About Kayla Wentzek Murner
An elopement Photographer
obsessed with your Connection & story
Capturing beautiful photos for you is a passion of mine, but it’s not all that I’m about, and it's not what gets me teary-eyed behind my camera.
Beautiful photos are by-products of the connection we’re going to build together, and the deep connection that you already have with your love. So, my mission is to help you realize a day all about the two of you; for you to have a day that 100% epitomizes your love story all the while doing good for the earth. A day without a set of distracting expectations. Are you ready?
Let Me Tell You A Story
I didn’t want to plan my own wedding.
I know it may sound odd or strange, but listen:
It wasn’t that I didn’t care about our love or want us to grow old together. It was that I didn’t care about all the STUFF; the decorations, the traditions, the production. I didn’t want to spend three thousand dollars on a tent for the reception, make seating charts, or pick out colors for dresses or suits.
None of that mattered, or had anything to do with our love or us at all.
We didn’t want to just ACCEPT our wedding day. We wanted to get excited about it.
Once we started accepting eloping—an adventure all about us—as a possibility, that’s when we got STOKED about our day. I want you to have the same opportunity.
What can you expect when you work with me?
Empowerment
Connection
A Safe Space
If we weren’t empowered to elope by our loved-ones, it would’ve been much harder for my love and I to make the decision to elope, and live out our day the way WE wanted to. I want this website and the words written here to be a letter of encouragement and empowerment to live out your truth. I'm your advocate. I'll be your friend, cheering you on.
I’m the MOST awkward person that I know—not joking. I’ve always been a black sheep, and done things a little differently. I want you to know that you are welcomed here, and your story is worthy of being captured however you decide to elope.
Your elopement day is NOT about me taking beautiful photos; it’s about you two. Your love is the only reason why I'm even here. I'll be your fly-on-the-wall, anticipating the beautiful moments of connection that make up your day; I want you two to focus more on resting and being present on the most amazing day ever because you only get this day once, and it goes by so fast!
Core Values
Vulnerability and Transparency
Environmental Sustainability
LGBTQ+ Rights and Inclusivity
I hope that by being my quirky, awkward, passionate, fiery, and honest self with you, you’ll feel inspired and safe to share some of yourself with me too. I can’t expect my couples to open up in front of me if I don’t open up in front of them. I believe our mutual vulnerability cultivates true connection, and I care about getting to know YOU, and photographing the two of you as you are naturally. I want my couples to feel safe, seen, and entirely themselves, so whatever you’re feeling/whoever you are, I’m ready/would be honored to know you and to capture your story (I'm an enneagram 4, if this tells you anything).
I love nature (chances are high that you do, too), and over time, that love transitioned into activism, and a deep desire to protect the beautiful spaces that have played such a big role in my life. The amount of people on this planet is growing at an infinite rate, but our natural spaces are finite, and need help and attention. This is why I follow Leave No Trace principles in all that I do, donate with each booking, and am zero-waste/vegetarian (transitioning towards veganism)!
I do not tolerate hate, discrimination or racism in any way here at Wentzek Photo, and I will not offer my services to anyone that exemplifies such behavior. I believe love is love, and I want anyone and everyone to feel safe here.
Why work with me?
I'm a north Georgia Native
I genuinely want to know you
I care about your experience
For over 20 years, I lived in a North Georgia mountain town--Blairsville, to be exact! And I lived literally four miles away from the Appalachian Trail. I can offer a lot of insight and local knowledge for your elopement because I've adventured all over North Georgia.
Behind the beautiful dresses or the suits, behind the enchanting florals and the hiking boots, you’re a human being first and foremost. I want to know about how you both met, your favorite movies or hikes. Your fears and your anxieties. I don’t want to just photograph your day, leave, and never speak again. I believe this work runs deeper than that.
I know what it feels like to plan your day, and how overwhelming all of it can be! However simple or more complex of an elopement you might have, I’ll be here from the start to help you plan by providing location inspiration and scouting, local knowledge, unlimited consultation, timeline help, and so much more.
More about Kayla
Before I really got into wedding and elopement photography, I took MANY self-portraits because it was cathartic for me to see myself in a creative way. This is a self-portrait I took of myself in the driveway of my childhood mountain home in Blairsville, Georgia.
My adventure doggies Kamots and Nakai. Robert and I rescued Kamots in 2019 from a humane society, and we rescued Nakai just recently from a neglect situation. They make me so happy everyday with their goofy personalities.
Me and my love Robert. (: We met while rock climbing in college way back in 2013, and fell in love over our adventures. He proposed in El Cap Meadows in 2017, and we eloped in 2018 back in Yosemite. The photo above is from our beautiful elopement day. (: Our elopement paved the way for why I'm so passionate about helping others elope now.
for
what I do
To empower others to connect with their truest selves so that they can focus on what really matters to them. This just so happens to translate really well into empowering others to elope in nature!
You're here because of you - not me
Words cannot express how amazing Kayla is as a person and a photographer. She put so much time and effort into our elopement and it made the day more perfect than I could have ever imagined. She immediately started scouting hikes and locations that would accommodate Ryan’s grandmothers for the ceremony and us for our private hike. I’m a naturally stressed person all the time over schedules and details and I have never stressed from start to finish with her. With Kayla, there was never a reason to worry. She had itineraries, back up plans, back up plans to the back up plans. She packed everything we would have possibly needed in her hiking pack to ensure our day was perfect. Thank you so much for such a perfect wedding!!
Don't just take it from me
hear from my amazing couples
Kayla is an incredible photographer and an even more incredible person! Kayla surpassed our expectations as far as getting to know us, her expert-level knowledge about the areas we were interested in visiting/taking photos, and her kindness every step of the way. She placed special emphasis on making sure the day was authentic to us as a couple, and her energy on our special day was super peaceful and made us feel comfortable as we took photos throughout the day (she was with us for 8 hours)! We would 1000% recommend Kayla to anyone seeking a photographer who really cares what your wedding day is about - and that's love. Thank you Kayla!
"Kayla is the absolute best! She is so considerate and helpful and knowledgeable. She went out of her way to make sure we had the best day— she double checked our location and provided a backup when we needed it, built our fire when our fire starter didn’t work, and ran back and forth to our cars when we forgot things. She’s a joy to work with, easy to talk to, and worth every penny. Not to mention our photos are INCREDIBLE. Love love love. 10/10."
"Kayla was absolutely amazing from start to finish!! She planned out everything and was super involved every step of the way! From walking us through every moment of our elopement to scouting the perfect destinations for us! We truly couldn’t have had anyone better for our perfect day, and because of her it was just that PERFECT!! We got a sneak peak of the photos just a couple days later and they were absolutely amazing! Upon receiving the rest of our pictures we were absolutely blown away by Kaylas perfect eye and ability to be so in the moment with us as she captured the most intimate parts of our ceremony, we would highly recommend her to any and everyone looking to elope and to have that special day be more than perfect!"
Kayla was a dream to work with. From the initial planning stage all the way through our special day she was there guiding us every step of the way. Our day was magical and perfect - and Kayla was a huge part in making our dream elopement a reality. Our family came with a crew (including a baby and kiddos!) and Kayla was inclusive and kind with them all and able to comfortably capture everything and everyone as well as we could have hoped. We had unexpected weather and she was flexible and prepared and turned what could have been a stressful part of our day into a fun memory. Our photos are absolutely incredible (Kayla is so talented), but more importantly our day and our memories we made as a family will forever be cherished.
Kayla did a phenomenal job with our entire elopement! The attention to detail and the amount of effort that she put in to the entire experience just blew us away. She made it completely stress free and planned everything down to the minutes. She was very knowledgeable about what we would need and provided us with packing lists and helpful advice to ensure our day went so smoothly. I can't even adequately express how BEAUTIFUL our pictures were. It truly felt like we were in a fairy tale. We look so natural and there was such a variety of looks and views. We will cherish them forever! We also ordered some prints from her and the quality is just fantastic. We cannot recommend Kayla enough!
I wish you COULD'VE HEARD the scream we both let out when the pictures came in! Anytime we thought we had a favorite photo, the next photo would be the new favorite. Words can’t describe how happy we are with the photos and the experience itself. As we looked through the photos we kept talking about what a great and easy day it was. It was better than we imagined and the photos are better than we dreamed. We have looked at them for hours at this point and everyone who’s face I’ve shoved into my phone loves them just as much. I can’t thank Kayla enough for capturing our day so perfectly. Our family who we shared the photos with said they loved that they could see our entire day like they were there. They also loved that the photos felt real and felt like us. Getting the photos back is a great and bittersweet end to our elopement but we are so grateful to have met and gotten to work with Kayla!Thank you thank you thank you! (x a million more)
Kayla is an absolute treasure. We traveled to North Carolina for our pictures and she was so accommodating! Especially when we ran into some unexpected weather. She cares so much about her couples and made sure we were comfortable at all times and was flexible with adjusting the days schedule. She is so well prepared and even had an extra bare of hiking boots that happened to fit my fiancé when he forgot his! She brought us to such a beautiful place. She practices “no trace left behind” and cares about the environment and location you end up in, which I appreciate. She made us feel comfortable and cared for and our photos so far are amazing. I hate myself in pictures, but Kayla made me feel amazing and I can see true love and joy in our photos. If you’re looking for an authentic experience filled with love, care, and adventure, Kayla is a no brainer!
We hired Kayla to photograph our wedding in April and if you’re thinking about doing the same….DO IT! She was absolutely amazing to work with from day one. We got married states away and had no idea where to begin with planning but Kayla made it a BREEZE! Not only does she provide you with multiple vendor lists and an out of this world location guide to help you find your favorite spot, she even gives you a step by step guide to not forget the details. I really don’t know how we would’ve planned it all without her! Even with hiccups that happened out of our control she handled every situation with professionalism and kindness. She went out of her way every chance she could to make our day more special than we could’ve ever dreamed of. She even made sure to let us focus on all of the emotions of the day and slow down to soak them all in! Not once did we ever feel rushed or on edge with her around which speaks volumes as my husband is a pretty quiet and private person. I feel like we made the best possible choice to pick her as our photographer to capture our special moments throughout our big day because not only did we find the BEST vendor, but we also made a new amazing friend! If you’re thinking about hiring Kayla….DO IT I promise you won’t regret the friendship or photographs to come (:
Kayla goes above and beyond in every way. Not only was I completely blown away by her final product, but she is a caring and conscientious individual that my husband and I were comfortably able to be our true selves with — our goofiest, most emotional, sometimes chaotic selves. She provided us with a safe, fun-loving space and captured us perfectly in our element. If you’re looking for a genuine human being to accompany you on the best day of your life — she is your girl. Her work is stunning and her words are always backed up by her actions.
"When my love and I decided to get married in just three short weeks, we were overwhelmed with trying to plan everything. We got in contact with Kayla and she was absolutely amazing from the start! I didn’t realize how little I had thought about my wedding day until Kayla, and she went above and beyond the normal duty of a photographer! She helped me plan out the day and visualize what it would look like."
This means I passed an assessment given by the Leave No Trace Center for my knowledge and commitment to preserving and protecting our natural spaces in North Georgia and beyond!
