The Experience
The wedding planning process can be a bit overwhelming, especially when it comes to choosing those who are going to ensure that every smile, every tear, every hug, every moment is timelessly captured. So let me take you through the step-by-step process.
with you every step of the way
A first phone call, is like a first date, lol. We will get to know each other a bit better and decide whether a 2nd date a.k.a. consultation is in order.
*Let's Chat!!
Time to meet face to face, either in person or via zoom:) At our consultation we will go get to know each other more. I will learn about your hopes and desires for your wedding. Digging deep really allows me to choose or design the package that meets your specific needs.
*Consultation
*Let's secure your date!
*Engagement Photos
*Pre-Wedding Planning
*After wedding excitement!
Now that we have gotten to know each other, created a customized package and are super excited about moving forward, it is time to secure the date! Dates are secured by signing the agreement and placing the deposit.
Time to start the fun!! All of our packages include an engagement session either here in the Bay Area or anywhere in California depending on your package.
Let's schedule a meeting with you, your fiancé and your planner. It is time to hash out the timeline and go over all those special moments that you particularly want me to hone in one. Don't worry, I'll be sending over a full questionnaire prior to the meeting to help guide the meeting. Before you know it your wedding is here!
The day has come and gone, and all you can think is how fast it went by right?!? Don't worry, the excitement isn't even close to over!!!
As a honeymoon gift, I love to put together a social media sneak peak reel of highlights from your day for you too enjoy and share before receiving your final gallery in just a few weeks.
Once your finally gallery is ready, it's time to schedule our after wedding powwow. Let's grab a glass of wine, or a nice cup of tea and sit down to go over your beautiful slideshow gallery!
*Albums and Artwork
And the excitement continues! During your gallery reveal, we get to favorite images to create your beautiful heirloom album and artwork! Both your album and artwork is custom designed to your liking.
And just think a couple months after your wedding, when the excitment has waned and life has returned to normal, you get to have another rush of joy when your album and artwork is delivered to your home.
Crystal is an incredible photographer! Our original photographer backed out last minute and a family friend suggested that we check Crystal out. I was a bit nervous because it was such short notice, but she was totally able to make it work! Her prices were even better than what we were hoping for and we could not have been happier with the final product! She even made us a beautiful wedding photo book that we will treasure forever and are so grateful for! She suggested that we pay for an extra shooter that she had worked with before, and it we're so glad that we went along with her suggestion, we have so many great shots! She makes the whole process fun and made everyone feel very comfortable in front of the camera. We will definitely be recommending her to any family members and friends who need a photographer in the future, she was awesome!
Client Love
Kayla & Josh
Crystal was amazing. I was nervous about picking a photographer, because I'm a photographer myself, so I wanted to find someone I could really trust and know that my photos would be amazing. I was so happy to have found Crystal she was just the best. We had her for both our engagement and wedding. She was great about directions and guiding us every step of the way. I love her creative ideas to make our engagement session fun and we enjoyed every minute of it. Our wedding was a whirlwind, but she was there every step of the way, collaborating with her team. I am so happy to have found a wonderful photographer to capture such a wonderful day I will never forget!
Reviews
Sherita & Rich
I would highly recommend Crystal.
My husband and I really connected with Crystal since the very start. She is easy to work with and has a great eye.
Bonus she is super funny and made me laugh to get the best pictures. Our wedding album is spectacular. I will always remover the memories of my wedding with the stunning pictures crystal took of us.
Thank you Crystal!!!
Debbie & Adam
Reviews
Crystal shot our wedding on 5/5/18 and did a wonderful job!!! She was so easy to work with and made sure we were all standing and posing in the right way to make the photos come out great! We only hired her for 5 hours and she worked quickly so we could get all of the shots we wanted in our short time frame! Even working quickly, her quality was excellent!! I would definitely recommend!!
Erick & Taylor
Reviews
My husband and I could not have been more thrilled working with Crystal and Summer Bear Photography!
Stunning, natural appearing photos that highlighted the happiness of our special day. The portraits were gorgeous. She is attentive to detail, knowledgeable, and has a knack for capturing beautiful candids. She was also fun and easy to work with. She kept us laughing and relaxed during the portraits!
She has fast email response times and responsive to our questions. Our wedding and Summer Bear was in California, while my husband (then fiance) and I are based out of the East Coast... the distance created a challenge, but this speaks to the capabilities and overall professionalism that Crystal exhibits. She worked with us closely before to make sure we were on the same page in regards to our expectations and timelines, she also added her suggestions and thoughts. During the wedding, she worked seamlessly with the rest of our team and accommodated additional on-the-fly requests. Afterwards, the edited photos arrived on time (looked amazing) and she made sure that we were satisfied!
The only regret that we had was booking her for 6 hours instead of 8!
Cat & Scott
Reviews
Omg!!!! What an all around great experience!!!!! We were lucky enough to have her photograph our big day! But before that she was nice enough to offer us a free one hour photog shoot for us to get comfortable in front of the camera. The products of both were absolutely amazing. The pictures of our big day were able to be blown up into a metal print of 3 feet with great quality. She has an amazing eye and we look forward to including her into the next great steps in our life.
Veronica & Eric
Reviews
This is the photographer you want for your wedding. She is incredibly fun to work with. She is also very talented and dedicated to her work.
I chose Crystal Summer Bear from many photographers on Yelp because she was the most responsive and I liked her portfolio on her website. She was also seemed invested from the start, and she had a competitive price with flexible options that worked for us.
I couldn't have been more pleased with our experience working with her. She is very professional and efficient. Even under time pressure she able to get a lot of photos because she could so quickly and effortlessly direct us on how to pose to get great pictures. She's also just a lot of fun. We were practically giggling the whole time because she worked with such enthusiasm and knows how to make the process fun.
She does great touch up work and even got us a great sample of photos very quickly that we used as a display for our larger wedding reception a week later per the picture below.
I really can't recommend Summer Bear Photography enough. You will not go wrong if you get her as our photographer.
Issac & Queenie
Reviews
Crystal was the most INCREDIBLE photographer a bride could hope for. I am someone who freezes when you put a camera on me - I'll make an ugly face and do an awkward pose. I have never been comfortable infront of a camera so my wedding day was something I was nervous for. That was until I met Crystal. She helped shape and frame every photo so there were no real bad ones to worry about. She helped fix my hair, adjust the weird things I do with my arms and always had me laughing so the smile never felt forced. I love every single one of my photos from my wedding and that is something I never thought I'd say. Crystal helped make my day perfect and ensured that my memories are perfect for years to come. Thank you!
Angela & Jordan
Reviews
We had never done professional photos before and were a little nervous. How would we stand? Would we have any direction? Would we look too posed? But Crystal was very helpful. She directed us to stand and look in certain ways that felt natural and looked great in the photos. She timed the photos well to avoid having too many people in the background (we shot at lake Merritt on a sunny evening, so some people in the background were unavoidable)
She got us our sneak peek the next day! and our full album in 2 weeks. She even mailed us prints of some of our favorite photos to frame.
Audrina & Mike
Reviews
Crystal was awesome during our wedding! She made me feel like the most beautiful bride in the world. Unfortunately someone stepped on my wedding dress during the ceremony which caused the train to become black. I was upset, and just told her it was whatever. She reassured me that she was going to make sure the photos do not show the black train confidently. She positioned me and my dress perfectly to where there was zno black in any of our photos! I am super grateful that she did her best to make me feel happy and gorgeous. She was in charge during the wedding photos after the ceremony. She put the groomsmen in check, which I was appreciative for because I did not want to be a bridezilla. Crystal really helped me out; I am so thankful for Crystal’s hard work. I will always cherish our wedding photos because of Crystal! I will most definitely hire Crystal again for any other photography needs!
Ashley & Andrew
Reviews
My fiancé and I had never had professional photos taken before and were a little anxious. Crystal knew exactly what to do, which poses would look amazing, and gave clear direction the whole way through our engagement session.
She braved the mosquitos, expertly played around with lighting, and made a run down walking trail look incredible.
Well, what are you waiting for?! Book Crystal with Summer Bear Photography. You will not be disappointed!!
Her work is fabulous and her prices are absolutely affordable. Many photographers who I seeked quotes from were much pricier!
Alex & Mercedes
Reviews
FAQ's
* How long have you been a wedding photographer?
I have been photographing weddings since 2015. It was love at first snap for me!
* Are the digital files included?
Yes absolutely, a beautiful digital gallery is provided for you to view and download.
* How many photographers are included?
A 2nd photographer or an assistant is included on most of our packages. For our basic option I will be photographing alone, unless add-on is requested.
* Is travel included in the investment?
Travel throughout the west coast is included for 3 out of 4 of our wedding packages. If your wedding is outside of the west coast we will customize your wedding package to include travel expenses and time.
* What happens if you are injured or ill?
In the rare case that I might fall very ill or injured, I will have an associate photographer of my talent and skill to cover your wedding.
* Do you offer videography?
Absolutely, videography can be added to any package or session *Video is for photography clients only.
* What is your refund policy?
The deposit, up to 50% of the full wedding is a non-refundable retainer fee. The deposit means that no-one else can book me for your wedding or the day before your wedding. If the wedding is canceled less than 3 months from your date, all monies paid are non-refundable. There is no refund for change of mind, after the 3 day cooling off period.
*Partial refunds, less the deposit, may be refunded due to extreme circumstances.
* Change of date or postponement policy?
I include one complimentary change of date due to an emergency, national or world crisis. Change of date must be requested at least 3 months in advance for fee to be waved.
*If there is an immediate or national crisis and venue is requiring change of date, fee may be waived 1 time no matter how close to the wedding date.
INVESTMENT & Availability
WEDDINGS
In order to provide a luxury experience we only accept a limited weddings per year.
We understand that each couple has a unique vision for their wedding, as such we offer both all-inclusive package options, as well as a la cart to allow you to build your custom package.
Our most popular all-inclusive { photo + video + album} packages range from $10,000 - $15,000.
Our most popular a la cart options start at $3500.
Elopements & Anniversaries
Elopements: Most of our elopement sessions are destination and require a customized quote that includes travel expenses + your photographic and video desires.
*Bay Area Elopements/Intimate Ceremonies start at $900
Anniversaries: We specialize in celebrating your years of love by creating beautiful artwork for your home and albums for yourself and children to treasure forever.
*Standard Portrait rate for local sessions
We'd love to chat with you personally to take you through our process.
We can't wait to hear from you!
xo,
Crystal Summer Bear
Contact Us
Thank you!
You should see a welcome email in your inbox shortly.
I'll be in touch personally within a few hours:)
xo,
Crystal Summer Bear
