Today we’d like to introduce you to Nadia Padzensky.
Nadia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started using cameras a child, borrowing my mom’s Konica film camera and blazing through disposable film cameras on trips with friends, holidays, and just around my home. My favorite subjects were animals and nature back then. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I never had a shortage of such things to photograph.
In high school, I got my first digital camera as a gift from my uncle. It came with me everywhere, and I was the friend who was constantly taking photos of every single get-together and event. I eventually did photos for the yearbook, and by my senior year of high school, I knew I was going to go to school for photography.
I ended up choosing the Evergreen State College and studied photography there for 4 years. I dove deep into the black and white darkroom, studied some color film processing as well, and got my legs under me with digital photography and working in Photoshop. Through early college, I thought I was going to give it a go at fine art photography as a career and in fact, was completely convinced I would never shoot weddings.
Then, my cousin asked me to document her wedding during my senior year of college. I was nervous and told her I had zero experience with such a thing, but she insisted and was so enthusiastic about me being the one to photograph the day. I came equipped with my digital camera and multiple film cameras. And to my surprise: I LOVED it. That day, I fell head over heels for wedding photography, and I haven’t looked back since.
I officially started my business shortly after college in 2010. I’ve dabbled in many areas of the photo industry, and even once decided to give it all up – sold my gear and moved to Thailand. But that didn’t last long, and as soon as I returned to the states I immediately started replacing all my gear and building a business back up in Portland, OR.
I’ve been in Portland since 2014, have rebranded from Nadia Joyce Photography to Venture Ever After and niched down into elopements and small adventure weddings. This is truly my dream job, and I feel so lucky to have gotten to do it this long, with many exciting years left to go.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Is entrepreneurship and small business ownership ever a smooth road? Aside from the self-inflicted struggles (e.g. see my last answer about selling everything and moving across the world), I’ve seen lots of ups and downs in my business and this industry. From expected things like expensive years having to replace gear and slow bookings, to unexpected things like COVID…there’s never been a year that I’d say was “easy”. But I didn’t choose this career for it’s ease. I chose it for the adventure, the fulfillment, and the joy. And all along the way, it’s had all that and more, in multitudes.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I rebranded to Venture Ever After (from Nadia Joyce Photography) in 2022, after deciding to niche down into elopements and adventure weddings. Over a decade into owning my photo business, I was trying to identify my “why”. What is it that drives me? What is foundationally most valuable to me? What, in all my life, has been the common thread that brings meaning and purpose to my professional and personal endeavors?
Ultimately, the answers to those questions were nuanced, but it all really came down to connection. And very often, that included connection to nature.
I realized that my most successful and fulfilling work often occurred in natural spaces (venues with a deep connection to nature, state and national parks, etc), and I also realized that I was experiencing (and seeing my clients experience) deeper and more intentional moments of connection during smaller events. I wanted to hone in on that and start building my business around the ethos of genuine and impactful connection.
Venture Ever After specializes in elopements and adventure weddings in the Pacific Northwest. My focus is on helping people get married in meaningful ways and magical places. Getting to share the landscapes that I’ve called home my whole life with people who’re celebrating one of the most memorable moments of their lives here never gets old.
My values are really important to me, and those are deeply ingrained in the brand too. I donate to organizations devoted to environmental issues, human rights, and animal rights every time someone books an elopement or wedding with me. I’ve found that giving back to my community and the organizations and people doing work that’s important to me makes the work I do even more fulfilling and meaningful to me – as well as my clients.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I’m always open to collaboration, the sharing of ideas, working with people on new projects and events (even if they’re unrelated to elopements or weddings), and of course, helping folks have the most incredible, true-to-them elopement or wedding day possible.
The best way to reach me in via the contact form on my website ( ventureeverafter.com/contact ).
Pricing:
- Elopement and intimate wedding packages typically start at $5200 for 6 hours of coverage and extensive planning support
- I also offer adventure sessions (for engagements, proposals, anniversaries, etc), and those typically start at around $1800 for a 2 hour session, including extensive planning support
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ventureeverafter.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/ventureeverafter
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/ventureeverafter
