Emma McDonald Weddings

stant were also a pleasure to work with and brought the best vibes! 10/10 recommend.

she was the one. Despite there being a snow storm on the morning of the wedding, Emma arrived right on time (thank you!) Working with Emma was so easy and fun. She perfectly captured our personalities, while also setting time aside for our portraits. We received our photos so quickly afterwards. I am so thrilled with how they turned out it is so hard to narrow them down! Thank you Emma for capturing the best day of our lives!

e photos would fit into the day - when we would take our couple portraits, when the family would fit in, and how long she needed to get good shots of the night while staying within our budget. On the wedding day itself she was incredible at immediately making us feel at ease and comfortable. She had us laughing and smiling naturally while also giving us the direction we needed to create some beautiful shots for our couple portraits. Every guest at our wedding was blown away with how seamlessly Emma blended in to the day's events - she always seemed calm and collected, never rushing, and yet somehow managed to capture so many spectacular, candid moments. What has struck us the most about her work is how perfectly she captured every one of our loved ones' smiling faces throughout the day. It was such an added bonus to come away with amazing photos of not just us, but of each of our friends and family members. Emma was also incredibly quick with her turnaround time on getting the photos back to us after the wedding, and truly it felt like I was reliving every moment looking through the album. I cannot overstate how happy we were with how the photos turned out and we are SO glad to have met Emma and had the pleasure of working with her as part of our day.

rs to come. Communicating with her in the leadup to the big day was seamless, and she did an amazing job putting us at ease despite the tropical storm conditions on our wedding day! If you have the opportunity to work with her, book her ASAP!!

rt of spectacular. From our engagement shoot where Emma managed to wrangle our 1-year old golden retriever into cooperating at Bear Mountain, to being with us and our family/closest friends for 9 hours documenting one of the most significant days in our lives. Emma also deserves an award as she created such beautiful photography all while being extremely pregnant. Every picture captured all of the love and giggles that day. Her team was such a pleasure to work with, and we are so grateful to have hired her and her team. We will treasure these memories forever, and hope to work with her again in the future! She does shoot maternity and family shoots as well! :)

elivered. She captured candid moments beautifully and made sure our portraits weren't awkward or stiff. She's also just cool and fun and we loved working with her.

throughout. I can't say enough great things about working with her, will definitely work with her again for various life events, and will treasure our wedding photos always. Thank you, Emma!!!

n a chaotic day. Emma captured our engagement photos, small COVID backyard wedding, and our big celebration! All of those albums are so special and something we will cherish forever! We look forward to using Emma for all of our big celebrations in the future!

ral and happy and candid in our family shoot, and we actually had fun doing it! My daughter was also very grumpy that day to add to the struggle, and Emma somehow worked her magic and made us all look good. Couldn't her recommend more!

d all of our questions, traveled from NY to TX for us, was commanding when she needed to be (wrangling lots of stray family members is not an easy task), and stepped back when she needed to in order to get her shots. Emma was by far one of our absolute favorite vendors to work with–a true gem of a photographer and human being. We received our photos in about a month and they're absolutely incredible. She killed it! Now go hire her!!

re comfortable in front of the camera. We spent our entire time together laughing and having fun. The pictures, themselves, are breathtaking. They highlighted the love and joy we felt on our wedding day! Not to mention the fact that we received all our photos super quickly and were able to relive our favorite day. We cannot say enough good things about Emma! Despite having to postpone our wedding multiple times, Emma was extremely accommodating and made the entire process feel seamless. We can’t wait to have another opportunity to use her again!!! SIMPLY THE BEST!

commended Emma to multiple friends and family members for their upcoming weddings. From the start Emma was a professional calming energy which is exactly what you need when planning a wedding. She was engaged, responsive, and genuinely felt invested in our wedding and us as a couple. Our pictures captured our day perfectly. A great balance of posed pictures and candids that encompassed our relationship. If you are lucky enough to have the chance to work with Emma, you should definitely take it!

and providing helpful guidance on key items like our day-of schedule, list of requested photos, etc. On our event date, Emma and her associate were incredible. They kept us to a tight schedule and were always in the right place for the best shot, even when a spontaneous photo op came up. They made us, our wedding party, and our families feel very relaxed and comfortable during our photo session. They went above and beyond in so many ways, like having a stain remover handy when the groom stained his suit and saving the day. We just got our photos back from Emma, and we’re thrilled. She highlights all the emotions, candid interactions, and subtle details of the day so exceptionally well! We’d recommend her to anyone without hesitation.

m so excited for our wedding day photos! I booked Emma's services during the midst of the Covid pandemic, and we had so many virtual communications over the course of many months that by the time I met her, I already felt like we were friends. She was so easy going and flexible with scheduling our engagement photos. It unexpectedly started to rain during our photos, but Emma was prepared with a clear umbrella in her car (even though the weather forecast did not say rain). She continued to shoot in the rain for a while and like I said at the top, our photos turned out so well! Not sure how she managed to capture such bright photos even on a gloomy day! I will have a hard time picking just a few favorites to frame - a good problem to have.

fair for her level of expertise and skill, and our final photos are amazing. Photography was super important to me for my wedding, and Emma made our vision come to life. Also, the photo albums she produces are high-quality and gorgeous. When I think back on our wedding day, I think of Emma as a friend who hung out and blended right in with the rest of my day-of crew. We had a blast running around Brooklyn with her, even on a windy, cold November day (though you'd never be able to tell from the photos because we are all smiles and joy). It's been 6 months since our wedding, but every single time I look at our photos, I fall more in love with them. Hire her, you won't be disappointed!

worked at our venue before, but it was sitting down to meet her that we knew we'd met "the one". She's laid-back but excited, creative and kind. We couldn't stop talking and the moment we left, my husband and I turned to each other and said "we don't need to talk to anyone else, right?". We were sold. Emma answered all our questions leading up to the day, helped us decide on the ceremony time and overall timeline, and always seemed thrilled to hear from us. On the day, she and her WONDERFUL second shooter seemed to be in every place at once, catching all the moments we wanted captured. One of our favorite parts of the day was simply running around the grounds with Emma, laughing and posing in all the great spots she scouted. We just loved working with her and the photos reflect that. We got back our full gallery today (weeks before the contract "deadline") and we had a sneak peek of 85 photos within like, 4 days I think? Amazing. Every photo is incredible. Emma captures how the day FEELS, the love, the joy, the humor and the whole feeling of the day. We literally cried looking through them this morning - and also busted out laughing. I've never felt more beautiful, and yes part of it was the makeup and hair and great equipment Emma uses to shoot, but she captured ME and all my joy that day. I can't ever thank her enough for it. Hire Emma. She is the person you want with you on your day. She will capture YOUR wedding - not some cookie-cutter idea of a wedding (though she certainly makes it looks like a fairy tale), but the little moments that make it yours.

we looked at her posted photo albums. Her remarkable, vibrant colors; her impeccable ability to capture her subjects' inner lives, "in the moment"; her equal adeptness at shooting posed/composed photos and spontaneous candids, at artfully balancing foreground and background, at capturing poignant moments and delightfully ridiculous ones--all those qualities stood out to us immediately. No other photographer we considered offered comparable quality within a remotely comparable price range. She quickly stood out as our top choice. We haven't looked back since. Our own experience working with Emma was just as worthwhile as we hoped. She was instantly personable, warm, and encouraging, making us feel at ease right away, and showing genuine interest in getting to know our story and values as a couple, and our vision for the wedding and the photos. She listened carefully to what we wanted, asked insightful questions to help us become more articulate about it, and offered very helpful suggestions; thanks to her, we even arrived at a clearer vision of the wedding day than we'd had before. She was always professional, organized, responsive and punctual. And she had a knack for lightening our moments of stress with humor, which carried from our first phone conversation to the big day itself. On the wedding day, everyone in our party, and our family, loved working with her, for just that reason. She knew how to move things along when she needed to, and made sure we got all the shots we most wanted, without ever feeling pushy or intrusive. As for the photos, well...they exceeded even our already high expectations. Emma and her likewise wonderful second photographer perfectly captured every moment, every feeling, every experience of the day that we wanted to remember--and plenty we missed, in the rush of things. We treasure the pictures she took; whenever we look at them, we're transported right back to the wedding, and all the joy, love, and gratitude, we felt that day. Its magic lives on through her pictures. All the family and friends we've shared her photos with treasure them too. Each one has commented upon how lucky we were to have had Emma as our photographer. We agree, and would give her our highest possible recommendation.

to shoot, listens to you, photos came out wonderful, and reasonably priced!

direction from me. With so much going on day of the wedding it was honestly just so great having her near since she's so calm and clear and was able to help me relax on my big day. Not only are her photography skills excellent - she has an innate ability to make a connection with the light and the landscape to really find the perfect timing and expressions from all of us - even the large group family photos are wonderful and that's not an easy feat. Emma is A++++.

nd easy to work with. Would definitely recommend!

lt that she captured fun and intimate moments that no one else could've brought out of us. Not only are the pictures beautiful and great quality, she was willing to work with us to come up with a budget and plan that was personalized to us as a couple. I would recommend Emma for any and all weddings!

personality since they’ll be in your face your entire wedding day. I loved the candid and playful shots on Emma’s website, and after chatting on the phone I knew she was the one. Emma strikes the perfect blend of professionalism and fun. She brings strong experience to make the day seamless, and also has an incredible attitude which made our shoots enjoyable. Before the wedding she provided a questionnaire to make sure we documented all important items for her to capture and a full list of portraits. We had over 70 people in our families and wedding party, and with Emma’s expertise she made all formal shots fly by and we actually finished our photos quicker than planned. Emma also helped us plan the schedule for the day since so much of it is driven by photo timelines. My family and friends all loved Emma, and our shots are incredible and perfectly capture the love and celebration of our wedding!

lm and helpful presence day of.

ed, and organized. She handled all of our questions throughout the planning process with such patience and really helped us plan out the logistics of our entire day. The day of Emma was early and full of so much calming energy – she made taking all of our portraits so much fun (we never felt awkward or uncomfortable). After the wedding, we not only received highlight photos within *days* of the wedding, but we received all of our pictures so promptly and they are all beautiful. We can't recommend her enough and can only hope to work with her for another occasion in the future!

ut something with a bit more style and character. The venue is breathtaking, so we wanted somebody who would be able to capture it for what it is. Emma was recommended to me and she had also shot a friend’s wedding a few months prior. I immediately fell in love with the style of her work and how refined it was. We felt it would be best to schedule an engagement shoot to get to know Emma (and she us) and feel comfortable in front of the camera on the day of the wedding. Needless to say, her personable and down-to-earth personality is clearly reflected in her work. My husband and I were very nervous about being awkward in front of the camera, but she made the entire experience so relaxed. It goes without saying, the photos came out unbelievably gorgeous so we could not wait to see what she had in store for the big day. During the planning process, Emma was easy to get in touch with, and was always extremely patient and helpful with everything. On the day of the wedding, Emma and the second-shooter, Dan, were so easy going and efficient getting everything done. Not only did we love having them there, but a handful of others spoke so highly of them. The photos came back quickly, and we still can’t get over how incredible they are. They managed to capture every moment from that day so beautifully. I cannot thank Emma enough for making our day even more amazing than we ever imagined and for creating pictures that will help us remember the day forever.

first meeting, we immediately felt at ease with her. She is relaxed, honest, and happy to do what she does. With her help, we put together a photography plan for our wedding and Emma was great at keeping on top of us leading up to the event. She even emailed us from her honeymoon (which should not be allowed). On the day of the wedding, she felt more like a friend than a vendor and her fun, relaxing nature kept things stress-free and easy. Her work is amazing, and we love our photos. We are obsessed with them, and she delivered them to us in what I'd consider to be an extremely timely manner. I'd recommend Emma to anyone!

our wedding day photographer. From our very first phone call to the wedding pictures that followed, Emma was a consummate professional. She was very responsive throughout and answered our numerous questions without hesitation. Emma was great at providing guidance and recommendations, without being too pushy. Most importantly, we loved her photography, and our engagement/wedding photos came out just as amazing as had hoped! She captured all the important moments (without being conspicuous, which we liked) and the photos were beautiful.

ok forced or awkward, and a thousand details in between. We felt like she took the time to understand who we were as people, and as a result, her photos are so wonderfully personal--she knew what would be important to us without even being prompted. Her work is professional, detailed, and thoughtful, and we can't thank her enough. HIRE EMMA. SHE IS ACTUALLY THE BEST.

e to work with. She has a contagious energy, is super accommodating and knows exactly how to nail a professional, natural and unforced vibe in her photography. For our engagement shoot we dragged her out to upstate NY and she more than exceeded our expectations. For the big day, not only did she get all the photo combinations we had asked for, but she did a great job of dealing with our huge families. From ceremony to portraits and reception, Emma was truly able to caption the essence of the day. Some of my favorite pictures are ones where I didn’t even realize she was there, we were so in the moment and she fully grasped that! On top of everything else, she also gave us our photos within just a few weeks of the wedding! We can’t recommend her enough—if you’re still looking for a photographer, look no further!

on and so easy to work with - she is warm and outgoing and makes everyone feel comfortable. She is the best!

cool and tasteful person. If you want to hire a photographer to class up your event and maybe make a cool friend out of it, she is the only choice.

odated our tricky scheduling situation for our engagement photo shoot. On the day of the wedding, we were impressed that she was tactfully able to organize our large families to efficiently capture all of the portrait groupings we wanted. We also loved looking at the ceremony and party shots! Emma worked with us to create an album of our favorite photos, as well as personalized albums for each set of parents several months later. We would definitely recommend her to other couples!

ke to be in front of the camera. Emma made me feel so comfortable and so at ease, as though we were all just hanging out. My husband and I also did not want to spend a lot of time doing family photos-she was SO efficient and exact and got every shot we could have hoped for so that we could get back to the party asap. I was honestly surprised to see all of the amazing photos of me/us walking down the aisle because I had no idea she was there! I am convinced she has an invisibility cloak and am honestly still a little spooked by this. Seriously though, if you are looking for someone who is highly professional, talented, warm, funny, and someone you want to have around on your special day, Emma is THE ONE. She even captured the best solo shots of my 9 yo son I have ever seen. Perhaps the best part was looking back at the photos after and seeing just how well she captured us and who we are as a couple / family. That really blew me away. We knew we did not want typical wedding photos and she just nailed it. She is a true talent. I cannot recommend her highly enough! Love you Emma!

ea and comparing prices. We were disappointed to learn that many photographers do not include prints or an album in their listed prices (which for what their asking price was just baffled us). With Emma, we got so much more than we could have imagined AND within our budget! The package we chose included two photographers for the whole day of (so we were able to get photos of me and my girls getting ready and my husband and his crew getting ready), 5 prints, a gorgeous lay-flat wedding album, access to our pictures online (so we could print and send any photos to family and friends) AND an engagement photo session in the place of our choice. Aside from the amazing value, Emma was simply a pleasure to work with. She is so down to earth and made us comfortable through a really stressful time. She had so many great suggestions and really managed to capture who we are in our photos. We really wanted a more laid back format, opposed to being forced to do formal photos all night long and we have so many great action shots of us, family and friends dancing, laughing and having a good time. I cannot thank Emma (and Christine, the second shooter) for being so great and for helping to capture the memories that will remain one of the most important days of our lives together. We will be married a year later this month and I can't tell you how many compliments we still get when people see our wedding photos hanging (literally all over the house because we love them so much). I KNOW that if you choose Emma, you will not be disappointed!

answered and addressed, her suggestions helped make our day be easier as well as stress free. On the wedding day she captured the most beautiful pictures and of our goofy crew. From the pictures to the album words we couldn’t be happier. Thank you Emma!

at my picture was being taken all day. Plus, I'm always picky about the way I look in photos. I had faith that Emma did the best possible job, but given everything, I made peace with the reality that there would only be a few shots I truly liked... I could not have been more wrong. Our being so immersed in the day (which I was sure had detracted from the photos), actually highlighted Emma's unbelievable talent. She caught the split-second micro-moments - the glances, the body language, the feelings. Her photos exemplify authenticity and depth in a way that I didn't know possible. When it comes to Emma's work, a picture is worth so many more than 1,000 words (cheesy, but true). We can look back at our album and truly relive the day. I can't think of a better gift. Lastly, to the other picky brides out there--when you're fully engrossed in the best day of your life and Emma McDonald takes your picture, you can't help but look good.

phs on her website, and am thrilled that our photos are absolutely beautiful and amazing as well. The day of the wedding, Emma was wonderful. It was the first time meeting her in person, but I felt like I had known her already. She was so easygoing and professional. She took charge and gave great direction during the photos, and worked seamlessly with the videographer we hired. We received our sneak peek photos in two weeks, and our full gallery in less than two months, which was phenomenal. My husband and I highly recommend Emma to anyone looking for an excellent, talented, professional and sweet photographer!

d perfectly. You can feel the happiness & energy of the night in each picture and we could not believe how many guests she got in all of our pictures. That was very important to us. Emma was extremely easy to communicate with and very professional leading up to the day of. The day of the wedding Emma & her 2nd shooter were quick & efficient getting all the prep & portrait pictures that we requested and at the wedding she was great about reminding us of the group shots that we wanted.

with her during our engagement session-- she took beautiful photos and made us feel confident. Emma was so responsive throughout the planning process and answered every crazy question I sent her way. On our wedding day I was so nervous, and seeing Emma put me instantly at ease. She and her assistant made sure everything ran smoothly and on schedule. Emma delivered the photos on time and they are beyond our wildest dreams. We got married in December in the snow, and lighting was definitely a challenge. Emma took the most stunning photos against a white snowy background, and in our candlelit ceremony space. Emma has a classic style that I think will stand the test of time. She is so talented, kind, professional, and fun, and her pricing is very reasonable. I really don't have enough words to say how amazing Emma is! Hands down, you should hire her!!

s to rest, and we all seemed to be on the same page on what we envisioned for our photographs. Not to mention she has a great eye, and we're so happy with the quality of our photos both from the wedding and engagement shoot. We had a separate South Asian reception a few months later, that Emma unfortunately could not make, but the photos from that pale in comparison to hers. For the quality of work, she's a steal and could be charging thousands more. Emma is also very personable and funny and puts everyone at ease - our bridesmaids all raved about her and wanted to be her friend! Since our wedding she's also been so easy to work with and has also been very patient and understanding of both our delays in getting her photo selections and hiccups with our mail carriers. Thanks again much for all your amazing work, Emma! We cannot recommend her highly enough.

makes you feel like you have know her your entire life and will put any nerves at ease. Not only did WE love her, but everyone that had the pleasure of interacting with her spoke highly of her. I would 10/10 recommend her to anyone that is looking for a amazing person that is truly a talented and professional photographer. Thanks Emma!!!

. Our families are thrilled with the photos. We'll cherish them forever! THANK YOU!

tremely professional. I highly recommend her. Thank you Emma!!!

pushy at all or interrupting the day. She had great ideas for group photos and helped scope out and organize where the first look should be, which was very helpful. She also kept in touch before the wedding day and was organized with all the details. Would absolutely recommend her! Cannot wait to see the photos!!