Santa Barbara WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER

We love photographing Santa Barbara weddings because it, and the surrounding towns of Goleta, Summerland, and Montecito feel like what you would imagine California to have been like in the past. The people put a premium on caring for and preserving this beautiful nook of California's coastline and the feeling of community is strong. 

Santa Barbara History

For over a century, Santa Barbara has been one of California's premiere destination towns. In 1901, the railroad made connection possible between Los Angeles and San Francisco and the town would see its role shift from pastoral to a center of American popular culture. Years before Harry Chandler had even proposed his Hollywoodland development in the central Los Angeles basin which would pave the way for the city's enduring "Hollywood" brand, Santa Barbara was already well established as the center of the U.S. silent film industry. At the time, it even housed the worlds largest movie studio, the Flying A Studios. When film production eventually shifted south to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara continued to flourish and steady growth ensued. The mediterranean climate, sprawling citrus groves, and Spanish-renaissance architecture style of the quaint hillside homes perched above the frequently calm waters of the Pacific all contribute to the region being called the American Riviera for similarities it bears to the Côte D'Azur of Southeast France. The development of the University of California around the middle of the 20th century brought a new wave of thinkers and activists to town and its place in the formation of the modern environmental movement can not be overstated. Fortuitously situated between the Santa Ynez mountains and the Pacific Ocean, Santa Barbara has something for everyone from luxury shopping to trekking in the mountains. Boating of all sorts, be it whale watching, day trips to Catalina Island, or deep sea fishing, abundant viticulture on the outskirts of town providing delicious options for wine enthusiasts, beautiful beaches and artist enclaves as well as any type of cuisine you could imagine with fresh food in abundance. While some towns respond to their growth by expanding indefinitely, Santa Barbara has exercised thoughtful restraint and in doing so, preserved the area's quaint and pastoral charm. For a relatively small town, Santa Barbara has so much to offer and it's location is convenient enough to Los Angeles for it to be practical for a destination wedding while also feeling worlds away from the hustle and bustle of an actual big city. 

Santa Barbara Venues We Love

As Santa Barbara wedding photographers, we are fortunate to have experienced firsthand, the extreme diversity this corner of the California coast has to offer. From a luxury spa wedding just a stone's throw from the Pacific at Ritz Carlton Bacara  to an intimate, glamping-inspired wedding weekend at El Capitan Canyon. For a truly memorable affair at an iconic venue dating back to those early days of the silent film era, look no further than the Belmond El Encanto. Situated in the hills just east of the harbor, the venue offers expansive ocean views and lush garden paths throughout the properties seven gorgeous acres. And, like the Ritz Carlton, the spa and culinary offerings are amongst the finest. If you're working with an event planner who can help you bring your vision to life, the Santa Barbara Historical museum has a lovely open courtyard/plaza in the classic old California adobe style.