Photographing Your "I Do" Across the U.S. and Internationally
Destination Wedding Photographer for Couples Getting Married Across the U.S. and Internationally
get to know me
Hey, I'm Emerie!
Destination weddings are my specialty.
A cliffside ceremony in Iceland. A salt flat at sunset in Utah. A museum in downtown Milwaukee. I'm Emerie DiGiovanni, and I've built Emerie Leigh Photography around one idea: your wedding photos should look like the day you actually lived, not a catalog someone else designed. I'm a destination wedding photographer who genuinely wants to get on the plane. Travel is what excites my creative passion, and unfamiliar locations tend to be where my best work comes from.
Since founding my studio in 2022, I've built my destination wedding photography around documentary storytelling, warm, earthy tones, and true-to-life color that will still feel right decades from now. Whether you're getting married in a small chapel in another country or on a beach half a world away, my approach doesn't change: I stay close enough to catch the real moments and far enough back that nobody performs for the lens. If you want more than pretty pictures, if you want the whole day to feel like yours, we are going to get along well.
What Working With Me on a Destination Wedding Looks Like
- Full destination wedding photography coverage across the U.S. and internationally. I travel internationally on a regular basis, and I am always up for a location I have never shot before.
- I arrive early, always. I fly in ahead of your wedding day to scout your venue, walk the property in natural light, and build buffer time into the schedule so travel delays never become your problem.
- A documentary photography style with calm direction, so you never have to think about how to pose or where to stand.
- Coverage that can stretch across the whole wedding weekend — the welcome party, the rehearsal dinner, and the entire wedding day from getting ready to the last song of the night.
- Hand-edited, high-resolution images delivered in a private online gallery, with printing and web use rights so the pictures are genuinely yours.
- Custom destination wedding photography packages shaped around your timeline, your guests, and your travel plans, rather than a template.
Let's Talk About Your Destination Wedding
Tell me your date, your destination wedding location, and what you are picturing, and I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it. See more of my work on the Emerie Leigh Photography homepage, compare this with my Wisconsin wedding photography if you are still deciding where to get married, or read my destination elopement guide if your plans are leaning smaller. Booking is straightforward, and I am glad to answer every question before you commit.
Choosing a Destination Wedding Photographer Should Not Be a Daunting Task
Wedding planning is already a long list. The venue, the wedding dress, the flights, the guest list, the block of rooms nobody warned you about. Adding a destination on top of it can turn hiring a photographer into a genuinely daunting task. You are comparing portfolios from across the world, trying to guess whether someone's photography style holds up outside their usual backyard, and wondering what travel costs are going to do to the budget.
I want to make this part of the planning as simple as I can. When you book me as your destination photographer, I handle my own travel plans, my own lodging, and my own logistics. You are not managing me. You get to spend time with the people who flew in for you, and I will take care of paying attention to everything else.
Planning Comes First. Here Is How I Approach Destination Weddings.
Many destination wedding photographers will happily travel, and so will I. Planning ahead together is part of my process: months beforehand, we sit down and talk through your family dynamics, your timeline, and what actually matters to you on the day. The way I approach destination weddings is the same way I approach every wedding: I read the room, anticipate the emotional moments, and offer direction only when it genuinely helps. Couples tell me the calm presence mattered as much as the gallery did. When you are getting married somewhere unfamiliar, surrounded by friends and family who traveled to be there, that steadiness is worth more than a longer shot list.
Where I Travel as a Destination Wedding Photographer
I am based in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, and I fly internationally often for photography work. Wherever you are getting married, I am glad to travel for it. Tell me your destination and I will let you know right away whether I am free to be there.
Destinations Already on My List
These are the destination wedding locations already high on my bucket list, and the places I would travel back to without hesitation: Iceland, which I have explored personally and can help you navigate for locations, lodging and transportation; Lake Tahoe, California; the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah; Mount Rainier, Washington; the slot canyons of Page, Arizona; the Samuel H. Boardman Scenic Corridor in Oregon; and Big Sur, California. Italy, Utah, and Minnesota are all on my upcoming travel calendar. If your destination is Lake Como, the Amalfi Coast, the French Riviera, or somewhere nobody has put on a list yet, ask me anyway. Popular destinations are wonderful, and so are the ones I have never seen.
The Entire Wedding Day, Documented From Start to Finish
A destination wedding is rarely one single day, and I do not photograph it like one. Coverage can begin with the welcome party, carry through the rehearsal dinner, and run across the entire wedding day - the getting-ready hours, the first look, the ceremony, the toasts, and the dancing. I photograph the details that took months of planning, too: the wedding dress hanging in the window, a grandmother's brooch, the handwritten vows. The approach is documentary storytelling rather than a fixed shot list, because the wedding stories worth keeping are usually the ones nobody scheduled.
Destination Wedding Photography Packages
Every destination wedding is priced as a flat rate, so the number you see here is the number you pay. Both collections cover the entire wedding day, from the getting-ready hours through the last song of the night, and both include my travel to you. If your celebration does not fit neatly into either one, I am always glad to build a custom collection around what you actually want.
The Domestic Destination Collection
This experience includes...
Coverage of your entire wedding day anywhere in the United States, from the getting-ready hours through the last song of the night. I fly in at least a full day early to scout your venue and build buffer time into your timeline. Also included: a
complimentary engagement session before the trip, timeline planning support, hand-edited high-resolution images delivered in your private online gallery within ten weeks, and printing and web use rights so the images are genuinely yours. My flights, lodging and ground transportation are covered by the rate.
Flat rate:
$5,800
The International Destination Collection
This experience includes...
Everything in the Domestic Destination Collection, with coverage anywhere outside the United States. I arrive earlier still for international weddings, which gives me longer on the ground to scout your location with fresh eyes and absorbs any travel delays before they can reach your wedding day. Permits, licences and venue paperwork are coordinated between you and your venue. My international flights, lodging and ground transportation are covered by the rate.
Additional Options:
- Welcome party and rehearsal dinner coverage, added as extra days on either side of the wedding
- Additional coverage days beyond the wedding day itself
- A second photographer for larger guest counts or multi-location days, priced individually
- A fully custom collection if neither flat rate suits your day
- A family and couples portrait session while everyone is in one place
*Add-on pricing is quoted individually based on your dates and location.
Flat rate:
$7,000
Why Consider Emerie Leigh Photography as Your Destination Photographer?
A Photographer Who Actually Wants the Plane Ticket
Some photographers treat destination work as an exception to the usual schedule. I built my business around it. Travel is what feeds my creative passion, and having photographed weddings across Wisconsin and flown internationally for photography work well beyond it, I can tell you the unfamiliar locations are where the most interesting frames come from. When you hire me as your destination photographer, you are not talking someone into it. You are booking a person who has been hoping you would ask.
One Person, Start to Finish
You will not be handed off to an associate. The person you meet on your consultation call is the same person on the flight, the same one paying attention during your ceremony, and the same one editing your full galleries afterward. As the owner of a small business I get to shape every part of it - the creativity, the care, and the entire process from our first email to the day your gallery lands in your inbox.
A Style That Ages Well
My unique style leans warm and a little nostalgic: depth, true-to-life skin tones, and timeless color. I plan around the light your destination already has - window light while hair and makeup are finishing, the beauty of golden hour after dinner, and the last minutes before the sun drops. Many photographers have a signature look, and that variety is a good thing. Mine is built to age well, so your photos still feel like your special day twenty years from now.
