Today we’d like to introduce you to Adeline Merrick.
Hi Adeline, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
We’re Adeline and Valerie, a wife-and-wife photo and video team based in the DFW area, and we started Hey Love Studio because we looked around the wedding industry and realized our community deserved better. As queer immigrants ourselves, we know what it feels like to walk into a space and wonder if you’re truly welcome, and we never wanted any of our couples to feel that way on one of the most important days of their lives. So we built something different: a studio rooted in warmth, inclusivity, and the belief that every love story deserves to be documented with care and intention. Even in a market as large as DFW, LGBTQIA+ wedding creatives are few and far between, and we’re proud to be a safe, celebratory home for queer couples across Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and beyond. Whoever you are and however you love, you belong here.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Honestly? It has not always been smooth, and we think it’s important to be real about that. One of our biggest ongoing challenges has been finding other vendors who are not just willing to work with queer couples, but who genuinely celebrate them. There is a difference between tolerance and affirmation, and our couples deserve the latter — vendors who feature diverse and queer weddings on their platforms, who openly signal that they are a safe space, and who show up with the same joy and intention we do. The reality is that queer couples are still being turned away by vendors, and that is heartbreaking and unacceptable. So part of our work has become building and nurturing a network of vendors who get it, because every couple deserves a wedding team that is as excited about their love as they are.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Hey Love Studio is a queer-owned, LGBTQIA+ inclusive photo and video studio specializing in weddings, elopements, and engagements for couples who want their day documented, not directed. We are known for capturing the real stuff — the belly laughs, the happy tears, the questionable dance moves, the quiet in-between moments that nobody else notices but everyone remembers. Our work is rooted in radical inclusivity and celebration, and we show up for every identity, every body, every kind of chosen family. What we are most proud of is that our couples actually feel like themselves in their photos and films, not like they are performing for a camera. In a sea of wedding photographers, what sets us apart is that we genuinely believe every love story deserves to be held with joy and intention — and for queer couples especially, finding a team that truly gets that can make all the difference in the world.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The thing I love most about DFW is the sheer diversity of it all — the food, the people, the cultures, the energy. As a South African immigrant, there is something really special about being able to find a little piece of home here, and a huge shoutout to queer and South African-owned wine bar I Want That One for being exactly that kind of gem. On the flip side, what I like least is that as a gender non-conforming individual, I still encounter uncomfortable looks and moments that remind me that my community is not fully embraced everywhere we go. In a city this big and this beautifully diverse, I would love to see that diversity met with a little more active celebration and affirmation for everyone in it. We are getting there, but there is still work to do.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heylovestudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heylovestudios/
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/HeyLoveStudio/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HeyLoveStudio
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/7s7rytozQ42qftgRvFQmX1?si=6651ea420fdb4ef7
