Some love stories have a "we met and just knew" simplicity to them. Maya and Vince's is a little more like fate kept nudging them together until they finally got the memo.
They met in 2015 in their co-ed dorm in Richmond. Their parents' houses, it turns out, were only ten minutes apart, with a whole web of mutual friends connecting them before they'd even met. At one point, Maya dropped off a friend at Vince's house, completely unaware whose house it even was. By this December, they'll have been together seven years. Vince proposed in early November of 2023, in front of the White House, which feels like exactly the kind of detail you'd expect from a couple where Maya (who has a master's in public administration and is a serious politics buff) gets to say her proposal happened on literal historic ground.
Their wedding was in downtown Richmond at Delta Hotels, with portraits in November. The original plan was to shoot near Canal Street, but the DJs and Spirits Music Festival was happening that same day at Kanawha Plaza Gates, so we pivoted to Brown's Island instead. We will absolutely take that trade. The photos from Brown's Island are some of the most stunning images we had gotten all year, festival or not.
Megan shot this wedding alongside Chayil, and it's one we wanted to talk about for a reason that goes beyond the venue switch. A lot of people find their way to Black Pepper Photography because of the interracial couples we've photographed, the multicultural weddings we've been trusted with, and the diversity of our own team, and editing skin tones true to color isn't a side detail for us. It's one of the things we care about most. Maya and Vince's gallery is a great example of why that matters: every skin tone in every photo, exactly as rich and true as it looked in person.
When Maya was looking for a photographer, here's what she told us stuck with her: it wasn't just the photos. It was how we talked about the work, the energy on the website, the way we describe loving people through the lens, not just photographing them. She loved that the portfolio has a bit of a collage feel to it, and she said something back to us that we think about a lot now: we don't give photos, we give a moment of a day.
That's exactly how we like to approach every single day we capture.
Want your wedding day told the same way? Let's talk!
Venue: Delta Hotels Richmond Downtown (@deltahotelsrva)
Planning, Florals, Rentals, Lighting: Danie B. Events (@daniebevents_rva)
DJ: DJ Just Different (@djjustdifferent)
Rehearsal Dinner: Gather & Hem Restaurant & Bar (@gatherandhem)
Hair + Makeup: C. Ariel Artistry (@c.arielartistry)
Photography: Black Pepper Photography (@blackpepperphoto)