5 out of 5 stars and 27 reviews Best of Weddings (3x).
5
(27)New Orleans, Pensacola, Orlando, Baton Rouge, and beyond!
About this vendor
Nola Darlings is a photography company based in New Orleans, LA that specializes in capturing the magic of your wedding, engagement, anniversary, or proposal. The artist behind the camera, Ashley, is a hopeless romantic whose superpower is making clients feel comfortable in front of the camera.
Ashley McKibben, the founder of Nola Darlings, has always been the friend with a camera in hand. She discovered a love for photography early in life and that has blossomed into a fulfilling career after earning her degree in photography at the University of Central Florida. Ashley has spent time in front of the lens as well as behind it, but it’s capturing precious moments that makes her giddy. She truly appreciates each opportunity to catch love on camera, especially when it’s being celebrated among your nearest and dearest.
Passionate about creating a safe space for her subjects where she can truly understand their needs, Ashley likes to meet with clients face-to-face. Here, she can learn about your one-of-a-kind love story. When your big day arrives, Ashley will be on the scene to capture each beaming smile and happy tear. Should your event require it, she can be accompanied by a second photographer. Your final evocative collection of portraits will be available in digital format. Physical prints can be purchased from your personalized online gallery.
Details
Business Attributes
- Hispanic or Latinx-owned Business
- LGBTQ+-owned Business
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo Shoot Types
- Boudoir
- Bridal Portraits
- Day After Session
- Engagement
- Trash The Dress
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Online Proofing
- Photo
- Second Shooter Available
- Social Media Sharing
- Wedding Albums
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Lifestyle
- Modern
- Vintage
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
Awards and Affiliations
3-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2023.2022.2021.
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.
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.027 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 9
If you want the best photographer in town, I suggest you hire Nola Darlings/Ash. From the first phone call, my vision was seen and heard. We went through my Pinterest board of shot...
s and Ash made sure we got them, even the ones I forgot I wanted.
I had been so nervous about taking photos because I am capital A - Awkward in photos, but Ash has a way of making the camera disappear. This could not have felt more natural and easygoing. She just let us be giddy newlyweds and documented it all.
We got our sneak peek the next evening and the full gallery in 6 days. I don't think you can ask for more than that!
Overall, the experience was just perfect. We had the most magical day and now we have the most beautiful pics I've ever seen. New Orleans is always a star, but we got to look and feel like movie stars for the day too. We already want to come back and have more pics taken!
We booked Ash for an engagement shoot and for our wedding day photos, and we were blown away with her skill and professionalism! She has wonderful communication and was able to wor...
k magic in her editing to give the photos the moodier look I wanted. But where Ash shines is in her personable manner and warmth that help all her subjects feel so comfortable in front of the camera! Both my husband and myself are a little camera-shy, but working with Ash was such a pleasure we have dozens of photos where we look more natural and comfortable than I ever could have imagined! I also really appreciated the film photography option she offers and love the nostalgic quality of those photos. Between all that and the quicker-than-expected editing time, I’d say Nola Darlings was the best vendor choice we made during the whole wedding planning process, and I’d book her a thousand times over!!
First and foremost, Ash is such a kind and fun person. She is a PRO. We had so much fun with her at our wedding celebration. She is so creative and photoshoots feel like playing wh...
en you're with her. Just a blast overall, and she is so good at making you feel comfortable and giving you direction. Oh, and did I mention her pictures are phenomenal~! Her artistic eye is so sharp. Her candid shots are fun and dynamic, while the posed shots are thoughtful and playful. I couldn't be happier with our choice to hire Ash. You should pick HER!
Ashley was AMAZING! She is so very talented and we were thrilled that she was available to photograph our wedding. She also photographed my brother-in-law’s wedding a couple years ...
ago, so as soon as we finalized our wedding date, we made sure to contact her. She even helped me bustle my dress when I couldn’t figure it out. Truly, a delightful person and a wonderful photographer for our wedding!
Ashley's photography services over our two-day, multi cultural wedding were exceptional. We had a Hindu ceremony and a western ceremony and Ashley took care to understand the impor...
tance of each event and all the stages of the ceremonies to capture each moment. She meticulously worked with us to understand our needs, ensuring each moment was captured flawlessly. What sets Ashley apart is her dedication to getting to know her clients personally, allowing her to align with their aesthetic aspirations seamlessly. Her ability to capture nuanced emotions added extra depth to our memories. Moreover, Ashley's talent shines in her skillful portrayal of melanin-blessed individuals and mixed-race couples, showcasing inclusivity and diversity effortlessly. Communication with Ashley was superb; she provided transparent guidance, helping us realize our vision beyond expectation. In short, Ashley is not just a photographer; she's a storyteller who crafts narratives of love and joy through her lens, making her an invaluable asset to any wedding celebration.
If you are capturing people of color in your memories, or have a vision you want to build with your photographer, or want to capture multiple cultures, get on Ashley's calendar TODAY! You are getting one of the best in the business and will not regret working with her!
Ash was an amazing engagement photographer! My (now) fiancee and I are from out of town, and she was happy to meet with me over zoom to finalize details for the engagement shoot. A...
sh was super easy to communicate with over email and text, and reassured me that she knew exactly what she was doing when it came to planning photos in city park and capturing the big moment - which was great because it was my first time being professionally photographed!
Ash was waiting in the wings during the proposal, and then did a short (30 min) shoot with us afterward. She had great ideas for poses and locations and made us feel super comfortable and like we had a friend along for the ride after our big moment! She also did a great job for the photos/poses that were our idea. My favorite part was when she taught us how to do photogenic dips! The proposal was Tuesday afternoon and we had the photos by Saturday morning- and they were GORGEOUS. So beautifully composed and the colors were amazing... I'm in love with them! Also appreciated the discrete editing (getting sunburnt the morning of wasn't the greatest idea) that made us look our best. I loved working with Ash and appreciated how comfortable we were as a queer couple getting engaged in the South!
Ash took the most beautiful photos of our wedding and I cannot say enough about how great she is to work with. She really made us feel like us (but even better looking and with gr...
eat lighting!). We are so happy with the end product, and she fit perfectly into our not exactly traditional wedding set up and had great ideas to capture all the love our special day! She also had a great touch at riling together family and friends for group photos and getting pictures of the big moments without feeling like her presence was a distraction from the event. She can do video and editing services too. Awesome! Just awesome!
We could not recommend Ashley enough! We hired Nola Darlings Photography for our destination wedding in New Orleans. Since we are from out of town, we were not able to meet her or ...
do an engagement shoot beforehand, but that made no difference at all! Ashley is extremely nice, professional, and great at her job. We are camera-shy/awkward, but she knows how to give you the right directions and make you feel comfortable.
We love the way our photos turned out!
Ashley at Nola Darlings is an absolute gem of a human and a photographer. This was a destination wedding and we had one trusted referral and we rolled with it. And, boy, are we gla...
d we did! From our first look at a wine bar (my idea as a wino!), to our walk through the Quarter, to our beautiful ceremony, SECOND LINE and reception, Ashley was working solo non-stop, capturing ALL the moments. There were definitely a few 'Guys, just trust me' moments and judging from the sneak peek, she nailed it all. Our guests were enamored by her as well. She made everyone feel at ease and honestly, felt like a bonus guest at our party. Thank you Ash for everything! Can't wait to see the rest of the pictures! xoxo
5 stars doesn't do Ashley justice. When looking for a photographer for our destination wedding, it was important to us to have someone who was queer or queer friendly, as we're que...
er and having that in our photographer would help us feel less awkward in front of the camera.
Working with Ashley from day 1 was a great experience. Since this was a destination wedding, everything was done via phone/email/video chats. She was attentive, listened to our visions, and provided some amazing suggestions regarding photo opps that we are so happy about from looking back and viewing our gallery! She gives amazing direction, keeps things nice and light, and you can very much tell that she enjoys what she does. My wife and I loved seeing her mingle with our guests and take the time to get to know everyone while still being professional.
We received our gallery SUPER quickly and are obsessed with our photos. We would love to book with Ashley again when we visit New Orleans for a future anniversary. She's a dream to work with and honestly you're doing yourself a disservice by not booking her.
Book Ashley now! You won't regret it. She's everything we could have asked for and more. First of all, we waited until a week before our wedding to decide that we wanted to hire a ...
photographer, and even so last minute Ashley was willing and ready! Her price is super reasonable for the high quality and promptness of her work. Our wedding was very small and very unconventional and she completely went with the flow of our unstructured "plans". She met us right on time at our hotel and then captured our memories as we basically had a pub crawl on the way to Pirate's Alley where we were headed to say our intentions. Her attitude and personality are so chill and fun that her presence actually added to our intimate celebration. She got along with everybody and fit in just like she was one of our crew! That being said, she was still assertive and intentional enough to step in and grab us whenever she saw the opportunity for a good shot. She is very familiar with photographic spots in the quarter and has a keen eye for photo opps, both posed and candid. She was also more than willing to take any shot we asked for both beforehand and those requested on demand. Ashley even volunteered to drive us and our 2 kids in her personal car to the brewery where we were having our post wedding celebration. She was the perfect photographer for us and we are certain that hiring her was one of the best decisions we made about our wedding. She got our photos back to us in lightning speed, there were tons of them, and they were of unbelievable quality. We feel like she gave us Art to display in our home. Don't hesitate to snag Ashley for your own wedding. You will love her and her work!!
Ashley was an absolute joy to work with and made our lives very easy when planning a destination wedding. We knew we had made the right decision during our first call with her, and...
that feeling was solidified when we grabbed a drink with her on a visit to New Orleans and she explained her process. She had amazing ideas for photo locations around the city and made us feel comfortable during the shoot. She was even able to get two children less than 2 years old to smile! All our photos turned out beautiful, and she had them ready in less than one week! Our guests even commented about how professional and friendly she was while mingling and taking photos during the reception. We would highly recommend Ashley!
Ash was absolutely amazing!! From the moment of contact she was so helpful and responsive! Being 600 miles from our destination wedding it was nice to have great communication! She...
captured our special day from every angle! We could not have asked for a better photographer! Her upbeat and loving personality definitely helped with our nerves of the day! Her spirit is beautiful! Our pictures are beautiful!! We will cherish the experience with her for years to come! Can not wait to meet up again with her for future photos in our favorite city!! Our family also fell in love with her! All around an amazing experience!!
Wow, where to begin?!? Ashley is absolutely EVERYTHING!!!!!! She is the best wedding/engagement photographer in the entire world! My husband initially booked her for secret proposa...
l shots, and then after plans changed he rebooked her for our engagement shoot instead! As two people who are not very comfortable in front of the camera, Ashley quickly put all our nervousness to rest. She was funny, friendly, and immediately made us feel like a friend was just taking our picture! After seeing how beautiful the shots came out there was ZERO question that she was the best choice for our wedding as well!!
Fast forward one year and Ashley was honestly one of my favorite parts of our wedding day!! Again she put any nervous energy to rest and made me feel completely comfortable during our pre-ceremony shots. My bridal party absolutely adored her, and we all had so much fun hanging out taking pictures as we got ready. Throughout the night, she was always present, capturing amazing shots on the dance floor and through all the key moments of our night! All of our guests commented on how wonderful she was.
Finally, nothing could’ve prepared me for how much I LOVE our full wedding album!!! She got our pictures back to us SO quickly and they were better than I could’ve ever imagined! I am the type of person who hates photos of myself, and I love every single shot. She captured each moment perfectly, and even gave us some beautiful stylized shots we didn’t even think to ask for! Ashley and NOLA Darlings Photography is the ONLY choice to photograph your wedding and engagement! She is absolutely stunning, wonderful, amazing, and we will use her for any photography needs we ever have!!!
Ashley was better than anything I could've imagined. She was helpful and responsive of any questions until the big day, and on the day of, we were so grateful to have her. She was ...
engaging and so sweet (even our guests said they loved her). All of our photos came out gorgeous, lively, and captured the personalities of our most important people. Forever grateful to have found you, Ash!
We absolutely love our pictures. They are exactly what we wanted. We couldn't be happier.
Ashley is such a warm, sweet person, and so much fun to work with. She really took my ne...
rves away. The pictures of me and my husband are so sweet and flattering, and she gave us really good direction! She was lovely at the wedding reception. My guests loved her. She caught all the best moments with family and friends, from sweet ones, to funny drunk ones, to sweaty dance floor ones (it was a wedding of party animals). All of our pictures make us smile, some of them lol, and some tear up. A lot of people told me I'll only like 20% of my pictures, and I prepared myself for that, but that's not the case. I love them all, and I am so happy to have worked with/met Ashley.
THANK YOU ❤ THANK YOU ❤ THANK YOU
There are not enough words in the world to begin to say all the wonderful things about Ashley from Nola Darlings. First of all, she is absolutely the most wonderful human. Super jo...
yful, fun and easy to be around, and in her work, has a great mix between giving helpful suggestions of poses and just letting you be exactly who you are as a couple. Ashley was originally hired by my wife to take pictures of our actual engagement. She was so wonderful then that we hired her to take engagement photos as well as our wedding. Due to COVID we had a small ceremony this year and will have the "big wedding" next year and we literally would not do it all without Ashley. Our photos are absolutely breathtaking, our family loved her and her energy (we told them they would!) and she is so easy going and go with the flow. Because it was a small wedding, timing wasn't exactly perfect, so we ended up walking across the street to the hotel for a drink with our family before going to dinner and Ashley came right in, switched out some camera pieces, and took some of our favorite pictures inside that small bar. Not to mention our photos were back to us in 2 weeks! She's literally the best - run, don't walk - to hire her for all of your photography needs. We will truly never hire anyone else ever again!
Ashley was absolutely AMAZING!!! We got married in November of 2020. Needless to say trying to pull of a wedding during the pandemic was quite the feat. She was one of the first ve...
ndors we booked before the pandemic hit and the ONLY original vendor that stuck with us to the very end. ( We get it there were so many unknowns at play. ) We are so glad she did! She came highly recommended from a mutual friend and was such a delight to work with- very responsive to all communication, honored all of our requests, and made us feel very comfortable and at ease on our big day. Her quality of photography is top notch and she captured so many special moments that we will have to cherish for the rest of our lives. I cannot say enough good things about Ashley and Nola Darlings. Don't think twice she is the real deal!
Look no further. My fiance and I booked Ash for an engagement shoot while we were in New Orleans. We knew Nola Darlings was the one from the minute we found their website. From ...
the moment we met up at Armstrong Park we felt comfortable and seen. Ash provided a great atmosphere to help capture amazing moments and some of our favorite parts of NOLA. Just last night we looked at our album and wished we could fly Ash out for our wedding in October as we have no doubt every moment would be captured perfectly. Thanks for these amazing photos, we can't wait to share with our community. And when we come back to NOLA, we will be hiring Nola Darlings to capture our next adventure.
Ashley was wonderful to work with! She took our engagement photos and our wedding photos. I found her by looking at a lot of different photographers, and her portfolio stood out be...
cause she had normal looking people, who she knew how to photograph to look amazing! So many others just feature models, and I'm no model and pretty uncomfortable in front of a camera. But she does an excellent job of helping people feel comfortable in their skin, and highlighting your best qualities! Her rates were really reasonable, she was very professional and fun too! We had such a great time looking at the photos from our wedding, all the special moments and things we may have missed in the craziness of the night. I definitely recommend NOLA Darlings!
Ashley delivered 100% professionalism and expertise during my wedding. There are moments that she was able to capture that I'll never forget. Every request I had was fullilled.
Ashley was amazing! She was organized, helped me figure out what I wanted, and executed perfectly. The pictures are beautiful!
Ashley was professional while being very friendly. She was everyone's friend! She wasn't intrusive or demanding. She did everything at a very smooth, gentle pace. She fit in with a...
ll the other friends and family! I would absolutely recommend Ashley for any weddings in New Orleans!
Ashley is the best! She did our engagement photos on the Mandeville Lakefront and was such a pleasure to work with. I was so impressed with her professionalism and ability to make ...
us feel comfortable that we decided to ask her to be our wedding photographer. One of the best decisions I made...besides marrying my best friend of course. :) She showed up a few minutes early on the wedding day and immediately got to work taking pictures of all the details and the things I didn’t even see while me and my girls got ready. She captured the sweetest moments at our ceremony and even better was seeing all of the candids of our guests having a blast! Ashley was such a pleasure as well. The entire bridal party and even a few guests told me later how awesome and sweet our photographer was. Hire her! You will not regret it!
We thankfully discovered Nola Darings, shortly after getting engaged, when we were in New Orleans planning our destination wedding (we’re from Michigan). We met up for an engageme...
nt photo shoot and clicked with Ashley right away! She’s incredibly easy to work with and has a great eye for taking beautiful pictures; the engagement pictures were amazing so we hired her to photograph our wedding day as well, and we couldn’t be happier with how the pictures from our big day turned out. Aside from the quality of her work, she is extremely professional, and coordinating with her from out of state was a breeze. She was extremely pleasant with everyone at our event. The most important thing is that your wedding day is crazy, there are so many things going on and vendors to take into account, and Nola Darlings was hands down the easiest to work with. My wife and I feel like we not only got gorgeous photographs, but also gained a friend! If you need a talented, professional and personable photographer for any event, do yourself a favor and book Nola Darlings, you’ll be happy you did!
This is the photographer for you! Period! Ashley has a keen eye for capturing all the wonderful moments that make up the big day. She was never in the way, and was able to expertly...
guide us and our family through the group photos and single shots. We're thrilled with her work and has our highest recommendation!
Ashley is an amazing, imaginative photographer! She was able to capture incredible moments from our wedding! I was especially impressed with her ability to direct us in the posed p...
hotos, which helps when you aren’t sure what to do!! We highly recommend!
Contact
New Orleans, Pensacola, Orlando, Baton Rouge, and beyond!
Nola Darlings's photos