I'm wholly convinced that we are all wonderfully weird on the inside, but only the brave truly embrace it! I love all kinds of love and all kinds of celebrations of love, be they big or small, near or far. At your wedding, I believe you should spend less time posing and more time celebrating. You should focus on being present, while I focus on creating beautiful, honest images that will pull you right back into the feelings of your wedding day.
My favorite weddings are the ones where your guests can't help but say, "This is so them!" I take my responsibility as the keeper of your memories very seriously and I love hearing all about your wild and wonderfully authentic wedding plans. I grew up in Southern California, just a few miles from beautiful beaches, Disneyland, and the sweet-smelling orange groves.
My favorite weddings are the ones where your guests can't help but say, "This is so them!" I take my responsibility as the keeper of your memories very seriously and I love hearing all about your wild and wonderfully authentic wedding plans. I grew up in Southern California, just a few miles from beautiful beaches, Disneyland, and the sweet-smelling orange groves.
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I was never a girl who dreamed about her wedding, but I ended up loving the whole crazy whirlwind process. To this day, I LOVE to talk about weddings (much to the dismay of my inner feminist). My mission is to capture your day beautifully and authentically, while you stay fully present to enjoy your friends, your family, and your celebration of love.
All packages include unlimited high resolution, downloadable images. All standard wedding packages include an engagement session and credit toward future print and album purchases (so you can continue to remember your beautiful day every day). For all other questions, shoot me an e-mail at shaina@goldendoorphoto.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Reviews (11)
Brittany Brown
Nov 18, 2021
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Shaina from Golden Door Photography photographed our wedding in August and she couldn’t have provided a better experience and product. Throughout the entire process leading up to the wedding Shaina was thoughtful and detailed, including helping us think through elements of our day that we hadn’t considered. Working with her was the easiest part of wedding planning, and she was flexible as we continued to adjust our plans and make last-minute changes due to covid.
On the day of the wedding Shaina did a long pre-ceremony shoot with just us, followed by family photos, and then she captured our
On the day of the wedding Shaina did a long pre-ceremony shoot with just us, followed by family photos, and then she captured our
Amy Rinaldo
Oct 25, 2021
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Golden Door Photography did our engagement and wedding photos, and we couldn't be happier. Not only is Shaina's photography gorgeous, she was absolutely wonderful to work with (as was her assistant). Communication was consistently clear and easy, and she has all sorts of thoughtful touches that really show that she cares about everyone she works with. I really felt that she listened and got to know my partner and I as a couple, and she knew all the right questions to ask and suggestions to offer when I was feeling uncertain or stressed out to make things smooth and FUN!
Alexandra C.
Sep 04, 2021
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My family and I had a wonderful experience with Shaina from Golden Door Photography! This was my second time working with her—we had such a positive first experience (engagement pictures) that she was the first person we thought of when looking for someone to shoot a family session.
She was flexible, patient (with a 6 month old and adults who were more reserved about having their photos taken) yet worked quickly and was able to capture a wide variety of beautiful photos!
I cannot thank Shaina enough for these beautiful photos and memories! I highly recommend Golden Door Photography to anyone
She was flexible, patient (with a 6 month old and adults who were more reserved about having their photos taken) yet worked quickly and was able to capture a wide variety of beautiful photos!
I cannot thank Shaina enough for these beautiful photos and memories! I highly recommend Golden Door Photography to anyone
Kathleen Head
May 19, 2021
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I knew from our first phone call that Shaina was the right fit for us. She listened and asked questions and it quickly became clear to me that her intent was to truly capture the essence of our celebration, in a way that made sense for us. Shaina stuck with us during the ups and downs of planning a wedding during the pandemic which included two postponements and three different dates. She was also so thoughtful about sharing her experiences from other weddings. At one point, I alerted her to some last minute (unwelcomed) changes, and received the sweetest, most encouraging note from Shaina with
Meghan K.
Aug 09, 2020
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Shaina was incredible to work with from start to finish - from our preliminary phone call, to the engagement shoot, to bearing with us as it became apparent that COVID-19 would force us to change our plans, to the wedding day itself. Shaina's work is beautiful and authentic, and her style was just what we were looking for in a photographer. There are many wedding photographers out there producing quality work, but Shaina distinguishes herself in two ways:
1. Shaina's personal touch shines through in everything she does. From our initial phone inquiry, we felt very comfortable with Shaina. She
1. Shaina's personal touch shines through in everything she does. From our initial phone inquiry, we felt very comfortable with Shaina. She
Sara C.
Jan 03, 2020
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Shaina was absolutely amazing to work with! Her photos were beautiful and captured everything we loved about our wedding, but equally important, Shaina is an awesome person to have around before, during and after any special occasion. We worked with Shaina for our wedding and engagement photos. We were hesitant about doing engagement photos at all, but really ended up enjoying taking them with her. She also helped us get organized for our wedding, bringing up things we hadn't thought of and offering her advice (being an expert in the area) on gray areas. Shaina had a great way of getting things
Elise N.
Sep 26, 2019
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My wife and I were first interested in Shaina because of two things: the happy and bright colors in her work, and her eagerness to work with non-traditional families. We are so happy we found her! She was so flexible and accommodating many, many times, and when we had a crazy idea for engagement photos, she was game. She was excellent working with our young kids to get great photos of them, and she captured some of everything during our day. We had a private elopement before our reception on our wedding day, and we were honored to have her there to witness our vows. We are so happy she was a part
Anne Traer
Jun 25, 2019
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I am the owner of Garden and Roads - a florist and small scale flower farm and I was thrilled to have Shaina from Golden Door Photography run a photo session to capture new professional portraits as well as branding "action shots" for my website and marketing materials. Shaina immediately set me at ease and worked around some challenging lighting and terrain conditions turning my raised flower beds into virtual fields of flowers! I collaborated with Golden Door Photography on a styled wedding photo shoot at Nightshift Brewery and would highly recommend for professional or personal photos. Attaching
Ami S.
Jan 02, 2018
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Shaina did an awesome job photographing our engagement photos. She's very personable and easy going and has great suggestions for poses. I would definitely recommend her to anyone who's looking for a good photographer in the area. With the package we chose, we received an online gallery of 80 high resolution photos which we could easily share with our family/friends and download. She also sent us a sneak peek of several of her favorite photos a few days after the shoot, which was nice because we were pretty curious to see how the photos turned out!
Stephanie M.
Jul 03, 2017
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Shaina did a wonderful job photographing our rehearsal dinner. She was a pleasure to have around, and caught so many "real" moments throughout the night! She also gave us a heartfelt card with 2 instant print-outs of her favorite photos at the end of the night, which was a truly professional and above-and-beyond touch. We would highly recommend Shaina for any event or portrait photography. She turned the photos around quickly and was a great communicator from the moment we hired her until she delivered the online photo gallery. Thank you, Shaina!
Linda S.
May 07, 2017
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Shaina Sawyer from Golden Door Photography provided the most amazing photos from our March wedding in San Diego. She captured the joy of our day with incredible photos of our ceremony, family shots and the delight and excitement at our reception. She managed every detail, making the day stress free while providing us with memories of a lifetime.
The lighting could have been a challenge, but she successfully shot indoor in a condo surrounded by glass and the evening shots in the large historic Conservatory. Shaina managed both candid and posed photos and her action shots captured the essence of
The lighting could have been a challenge, but she successfully shot indoor in a condo surrounded by glass and the evening shots in the large historic Conservatory. Shaina managed both candid and posed photos and her action shots captured the essence of
