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Big Sur, CA Wedding Photographer & Filmmaker

Pacific coastline, wine country, old-growth forest and city rooftops — a Big Sur wedding can hold four landscapes in one day.

Wedding photographers & videographers in Big Sur

Working around Big Sur means reading the marine layer: it softens the light beautifully when it stays and gives you a second sunset when it lifts. We plan portraits for either outcome and know which venues get the fog first.

Olivia Layne Studios works nationwide with senior photographers and filmmakers, travel already included and a calendar kept small on purpose, so every wedding gets a first-team crew. If we have not worked your exact venue yet we visit it before your day — light, timing, logistics — so nothing about Big Sur is a surprise on the morning of.

Recent work

Wedding photograph by Olivia Layne Studios
Wedding photograph by Olivia Layne Studios
Wedding photograph by Olivia Layne Studios
Wedding photograph by Olivia Layne Studios

Selected frames from the Olivia Layne Studios portfolio. Ask and we will send full galleries from weddings closest in size and setting to yours.

See the full portfolio →

The light in Big Sur

The hour you choose for the ceremony decides what your photographs look like, and that hour is specific to Big Sur. A June sunset here lands at 8:27 PM with golden hour from about 7:48 PM; by October the sun is down by 6:30 PM, a difference of 1 hour 57 minutes inside a single wedding season. Begin a Big Sur ceremony near the times in the table and the vows, family portraits and couple portraits all happen while the light is still soft and in front of you.

2027 Start ceremony Golden hour Sunset Daylight
May5:22 PM7:30 PM8:07 PM14.1 h
June5:42 PM7:48 PM8:27 PM14.6 h
July5:40 PM7:47 PM8:25 PM14.4 h
August5:12 PM7:22 PM7:57 PM13.6 h
September4:29 PM6:40 PM7:14 PM12.4 h
October3:45 PM5:56 PM6:30 PM11.3 h

Computed for Big Sur (Los Angeles) on the 15th of each month. A ceremony in open shade can start 20–30 minutes later than shown; an indoor ceremony is not affected, but the portrait window afterwards still is.

Where couples marry in Big Sur

The Big Sur venues couples ask us about most. We will not pretend to have worked every one of them, so when a venue is new to us we visit before your date and plan the day from the room itself: where the ceremony light falls, where family portraits hold up, and how long the walk from getting-ready to first look really takes.

Glen Oaks Big Sur4.4 ★ · 297 reviews
Carmel Fields by Wedgewood Weddings4.6 ★ · 207 reviews
The Barns at Cooper Molera4.8 ★ · 119 reviews
Holly Farm4.9 ★ · 109 reviews
Holman Ranch4.7 ★ · 91 reviews
Big Sur Grange4.9 ★ · 19 reviews

Venue list is informational; Olivia Layne Studios is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or booking on behalf of any venue named above.

How much does a wedding photographer cost in Big Sur?

Our prices are published, and a wedding in Big Sur costs exactly what a wedding anywhere else costs: travel is included and there are no location fees. The figures below are pay-in-full prices (the payment plan adds $500 with half down at booking). Photography begins at $1,600 and films at $1,300 for shorter days; the eight-hour collections most Big Sur couples choose are shown here, and the four-, six- and ten-hour versions are on the collections page.

Photography

$2,100 · The Magnolia, 8 hours

Several hundred edited frames, soft and true to colour.

Film

$1,600 · The Anthem, 8 hours

A highlight film and extended edit cut from your own vows and toasts.

Photo & Film

$3,600 · The Heritage, 8 hours

One team for both, plus a complimentary engagement session.

Reserve Your Big Sur Date

Questions couples in Big Sur ask us

Do you charge a travel fee for weddings in Big Sur, CA?

No. Olivia Layne Studios works nationwide and travel is part of every collection, so a Big Sur wedding is priced exactly like one in our own neighbourhood.

Do you offer wedding videography in Big Sur as well as photography?

Yes. Every collection comes as photography, film, or both from one team. Combined coverage starts at $3,100, includes a complimentary engagement session, and gives you one timeline instead of two vendors competing for the same light.

Have you photographed weddings in Big Sur before?

Not every venue in Big Sur, and we would rather say so. When a venue is new to us we visit before your date and plan the ceremony light, the portrait spots and the walking time between them.

Photography

Soft, true-to-colour frames — several hundred edited photographs you own outright.

Films

Highlight film and extended edit cut from your own vows and toasts, raw footage included.

Photo & Film

One team for both, one timeline, and a complimentary engagement session.

Check Your Big Sur Date   See Collections

Also serving: Carmel, CA 3 mi · Monterey, CA 8 mi · San Jose, CA 59 mi · Paso Robles, CA 85 mi · San Francisco, CA 97 mi  ·  all locations →