Yurik Riegel Live Painting & Commissions

We had the absolute pleasure of having Yurik as our live painter for our wedding, and we couldn’t be happier with the experience! From the very beginning, he was responsive, communicative, and so easy to work with throughout the entire planning process. On the wedding day, he captured our moment beautifully—every detail, color, and emotion came through perfectly in the final painting. It’s such a special keepsake that we’ll treasure forever. Yurik truly went above and beyond. 10/10 highly recommend!

We knew we wanted a live painter for our wedding, but while they are gaining popularity, they don't seem to be super common! There are a few in the SF Bay Area we looked at, and Yurik's portfolio was the most impressive to us. We really cared about the painting actually looking like us, and that is why we chose Yurik. The way he is able to capture facial details is pretty impressive. To book, we had a phone call with Yurik to chat about the package we wanted to purchase (he offers different sizes of painting, different canvases, and additions like paper prints of the final product). After booking, we had another phone call closer to the wedding to clarify which moment we wanted him to capture (we chose walking back down the aisle after being married) and timing for the day of. On the day of the wedding, Yurik was prompt and flexible (we were the ones running late). We took some pre-ceremony photos with our photographers on sight, and then we had Yurik take photos of us walking down the aisle “pretending” like we had just been married so he could have a reference to paint. I highly recommend doing this so Yurik can get started on the painting and not have to worry about capturing the moment digitally in real time. Capturing those photos took maybe 90 seconds, so it’s not a big deal to add to your timeline. It was so cool to see the progress on the painting throughout the night, and our guests loved it. We had so many compliments on how cool it was and how talented Yurik was! Live painting is pretty awesome because you not only get the priceless keepsake, but also guest entertainment. By the end of the night, the painting was pretty far along (enough that it was very obvious the painting was us and the moment was clear), but it was not done. This was expected, but I just want to clarify that for folks who think they might be walking away with the painting that night. Yurik took it home to his studio, and we picked the final product up about 2 months later! We are beyond impressed with his work - it is truly perfect. Live painting is expensive! Yurik’s pricing was pretty comparable to other live painters in the area, though. The price is justified, in my opinion, for the product and experience you get.

Yurik captured our day perfectly. He was wonderful to work with and brought great expertise. We are so thankful to have such a beautiful piece of artwork from our wedding. I highly recommend!

Yurik was amazing to work with and such a highlight of our wedding! He captured us perfectly in the painting — it truly looks like us — and he even painted our dog in! Our guests loved watching him paint throughout the night, and the final piece is something we’ll treasure forever. Highly recommend Yurik to anyone looking for a live wedding painter!