Nikki and Sam met their senior year at UofM when a mix-up at a bystander event gave them an unexpected hour together and a spark they didn’t yet recognize. After graduation sent Sam to DC and Nikki to New York, they reconnected during the pandemic, quickly falling into daily conversations until Nikki invited herself to DC—prompting Sam to rush back early under a fake work excuse just to see her. Four days together made it clear they were falling for each other across the miles, and nearly four years, countless train rides, and two moves later, Sam proposed in Central Park under the guise of a “firm summer party,” where Nikki gave an easy yes and their families joined to celebrate.

I had the joy of photographing Nikki and Sam’s civil ceremony in New York City—a stylish, low-key, “just us” kind of elopement that fit them perfectly. With only a handful of people in the know, they slipped into the city’s rhythm, traded knowing smiles, and made it official with an ease and confidence that felt effortlessly cool. It was intimate, unfussy, and undeniably them.