Meant to be.

It’s a sentiment often shared in a wedding speech. Two people, after unexpected stops and unplanned detours, say yes to something random and find their way to each other.

Taking a leap into the unknown can lead you exactly to where you were always supposed to be, maybe even to what you were always meant to do.

Take Nicole Ashley. She started off randomly in sports photography. A high school friend asked her to shoot a few lacrosse games, which led to more sports teams, then eventually to concerts and music festivals. The wide-angle views, though, weren’t her game; she wanted to focus on the athletes, the entertainers. “I realized that just documenting events wasn’t enough for me,” she says. “I knew I wanted to work with people.”

As luck would have it, another photographer asked her to second-shoot a wedding. It was a no-pressure, let’s-see-how-the-day-goes proposal – Nicole wasn’t even supposed to be paid – but the day was a turning point. “After the couple read their vows, I was like, ‘I can’t believe that I’m witnessing complete strangers’ wedding vows.’ It was such an intimate, raw moment, and I couldn’t believe I got to be a part of it. It was like a drug. I was so high off of that I knew that that was it.”

Nicole now shoots close to 30 weddings and intimate elopements a year. The Edmonton-based photographer has travelled from Italy to Iceland, Belize to Croatia to capture a couple’s big day. There’s a lot of nervous energy for the bride and groom; Nicole wants them to feel beautiful and worthy. Gaining that confidence to take charge came in time.

Nicole's first camera was a basic point-and-shoot. She taught herself the ins-and-outs of a DSLR. “I would literally shoot every day in different lighting scenarios and ask friends and family to model for me.”

She was still learning when her husband’s band asked her to shoot photos for their upcoming album. “The morning of the shoot, I threw up I was so nervous,” she says, laughing. “That stuck with me. I must really care about this if I’m physically ill over it.”

She credits her husband, Jon, a tattoo artist and part-time musician, for pushing her to pursue photography full-time. At the time, Nicole was working two serving jobs. She was torn on whether to work over Christmas, when the money is good. “[Jon] said, ‘I think you should just quit cold turkey and focus 100 percent on photography. If in six months you don’t make a dollar, then we can re-evaluate.’ I was pretty fortunate I had that kind of encouragement in my corner,” she says.

Nicole, who describes her style as “moody romantic,” has now grown her portfolio to the point that couples seek her out. With weddings all over the world, she usually meets her clients the day of their ceremony. Her goal always is to produce intimate, genuine photos, which can be a challenge when the bride and groom are strangers to you just hours before their ‘I do’s.’ She needs to get to the essence of the couple quickly – speed dating, in a sense.

“I’m big on watching people’s mannerisms and quirks,” she says. She mentally notes how someone turns their face when they talk, or handles their hands, or little movements they do. “I’m watching all those little details as we’re talking. In my head, I sound psychotic,” she says, laughing, “but it really pays off well with posing them.”

Her greatest hope is for the bride and groom to not just recognize themselves in their photos but also see something they have never seen of themselves before. “I want them to see an intimate but relatable look, and to deliver really artistic impressions where they can see their personalities,” she says.

Nicole initially envisioned a different career path for herself when she earned her Bachelor of Education degree. She still found her way into teaching, just in a different classroom setting. She teaches workshops and speaks at conferences. She offers mentoring, allowing aspiring photographers the opportunity to ask her anything and spend time shooting with her.

“When I started shooting I found most artists to be closed off or very protective of their secrets and locations,” she says. “It was disheartening, and I knew I never wanted to be a roadblock for someone else. I’ve always been very open with the photo community, and find it so rewarding to watch others grow in their artistry. Community over competition has always been my motto.”

It’s also a great way to give back to an industry that’s allowed her to experience so much.

“I’ll be photographing a couple in a new location, and it blows my mind, I’m like, ‘Wow, if I had never picked up a camera, I would never have met these people. I may have never been in this particular town in Switzerland. I may never have been to travel as much in the world.’ There are times I’m sitting on a plane and I can’t believe someone believes in my art enough to take me to them. It’s crazy.”

Memorable moments are plenty, no matter where in the world her work takes her. One wedding brought her to Australia – “I was blown away that clients would fly me literally across the world to be a part of their wedding” – but another, backyard nuptials in Edmonton where the guest list was just closest family and friends, left just as lasting an impact. “It was incredibly emotional and beautiful,” she says. “I just think of that couple and I get goosebumps all over again. It doesn’t have to be about location. It’s more like the way you connect to that ceremony.”

Nicole’s schedule will keep her closer to home the next couple of years. However, one European wedding has her extra excited for an elusive stamp in her passport. A few months ago, she mentioned on a podcast that one of her bucket list destinations was Portugal. Not two weeks later, she met with a couple who booked their elopement there.

“Whether that’s total coincidence or that’s the power of saying something out loud, I have no idea,” she says, “but that was a pretty good moment.”

And maybe just meant to be.