for the lovers who know it's more than just a WEDDING DAY
documentary wedding photography for the art of real life
What a beautiful thing— to be seen (to be known!) for who you really are and for what your love story really is, in real time.
My style of documentary wedding photography focuses on building a living archive of your love story. To tell it right, I use both digital and film, both the structured and the serendipitous, both the moments you planned and the ones you couldn’t have scripted if you tried.
your story starts long before the aisle
the first version of forever
Every great story has a prelude—the seemingly ordinary days before everything changes. Engagement sessions are part of your narrative as a couple. They’re where you begin to see how your love moves when no one’s directing it.
Maybe that means being cozy in the window seat of your favorite coffee shop, steam fogging the glass, or driving to the lake that’s always felt like it’s yours and only yours. Maybe it’s barefoot in your kitchen with your favorite record spinning, the smell of simmering garlic in the air.
However it looks, this is where we start building the archive.
Think of these sessions as a love letter to your almost-married selves. No timelines. No choreography. Just the early days—the hushed Saturday mornings and shared playlists and mid-day coffee runs that started it all. Whether we’re chasing light or standing still in it, this is where your story gets its first photograph.
COUPLE & engagement collections
collection three: the motion study
collection three: the motion study
collection two: the one take
collection two: the one take
collection one: the featurette
collection one: the featurette
collection two: the one take
collection two: the one take
colleciton one: the featurette
collection one: the featurette
collection three: the motion study
collection three: the motion study
30 mins | como park or irvine park | $350
the featurette
This session plays like a vignette, short and ever so sweet. In thirty minutes at Irvine Park or Como Park, we build a few soft scenes, move gently through the light, and turn your love for each other into something you’ll remember forever. It’s a smaller slice of the cinematic experience with all the presence still intact.
collection one
collection two: the one take
collection two: the one take
colleciton one: the featurette
collection one: the featurette
collection three: the motion study
collection three: the motion study
60 mins | any location | $600
the one take
One Take leans into the magic of what can happen in a single stretch of unhurried time guided by movement and light. One hour where we think in scenes instead of poses, creating moments that feel like they’re pulled straight from a short film.
Collection two
collection two: the one take
collection two: the one take
colleciton one: the featurette
collection one: the featurette
collection three: the motion study
collection three: the motion study
up to 2 hours | multiple locations | $900
the motion study
The Motion Study runs like a long, unfolding scene: multiple locations, outfit changes, shifting light, and the space to slow down and take each other in.
This is the most immersive, documentary-style option: location-flexible, activity-forward, and built for movement. It’s also where I step into my multi-medium storyteller role most fully, with more space to frame film stills intentionally, pace thoughtfully, and create images that feel like scenes lifted from your own life in motion.
collection three
Think of these sessions as a love letter to your almost-married selves. No timelines. No choreography. Just the early days—the hushed Saturday mornings and shared playlists and mid-day coffee runs that started it all. Whether we’re chasing light or standing still in it, this is where your story gets its first photograph.
COUPLE & engagement collections
collection three: the motion study
collection two: the one take
collection one: the featurette
collection two: the one take
collection two: the one take
colleciton one: the featurette
collection one: the featurette
collection three: the motion study
collection three: the motion study
30 mins | como park or irvine park | $350
the featurette
This session plays like a vignette, short and ever so sweet. In thirty minutes at Irvine Park or Como Park, we build a few soft scenes, move gently through the light, and turn your love for each other into something you’ll remember forever. It’s a smaller slice of the cinematic experience with all the presence still intact.
collection one
collection two: the one take
collection two: the one take
colleciton one: the featurette
collection one: the featurette
collection three: the motion study
collection three: the motion study
60 mins | any location | $600
the one take
One Take leans into the magic of what can happen in a single stretch of unhurried time guided by movement and light. One hour where we think in scenes instead of poses, creating moments that feel like they’re pulled straight from a short film.
Collection two
collection two: the one take
collection two: the one take
colleciton one: the featurette
collection one: the featurette
collection three: the motion study
collection three: the motion study
up to 2 hours | multiple locations | $900
the motion study
The Motion Study runs like a long, unfolding scene: multiple locations, outfit changes, shifting light, and the space to slow down and take each other in.
This is the most immersive, documentary-style option: location-flexible, activity-forward, and built for movement. It’s also where I step into my multi-medium storyteller role most fully, with more space to frame film stills intentionally, pace thoughtfully, and create images that feel like scenes lifted from your own life in motion.
collection three
weddings
the day moves faster than the memories do
documentary wedding photography of the day if all becomes real
Wedding days don’t slow down just because you want them to. There’s lipstick on wine glasses, half-zipped dresses, the weight of a hand that steadies you right before you walk out the door. You’ll be in it fully, and that’s exactly where you should stay.
I’ll handle the remembering. The planned portraits, the unplanned glances, the seconds you only see in hindsight. I’ll be everything you need and then some— part artist, part witness with a film camera tucked in her bag.
When all’s said and done, you’ll have an archive to cherish, not because it’s flawless, but because it’s honest.
two ways to tell the story
fully customizable documentary wedding photography collections
There isn’t a single right way to photograph a wedding, only the way it actually happens.
That’s why I offer two frameworks: both fully customizable, both shaped by the way light moves, laughter happens, and memory lingers. This ensures you end up with a collection that is well and truly unique to you and what you need.
the artisan edit
starting at $5,000
The Artisan Edit is an entirely bespoke collection built for your I Do Day.
Want your morning captured on 35mm and your reception lit like a scene from your favorite film? Done. Prefer digital for the ceremony but a handful of rolls for the in-betweens? Perfect. Need a few extra hours to breathe between the ceremony and the first dance? We’ll design the timeline to let you actually enjoy it.
This is where we build your tailor-made collection together. Every choice becomes part of the story: coverage, film, hours, albums, second shooter, you name it.
base inclusions:
• six hours of wedding day coverage
• one roll of film
• complimentary engagement session
• 60 min planning meeting
• 6-8 week final gallery turnaround
silvergrain collection
starting at $6,400
Film is the foundation of this collection — the pace, the patience, the poetry. Every frame is intentional, the kind that makes you wait for the scan, that first peek of color on your screen days later. I shoot digital where it’s needed: the fast parts, the fleeting parts, the seconds that demand a quicker shutter. Together, they create a story that feels as real as it did in the moment: textured, imperfect, and entirely yours.
This is for couples who crave something tactile, who want their wedding day remembered in color and in grain, in blur and in focus— and who love the slowness of a frame you can’t retake.
base inclusions:
• six hours of wedding day coverage
• as many rolls of film as the day requires
• second shooter included
• complimentary engagement session
• 60 min planning meeting
• 6-8 week final gallery turnaround
add-ons & Extras
pricing varies
These are the elements that build an immersive visual experience. Add what deepens your story—extra film when the light turns gold, rehearsal coverage when nerves are high, or an album that smells faintly of ink and linen.
extra hours of coverage
extra rolls of film
second shooter
expedited final gallery turnaround (3-4 weeks)
bridal boudoir
bridal portrait session
bride + groom portrait session
fine art heirloom photo album
bridal boudoir
content creation
rehearsal dinner coverage
engagement session upgrades
view pricing menu
view pricing details
michaela went above and beyond our expectations.
"Michaela went above and beyond our expectations for a wedding photographer.... Michaela is so kind, thoughtful, and truly talented. She communicated with us throughout our wedding planning making the entire process so easy and seamless, and she truly delivered the most beautiful photos that we will cherish and look back on for years to come."
we get to look back on the day... and just beam!
"I CANNOT recommend Michaela enough! She made our day so seamless, special, and the most magical day! And we’ll never forget allllll the emotions because her photos captured EVERYTHING! I am so glad we had Michaela as our photographer, and we get to look back on the day through her photos and just BEAM!"
Highly highly highly recommend Michaela for any photography needs!
"We had the best experience with Michaela! She did a wonderful job prompting us for pictures and providing space to just be us! We got so many wonderful pictures that I look at almost daily!! Highly highly highly recommend Michaela for any photography needs!"
It was SUCH a joy working with Michaela!
"It was SUCH a joy working with Michaela... We both were nervous going into taking photos, but Michaela made us feel comfortable and at ease in front of the camera... She did a great job talking through our concerns and hopes for the session to bringing our vision to life. We are SO thankful to have booked with her and would recommend her to anyone looking to capture their lives/important moments."
film. fine art. feeling.
film. fine art. feeling.
film. fine art. feeling.
film. fine art. feeling.
film. fine art. feeling.
film. fine art. feeling.
film. fine art. feeling.
film. fine art. feeling.
"Leave him a love note— there is wild in the simple."
the apricot memoirs
tess guinery
