I cannot say enough about these two! I've known Ashley since the 8th grade and when she asked me to document their Christmas photos, I couldn't say no! I was super excited to meet Jake and secretly hoped that he was going to propose. I was sitting down working one day when I get a phone call from Jake, before he even finished his sentence I knew he was going to tell me that he was going to propose. I did a small squeal of excitement and told him the part during the session where I thought it would be best to do the proposal. I had to do my best the entire week to keep my mouth closed every time I talked to Ashley. I put my best poker face on and prayed every moment was more than perfect for them. The session started off amazing and I backed up to give them their space, Jake got down on one knee and asked Ashley to be his forever. It was the perfect moment and I was crying as much as they were. It was so beautiful & I am so grateful to be the one to document their love and this amazing moment in their life together.

Ashley & Jake, I can't thank you enough for choosing me to be the one to document your love and exciting your new journey! xo

Their session was also featured on How He Asked & its so perfect!

Every photographer has their dream wedding that they hope to photograph one day and I am happy to say that yesterday I got to photograph mine. I am so blessed to have a career where I can fly all over the globe and photograph precious moments for people. I want to thank Brittany & Kevin for choosing me to photograph their special day. I had such an amazing time meeting your families and getting to capture all of your special moments. I hope you guys enjoy every bit of your honeymoon! Enjoy every adventure, every moment & love each other to the fullest!

xo, layla

Beautiful couple. Wishing you two nothing but a beautiful life together.

Styled Shoot: Credit Three Nails Workshop

"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."

-Nicole Krauss, The History of Love

Hi loves!!! I will be traveling the latter part of this year!! && Im super excited!! If Im going to be in your neck of the woods, hit me up & let's get together!!! I will be adding more travel up until December time. If you want me to come play dress up & take pictures of you, let me know!!! xo layla

I love this family & I cannot wait to see them become one in October!! Lauren & Steve are having their wedding in NOLA!!! I am super excited & cannot wait to see & share all of the details they have planned for their big weekend!! Love you guys! xo

These two are so stunning!! I cannot wait to photograph their backyard styled wedding in June!!! Almost time!

I couldn't resist posting more than one sneak peek for this BEAUTIFUL couple! I can't wait to welcome their baby boy!!! Almost time!!!

over the summer, i received a call from pablo asking if i could do photos of him and at the time girlfriend edith. of course i said yes. when i called to confirm all of the details and asked if there was anything specific that i needed to be aware of during the shoot, he said, "yes, im proposing at the end of the night." i literally jumped for joy! who wouldn't want to photograph a surprise engagement! when we met up for their session, i had to keep my cool and act as if nothing was going to happen. its a good thing im a good secret keeper! ;)

as the sun started to set, we made our way to the restaurant that pablo wanted to propose at but the lighting was horrible and the bartender was not wanting to help us out. i stepped outside of the restaurant and looked at the various restaurants we had available and decided to try batanga. just from a first glance, i knew this was the restaurant. i asked them to wait outside while i talked to the owner. i explained to the owner the situation and they said of course! whatever you need! extremely pleased, i said outside would be best, under the umbrellas and a bottle of wine please. without hesitation they seated the couple and i started doing what i do best. i gave pablo the signal that whenever he was ready to go ahead, he got down on one knee, shocked edith and she screamed yes!

Two weeks ago today, I was wrapping up the last day of the Three Nails Photography workshop. I can't put into words how amazing the experience was and how invigorating it was to learn from so many talented people, especially Hunter. Hunter is one of my biggest inspirations and I LOVE his work, being able to learn from him was truly amazing. I met so many talented photographers at this workshop and we all instantly clicked which was wonderful! I hope I get to work with them all again during my journey as a photographer, until then Im going to work my butt off fulfilling my dream and ever lasting desire to be a world class photographer.

Here are some sneak peeks at the various shoots that we did.

Engagement session:

Bridal Session:

Best Man & Maid of honor from the wedding portion:

This workshop would not have happened without: Hunter Leone of Three Nails Photography with his creative vision & direction. Makeup artist, Meka with Meka with Motives without her talented hands everyone would look plain & blah. Kirstie Kelly Collections for the amazing wedding dresses. Untamed Petals for their gorgeous headpieces. Pursing Eden for the set design and props that adorned our table. Rampage Farms in Hooks, TX, for hosting & allowing us to use their stunning property.

I absolutely ADORE these two!!! Baby Lucy is going to have some amazing parents!

Janet & Ben,

You guys are absolutely wonderful! Can't wait to meet baby Lucy!!! xo

It was Ben's birthday, so we snuck in a couple of birthday photos for him. :)

Can't wait to photograph their wedding in September!!!

This beautiful couple tied the knot a little over a month ago and I have to say I was very honored to have photograph their wedding. It was so sweet and special! Jihan & I became great friends throughout the time of talking about her wedding and awaiting her big day! I even photographed her Mehndi (Henna Party). Even though this post is short & sweet, it was definitely one of the most special weddings I have have the privilege of photographing.

We started out the day by having their traditional Islamic Ceremony followed by the wedding in the evening. For those of you that don't know much about Islamic Ceremonies, I'll explain as we go. :)

In the SouthEast Asian Culture, women adorned their hands and feet with henna which substituted as gold. It is said the darker the henna, the more blessed your marriage is. If you've ever had henna done you know how messy it gets, so you can only imagine how long you'd have to leave it on for it to be super dark. 

During the ceremony, the men & women are separated. The head Sheikh (Imann) does all of the talking, with a sermon followed by a couple of questions for the groom and the bride's father. The groom has to ask permission right then and there in-front of everyone for the bride's hand in marriage and with the father's blessing they two are wed. 

And now onto the wedding portion...

In order for the groom to enter the hall, he has to "pay a toll". He has a "financial advisor" negotiating his way into the hall. He has to agree to pay a certain amount of money for the bride and once the bride's family agrees, he's in! This was so fun to watch! 

Jihan & Rafe,

Thank you so much for choosing me to photograph your special day! I wish you two a blessed marriage filled with love, prosperity and an abundance of happiness!!

Photographer: Layla Hillail, Le Zu Photography

Venue: Hilton SouthWest

Hijab: Hijab Couture