She makes weddings an adventure

She has accidentally sat on a cactus, intentionally hiked 11 miles and inadvertently shared her workspace with a yak and a camel.

That and more comes with McKenna Large’s dream job of being an adventure wedding and elopement photographer.

The Town of Belgium native who lives in Nashville has been capturing picture-perfect marital moments for 10 years.

Her first two weddings this year are in Portugal and Scotland. She usually travels at least once a month.

“I love just experiencing different places and landscapes and cultures. It’s hard to pick a favorite,” she said. “I’ve been to Colorado and Montana often, but I love the tropical areas of Hawaii and beaches.”

It was at Saguaro National Park in Arizona where she came in contact with some of the local vegetation, a cactus.

“It was one of those little prickly ones. They’re kind of hairy. It kind of stuck in my pants. I went back to the place we were staying and pulled (the spines) out of my hip.”

That didn’t keep Large from her work. She didn’t even tell the couple. “I’m sure the couple would have just laughed it off, but I try to center the day all around them and not me,” she said.

The animal kingdom has joined the festivities at times. In White Sands National Park in New Mexico near a farm with rescued animals, two hoofed creatures joined the wedding couple.

“They brought the camel along with a yak to the park because they allow pets there. The camel loved rolling in the sand. It was so cute. He was so chill,” Large said. “The yak was really there for the camel’s emotional support.”

While the weather cooperated in the southwest, it’s not consistent. “I’ve had weddings where we end up in snowstorms. You never really know what’s going to happen,” Large said.

Last year, Large did an 11-mile hike on a wedding day. “We had peanut butter and jelly in our wedding bags,” she said. “Everybody’s gotta stay fueled.”

Some nuptials include sit-down dinners for as many as 30 guests. Others only include Large, who has also served as the officiant.

She meets with couples via video conference at least several months ahead of time to start planning. For small weddings, couples don’t hire a wedding planner.

“I end up helping them with permits and with hair, makeup and florists. I’m kind of their go-to person,” she said.

Large scopes out the scene in advance, determining the best parking and relying on locals for logistical information such as the best place to catch sunrise and sundown.

Couples sometimes don’t know exactly what they’re looking for.

“I will create a location list that mixes in things they want for their day,” Large said.

When it’s time to pick up her camera, a Canon R6, she aims for a specific style.

“My photography is really rooted in a more documentary approach. I don’t do a lot of edits,” she said. “I would rather document the day as it is.”

Large caught the photo bug in middle school and the travel bug in college.

She picked up her parents’ point-and-shoot camera when she and her two younger sisters were the only ones home.

“I forced them to model for me,” she said.

Large quickly realized the value of photography.

“Photos are just the way we kind of look back on our memories all the time. These days everybody has a camera in their pocket. The first thing we do in trying to describe a memory is to pull out a photo,” she said.

Large began taking more photos, and her parents got wind of the photo shoot and noticed the shots were pretty good. She got a Canon Rebel T3 for Christmas and began taking photos of her four siblings, who excelled in multiple sports.

“I still have so many of those files from wrestling tournaments,” she said.

Large had her sisters model again — “they were good sports,” she said — for a school project in an independent art class at Ozaukee High after she asked the teacher if photography would count.

“I laugh looking back knowing how much art and creativity photography has,” she said.

Large studied in Italy while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has since gone back, and she has been to Germany, Prague, the Czech Republic and Mexico. An African safari is on her bucket list.

She earned a degree in interior architecture and moved to Dallas to work at Perkins&Will, a global architecture and design firm, while doing photography on the side.

The pandemic helped Large build her business from home.

“Covid really changed the way people celebrated their weddings. So many people fell in love with the idea around something that was more intimate,” she said.

“I started to see elopements and microweddings boom. I realized I could create a business out of that and create a niche in the industry.”

Large soon reached the point that she couldn’t be an interior designer and photographer at the same time. She chose to become an entrepreneur, following in her parents’ footsteps, and M.Large Photography was born.

“At the time I was more excited than nervous. It all came together and worked out for the best. It’s kind of been a dream come true,” she said.

Large moved to Nashville, where she does rebinding of books on the side, making her own covers and selling them on Etsy. She also partners with studios and designers to sell landscape prints from her elopement trips.

While her dream has taken her across the world, one wedding this year brings Large back home. Her brother Cole is getting married. Large is not photographing it.

“I get to be a bridesmaid for this one,” she said.

For more information, visit https://mlargephotography.com.