Welcome to De Joy Photography! My name is Amber Amelingmeier, and I have dedicated my life to capturing the most important moments of people’s lives. I thrive on bringing happiness, excitement, and fun to any session. I photograph much of my own life with my wonderful husband, adorable toddler, and three sweet rescue dogs and so understand how important it is that the emotions from your special day are felt every time to look at my images.
I was raised in the Dominican Republic with three sisters and three brothers where we spent our days outdoors riding horses, making campfires, hiking, surfing, and living among nature; an irreplaceable education that has given me a deep adoration of the natural beauty that surrounds us. I’ve lived on both sides of the United States, spent significant time traveling internationally, and have had many homes in many different climates, further developing my ability to notice and showcase the big and small moments of wonder that occur around us every minute of the day.
When I began my journey as a photographer over a decade ago, I knew instantly that I found my calling as a documentarian of love and life during my first wedding in India. The overwhelming colors and flooding scents of flowers and spices enveloped and embraced me with love and joy. Even as I experienced it I begged for the day to never end, and I drank in every moment that I could through my lens. When I awoke the next morning, I knew in my heart that my love would be photographing weddings, but I was months from graduating college and had a job lined up as an Environmental Consultant using my major in Biology and Environmental Science.
Although I worked during the week to protect the environment as a consultant, I spent every free moment honing my skills as a photographer, both during the evenings when traveling for work and from sunrise to sunset on the weekends. I was hopelessly addicted, and would even wake up in the middle of the night to edit the photos I had taken the day before.
My big break came in 2015 when my husband was offered a job in California. Although I immediately found a consultant role in the Bay Area, we decided it was time to go full time as a photographer. My life felt complete! Even before I made the flight to our new home I was furiously researching the area, flush with excitement to photograph in one of the most beautiful spots in the world. I photographed my first California wedding less than a month after arriving, and I’ve never looked back except to wish I had made the leap all those years ago.
When I photograph your special day, I not only tell your story, but also document the love and emotions so that you genuinely can remember how it felt that day. I believe a photo should enable emotions even for those who couldn’t be there to experience it themselves, and that the style and quality are without match. I will not only capture the day, but will showcase your lifestyle and love. My shooting and editing style is colorful, timeless, beautiful, and flattering. I want your heart to swell every time you go through your photos!
I am so excited to meet you. I am so excited to capture your love in a bold way. We will have boatloads of fun in the process, and you can trust that I am deeply invested in making all your dreams come true.
David Royal Photography is a photography company based in Pacific Grove, California, offering refined, high-quality...
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I was the mother of the bride, and we financed the October 2019 wedding at the beautiful Sand Rock Farm in Aptos. We planned the wedding for one year and as everyone knows there is an overwhelming number of decisions to be made. Finding the right photographer is one of the most important! We struck gold with Amber! She is the BEST!
Our love of Amber began with the engagement photo session in the beautiful Santa Cruz mountains. Her fun personality kept the girls laughing and relaxed throughout the photo session and the photos were amazing!
On the day of the wedding, she arrived at noon and worked her tail off until 8pm. I don't know how she has so much energy! She was so organized, knowing exactly when and where she wanted to take photos, and she kept us all on the timeline schedule. She kept the brides happy and calm and made all of us laugh and enjoy ourselves.
She was quick to post a beautiful photo on Instagram and followed up quickly with a large number of spectacular sneak peek photos we were so pleased with, and could share with friends, family, and social media.
She captured everything, and in such a beautiful and creative way. She is definitely a very talented professional and also a wonderful fun human being. I cannot say enough how much we appreciate and recommend Amber. Thank you! - Ann F (D&L wedding, Sand Rock Farm, 10.19.19)
Sent on 11/10/2019
John
· Married on 09/21/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Our beautiful Wedding with Amber
Choosing a photographer is one of the most important decisions that a couple has to make for their wedding. We definitely felt like that we made a fantastic decision by choosing Amber as our wedding photographer. She was brilliant, meticulous and hardworking throughout our whole wedding process, from our engagement shoot to creating our stunning physical wedding album. On our initial call with her, she was super friendly, knowledgeable and gave us some great recommendations of other wedding vendors. We final met her during our engagement photo shoot on Earth Day in Carmel. Of course, having a photoshoot taken by a person that you just met of some of your intimate moments could be very intimidating, but Amber made it a very comfortable and enjoyable experience for us, by utilizing her natural charm and affable personality.
We love her beautiful, brilliant, vibrant, and colorful photography style, which worked for redwood forest wedding. The style was so unique and vibrant, that it stood out from the rest of the photographers out there. Even though Amber was 8 months pregnant during the time of our wedding day, she worked tirelessly throughout our entire wedding day. She even hired two apprentice photographers, at no additional charge, in order to make our big day run more smoothly.
The images on our wedding day turned out amazing, of course. Amber does a terrific job of asking us and our wedding party to pose and act a certain way that felt silly at the time, but trust me, the photos will turnout amazing. Amber also worked with us to create a magnificent wedding photo book. Amber has now became one of our good friends. We also love following her on Instagram stories. It’s fun and uplifting, and it brings a smile to our faces.
Sent on 03/29/2020
Emily Riske
· Married on 07/13/2019
5.0
Quality of service:
5.0
Responsiveness:
5.0
Value:
5.0
Flexibility:
5.0
Professionalism:
5.0
Wonderful experience with Amber!!
I truly can't recommend Amber enough. She's delightful, encouraging, and will rally even the most stubborn family members for picture time. I was very nervous to take our engagement pictures, but she made me feel so comfortable and her energy outlasted both of us. Her attention to detail means she has everything covered - even the things you hadn't even thought about. More than anything else, I completely trust her, which is a wonderful feeling. You won't regret it! Also, absolutely get the wedding album package. You get to pick the pictures and she puts it together. Admit it, you won't take the the time to make it yourself. It's worth it!
When hiring Amber of De Joy Photography, you not only receive her talent but her positive, energetic and fun personality! I thoroughly enjoy working with Amber!
Amber of De Joy Photography is awesome! She is warm, bright and spunky. She will make you laugh and put you right at ease. And that's just her personality! She is a very talented photographer with an excellent eye, and her work really speaks for itself! So go check her out and seriously consider her for your big day!
