About this vendor
Hi there, I'm Crystal Summer Bear, a California native, worldwide traveler and lover of all things beautiful and whimsical. I'm so excited your here!
Helping couples feel confident and relaxed through a foundation of friendship + timeless, fashion inspired storytelling direction and posing that honors your unique love authentically, is what brings me true joy.
Preserving memories is my passion! My parents wedding album from 1979 is one of my most cherished possessions. It's like a story book I can revisit over and over feeling the love spill out of the pages into my heart.
Wedding days can feel like they drift by in a haze or even in haste. From the feel of the wedding dress on your skin, or the moment your eyes meet your true love, your 1st kiss as a married couple, to the scrumptious taste of dinner, the sweet aroma of wine and the last twirl on the dance floor before bidding farewell to your guests, you should feel relaxed and at ease to simply cherish each and every moment.
Weddings are my passion because it brings out all of the love, laughter and light that humanity is capable of & that EVERY couple deserves to enjoy without stress or anxiety.
When the guests have gone, the decorations are put up, the flowers wilted, the last morsel eaten and the last song played, I desire for you to relive the day through storytelling imagery + video that generations to come will cherish. Your love is beautifully unique and I'd love the privilege of telling your story.
Details
Business Attributes
- Woman-owned Business
Destination Weddings
- Destination Wedding Packages
Photo Shoot Types
- Bridal Portraits
- Day After Session
- Engagement
- Trash The Dress
Photo & Video
- Digital Files
- Online Proofing
- Photo
- Printed Enlargements
- Same-Day Edits
- Second Shooter Available
Photo & Video Styles
- Artistic
- Classic
- Documentary
- Lifestyle
Wedding Activities
- Getting Engaged
- Rehearsals & Parties
- After Party
- Wedding
- After Party
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help
you make those big decisions with ease.
5
out of 5.010 reviews
My husband and I got married last Summer in Benicia, CA. She was so understanding with all of the date changes and was so on board with our picture ideas. At our wedding, she truly...
captured some wonderful candid moments. Not only was she a creative joy to work with, but she was also a calm spirit when I was feeling a little fanatic during "butterfly" moments.
Lastly, not only did our pictures turn out beautiful, she had a creative hand in helping me decide on pictures and putting the album together.
She is a true joy to work with, and her talents are remarkable.
Highly recommend! We decided to elope due to COVID and Crystal was absolutely amazing. Every aspect of the process went smoothly because of her and the photos were breathtaking!
Crystal was the most INCREDIBLE photographer a bride could hope for.
I am someone who freezes when you put a camera on me - I'll make an ugly face and do an awkward pose. I have ...
never been comfortable infront of a camera so my wedding day was something I was nervous for.
That was until I met Crystal.
She helped shape and frame every photo so there were no real bad ones to worry about. She helped fix my hair, adjust the weird things I do with my arms and always had me laughing so the smile never felt forced.
I love every single one of my photos from my wedding and that is something I never thought I'd say. Crystal helped make my day perfect and ensured that my memories are perfect for years to come.
Thank you!
Crystal was amazing. I was nervous about picking a photographer, because I'm a photographer myself, so I wanted to find someone I could really trust and know that my photos would b...
e amazing. I was so happy to have found Crystal she was just the best. We had her for both our engagement and wedding. She was great about directions and guiding us every step of the way. I love her creative ideas to make our engagement session fun and we enjoyed every minute of it. Our wedding was a whirlwind, but she was there every step of the way, collaborating with her team. I am so happy to have found a wonderful photographer to capture such a wonderful day I will never forget!
We were very pleased with Crystal. She was friendly,professional,on time and quick to return our photos. I will use her again for our photography needs.
We were soooo lucky to find Crystal and had her to take both for our engagement photo and wedding ceremony. We had so many changes and challenges in our wedding planning and we wer...
e running out of time to find photographer for our photos - but Thank Goodness Crystal came through and were able to save us (and our memories) in such short notice! We could not have asked for a better photographer who is as thoughtful, kind, friendly and funny as her! What makes Crystal special is how committed she was to deliver happiness to her client through lenses. We all had so much fun (with our dog Emma included) at the ranch for our engagement photo and we were so happy with the result and cannot stop smiling at those pictures whenever we look at them. Crystal is definitely a dog whisper and we were just so happy and appreciative how everything came together in the pictures. She captured the essence of our small but heartfelt wedding ceremony and helped me to balance the time so I can have all the pictures that I want with my husband and with my close friends<3 Love you Crystal! Our photos are very special and we have lots of memorable shots to remember our beautiful day for a lifetime ! We owe Crystal a BIG THANKS and we highly recommend her services to everyone! Crystal IS THE BEST!
Crystal was awesome to work with. Very affordable and accommodating. She was very hands on which we needed and the pictures turned out great!
Crystal was amazing! She arrived early to take photos of everyone getting ready, and stayed during the entire reception to capture our big day. Crystal has an eye for detail and w...
as so creative! She just knew where to be to capture so many wonderful moments. Thanks to Crystal my wedding photos are more than just treasured keepsakes. They are also works of art and memories I'll be able to cherish forever.
Crystal is an incredible photographer! Our original photographer backed out last minute and a family friend suggested that we check Crystal out. I was a bit nervous because it was ...
such short notice, but she was totally able to make it work! Her prices were even better than what we were hoping for and we could not have been happier with the final product! She got almost every shot we had hoped to get and was very professional. She even made us a beautiful wedding photo book that we will treasure forever and are so grateful for! She suggested that we pay for an extra shooter that she had worked with before, and it we're so glad that we went along with her suggestion, we have so many great shots! She makes the whole process fun and made everyone feel very comfortable in front of the camera. We will definitely be recommending her to any family members and friends who need a photographer in the future, she was awesome!
TLDR; Instead of asking your friend to do amateur photography at your wedding, hire a pro.
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When my friend asked me if I would take photos at her wedding I agreed enthus...
iastically. When she told me she didn't have a pro photographer, I freaked out a little and encouraged her to find one. She was so lucky to find Crystal.
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Crystal is wonderful!! Her energy, enthusiasm and thoughtfulness are exactly what you want in a photographer. She went out of her way to get some ridiculous requested shots at my friends' wedding and made accommodations for folks with mobility issues that meant she couldn't have the best even lighting---but she made it work! and had a great attitude about it!!
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I will definitely be recommending her to anybody that asks me if I know of an excellent photographer.
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A good photographer makes their work look easy but as an avid amateur I know how much work goes into getting shots, showing up with the right equipment, storing all the files, organizing everything... so much work. I was able to take a bunch of fun candid shots at my friends wedding knowing that the key important shots would be handled. So glad my friends lucked out and found Crystal!! It's always worth it to hire a pro!
Contact
Northern California and Beyond
Summer Bear Weddings's photos