Tonya was one of the best decisions we made on our wedding day! We were looking for someone with a candid/editorial style who would capture us naturally, and it was important that any posed photos still felt like us. We also wanted someone we felt comfortable with who had experience working with/posing queer couples as we understood how closely you work with your photographer. Tonya could not have been a more perfect choice for what we were looking for, and we are so grateful for her professionalism, talent, and vision in helping us create photos we will cherish for the rest of our lives. We felt completely at ease and like we could be our true selves the entire time- she was a true joy to work with and we cannot recommend her enough!

Tonya's work is unbelievable. The fog that rolled in for our ceremony made it hard to see just a few feet in front of us, but her pictures came out stunning. She's a great communicator, detail-oriented and really made us feel comfortable in front of the camera. She sent us a day-of timeline and helped plan out what photos we would like in advance. We got back a preview album sent to us like 2 days after our wedding! We also did an engagement shoot with her before our wedding, which really made us excited for our big day.

We worked with Tonya for our wedding and couldn’t be happier. We have only seen the sneak peaks so far so this review is not only for Tonya’s craft and expertise in photography, which is obvious, but also just how much we loved working with her. She has great energy and we had so much fun taking photos at our wedding. The sneak peaks we have seen are absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to see the rest. It was raining for the first 45 minutes or so of our wedding photos and she made sure my dress didn’t get dirty outside taking photos and I really just felt at ease the whole time. We had a list of must have photos with different family members and friends and she managed to get them all in before cocktail hour ended. She was also great at rounding up the troops for photos and staying on schedule. You will not regret working with Tonya.

I am thrilled to write this review for Tonya and her exceptional photography business, Par La Mer Photography. We found her over Instagram and from the moment we connected, Tonya impressed us with her professionalism, talent, and easy communication style. She beautifully captured our wedding day, exceeding all our expectations.

Tonya was a pleasure to work with throughout the entire process. She was attentive to our needs and open to our specific requests, ensuring that our vision was understood. We had a couple of shots in mind, but we entrusted Tonya to use her creative eye for the majority of the shots. She delivered beyond our imagination, capturing the essence of our day with artistic flair.

One aspect that stood out was Tonya's assistance in creating our wedding day timeline. She offered valuable insights and suggestions that helped us organize the day seamlessly. Her guidance played a significant role in ensuring that every precious moment was captured.

Despite facing extreme weather conditions on our wedding day (the coldest day in nine years, if I recall correctly), Tonya and her second shooter, Marie, were true professionals. They braved the freezing temperatures with us and never once compromised on their commitment to capturing the perfect shots. Their dedication and resilience were truly commendable.

This was our first experience having professional photos taken, and Tonya made the entire process feel effortless. Her gentle guidance and ability to put us at ease made us feel comfortable in front of the camera, despite not having modeling careers. She struck the perfect balance between offering suggestions for poses and capturing candid moments that unfolded naturally throughout the day. We truly appreciated her ability to capture both the staged and spontaneous moments.

In addition to her outstanding photography skills, Tonya demonstrated her professionalism and calm demeanor during a minor crisis that occurred during our family photos. Despite a pipe burst and loud alarms causing chaos, Tonya remained composed and helped ease our worries. Her ability to adapt and handle unexpected situations with grace truly showcased her expertise and professionalism.

I wholeheartedly recommend Par La Mer Photography to anyone in search of a talented and dedicated wedding photographer. Tonya's ability to capture the essence of our day, combined with her easy communication style and professionalism, made the entire experience memorable and enjoyable. We are forever grateful for the stunning images that will serve as a cherished reminder of our special day.

Thank you, Tonya, for your remarkable talent, flexibility, and unwavering commitment. You are a true professional, and we are honored to have had you document our wedding day.

I would chose tonya again and again! Looking back at our pictures is a dream! she really brings your story to life and ready to handle the day. Serious about the day Tonya makes sure you stay on the timeline YOU WANT. Getting allll the shots that are important to you. I can assure you, some guests will get in the way and try to derail things but Tonya gracefully kept everything moving to give us everything we dreamed of. love love love!

Wow. I’m in awe of Tonya’s work. From the moment we reached out to her from the moment she delivered our wedding photos I was nothing short of impressed. Tonya immediately went through the “wedding spiel” on our initial call without us having to ask her. A day before that I had a call with someone else who asked me “what questions do you have for me”. So Tonya was a breath of fresh air. For our engagement session, Tonya recommended a couple of spots and everything turned out stunning. Tonya captured the foliage beautifully. On our wedding day not only did Tonya take photos but she actually took my dress out of its packaging- something that I didn’t plan on doing beforehand. She was truly amazing. Our wedding photos have been on repeat viewing in our home. We are absolutely obsessed with her work. You will not be disappointed with your decision to hire ParLaMer. Tonya thank you again for everything.

Tonya is a magician photographer. She was so easy to work with, passionate about her photography, and beyond organized leading up to and during our wedding. We had a ton of family members to wrangle for our photos and she and her second shooter had it down to a science, while still leaving lots of room for spontaneity.

Our couple pictures were amazing - I don’t take many pictures of myself and was worried that I might feel uncomfortable but she put us totally at ease and the results speak for themselves. She even pulled us out of the reception at one point to capture some photos with the full moon in the background! They’re spectacular.

DON'T THINK TWICE - HIRE PAR LA MER PHOTOGRAPHY. Photography was one of the last things I booked, because I was struggling in this department. Struggling with cost, with editing techniques, and hiring a person who would pose us, make us laugh, and want to have fun with us. From the moment I spoke with Tonya, I knew she was going to be amazing. She set up an initial zoom call to over the thoughts of my day, and we instantly connected, and I knew she was going to be amazing. Super personable, easy to relate to, a mom and wife, who just wants to capture the best for her clients, and have the most fun while doing it, while being their most authentic self. I LOVED that she includes engagement sessions in her packages (even though I was indifferent to an engagement shoot - which made me feel less pressure about) - I felt even more comfortable and confident with her, after our amazing engagement session. She made an hour go by so quickly, and got amazing shots. Fast forward to our wedding day and just WOW! I have no words to describe how great Tonya was. She is in multiple places at one time, she knows the shots she wants and how to get it, she's quick, not afraid to pose you, does not make you look awkward, and is open to fun creative ideas that you may have. I fully trusted her to bring the magic, and she did. She helped me work through a really tough wedding timeline, and she nailed it. We received our sneaks in less than a week, just as we were landing in Fiji for our honeymoon (literally got the email as soon as we landed), which was amazing timing, and was so fun to reminisce back on our amazing wedding day with the photos. I can't wait to see all the final photos, and will likely purchase a wedding album thru her too. I hope to have the opportunity to work with her again in a different stage of our lives :) Thank you Tonya!!!

We were incredibly fortunate to book Tonya for our wedding in Groton, CT on July 15, 2022. We found her on instagram and absolutely fell in love with her artistic style - her photos speak for themselves. We are only a few weeks out from our wedding and she’s already sent over some incredible sneak peaks. Both myself and my husband can’t stop looking at them! On the day, she gave us just enough direction to make us comfortable and look our best. She truly captured our personalities, connection, and emotions (as well as our most flattering angles).

We had recently moved cross country and were planning our (very large) wedding remotely. With Tonya, the whole process - from initial call, booking, contract signing, planning, was absolutely seamless - that much more important for us as we were so far away. Tonya was consistently professional, friendly, and so so helpful. When I was on the fence about something as silly as picking out my wedding footwear, I consulted Tonya and she enthusiastically offered decisive advice and feedback (yes, ladies - wear the flats - we promise you won’t regret it!). I’m sure that’s outside her ‘job description’, but she was much more than a photographer for us.

One special memory with Tonya is the first time we met her. We had flown home for the holidays, and decided to book our engagement shoot for that time. It happened to fall on the same day as a massive snow storm, in New York City. Tonya was highly communicative the night before, working with us and my makeup artist to come up with a plan A and alternative options. In the end, Tonya fought through the elements, the traffic, and I’m sure some very hectic planning to meet us in Brooklyn, where we got our absolutely perfect shots in the fresh snow and FREEZING weather. My husband and I only lasted 30 minutes in the cold, but Tonya would have kept going (if we weren’t such wimps). Either way that was all she needed to get the best pictures ever taken of us (and our nutso dog). And the entire time, she managed to make it FUN for us! Same goes for our wedding day. Tonya was such a calming presence when nerves were highest. Then as the day got going - with minimal time (we were pretty busy enjoying ourselves), Tonya captured gorgeous shots. We shared laughs with her and her second shooter, Marie the whole day, and you can tell from the photos just how happy we were. Also, can we talk about Tonya's STYLE? She was quite possibly our best-dressed guest.

We could not recommend Tonya more highly, and I'm just sad these reviews only go to 5 stars :)

If you’re looking for someone to take BADASS, breathtaking- photographs then Tonya is your girl.

We had our engagement pictures & wedding pictures taken by her and we couldn’t be happier with how everything came out.

She made us feel comfortable, and made sure she captured every single moment and detail from our special day. We highly recommend Tonya and we’ll definitely contact her again for future milestones!