Frequently asked questions

We understand that every couple has a different budget, and different needs. We'll customize options uniquely to you: considering your guest count, wedding party size, ceremony and reception distance, and what coverage looks like with one vs. two photographers. View our detailed packages below:

Wedding Packages
Family and Birthday Pricing

We are a team based in the Bay Area and Southern California. Sara lives in the Bay Area but she works between SF and LA, while the rest of our team is based in all regions.

As a California wedding photographer, helping couples feel comfortable in front of the camera is one of the biggest parts of my job.

Almost everyone says they feel awkward at first. The truth is, you don’t need to know how to pose. I’ve got you.

My documentary-style wedding photography approach is all about real interaction instead of stiff direction. I’ll guide you into beautiful light, give you simple prompts, maybe adjust your shoulders or hands, and then let you just be together.

That’s where the good stuff happens. The laugh you didn’t plan. The way you naturally lean into each other. The quiet moment when you forget I’m even there.

That’s how candid, natural wedding photography actually feels natural. You’re not performing. You’re just living your day, and I’m there to capture it in the most flattering, effortless way possible.

First, we breathe.

Rain doesn’t ruin a wedding day. It just changes the light.

Some of the most romantic, cinematic images we’ve ever created happened on rainy days. Overcast skies actually create beautifully soft, flattering light, which is a dream for natural wedding photography.

We come prepared with clear umbrellas, backup portrait locations, and a flexible mindset. We adjust timelines if needed and look for covered architectural spots, textured backdrops, or moody skies that add atmosphere.

Documentary-style wedding photography shines in moments like this. Rain creates movement, emotion, and intimacy. It slows things down in a way that often feels incredibly romantic.

Your day is still your day. Weather just becomes part of the story.

Great question! We don’t offer videography in-house, and that’s totally intentional. Photography and videography are two different art forms, and we believe each one deserves its own dedicated expert rather than trying to juggle both.

The good news… you can absolutely have both.

We’ve partnered with a small, trusted video team whose storytelling style and energy feel completely in sync with ours. We know each other’s flow, we collaborate seamlessly on wedding days, and we genuinely enjoy working side by side. It feels cohesive, calm, and easy, not like two teams competing for space.

If you’re interested in adding video, we can connect you directly and share their special partner packages that pair beautifully with our collections. They handle their own booking and contracts, but we stay aligned behind the scenes so everything feels smooth from start to finish.

And of course, if you already have a videographer you love, that’s wonderful too. Our goal is simply to help you build a team that feels effortless and totally you.

Investing in a documentary wedding photographer is about protecting the one part of your wedding that lasts forever. When the day is over, your photos are what remain. The flowers fade. The music stops. The cake gets eaten. But your wedding photography is what you’ll return to for decades. 

Investing 10–15% of your total budget into photography is really about protecting your memories.

Professional wedding photography isn’t just showing up with a camera. It’s experience with timelines, harsh California light, fast-moving dance floors, family dynamics, and once-in-a-lifetime moments that can’t be recreated. It’s knowing how to create natural, candid wedding photography while still guiding you into portraits that feel timeless and flattering.

It’s also about consistency. Backup equipment. A second photographer when needed. A refined editing process that keeps skin tones accurate and colors true-to-life. All the behind-the-scenes expertise that ensures your gallery looks cohesive and elevated from start to finish.

When couples look back years from now, they don’t wish they spent more on table linens. They’re grateful they invested in images that let them feel the day all over again.

As a California wedding photographer team rooted in documentary-style wedding photography, storytelling always comes first. You get both, without it feeling forced.

Most of the day, we’re in documentary mode, capturing candid moments as they naturally unfold. The laughs, the glances, the little in-between magic. That’s the heartbeat of your gallery.

Then when it’s time for portraits, we gently shift gears. We guide you into great light, adjust posture in subtle ways, and pay attention to angles so everything feels polished but never stiff. It’s not about turning your wedding into a fashion shoot. It’s about elevating what’s already there.

The result is a gallery that feels natural and real, with a few portraits that make you say, "okay wow… we look incredible."

As a California wedding photographer who cares deeply about natural wedding photography, this is one of those areas where professionalism changes everything.

We shoot in full manual mode, which means we control the exposure and light intentionally instead of letting the camera decide for us. When you see photos where one person looks washed out and another looks too dark, it’s often because the photographer relied on auto settings. The camera can only guess. An experienced photographer reads the light and adjusts for it.

We carefully meter and expose so that every skin tone is properly lit, balanced, and flattering in the same frame. That’s especially important in mixed-skin-tone group photos, where exposure needs to be thoughtful and precise.

Editing matters too. Some photographers brighten or darken images heavily to follow trends, and that can completely change how someone’s skin looks. We keep our editing timeless and true-to-life. We preserve depth, undertones, and real color so that everyone looks like themselves, just beautifully photographed.

The goal is simple. When you look at your gallery, you should see skin tones that feel natural, rich, and accurately exposed, exactly how it felt that day, but even more flattering because we chose the light and exposure intentionally in camera.

Sara determines who will be the best fit for you from our team during a personal consultation. It's a very thoughtful decision, as she considers many factors (your venue, cultural/religious traditions, personal style, as well as your personalities). Since each member of our team is trained by Sara to shoot in the same style, and she edits their imagery, you will be in great hands with any member of our family. However, this pairing is very personal, therefore Sara hand-selects the team member for you specifically when she meets you. We have extensive galleries and portfolio links for each member of our team. When Sara pairs you with your photographer, she will share their private portfolio with you to explore.  
 
All of the photographs on the Onelove Photography website are the team's work. Sara personally photographs only a handful of weddings per year. View her work exclusively on this separate website! Sara lives in the Bay Area and works between there and Southern California year round.

Every image we deliver is edited to publication standards (as we work with magazines and blogs regularly). This includes: brightening/darkening, adding contrast, adjusting the color temperature and tint, as well as adding our special artistic recipe for Impressionistic warmth that we love so much. All of the images on our website are edited, and your images will arrive just as you see on our website. As the edited files you will receive are essentially publication-quality, and normally shouldn't need any more editing work.

On select occasions, further editing is available to remove objects or blemishes from an image. We refer to this as Post-Production. However, few couples ever need it as our editing and lighting styles are very flattering just in camera and combined with professional makeup, you may not even notice the blemish on your chin in most of the photos. Out of 100 weddings, we have maybe 1-2 requests for Post-Production per year. Nearly every image you see on our website has been edited without added Post-Production, and they look flawless. 

Post-Production is a service we offer which we will go down to the very pixel of the file in Photoshop to enhance and make the change look as natural as possible. It can be used for removing wrinkles/blemishes, or removing objects/people from images. It can take 10-30 minutes per photo at times. It is a service included for any images used in a wedding album, should you choose to purchase an album. This service is available for any images you need, and the rate is $20/file if you choose not to purchase an album.

May-September book very quickly around 6-8 months in advance. However, with our team we do sometimes have more availability, so it's always worth checking! 
 
We accept reservations on a first-come, first-serve basis with a 35% deposit. Venmo, Zelle bank transfers, checks and credit cards are accepted.

If you plan to use a photo from your session on a Save The Date, we recommend shooting at least 5 months before your wedding date. 

If you are not planning to use a photo for a Save the Date, then consider these factors:

- Location (If you want to shoot in an open field, do you want green grass or golden hills? It's only green in the spring! Or, if you want flowers or vineyards in bloom, consider when these are in season)

- Weather (Do you want warm sun? Stick with May-October)

- The photos are edited within 6 weeks of the shoot (unless you need a quick turnaround, we can provide a handful at 2 weeks upon request)

- If you want to wait to shoot your engagement session (for personal reasons, or weather), the latest we reccommend shooting it is 2-3 months before your wedding.

This is a common question we receive from couples. The truth is, whether or not your photographer has shot at your venue is not that important. 
 
Good photographers will be prepared to adapt to any situation that arises on your wedding day. Suppose your wedding photographer has shot at your venue a couple of times — thereby passing the “Have you shot here before?” test — but it was always on a beautiful, sunny day with clear skies. But, on your big day, it’s raining! Is it going to matter to you if they say, “You know, it’s always been sunny before, so I didn’t bring [insert crucial piece of equipment here]. Since I don’t have it, I can’t shoot your ceremony.” Yes, it’s going to matter! You trusted your photographer to be prepared, and they should be! 
 
Shocking as it may sound, it’s actually better if they haven’t been to your venue before. 
 
Do you remember the first time you visited a great landmark, or traveled to a new country? Do you remember the excitement in which you snapped away with your camera and absorbed your surroundings? The creative juices were flowing with your excitement for all the new sounds and sights. The same goes for a wedding photographer! The first time I shoot at a venue, I am thrilled with creative ideas and outlets with settings and backgrounds I’ve never used before. It’s often where I make my best pictures. 
 
After having shot at a venue 2, 3 or 4 times, we know the ropes – but the thrill is not the same as the first time there. 
 
In lieu of asking whether a photographer has shot at your venue before, you might want to ask, “What is your experience shooting an evening wedding inside a cathedral?” Or, “Tell me about a time when you were shooting outside in the middle of the day, with no canopy or shade.” This is how you’ll separate folks who are inexperienced from the experienced wedding photographers who will always deliver professional results.

You will see a sample gallery of 100 edited images in just 4 weeks after your wedding! Woohoo! That’s fast. And we edit the remainder of your photos within 2-3 months from your wedding date. This is written in contract, in stone. No worries, no wondering, no horror stories of not seeing photos for a year after your wedding! All of the files delivered are edited, high resolution JPEG files. 

Yep. We have a $2M Liability Insurance policy with a certificate we can send to your venue if you need. Just let us know.

We do traditional portraiture at a designated time period within most of our weddings. Even the most modern brides still want the heirlooms that family portraiture creates. We do not, however, conduct portrait sessions in a traditional way. Instead, they are very loose, fun, and show off your personality. We will spend only 20 to 45 minutes on any posed photographs out of a typical 8 hour day.

Yep. Since we are based in Los Angeles and San Francisco we do not charge any kind of travel fee in the 100-mile vicinity of these areas. Outside of 100 miles, or with late night coverage after 10pm, we can discuss the arrangement for accommodating us with a hotel, or flight, if necessary. We’re simple – no hidden “fees”.