More than ‘just pretty pictures’

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“Just run down the drive and I’ll chase you, with your dress billowing.”

That’s the kind of suggestion Wilkes-Barre-based wedding photographer Brittany Boote recently gave to a bride who got married in Charleston, S.C., and the dramatic result is a picture that looks like something Scarlett O’Hara would be proud to claim.

“It was a really beautiful end to the day,” Boote said.

It also shows the creative flair that Boote brings to her work, which recently has been recognized by The Knot, a magazine devoted to the wedding industry.

The Knot named Boote to its list of “Ones to Watch,” designating her as one of “2024’s Most Notable Emerging Wedding Pros.”

“I am so excited,” she said. “So honored and grateful. It blew me away.”

“A good part of our business is local,” said Boote, 36, noting her wedding shoots also involve traveling, to places as farflung as Indonesia, Africa and Europe.

She credits her husband, Joe Halesey, with being her “unpaid hero,” offering everything from pep talks to muscle to “helping make things happen” and she says “the Wilkes-Barre community is amazingly supportive.”

“I was born and raised in South Wilkes-Barre,” she said. “I love it here and I’m proud to be from here.”

Meyers High School alum Boote worked in TV and film while she was growing up — her mom would drive her to Manhattan — and she’s also worked at a music venue. Nowadays, as she explains on her website, brittanyboote.com, she combines her passions “for storytelling, fashion and taking creative risks .., with my love for people and a deep appreciation for legacy.”

“I’ve loved and lost incredible people in my life,” Boote writes to bridal couples. “So, I know first hand that life is fleeting and precious. That’s why, to me, your wedding photos aren’t just pretty pictures to remember a perfect detail or a special moment. They are invaluable works of art that will help you tell your story for generations. And I’m honored to play a part in creating that.”

“Everything is deeply intentional and personal,” she says. “I adapt my images and approach to you and use your unique style and story as the inspiration for everything I do.”

Mentored along the way, Boote now teaches photography herself, through workshops and one-on-one mentoring, to help others as she has been helped. When she’s not busy with that, she enjoys “casual golf” and hiking.

The Knot magazine is available digitally and in print. Barnes & Noble is one of the newsstands where you can expect to find it.