In a world where wedding planning often feels like a performance—choreographed to meet the expectations of curated Pinterest boards and picture-perfect Instagram posts—finding a sense of self in the process can feel like searching for a quiet corner in a noisy room. But for photographer Elana Loo, planning a wedding centered on authenticity was worth the search.

With the same intentionality she brings behind the lens, the Artifact Uprising Ambassador approached her wedding as a deeply personal celebration—a reflection of her and her partner’s story. In this candid conversation, she reveals her honest convictions and what it was like to let go of external pressures, lean into what matters most, and plan a big day that not only looked beautiful, but felt beautiful, too.

Will you start by telling us a little bit about your wedding journey?

The experience of planning a wedding served as an illuminator and a mirror.‌ Through this process I learned many valuable things about myself… Yes, I live for the details and for beauty but ultimately, how something feels is more important than how it looks or seems. I learned that I can’t (and don’t desire to) control everything. That something doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. That extravagance is far from necessary for something to feel special or worthy. That appeasing others is not the goal. And that expectations squander everything.

What does it mean to embrace authenticity through the wedding planning process?

Honoring our values throughout this process was a delightful challenge, and authenticity means staying true to those values—over any outside opinion, trend, tradition or anything that may dictate this day of celebration. It’s the most special day of your life thus far… and it’s only one day of your life. I let that reality offer some perspective over and over to ground me in the truth, to give me the permission slip I needed not to be so serious in the planning process, to infuse our true essence into our choices, and also to alleviate the obligation of extravagance. We made a list of our absolute, non-negotiable needs for this day, so when options and add-ons would arise, we would refer back to that.

How did you stay true to yourself throughout the process? Did you feel any pressure to conform?

Oh, absolutely there was pressure! Thankfully not from our immediate families, but in our generation, the pressure is programmed in! There are so many unwritten rules of getting married and being a bride… The projections we’ve had in our mind since we were young, outdated traditions that are just “standard practice,” plus the influence online about what’s “essential” for your wedding, which very well may not be for you.

Rather than thinking of trends or all the things we needed to do, I kept thinking back on this day from the perspective of my 80-year-old self. What will I remember? How can we make it feel amazing, not just look amazing? What will stand the test of time? What lights us up versus what feels like an obligation? What can I let go of to focus on the true essence of this celebration?

What were some of your favorite moments that felt the most you?

Throwing ourselves in the ocean the morning of our wedding. Getting myself ready in our little cottage by the sea. Trekking barefoot through the woods to our ceremony location. Exchanging vows, just the two of us, surrounded by the pines and the tide. Walking down the aisle (read: the beach) toward a shimmering sea, illuminating Aaron and our loved ones, feeling the sun on my face. Gathering everyone around a fire, under a full moon, after our reception.

As a photographer, what was most important to you when it came to capturing your wedding?

That the day was an occasion worth remembering through photographs, rather than one that revolved solely around them. We didn’t want our wedding day to feel like a production. I hoped for the photos to capture the emotions of the day, to tell the story of the place, and to bring us back to those fleeting moments for the rest of our lives. (And they do! Our dear friend Veronica Lola Photography captured our memories so beautifully and held space for us during a very emotional rollercoaster of a week!)

After the wedding comes the honeymoon! How did you and your husband choose your destination?

Because we got married on the East Coast, we both loved the idea of honeymooning in Europe! Aaron voted for Italy (his first choice always), but I proposed an island off the coast of Spain that had a familiarity to what we love about Italy but had new energy to explore. Friends of ours had been and loved it, so I was very keen. Once he did some research, he was sold on the turquoise water, the unique beaches, and the olive groves in the mountains!

How have you printed and preserved your wedding and honeymoon photos?

We preserved the photos (and a few polaroids!) from our wedding in a Signature Layflat Album and used as many pages as it would allow. It is absolutely stunning! We gifted our parents photo books, as well, and the first remark they all made was about the incredible quality! We also had a few of our wedding portraits framed in the Walnut Deep-Set Frames. We printed the photos from our honeymoon in a Hardcover Photo Book, which is smack dab in the middle of our coffee table as I write this! We always love creating photo books from our trips, and this one is all the more special.

What is it about printing them that is most important to you?

Printing our memories is important to us because of one word: legacy. When I print my photos, I think about who may hold them in their hands and look at them in the future. I have loved looking through old photographs of my family since I was a young child, hearing stories of who they are, where they were, and what they did. It brings Aaron and me immense joy to print our own photos for future generations to find, as well as for us to look back on in the years to come.