captured everything so perfectly. Not only is her editing style so beautiful but her communication, quality of work, and kindness make working with her so fun and easy. We will 100% be booking with her for all future photo shoots, I could go on and on about how amazing she is, if you are looking for a wedding photographer - Carmela is THE BEST!!
We were so fortunate to find Carmela to take our engagement pictures and just recently our wedding pictures.
She is an absolute treasure and an amazing artist that captures the mo...
st precious moments. We were so grateful that she made us feel so comfortable right away and was genuinely interested in our love story; which made the experience with her so much more special. We will never get over how amazing the pictures came out and how she made us feel. Thank you, Carmela! You truly are a joy.
Its no wonder she is Carmela Joy because she is an absolute JOY to work with and be around. I knew from the second I found her on instagram that I had to have her as our photograph...
er from her style of shooting to editing, She was everything I was looking for in a photographer. She flew to Houston, Texas for our engagement shoot and as our first professional photoshoot together she made us feel at ease and extremely comfortable in front of the camera. She'll be your biggest hype woman! She also helped us find the sweetest videographer for our wedding day. & She really helped our day run so smoothly and took the most beautiful photos and really knows how to capture the moment. We feel extremely blessed to have found Carmela and I promise you she'll be the best part of your wedding day!
Carmela!! What a joy it was to work with her! She is creative, thoughtful, and fun! She has true talent and made my husband and I feel so loved on our big day! The pictures we got ...
back were truly stunning! Our big day was captured with hundreds of amazing images! Our friends and family even noticed how wonderful she was and I feel blessed to have been able to connect with this talented woman! Thank you for everything! We loved having you be such a huge part of our wedding! I am still in awe every time I look back at our pictures!! Thank you!!
Let me just start by saying Carmela is FAR more than a photographer. She is absolutely one of the most amazing people you will ever meet. She will be your biggest hype girl, your n...
umber one fan, the best dance partner, emotional support, and so much more. After taking our engagement and wedding photos, I seriously consider her a friend and I am forever grateful to have her in our lives. Her photos are just unreal. I mean there’s no other way to put it. She is simply the most amazing photographer you will ever find and if you’re thinking about hiring her, I promise you it will be the best decision you will ever make.
Carmela was literally a joy to work with *pun intended* :) From our first email, to the meet-up and to the wedding/elopement day itself. We had a hot air balloon elopement and had ...
to be there at 4:30 AM... so I give her props for being there so early for us. We had a bump in the road with weather but she was able to stick it out with us and we were able to get married that day and the pictures still came out wonderful. Carmela was quick with the sneak peeks (I'm not sure how she didn't nap after all that). When we finally received the rest of the pictures, I couldn't help but look at it non-stop and sent it to whoever I could lol. We have our pictures printed out and on our wall now and we couldn't have had a memorable day without Carmela. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a great photographer who's super chill and down to earth :)
Carmela is pure joy in human form, and a true artist when it comes to photographing love.
My husband and I found Carmela on instagram pre-pandemic, as she regularly shoots at our...
venue (the Paseo). Early on, we decided that finding a good photographer was at the top of our priority list. We weren't able to meet Carmela in person due to us living out of the state, but we had a great first phone call and we immediately knew we would love her-- She took the time to get to know us as individuals and as a couple, and answered all of our many, many questions!
After several delays and reschedulings due to the pandemic, we were finally able to travel to AZ for our engagement shoot with Carmela in March of 2022. We were both a little nervous as we had never done a photoshoot together before-- But Carmela made us feel super comfortable throughout the whole process, putting us in fun and silly poses, and hyping us up by telling us how great we looked as she was shooting us! She sent us sneak peaks that same weekend, and we had our full gallery within two weeks. As we scrolled through the gallery, we found we loved each photo even more than the last!
In the months and weeks leading up to the wedding, Carmela reached out several times to check in and to make sure we were all squared away for the big day! She helped me create an ideal "timeline" for the day and we went over our "must have" photos, to make sure those special moments were captured. I also had the somewhat last minute idea to do a private "last dance" as husband and wife and have her photograph it, even though that would extend her evening with us quite a bit. Without hesitation, she said "yes" and worked with me to make it happen!
On our big day, Carmela came in with the most calm and joyful energy (which is so on-brand)! We were running a little behind schedule, but she was not phased at all and guided us through the day like a pro. Carmela captured amazing shots of us all getting ready, our first look, family, portraits and the ceremony itself-- but my absolute favorite were the husband and wife portraits we took out in the desert. Carmela helped me carry my train and veil through the desert, and picked random wildlife from my dress, all while expertly positioning us for the perfect shots. Every single one of those shots looks like it is out of a bridal magazine, and I am obsessed with them.
Carmela continued to bring the best vibes during the reception-- All our family and friends commented on her contagious, joyful energy! And of course, she captured our "last dance" just as I envisioned.
Just as with our engagement photos, we got sneak peeks within days and our full gallery came way faster than expected-- less than 6 weeks later! We are completely over the moon with the final product. She captured every precious, joyful moment of the most important day of our lives, and we will cherish them forever and ever.
If you are looking for the wedding photographer of your dreams, look no further, you found her, she is Carmela & you should stop reading this, book her and then come back!! I could...
n't of imagined our wedding day without Carmela - she became so much more than "just a photographer". She genuinely cared about our love story from the very beginning, became invested in making us feel beyond comfortable (because we truly don't love taking photos!) and she captured our love in ways I never thought were possible. From the very beginning, she was so incredible to work with. She always got back to us promptly, answered ALL of our questions in great detail, and went above and beyond when recommending other vendors for items we hadn't yet checked off our list. She worked effortlessly with our wedding planner, videographers and other vendors to help ensure the whole day went as smoothly as possible. She created such a detailed photography timeline that helped keep us on track and made our wedding planner LOVE her (as you can imagine). Our whole wedding party, including family members, raved about her and the energy she brought to our big day. The boys had so much fun getting groomsmen photos and the ladies felt like she was just another bridesmaid there to help for the day. After the wedding day was over, she sent us over a few sneak peeks within a few days to help tie us over until the rest of the album was ready - like HOW amazing is that?! We had some incredibly beautiful photos to cherish while the rest were in the works, it was so amazing. Our whole album came incredibly promptly but certainly not rushed as you can feel her attention to detail in every single photo. There isn't one photo that I don't love. If I could get married all over again, I would absolutely do it for the chance to work with Carmela again! We already have her lightly pencilled in for the next big life moments. Thank you Carmela for making our dream day a reality, you are a gift to the world of photography and brides everywhere!
Having Carmela as our photographer for our wedding day was essential. After we had booked her for our engagement shoot- we both decided then and there she was meant to capture our ...
big day. Her natural ability to make my husband and I and our wedding guests feel so comfortable in front of the camera was an important deal and she exceeded all our expectations. She was responsive, punctual and personable during the wedding planning process and after. Carmela is innovative and creative when it comes to taking a photo yet not rigid whatsoever, she is a master at her craft and knows how to capture any couples love story. When we received our sneak peaks we were blown away to see ourselves captured in such a beautiful editing style, it was surreal and very emotional to have captured the moments me and my now husband talked about through our 6.5 years of dating. When we received the full gallery we both spent the rest of the night crying, laughing, and in awe over every moment Carmela had captured throughout our day. Carmela truly went above and beyond and I would only ever recommend her- she is a gem and the best person to choose to be apart of your team for your big day!
We love you Carmela <3
- K.O.
I can't say enough amazing things about Carmela! She was without a doubt the best vendor we worked with throughout our entire wedding planning and wedding day. She has a joy and ex...
citement for her job and the couples she works with, that radiates. She made my husband and I feel so comfortable during our engagement session and our wedding party/family feel so comfortable the day of. We had a very large wedding party and I was so impressed at how well she managed our big group, kept everyone focused and engaged while shooting. Carmela has surely been blessed with the gift of photography, and if you get the opportunity to have her capture your day, then you are one of the lucky ones. We are over the moon with how beautiful our pictures are and we're so grateful she shared her gift with us. We will be looking back on these photos for life and will be eternally grateful to her for capturing our day so beautifully!! She is the best in the biz and I mean that with all my heart, you will not be disappointed. She's excellent with her planning, communication, organization, and professionalism! She's a gift to know and to work with!!
Finding the right photographer for our wedding was very difficult. I wanted to make sure I not only loved their work, but also wanted to make sure we could feel comfortable with th...
em taking our photos. Carmela guided us throughout the whole process , made us feel very comfortable so much that the photos came out effortless. She was so sweet to work with and truly made the photography portion of the wedding a fun experience. She’s responsive, punctual, super hardworking, and honestly it’s like hiring more of a friend than just a vendor. We truly trusted her from the beginning and we were thrilled to see our photos come back so quickly and BEAUTIFULLY !!! Looking back at our photos relives the day and it’s an amazing feeling all over again! We are sooooo happy and grateful to have had Carmela , thank you so much for incredible , awe-inspiring photos of our wedding day!!!!
Carmela is the most incredible person I could have imagined having as our wedding photographer. Not only is she SO talented, but she is beyond sweet, caring, detail-oriented and wi...
ll make you feel so beautiful and confident on your special day. It felt like having a long time friend there with us taking our photos!
This is a long overdue review, life gets busy, and time flies by, but an infallible way to transport yourself back to those special moments in life is to look at the photos Carmela...
Joy Photography captured for you. You will find yourself right back in the moment, feeling all the feels with a smile you can’t wipe from your face. Carmela is not only a fantastic photographer, but a fantastic person as well. Nervous in front of a camera, she will have you at ease in no time. Think you look awkward in photos? Carmela will capture you in ways that make you think you have been a lifelong model. Carmela clearly takes pride in her craft, and it shows every step of the way. From her clear communication, punctuality, thoughtfulness and care in capturing all the right moments. You should do yourself the favor and book Carmela today.
Wow where to begin?! We honestly cannot say enough good things about Carmela. Hiring her was one of the best decisions we could have made for our wedding! From the first time we ta...
lked to her we had complete and total confidence that she was going to be absolutely amazing. Not only is she insanely talented (literally every photo is beautiful), but she is the sweetest person ever! From the start she was so helpful in answering all of our questions and was always there to help during our planning process.
I’ve never felt super comfortable taking photos and my husband would probably say the same, but Carmela made everything so fun and we felt so comfortable with her! At times I forgot we were even taking pictures. She has a way of capturing the most beautiful moments so effortlessly. We’ve looked through our gallery countless times and have cried and also burst out laughing at the moments she captured. Each time we are completely blown away at how amazing the photos turned out. They are more beautiful than we could have ever imagined and make us so happy!
Carmela truly goes above and beyond, so much so that she didn’t even hesitate to help me pick out the hundreds of burrs and pieces of cactus that got stuck in my dress after walking through the desert 😅
I’m already trying to think of excuses to hire her again because she’s THAT amazing! Hire her as your wedding photographer, you will not regret it!
Carmela is the absolute BEST! We worked with her for both our engagement & wedding photos & she could not have made it any easier for us. We had never done professional photos bef...
ore our engagement session and were definitely a little awkward in front of the camera, but she made it fun & directed us on how to pose! Carmela was available along the way to answer any questions I had- and helped with more then just photography! She was able to assist with a timeline & even refer other vendors. We are so lucky to have gotten to work with Carmela for our wedding & could not have been happier with our photos. 🤍
Carmela is the best ever! We were absolutely blown away by our engagement photos and wedding photos. When it randomly started pouring rain during our engagement photos, she was so ...
professional and even helped us reschedule. Carmela felt like an old friend right away. She made us comfortable and provided the perfect amount of prompts and posing tips. I didn’t have to worry about how I would look in photos, and I could just relax and have fun. She had an eye for the small, intimate moments between us as a couple and for all of our guests on our wedding day, too. She beautifully captured so many special moments of the people we love and showcased everyone’s joy that day. We will cherish our photos for our whole lives! We cannot recommend her enough!
Carmela absolutely blew us away!! She had a way of making 2 shy introverts come out of our shell and be comfortable in front of a camera! She truly is magic! I couldn’t imagine hav...
ing a different photographer for our wedding, she captured every single moment so perfectly. I will now forever recommend Carmela to anyone who is looking for a wedding photographer, you will NOT be disappointed!!
Finding Carmela and hiring her as our wedding photographer was the best decision, and it was honestly a very easy decision to make! I'm that girl who has been dreaming of my weddin...
g day since I was 12 and I always had this irrational fear that I would somehow hate my wedding pictures. So finding the perfect photographer was my top priority. When I reached out to Carmela, she recommended we meet to grab coffee and get to know each other! Right off the bat, we clicked and I could tell that she genuinely was interested in learning about how my husband and I met, the story of how we fell in love, and made sure to ask if we had any worries, concerns, or if we had a specific vision for our wedding photos, etc. It made us so comfortable and excited to work with her! We scheduled our engagement photos with her and I was so nervous since my husband and I had never taken professional pictures before. But she seriously made the whole photoshoot so fun, we laughed throughout the whole thing, and she captured such sweet moments. Throughout the entire wedding planning process and on our actual wedding day, she was always the best communicator, which was so important to me. She was very organized, timely, and so sweet to our wedding party, family, and guests. Everyone adored her!! And to top it off, our wedding pictures were everything I could ever hope for! She was amazing at directing us with how to pose, made us feel so comfortable, was our biggest hype girl, and made the picture taking process so fun and enjoyable. I can't recommend her enough. Such an incredible human, inside and out, and beyond talented. I just love her and so grateful for the wedding photos that we get to have forever.
If I could give Carmela 100 stars, I would. My husband and I met Carmela back in 2020 when we first got engaged. She took our engagement photos and made us feel so comfortable and ...
relaxed. The photos turned out beautifully and we knew we didn't want anyone else photographing our wedding day. Throughout the wedding planning process, Carmela was responsive and extremely helpful. Not only is she amazingly talented, but she is the sweetest human. On our wedding day, Carmela was super flexible and organized which made the day run extra smoothly. She sent us some sneak peeks the day after our wedding and we are OBSESSED. They are the most beautiful photos we have ever seen and they genuinely brought me to tears. We cannot recommend Carmela enough. She is the best! My husband and I feel so lucky to know her.
We were lucky enough to meet Carmela in 2019 when she shot my brothers engagement and wedding photos. She was kind and just had a good inviting energy. We all loved how those photo...
s turned out so when it was time to book for our wedding we knew exactly who to contact.
We all immediately hit it off again at our engagement shoot in Flagstaff. She helped us be calm and just enjoy the moment. She got us those photos fairly quickly and made some edits I requested. For our wedding her and an assistant traveled to Texas with us for our big day. Carmela is definitely someone who is always up for an adventure. The day of our wedding she quickly jumped in as someone to help in every way possible. She made us all very comfortable. My husband who doesn’t really like getting his photo taken said he felt comfortable and at ease with Carmela, which definitely shows in our photos! She was excited to do our TikTok ideas and even wrangled in a few extras to join.
After all the experiences with Carmela she feels like apart of the family. She’s been their for so many great times with us and we can’t thank her enough for capturing all of them.
We are beyond blessed that we crossed paths with Carmela! Not only is she unbelievably talented, but she is kind, genuine, and hard working! Her organization and timeliness made th...
e process so easy and enjoyable. She captured every moment so beautifully and we are forever grateful that we get to look back on these beautiful photos for the rest of our lives. Thank you so much Carmela!!! You are one of a kind!
There a truly none better than Carmela. She is AMAZING! Not only did she go above and beyond in supporting us with many recommendations for planning our wedding (wedding photograph...
er - unfortunately our date was taken! & videographer) ~ BUT, she captured my fiancé and I perfectly during our engagement shoot. Carmela is very professional and you can Immediately feel that photography is her passion. She made my fiancé and I feel like the only two people the mattered & our time with her went by much too quickly. Deciding what pictures to print and use on our save the dates/wedding invitations is difficult, to say the least. We will definitely be working with Carmela again, any change we get.
I cannot speak highly enough of Carmela and her work!
Carmela is professional, timely, sweet, and flexible, not to mention a magician with a camera! This was obvious when we firs...
t had our consultation, and we knew right away we wanted to work with her for our engagement photos and wedding.
Carmela has a great way of making you feel comfortable enough to take sweet, natural appearing photos with the one you love. I cannot stress enough how much that matters when it comes to capturing great photos, and she does an amazing job at it!
Carmela is knowledgeable about what locations and times photograph well, and we were blown away by how beautiful even our engagement photos were.
We initially had our wedding booked for May 2020, but due to COVID it had to be postponed. When we let Carmela know, she was very kind and understanding. She didn't hesitate to offer a change of date and work with us, and that took so much stress off of an already stressful situation. I cannot thank her enough for that.
Carmela is also a great resource for all things wedding - when I was lost and drowning in vendors, I asked her for recommendations and she helped narrow the field to help me find the perfect make-up artist for my wedding as well!
When the big day finally came, Carmela was professional, attentive, and very helpful. When we did our "golden hour" post-ceremony photos, we had a beautiful moon and sky to work with, and she took inspiration from that and ran with it! She is an artist! Each and every photo she took of the day was perfect, and I know that in the years to come we will happily look back on the memories she beautifully captured.
tl;dr- If you're looking for a professional, kind, amazing photographer to capture every moment of your big day perfectly - stop looking. You've found her!
Carmela is AMAZING! I cannot recommend her highly enough!!! Choosing vendors can be difficult, but with Carmela, we knew right away that she was the perfect photographer to capture...
our big day. The theme and authenticity of her photos are what first drew us in, and her excitement and kind & genuine personality only further confirmed that she was exactly who we wanted to work with. Carmela worked with us before the wedding to help address any questions we had and help us see our vision for photos. I came into wedding planning with an embarrassingly low amount of knowledge on the etiquette of things, and Carmela was SO sweet, patient, and beyond helpful, answering my questions and helping guide me, even in ways beyond photography. She helped us determine the timing of the ceremony, and that resulted in the most BEAUTIFUL sunset bride & groom photos! Carmela knew we were a little worried about not being able to spend time with our guests at the cocktail hour because of the bride & groom photos afterward, so she made it her mission to get those photos quick and efficiently (and there were SO many beautiful shots). Because of this, we got to spend extra time with our guests, which meant the world to us. Our guests all ADORED Carmela. We have been getting so many compliments about how sweet & funny she was, making everyone feel comfortable and wanting to have their photo taken! When we got our gallery back, I smiled so big because I was able to see so many moments that I had missed during the wedding while we were running around. Our guests will cherish those photos forever (many have already made them their profile pictures)! Importantly, Carmela captured my husband and me perfectly. Spending time with her at the engagement session and completing the info. forms she sent us really helped her get to know us better, what our vision was, and who we were together as a couple! Because of this, our photos captured us SO well. I cannot say enough how happy we are with them. Something about Carmela that I must mention is that she is the world’s biggest HYPE WOMAN! My husband and I get a little shy when it comes to posing for the camera, so it has always been difficult for us to really feel comfortable when having professional photos taken. But Carmela absolutely changed that. She has such a way of making you feel beautiful! I have never seen my husband look so cool and confident in photos, and she made me feel like I was gorgeous during our photo sessions – which is what you need on your big day!! The strategies she used to help make us feel comfortable in front of the lens and break past that awkward barrier, was a huge component of why I think our photos look so genuine, fun, and just beautiful. On a final note, Carmela is an extremely hard worker and is VERY, very good at what she does. Know that if you choose her, you will get some of the best quality photos you have ever had taken. Her edits are flawless but very natural, which matched perfectly with our woodsy/rustic vibe and my natural makeup. She was able to get our gallery back to us in a very timeline manner (we were shocked to get it so soon!). I could go on and on, but I hope this gives insight into why Carmela is the best photographer that we have ever worked with, and why you should absolutely, 100% choose her as the photographer for your wedding day or event. Thank you, SO MUCH, Carmela, for making our wedding day something we get to remember and cherish forever. You are the best!!!
As a Wedding DJ for Engage Entertainment I've worked with countless photographers, and don't get me wrong, theres a lot to deal with. Carmela was not only ahead of schedule, but P...
ERFECT to work with, being ahead of the game and always ready to jump in to capture the moments as they happen. Her ability to excel in both poses and dancing shots is rare and really shows from her album from Jeri and Harrison's wedding in November when we worked together at The Meadow at Schnepf Farms! When I work to create dope moments on the dance floor, photographers may not be able to have the ability to get in there to capture the moments, but Carmela totally did. If dancing is a total priority to you and your fiance, then hire Carmela to make those moments live forever!!! - Tyler
We cannot recommend Carmela Joy Photography enough! Carmela has a gift for making you feel so comfortable in front the camera and capturing the most genuine and pure moments in tim...
e. Not only did we receive photos we’ll treasure forever, but her kindness, knowledge of weddings and timelines, and fun personality truly added SO much to our special day. We can’t say it enough, choosing Carmela was by far our best choice of our wedding and we feel so lucky to have found her!
As so many others couples on here would agree - Carmela Joy Photography was my only option when we became engaged. Though the pandemic forced us to postpone our date as well- it wa...
s a blessing in disguise because Carmela was available for our new date - In Chicago might I add!
Her photos speak for themselves, but ladies and gentleman- her personality, poise & professionalism is second to none! She made us feel like movie stars during engagement & especially the wedding (coming from people who are not used to being in front of the camera). We are beyond blessed to have had her capture our day. We love you Carmela :)
I could go on forever about why Carmela was the most amazing choice for our wedding photography….and I will! My fiancé and I were unfortunately one of the many couples impacted by ...
COVID-19 in early 2020. We were 30 days out when we had to make the decision and Carmela was so understanding from jump. She immediately helped us find a new date in October 2020 that would work and offered to help us in any way she could. Her kindness and understanding during that switch alone speaks volumes but then we were forced to push our date due to COVID AGAIN. Carmela was unsurprisingly a complete gem in immediately finding us dates that would work in Oct 2021. Now, we are a few days past our wedding that finally happened - yay! - and she was a complete joy (no pun intended) to work with. Guests and other vendors reached out to me after the wedding to compliment her professionalism, kindness, and amazing work ethic. I couldn’t agree more with them. She made my husband and I feel so comfortable in front of the camera and has already sent us sneak peeks that left our jaws on the floor. If you have come across Carmela as a potential vendor, your search is over. She is the best choice you could make!
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Carmela Joy Photography