California, United States
Napa ValleyWedding photography
Estate vineyards, dry golden hills, and an evening light that lasts and lasts.
We photograph weddings throughout Napa Valley — estate wineries and their barrel rooms, private ranch properties in the hills above the floor, olive groves and oak terraces. Two photographers, full-day coverage, commissions from $14,000.
From June to October it does not rain here, and that reliability is the valley’s great advantage and its great risk. Every estate has a row of vines, an oak and a long table, so the work is in photographing what is specific rather than what is expected.
Napa in late summer is one of the most reliably beautiful places in the world to photograph a wedding, and the reliability is the point. From June to October it does not rain. The hills are gold, the vines are green, the evening light comes in low along the valley floor from the west, and it stays warm long after dark — which means the party is outside and the photographs keep going.
The reliability has a cost, which is sameness. Every estate has a row of vines, an oak, a long table and a view of the same hills, and a photographer working carelessly here will produce a set of pictures that could be from any of the hundred weddings held that month. We work against that deliberately: interiors, cellars, the drive, the backs of houses, the hour before anyone is dressed.
The other thing worth saying is the heat. A valley-floor afternoon in August is genuinely hot, and a ceremony at four o’clock in full sun is uncomfortable for everyone and unflattering to all of them. Later is better. It is almost always later.
The light
When to marry in Napa Valley.
The part a visitor cannot look up, and the reason this page exists rather than a list of packages.
April to May
Green hills, mustard between the vines early on, and the only months here with real weather risk. Cooler and much less crowded.
June to August
Hot, dry, cloudless. Beautiful from six in the evening and punishing before it. Morning fog on the valley floor burns off by nine.
September to October
Harvest. The vines turn, the light softens, the air smells of fermentation, and the valley is at its absolute best. It is also when every estate is busiest with its actual business.
The venues
Where to be married in Napa Valley.
The rooms this market is built on, and what each one does to a photograph. Listed as places rather than as partnerships — we have no preferred-supplier arrangement with any of them.
Beaulieu Garden
Formal garden, Rutherford
Sycamore allée and boxwood on the valley floor. The allée runs the way the evening light comes down the valley, which is the composition to use.
Meadowood
Resort and grounds, St. Helena
Oaks and lawns up against the eastern hills, so it loses direct sun earlier than the floor — which in August is a mercy rather than a loss.
Stanly Ranch
Working ranch, Carneros
At the southern end where the bay fog reaches, so mornings are cooler and softer than anywhere further up the valley.
Far Niente
Historic winery and caves, Oakville
Stone caves under the hill: cold, dark and still on a day when everything outside is hot and gold. The change of register is what keeps a set from being one note.
Auberge du Soleil
Hillside terraces, Rutherford
Up on the eastern slope looking west down the valley, which means the sunset arrives head-on rather than from the side.
The kind of place
- Working estate wineries, with barrel rooms that are cold, dark and wonderful
- Private ranch properties in the hills above the floor, reached by a single road
- Olive groves and oak terraces, where the ceremony faces west by necessity
- Modern architectural wineries, which photograph as sharply as they were designed to
What a Napa Valley wedding plans around
- Harvest runs roughly from late August into October, and a working winery is doing its real job in those weeks. Access to the working parts of an estate is negotiated, not assumed.
- The valley floor is significantly hotter than the hills above it. A four o’clock ceremony in August is a decision with consequences.
- Many estates have a fixed end time set by county permit rather than by the venue’s preference.
- Distances look small on a map and are slow in practice on Highway 29 on a Saturday.
Frames
From Napa Valley.
The commission
Photographing a wedding in Napa Valley.
A Napa wedding is a full day with two photographers, from $14,000, with a venue walk beforehand at the hour of your ceremony.
Two things decide how these photographs look. The first is the ceremony time: a four o’clock service on the valley floor in August is genuinely hot and unflattering to everyone in it, and moving it to six costs nothing and changes the day. The second is what we photograph besides the obvious — interiors, cellars, the drive, the backs of houses, the hour before anyone is dressed — because a careless set here could be from any of the hundred weddings held that month.
Access to the working parts of an estate during harvest is negotiated rather than assumed; late August into October is when a winery is doing its real job. Preview in seven days, full set in eight weeks, private archive, print release with no expiry.
- Destination Wedding, from
- $22,000
- Photographers
- Two
- Preview
- 7 days
- Full delivery
- 8 weeks
Napa Valley wedding photography — questions
How much is a Napa Valley wedding photographer?
From $14,000 for a full day with two photographers and a venue walk beforehand. Most Napa weddings land between that and $20,000 depending on the length of the day and whether a welcome dinner is added.
When is the light best for portraits?
The last ninety minutes before sunset, on the east side of anything, with the sun coming down the valley behind you. In August that is after seven; in October, before six. The ceremony time should be chosen from that rather than the other way round.
Can we photograph in the cellar?
Usually, and it is worth arranging in advance. A barrel room is the one cold dark still space on a hot gold day, and it is what stops the set looking uniform.
Should we avoid harvest?
Not at all — the valley is at its best from late September, with the vines turning and the air smelling of fermentation. It does mean the estate is busy with its actual business, so access to the working areas is agreed rather than assumed.
How hot does it get?
Hot enough on the valley floor in July and August that a four o’clock outdoor ceremony is uncomfortable for everyone. The hills above are cooler, and so is Carneros at the southern end where the bay fog reaches.
When does the evening have to end?
Many estates have a fixed end time set by county permit rather than by the venue’s preference. Worth confirming before the band is booked.
Nearby
Married in Napa Valley?
Tell us the date and what you are planning. We reply personally, usually within two business days.