About this vendor
Based in Brooklyn, New York, award-winning painter Katherine Gressel travels worldwide to events, and captures the action in a live painting. Past events have ranged from intimate backyard affairs to elaborate celebrity weddings. Each painting serves as both entertainment for guests and a lasting memento of your special day.
Katherine strives to capture the energy and emotion of the happiest day of your life in a dynamic, impressionistic composition. She spotlights a special moment--a dance, vow exchange, speech, etc--between two or more key people while preserving the looseness and freshness of live action painting in the background and supporting characters. Katherine also views each painting as a collaboration, as she takes care to incorporate the colors, decor details, setting, and special guests that make your wedding unique. With nearly 15 years of experience, Katherine has been featured in the New York Times, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides, and the Knot, and on MTV's Jersey Shore.
Services Offered
Event Painting by Katherine offers a variety of services to ensure a couple's painting is the work of art they deserve. This includes a detailed consultation to allow couples to determine what key components they want in their painting, arriving onsite up to 5 hours early to paint the background and staying for the full party, and the option to either take the painting home at the end of the night or have additional faces and details added in the studio. Katherine also takes requests for revisions, making sure you are 100% satisfied with the final product.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Gifts & Favors
- Gifts for the Bride
- Gifts for the Groom
- Personalization
- Wedding Gifts
Awards and Affiliations
9-Time 'Best of Weddings'
2026.2025.2024.+6 more.
Best of Weddings
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Hall of Fame
Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.
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Reviews
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5
out of 5.0125 reviews
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 9
Katherine was amazing! She was so beyond easy to work with. She made sure to include the exact details that I asked for in the painting. All the guests were truly amazed by her. I...
t is such a special keepsake to have from our wedding. We will have our picture hung in our home forever. Could not recommend Katherine more.!!
So about 3 years ago I attended a wedding with my then boyfriend and was amazed that there was such thing as a "live painter" at a wedding. Not knowing it was Katherine, I then att...
ended another wedding with him a year later and she was there AGAIN! I was like this is a sign I am taking her card for my future wedding. Once we got engaged I reached out hoping she was free and YES she was! THIS WAS 1000% WORTH IT! I am so happy that I picked up her card 3 years ago because our painting is stunning! She captured my beautiful dress, the red bow in my hair, and the magic of our snowy christmasy wedding! I am beyond thankful! She was a great communicator, working with my planner to capture our family members and was so kind. Thank you so much for capturing our big day in such a magical way!
Katherine was amazing, professional, talented, and exactly what we hoped for. Our painting got so many compliments and we cannot wait to hang it in our home!
Katherine was so amazing for our wedding painting! We had a vision of what we wanted (ceremony scene of “breaking the glass”) and she worked with us to make sure we loved the piece...
and we couldn’t be happier to proudly hang it in our home. All of our guests were also so impressed with her work watching her live at our reception. Highly recommend Katherine for any event!
We are so so glad we hired Katherine to do our live wedding painting. She was super easy to work with and we are in awe of our painting every time we walk by it in our house. 10/10...
would recommend!!
Amazing painting by Katherine that looks exactly like us and captures everything we asked her to include. She was a pleasure to work with - high recommend for anyone looking for a ...
live wedding painter to make their special day that much more special!
We cannot say enough wonderful things about Katherine Gressel and the incredible live painting she created at our wedding. She was professional, kind, and seamlessly captured one o...
f the most meaningful moments of our night—our first dance.
The painting is truly breathtaking. Katherine captured the warmth of the room, the movement of my dress, and the emotion of the moment so beautifully that every time we look at it, we feel transported back to that night. The details, from the lighting to the guests surrounding us, make the scene feel alive.
Katherine was also amazing to work with after the wedding, happily making adjustments and refinements to ensure the painting was absolutely perfect. Her talent, attention to detail, and genuine care for her couples truly set her apart. This is one of our most cherished keepsakes, and we are so grateful to have this memory preserved forever.
Highly recommend Katherine Gressel to anyone considering a live wedding painter. 💛
Katherine not only did a PHENOMENAL job on the painting, but what was absolutely incredible was her customer service and attention to detail. She was very helpful in helping us dec...
ide what we wanted for our wedding painting, patient, and fair priced. She even stayed late (as we had access to the grounds for the night) just to make sure we were able to take our painting home and not need to travel out so far to pick it up. Finally, on top of all of that she traveled to Allentown NJ from Brooklyn and had her own extremely long commute home but was most dedicated to making sure we were happy with what we recieved and to he able to give it to us as quickly as possible. The guests LOVED watching her complete her work, her style and beauty in how she portrayed us, and overall she was a great entertainment to the party. Would recommend her to everyone for any event!
One of the best decisions that my husband and I made was to hire Katherine for our wedding. She is super talented! Our guests could not stop complimenting how amazing our painting ...
came out. Book her!! You won’t regret it :)
Our wedding painting was better than we imagined. Katherine was so easy to work with and we have such an amazing memory of our wedding day because of her!
We had the absolute pleasure of having Katherine as our live painter at our wedding, and she truly exceeded every expectation. She captured one of our first dance with unbelievable...
detail and artistry. The final painting is absolutely stunning. Our families and guests were mesmerized watching her work throughout the night. Beyond her incredible talent, Katherine is professional and so easy to work with. She listened closely to what we envisioned, asked thoughtful questions and brought it to life in a way that felt even more beautiful than we could have imagined. We now have a piece of art we will cherish forever, and it’s something we’ll proudly hang in our home for years to come. If you’re considering a live painter for your event, we can’t recommend Katherine enough.
Working with Katherine was incredibly easy from our initial inquiry all the way through picking up our painting. She was so open to making it exactly what we dreamed it would be. S...
he did an amazing job and truly captured the moment of our first dance perfectly—from all the small details to the overall painting itself. We couldn’t be happier, and I would highly recommend working with her.
Incredible artist and a joy to work with! One of the best investments we made for our wedding. All of our guests loved watching Katherine work her magic, and the currently have the...
painting hanging over our mantel in our home. Would highly recommend working with her!
Having our wedding painted live by Katherine was one of the coolest experiences ever! She is unbelievably talented, and not only did we end up with a gorgeous painting we’ll treasu...
re forever, but it was such a fun and unique experience for our guests to watch throughout the night. Seeing our wedding unfold on canvas in real time was so special. It’s 1000% worth the investment—we’re over the moon with our painting and so happy we had Katherine with us!
Katherine was wonderful! We love our painting from her! She asked detailed questions prior to our wedding to understand every detail we wanted captured. She kept us posted on he...
r progress after the wedding as well! We had one thing we wanted to change in the final painting and she did so without hesitation! She was great to work with and did an amazing job capturing our first dance!
Katherine was amazing to work with and we were beyond happy with our painting!
Katherine was amazing! We decided last minute to inquire about a live painter and she was SO accommodating- especially being 2 weeks before the wedding!! The painting itself is bea...
utiful- she even put our two pups in it and my husbands mother who has passed away. Overall, couldn’t be more happy with our choice with Katherine! If you’re debating it.. do it!!!
Long before I met my now husband, I knew I wanted a live wedding painter so picking the right artist was a big deal for me and I was so lucky to have found Katherine! I picked Kat...
herine because her style of painting was exactly what I wanted, and she had great reviews, of course! We primarily communicated via e-mail, and she was always quick to respond. A couple weeks before the day of, she reached out with a whole list of things to consider when picking the scene for the wedding portrait and it made the decision super easy – I think we might have e-mailed back and forth only twice, maybe three times, before the final decision was made – such an easy process. Watching the painting come to life the day of was so magical, and all my guests were so intrigued by it as well. It really was such a hit! And as an added bonus she painted our three dogs into the background! Our dogs weren’t able to attend the ceremony so now we’ll have them in the painting at our ceremony forever and it’s so special to us. Overall, Katherine was so amazing to work with, I’d hire her again in a heartbeat. She was professional, always quick to respond, and the painting speaks for itself in terms of quality and value.
Katherine was an all around amazing vendor! She was so easy to work with - quick with clear communication and happy to answer all of my questions! Katherine is insanely talented, s...
he captured our special day in such a beautiful painting. I would absolutely recommend Katherine for live painting, she was 100% worth every penny and more!
Katherine is an incredible artist and we cannot recommend her enough! When planning our big day, we both knew a live painting was something we absolutely wanted to help remember th...
e incredible day. Luckily we found Katherine and working with her wad a joy from the first email, through to when we met to pick up the masterpiece day after our wedding.
Our guests couldn't stop raving about how cool it was to watch the painting come to life throughout the reception. She captured my husband and I beautifully, along with our families and even found a way to incorporate our dog and cat. We gave her an extra challenge as well, asking her to incorporate the river/mountain/bridge view from the ceremony into the moment we had her paint which was in the ballroom (the view was not visible from the ballroom). She surpassed all expectations.
From the beginning of finding someone for our wedding to do a live painting Katherine was an absolute gem. She answered any questions we had and went through all the details to mak...
e sure she knew what we wanted and captured everything. Katherine created the most beautiful painting of our first dance. She also was much loved at our wedding. Our family and friends loved seeing the painting progress throughout the night. The painting came out absolutely stunning!!!
Event Painting by Katherine is a unique wedding gift we gave our daughter and son-in-law. From the very start, Katherine was honest. She was uncertain if she could be there due to ...
a family function on the holiday weekend. She provided us with recommendations so we didn’t miss out on hiring an event painter. We looked at many others before contacting her. Since we loved her style the most, we told her we would wait. As soon as she knew her plans, she contacted us, and needless to say, the rest was history. We were beyond thrilled to include her on this special occasion. They are still talking about how lifelike the painting looked. Our daughter and son-in-law decided on the scene they wanted her to paint and how many people they wanted in the painting. Her artistic ability did not go unnoticed as our guests were blown away to see her in action throughout the celebration. We invited Katherine to breakfast the next morning, where she presented the painting to the bride and groom and everyone to admire. She asked if there was anything else they wanted to add or change, and she went the extra mile and added their dog. My husband and I give Katherine the highest recommendation. Her professionalism and talent are second to none. If you are on the fence, go for it! The painting is something our children appreciate each day and will cherish forever.
Katherine was an absolute dream to work with for our wedding! From the very beginning, she was incredibly accommodating and quick to respond to all of our questions and ideas. I ha...
d a very specific vision for our painting—a warm and romantic piece set in our beautiful white ballroom—and she executed it flawlessly.
She didn’t just capture the venue; she brought it to life! Katherine included all of our family members and perfectly painted the charm of the ballroom, all while highlighting the love between my husband and me. It truly felt like she took the vision in my heart and made it into art.
Even after the wedding, Katherine went above and beyond. With the package we purchased, she graciously accommodated some touch-ups we requested, and the final result was nothing short of stunning.
If you’re considering booking Katherine, do yourself a favor and DO IT! She is so talented, professional, and kind. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Katherine, thank you for giving us a keepsake we’ll cherish forever!
Katherine was amazing through every step of the way! Very professional and efficient and beyond talented. We are so happy with how our wedding painting came out and it is something...
we will cherish forever !! Very thankful
Katherine is a true talent. She painted the most gorgeous representation of the best day of our lives. Could not recommend her more. Beyond easy to work with and talented beyond me...
asure.
Katherine produced the painting of our dreams! Absolutely amazing work!
October 2023 wedding so this is long overdue. We found Katherine through one of our Bridal Expo tours, and we are so glad we did! She is incredibly nice and communicative, and most...
importantly TALENTED! We wanted to surprise our guests with something unique and we knew a live painter would be it! The way she captured the details of the my husband and I, as well as the venue and our families blew us away. We are so happy to have such an amazing piece of our wedding hung up in our home for everyone to see. If you are looking for a special add to your wedding day, book Katherine!
Katherine is so sweet and INCREDIBLY talented! We had her as a live painter at our September 2024 wedding at Perona Farms and her painting exceeded all expectations. Words can't ex...
press how grateful we are to have such a beautiful, sentimental moment captured for us to hang in our house for many years to come. And not to mention how entertaining it was for us and our guests to watch her progress throughout the night! If you're lucky enough to have Katherine available, BOOK HER!
Words cannot even begin to describe how amazing and talented Katherine is. My friend used her at her wedding back in 2018 and I knew when it was my turn to get married, she was the...
only one I wanted to use. My painting exceeded far more then I even imagined. Katherine was easy to communicate with and everything ran smoothly the day of the wedding. The days after the wedding she sent me a picture of what it was the night of and let me know when she was going to start editing the painting. We did go back and forth a few times to change the coloring of a few things and edit a few minor details just to make sure it was absolutely perfect. But once it was all done, the painting was so beautiful, I cried. It will now forever hang in my house and be an everlasting beautiful memory- something money cannot put price on. Katherine was worth every penny and the easiest vendor to work with!!!
Katherine was professional and responsive from the start to finish of our event. She was quick to respond to questions and open to our requests about the painting. She worked with ...
our venue to make sure that everything was to our specifications.
Since this was a surprise wedding gift for our son and daughter in law, she had to work outside the box to keep the secret.
Watching her work her magic at the wedding was incredible. Our guests were amazed. Katherine was open and friendly and answered any questions asked while she continue to make the painting come to life before our eyes.
Her work was realistic, and her depiction of the bride and groom was so accurate. The picture conveyed the atmosphere of the event and portrayed the romantic scene.
We would absolutely recommend Katherine to anyone looking for a live painter. You will not be disappointed.
Katherine was such an amazing addition to our wedding reception. She painted a beautiful portrait of us, made it super easy to plan , and was so kind. She was very responsive and ...
super detail oriented!
We were fortunate to have Katherine as the wedding painter for our special day, and her talent left us in awe. She beautifully captured the essence of our father-daughter dance, tr...
ansforming it into an everlasting memory on canvas.
Katherine skillfully incorporated intricate details, painting not just the dance itself but also weaving in the delicate beauty of flowers, the ambiance, and, most notably, key family members. The inclusion of a departed loved one in her artwork was heartwarming and will forever hold a special place in our hearts.
Working with Katherine was an absolute pleasure. She was not only a skilled artist but also incredibly easy to collaborate with. From the initial discussions about our vision to the final, she was attentive and understanding, ensuring that every detail was captured with precision.
The live painting experience added an extraordinary touch to our celebration. Our guests were captivated, watching the masterpiece unfold throughout the night. The excitement in the air as they eagerly anticipated the final results created a unique and enchanting atmosphere.
When we finally got the painting, we were utterly amazed at the stunning portrayal of our cherished moments. Katherine went above and beyond our expectations, creating a piece of art that now hangs prominently in my parents' home, a constant reminder of the beauty and joy of our wedding day.
We wholeheartedly recommend Katherine to anyone seeking a talented artist who not only captures the visual elements but also the emotions and atmosphere of a special occasion. Her work is truly a masterpiece, and we are forever grateful for the lasting memories she created for us.
Katherine painted at my sister's wedding 5 years ago and every time I would see the beautiful work of art in my sister's living room I couldn't wait for my turn to have her also pa...
int a beautiful scene from my wedding! Katherine painted our first dance and not only did she beautifully recreate that moment, but she also perfectly captured us, our family, the decor, centerpieces, and overall details in the room - just as we wanted! Katherine was a pleasure for us to work with before our wedding in ironing out all of the details and I would highly recommend her for your event! All of our guests loved watching Katherine's progress throughout the wedding and so many guests mentioned what a nice, unique, and special touch it was! The progress we were able to see that night was astonishing and the final product, which we recently picked up, is absolutely amazing and truly breathtaking! We loved having Katherine as a part of our special day and it is something we will always look at and cherish!
We are so thrilled with Katherine's work! She is just as professional and creative and she is talented. Our jaws absolutely dropped upon seeing our painting. We cannot wait to admi...
re this in our home for the rest of our lives.
Katherine was super easy to work with and incredibly talented. We loved that she had painted at our venue before and so she was familiar with the space.
She captured all the magic...
from our special day and everybody looks amazing. I cannot wait to hang our painting up in our house. It is a show stopper for sure!
Everyone at our wedding kept going up to watch her work and were mesmerized by her skills. I will definitely be reaching out to Katherine in the future for other big milestone events!
Katherine Gressel is hands down amazing! I love working with her. She brought my first dance at my wedding at The Rainbow Room back to life in her painting. Couldn’t recommend her ...
enough!
Having Katherine paint such a special moment at our wedding was so incredible! She was even able to incorporate both of our dogs who were only at the wedding for the ceremony. Her ...
work is amazing and us and our guests thoroughly enjoyed watching her progress throughout the night. We can’t thank Katherine enough for creating such a beautiful piece of art that we’ll have forever!
Katherine did such an amazing job capturing our wedding ceremony! She was so responsive in communication leading up to the wedding and really listened to what we wanted portrayed! ...
Our friends and family loved watching her work and it was such a special touch to our wedding! Thank you again Katherine!!!
Katherine did an amazing job! Our painting came out so beautifully. She captured my husbands and my personality in the painting. We love that she even was able to include our belov...
ed dog who wasn't at the party.
For ten years I have dreamed about having Katherine do a portrait during my wedding and it finally happened last week! Working with her was so easy and simple. She was professional...
and friendly throughout the whole process and all the guests at my wedding were excited to watch her work. She never seemed stressed or bothered by the crowds of people who would come watch her paint during mg wedding reception and make silly commentary about painting them into the picture. She is so unbelievably talented and I am absolutely beaming with joy to finally have her beautiful work hanging in our living room and capturing one of the most important and exciting days of our lives!
Katherine has an incredible gift and you absolutely must have her apart of your special day. She created a masterpiece for our wedding and it is something we will have for the rest...
of our lives. Our guests were blown away with her talent and it is magically being able to follow along with her craft during the day of your wedding. Thank you Katherine!
Katherine was early, professional, reachable, reliable, and thorough. She took my painting after the wedding to finish the last touches of a beautiful masterpiece. She is truly tal...
ented and one of a kind. I have seen her do several live paintings, saw her talent firsthand and knew she had to be the one to do my wedding painting. She incorporated my late father which was the true inspiration of why I wanted this done. For any of you who can’t have their loved ones there, this is a beautiful forever piece that can include them from your day.
Katherine is absolutely amazing. My guests were fascinated with her work while at the wedding and were floored when I sent them the end result. It is so intriguing to watch her pai...
nt it live. I’m so happy I have this painting to remember the memories from our wedding day.
If you are planning to do a live painting at your wedding you must use Katherine!! She was so great to work with and the final painting is truly amazing. Our guests are still talki...
ng about how fun it was to watch the painting come together during our reception. The painting is now hanging in our home and is a reminder of our special day :)
Katherine is an amazing painter and a pleasure to work with. She painted our first dance and it came out gorgeous! She really captured the moment all in one painting with every det...
ail. We love it so much and recommend that everyone should have their wedding painted by her!
Katherine did a painting of our first dance in Flowerfield. She did beautiful work and was a great addition to our wedding (all the guests loved the experienced). We had some tough...
requests including having our grandparents in the painting who are no longer here with us and she came through with amazing results. Our painting of our first dance is something we will have forever and it included those who were there with us in spirit. She's the BEST! We would highly recommend her
Katherine is the BEST. Without a doubt would recommend hiring her for your wedding or event! She made the most beautiful painting of my first dance at my wedding and incorporated m...
y family members who have passed away so wonderfully. Everyone at the wedding was amazed by her talent. She is so kind and responsive and very helpful!
Katherine is the absolute best!! She painted for both my brother and my sister at their weddings so I just knew that I needed her for mine! The painting came out GORGEOUS and she w...
as so accommodating throughout the whole process. I would recommend her over and over again!
Katherine painted my wedding at Park Chateau and she is truly so talented. I love art so I was very picky about who I selected to paint our first dance. I looked for months for the...
perfect vendors for my wedding and I thought she was one of the best artists in the NY area. I was so happy she was able to fit me into her schedule and the booking process was very easy. My husband and I have several family members that passed away, so we sent her photos so she could paint them into the painting, which I thought was so special. I’ll always cherish the painting and it will forever remind me of one of the best days of my life! Don’t hesitate to book Katherine, you will be so happy with the finished product.
My husband and I are beyond happy with the painting Katherine did at our wedding! She not only is a pleasure to work with but is also incredibly talented. My husband and I had a lo...
t of people we wanted to incorporate into the painting and Katherine managed to get everyone in so beautifully! With so much going on leading up to our wedding with other vendors, we were so thankful for how easy, seamless and professional Katherine was. We have already recommended her to other friends of ours who are getting married!
Contact
201 Greenwood Ave Fl. 2, Brooklyn, NY | Tri-State Area and worldwide!
Event Painting by Katherine