2013 Couples Contest!

I can't believe it's already been a year since my first couples contest! It's been such a crazy year of shooting such beautiful people, including my first wedding!! This year I hope to keep growing in my photography and be able to capture memories for all you lovelies :)

So let's get to it!

How to Vote:  Voting will begin February 3rd, 2013 and end on February 13th, 2013 at 11:59 PM. Everyone can vote twice! There is a poll at the bottom where you can vote (once per computer, so if you want to hit up every computer you can, that's up to you). There is also an album on the Leilani Photography page on Facebook called "2012 Couples Contest" that also has each photo/story for each couple where you need to comment "vote" to have it count towards the couple's votes (simply clicking "like" on the picture will not count!). Make sure you comment under the photo and not the album or the couple's link to the picture. You are able to vote for more than one couple, but duplicate comments on a single picture will be deleted. Participants and voters must "like" Leilani Photography to vote. Invite anyone you would like to vote in both places! The winner will be posted February 14th on the blog and will be notified by email as well.

Good luck, y'all! :)

 Our Gorgeous Couples:





Austen + Tiffani
We dated in highschool, yet grew apart. (and by that I mean I grew up and he didn't lol) But we crossed paths again 7 years later and fell in love. After 3 sweet years, we are newly engaged and look forward to a beautiful life growing old together!

Brandon + Kayla 

{Nominated by her best friend, Gina!}

Kayla Pack has been my best friend since high school. We have been there for each other through numerous boyfriends and heartbreaks. Kayla and Brandon worked at a restaurant together in Gainesville called Harry's. She would talk about Brandon non-stop, but then tell me she didn't want anything serious. Well, I guess its true what they say: love finds you when you're not looking for it! One night at a Halloween party in 2011 they finally gave up the act of 'wanting the single life' and made it official (thanks to a little nudge from yours truly). I knew within a month that they were meant to be together. In prior relationships Kayla was constantly frustrated and upset, but not with Brandon. He is supportive, patient, and caring and I am so happy that my best friend has found someone who completes her so perfectly. Brandon and Kayla are now engaged to be married! (YAY!) As a young couple just out of college, a photo shoot is not something they can afford to treat themselves to. So, as an engagement gift to my best friend I would like to nominate Kayla and Brandon for the Couples Contest. I doubt they would ever do this for themselves, but they are so deserving and I would like to see this couples love for each other captured through your photography.

  Brent + Erin
We met about four years ago,and decided to start dating in April 2010. Our first date was one of the longest, most amazing date of my life! We started out having breakfast at java joint, then spent the day at the beach talking and laughing. We had so much fun we decided we didn't want it to end so we each went home changed and then we to dinner and a movie then a bar and played pool and laughed some more! Like I said longest date of my life but the absolute best! After that he introduced me to his family and daughter who I love dearly. Then I did the same he spent my sisters 40th bday with us and got along great with my family which is a huge deal being I don't have the easiest family to get along with. After that it was thanksgiving and Christmas and I knew he was the one! Now almost two amazing years later we are planing to move in together and hopefully get engaged sometime this year!:) I love him with all my heart and can't wait to spend they rest of my life with him!!!

Brett + Corina
It all started when we both decided to go fishing… on the dating website Plenty of Fish that is. We both went on the site with little expectations of actually finding “True Love” and more of another social media to meet people and more so because our friends were doing it and we wanted to just “check it out”. We conversed for a few days and decided we wanted to meet at a local bar to discuss different kinds of beers and what made up each one. That day on my way home from work, my phone stopped working! So I had to rush home and get on the site to message him to let him know I didn’t have a phone to confirm but I would be there at seven and pray that he received it. Throughout the night we both realized that we were actually having more fun than we had in awhile and really hit it off! So much so that I stayed out until 1 AM on a work night! We ended up seeing each other every night of the up coming week, and seven days later he asked to take me off the market and to be his. Of course I said yes! Less than twenty days later we went out with friends on a Sunday and I ended up breaking my neck.. Can you say accident-prone? Anyone that knows me thinks I need to be placed in a bubble! He stood by me through that and for the first three months of our relationship I was in a neck brace. My friends all said, “Man, if he stayed with you after that… he sure is a keeper!” We are now in the process of buying a house in Palm Coast (just waiting to hear back on an offer) and I only have a year left in school! We can’t wait to see where life takes us from here, but one thing we know for sure is that love definitely finds you when you least are expecting it to.

Chris + Chrissy

Our story started a little over 2 years ago, we met through a 12-step program. Both Chris & I have struggled with addiction in our past, and that common thread has been a strong bond between us. We both have totally changed our lives; Chris has over 4 years clean and me over 2 years. This is not something we usually tell everyone, but I think it is an important part of our story, because it shows that anyone can change their life. We are both Christ followers, and I owe alot of my spirituality to Chris, he lead me back to the Lord when I had turned my back on him.
I think we both are positive influences on eachother's lives; he has taught me alot about humility and I have taught him alot about letting go. We both share a love for the Miami Dolphins and our Siamese cat named Milo. Also, we are very close with our families, they are a very important part of our lives.
Chris graduated from UWF with a Bachelor of Design and now owns and operates his own landscaping business called Coastal Turf Conservation, Inc. I am about to start my final semester at Metropolitan Community College studying for my Medical Transcription Associates degree. Sometime in June 2013 I will be enrolling in a University to continue on for my Bachelor's. This year has held so many blessing for us - we married on Nov. 11th at the Florida Agricultural Museum and purchased our first home here in Palm Coast. 

Christian + Tiffany
My fiance and I had a blind date on Valentines day 2010. My mother set us up, and I didn't think anything of it. Sure enough we started dating officially and have been so in love ever since. We honestly believe we are soulmates because we have stayed strong through thick and thin. Our wedding is set for 10.12.13 and we still haven't taken any couples or engagement photos. I am a photographer myself but all of my photo friends that I went to school with live too far away. We would love an opportunity for someone else to photograph us before our wedding!

DJ + Brittany
It all started seven years ago, when a boy met a girl. She liked him and he fell for her, but neither would admit it. She had to move away and they swore to keep in touch. Four years later, he finally talked to her again and they spent a great year as just friends, their affection growing with each passing visit. But the heart can only take so much, and so on February 22, 2011 they made their affections public and official.
The past two years have developed an even stronger bond to their friendship than ever imagined - a bond of love. Their two naive souls are now intrinsically bound and sealed with the spark of a kiss.

Travis + Cayla
Boy met girl. They took it slow. Became best friends. Boy really liked girl, girl really liked boy but not like that... or so she thought. Boy was persistent after girl, girl was flattered but always said no. Then after a short time boy's father got sick all of a sudden and went home to heaven, boy and girl became very close at this time. Boy told girl he loved her, girl loved him so much but was afraid she would hurt him and lose boy forever, so boy went away for a little while. In boy's absence girl realized how much she longed to have boy by her side at all times. Girl's heart hurt bad without boy, she could not stand another second without her best friend. Girl rushed to boy and proclaimed her mutual love with a first and life changing kiss. Ever since that moment four years ago they have explored and adventured, learned and discovered challenges and wondrous things of life's journey all by each others side. Boy and girl have grown together and therefore even more inseparable so in a very short time boy and girl will be joined as man and wife, to continue to learn and explore the beauty of purpose and creation in love and Christ.
***footnote: the two have not had a tasteful photo taken together that's not an arms length away in like 2 years!