Kathryn Bruns Photography

Hire her. Seriously. I'm type A and I love research, so I spend a lot of time making sure I have all the information I can before making a decision. Finding a photographer for my wedding was no exception. I spent several hours looking at portfolios, reading reviews, and exploring the far corners of the internet to find an artist whose style matched what we were looking for, that we got a good vibe from, and that wasn't absurdly priced. GUYS. Kat is all of these things and more. I'm getting a little choked up thinking about our experience with her and about the pictures that she captured during our wedding weekend. I think that Kat's work speaks for itself: her attention to detail is seen in her use of light, color, and tone. She has an amazing eye for composition and style, and a huge heart for her clients. We had Kat do our engagement photos the day before the wedding (I know, bonkers). My husband is shy, but Kat and Loren really eased both of our nerves and made us feel like we had all been friends for years. She followed us all around Land's End and the Sutro Baths, capturing intimate moments with film when we didn't even know she was shooting—and the results were spectacular. Can you tell I worship her? We had a small wedding—about 45 people total. I wanted some shots of the entire group, as well as several million iterations. I was worried about keeping the guests from the reception too long, but Kat was incredible. She wrangled the group so quickly, but never once came off as impatient or bossy. We got the perfect group shot: You can see everyone's face, no one is blinking, and we all look totally glamorous. 45 people including a 2-year-old. And she did it in like 30 seconds—I didn't hear a single person say "are we done yet?" and that is an achievement in and of itself. The photos of just me and my husband were no exception—Kat doesn't just take photos, she captures moments. The tone of her photos genuinely reflects the intimacy. We insisted that she and Loren come with us in the limo from the ceremony location to the reception, and we got some killer photos out of it. One of my all-time favorites is a black and white image of us kissing in the limo. It's so noir and chic—a truly timeless shot. Our reception was a formal dinner at a restaurant in the Presidio, so we didn't have dancing. But my husband and I still wanted to have that "first dance" moment. I mentioned this to Kat maybe once during the course of our planning and had almost forgot about it entirely in the chaos of the day. But leave it to Kat to remember everything—and to make it 10 times better than you imagine. She had scouted around the building and found a back door that let out to a grassy patio where we would not only have a moment to ourselves, but where the sun was starting to set over the palm trees lining the brick buildings. It was downright magical. Honestly, we may have planned a beautiful wedding, but Kat took it above and beyond. She made everything just that much more special for us. And we have the photos to prove it. Book her while you still can, because in most cases, those photos will be the only thing you have to relive those memories again and again—and she will have captured all of your favorites. Best wedding present ever.