whole hearted storytelling
Professional Wedding & Elopement Photographer Team
Serving Northwestern IL & Available for Travel.
hi friend!
We're Nicole & Ashley, your self-taught professional photographers, marvel movie addicts, and lovers of dance parties - anytime, any place.
We’re a full-service, kick-ass photography duo that’s BIG on team effort. With My Whole Heart Collective, you always have the two of us available throughout the entire process to tag team communication, planning, shooting, editing - the whole nine yards! What we bring to the table is two nogginz chiming in for an extra layer of creativity and to ensure your wedding photography experience is as seamless and as memorable as possible.Why have one when you can have two, right!?
In a nutshell, we were brought together by a shared passion for creating art and a desire to connect with other humans on a much deeper level. We have a similar idea of what it means to be an “artist”, and believe in using our art as a vehicle to continuously explore, experiment, evolve, and deepen our connections with others. We believe this paints our vision for My Whole Heart Collective and fuels our unique approach to story telling. Our goal is to invite a comfortable, collaborative atmosphere where we can all come as ourselves, make new friends, and have a freakin’ blast along the way!
meet ashley
I’ve been pro third-wheelin’ on many different lovers’ adventures since early 2020. I come from a small, quiet town in Illinois called Yorkville (home of the foxes and land of the never-ending cornfields). For a good chunk of time post high-school, I was really struggling with what I wanted to do with my life. It took boat loads of trial and error, fussing with different jobs and career paths that never fully satisfied me and left me feeling empty. But when I stumbled upon photography and the wedding industry - that’s when everything clicked.
Throughout my journey of navigating adulthood, I gradually discovered and unlocked the talents, skills, and passions that drive me to be my best, most authentic self. I discovered that I’m an artist, a stylist, a designer, a photographer, a traveler, a crafter, a story teller, a DIY-er; a sucker for details and aesthetics. And it’s this combination of passions that fueled my love for photography. And now, I can say with full certainty, that I absolutely LOVE what I do, and don’t ever want to look back.
When I’m not behind camera, you can find me in an intense game of fetch with my maltipoo puppy, Charlie (Charleston Chews, Charlie Brown, Mr. Fluff Pants) - whatever you wanna call him, or playing 1,346 rounds of Mario Party with my squad. It’s also not unlikely you’ll find me at the nearest thrift store excitedly sifting through the racks and happy dancing over how many “steals” I’m finding (+ wondering how someone could seriously give up a perfectly good pair of jeans from Free People, or a super trendy Anthropologie sweater that still has the tags attached - like whaaaat!?).
meet nicole
As a child, I grew up with cameras at every event - big or small. I can remember my Grandpa taking pictures of the new shower door being installed while I watched. My Dad teaching me Photoshop with me in his lap, editing away at my brother’s T-Ball game snapshots. If I could go back to June 11th, 2008 + tell my Grandpa one more thing, it’d be, “You’ve given me purpose. I love you.”
On my off days - you can find me soaking up all the time I can with my little family of 6 (including the fur babes). If I had to pick a highlight reel that described us perfectly, it’d be; 1. watching my husband complete his absolute favorite chore under the sun - mowing the lawn (-casually rides by the front window flipping me the bird as he absolutely dominates at his Midwestern dad duties-); 2. Declan’s chunky cannoli legs slapping the wood floor, all while giggling as I chase him down the hallway; 3. Laying on a blanket in the yard, post-fetch and the dogs all huddled around - tongue’s stretched out after getting in their exercise.
- Wife + Mama (furry + human)
- Empath who cries at just about everything (happy tears + sad)
- Most days my mouth could make a sailor blush
- Someone in heaven shared his passion of photography with me + so it began
are we a good fit?
You would rather play tag barefoot, grab your lover’s hiney mid-smooch, + shake your ass to your fave jam with a third-wheel.
01.
You love love love our art and want it plastered all over your home of you and your loved one(s).
02.
This all goes back to trusting your photographer. Love is wild, it ebbs + flows, and sometimes it’s nice to set the hustle & bustle down to just HAVE FUN. Zero worries and actin’ a crazy-lovin’ fool with your favorite weirdo (+ us hehe). This means trusting the process during your photography sessions. Movement is where we thrive in our creativity. It’s much less pressure to be encouraged to play instead of pose. Maybe it sounds silly to some, but we can promise whispering your lover’s favorite food in their ear will result in the world’s sweetest sound - happiness in the form of laughter. So if that’s what you’re looking for, we’re it. And we’ll have a freakin' blast along the way.
Cheese & dogs are your love languages.
barefoot sounds better than any pair of kicks.
dance parties & bad singing is your hobby.
You Come as you are, we’re all friends here.
you're our people if...
portraits
elopements
weddings
tell your story
creators. storytellers. your new best friends. Let's tell your story!
starting at $450
starting at $2,250
starting at $4,000
Again I am SPEECHLESS. I seriously don’t even know what to say or where to begin. I cannot stop looking at these. I hope you both realize how incredible you are and what you do for couples that you work with. I’m seriously blown away with your work. We will have these for the rest of our life and I can’t wait to show them off to our friends, family, and future children. In the best way possible, I feel bad for couples who don’t have you haha. You’re just too incredible! You have a referral for life, and have already spoken so highly of you all to anyone who will listen. Wedding photos are so special, and you captured everything so perfectly. We can never thank you enough for your work! Again, my words never seem to do my feelings justice. Please know your work is extraordinary and your team is unmatched!!
tori & cory - 6.25.2022
01
We haven’t stopped swooning at our pictures & replaying moments from Friday over + over again. There are no words to describe the gratitude + thankfulness we have for both of you; our day was absolutely perfect + fun + full of laughter + joy. I don’t know if you saw my FB post, but I gave you guys a huge shoutout for being so incredible that day and all the days leading up to it. 🤍 You are the most amazing dynamic duo we could’ve ever hoped for. We literally haven’t stopped receiving compliments on these pics since you posted the sneak peek. How are you two so damn talented - it literally blows my mind lol.
natally & Josh - 6.25.2022
02
For those who thrive in deep connection & friendship.
xoxo,
ashley & nicole
Freebie alert!
we know there's a lot of questions dancing around in your head when it comes to the photography portion of your absolute best day ever. So we aimed to break down everything you need to know about our wedding photography services in our easy-to-follow guide! So go ahead, snag the good stuff!
We’re so ecstatic you two lovers are considering having us along for the ride on this journey to “I do” with you! With My Whole Heart Collective - you'll always have two of us during the planning process, and dependent on the package that fits your day best, most likely you will also have us both on your special day!
We want you two to be able to instill a trust in us that allows you to know your images will reflect your love-story exactly as-it-is, and your pre and post wedding day process will run smoothly because you have us on your team. We're SO dang excited to meet you!!!
work with us!
download the guide
your co-captains on your best adventure in love
But before you reach out - make sure you take a peek at our services, Pricing, FAQS, The Guide, & our About Sections!
Services/FAQ
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