Northern California wedding photography by Drew Bird - Creative Storytelling
3500+ (USD)

Drew Bird

SF Bay Area Wedding Photographer | Natural, Genuine, & Authentic

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Capturing Unscripted Love: Timeless Photography, Authentic Moments

I love telling stories with photographs. When photographing a wedding I aim to capture authentic and unscripted expressions of beauty, love, and human connection. I was drawn to photography primarily because of the power of still images. Well made photographs have the capacity to preserve our most cherished memories — shared experiences with the people we love. Your wedding celebration will likely include the most important people in your life. The photos that we create together will become a time capsule and a family heirloom for your own memories and to pass on to future generations. Moments are fragile. My relaxed personality helps people to feel comfortable allowing moments to thrive. Organic and natural moments will make up the majority of your photo story. I’ll also create artistic portraits, group photos, and images of architecture, landscapes, details, and decor. With over ten years of experience, my team and I have developed a method and approach that enables us to document the action in a way that you and your guests will barely notice our presence. A question I often get asked at weddings is “how do you know the couple?” My easygoing nature and friendly rapport with everyone leads many guests to assume I’ve been friends with the couple for ages and perhaps I’m simply another guest (who also has a camera and loves photography). Acceptance as part of the inner circle gives me access and helps establish trust. This enables me and my team to get close to the action and to document artistically without being a distraction. From intimate micro weddings and elopements to really big multiple day celebrations and destination weddings — my team and I have photographed weddings and other projects throughout the San Francisco Bay Area where I live, all over the world, and in nearly every state across the USA. (We do offer special pricing for micro weddings and elopements). If you want your wedding photos to embody the energy, passion, character and love of you and your family and friends, let’s chat more. If you love photographs that tell a story and express the true beauty of unscripted, genuine moments – I’d love to hear from you. I proudly support equal marriage rights and LGBTQ+ weddings. When not travelling for a photo project I live in Oakland, CA with my sweet-lady and a little lemon tree in the backyard.

19 Awards for Documentary Wedding Photography

7 Diamond Awards for Engagement Portraits

3 Awards from the Artistic Guild of Wedding Photojournalists

True Love Captured Awards from Real Weddings - TLC

1 TOP Wedding Photographer Titles

The WPJA proudly recognizes Drew Bird as a TOP International Wedding Photographer. Members holding the most contest points at the end of each year are ranked as TOP Wedding Photographers or, in some cases POY - Photographer of the Year.

12 'At Work' Photos

The following photos are of Drew Bird at work.

15 Client Letters

The following letters are from the clients of Drew Bird.

UC Botanical Garden redwood forest wedding. Jewish wedding. Lesbian wedding. Berkeley Photographer Drew Bird.

Married: 5 years ago

Suzy & Kassie

Hey Drew. We love the photos. Thank you so much for documenting our wedding day with such love and honesty and attention to detail. We couldn’t be any happier with the photo story.

Hong Kong East Ocean wedding in Emeryville, CA. Chinese wedding photojournalism Drew Bird

Married: 5 years ago

Benita & Ben

Drew, thanks so much for everything. We had so much fun working with you. From start to finish you were great to work with and showed the highest professionalism. All of our guests really enjoyed how fun you were, too. And the photos!! The images are just beautiful. Every time we look through the photo story we see new favorites and amazing moments. Even though the wedding was only a month ago the images bring back so many amazing memories. We are so happy that you were our photographer. We will definitely be recommending you to all our family and friends. Also let us know where we can give you some public shout-outs! Thanks again!

Austin, Texas outdoor wedding ceremony photography at Rockin' Y Ranch

Married: 5 years ago

Carmen & Barrett

Hi Drew. 

The pictures look amazing!! Carmen and I sat down and looked through them yesterday afternoon and definitely had some great laughs. There are so many nice memories captured. It was without a doubt one of the best weekends of our existence and we can’t see having trusted anyone else to capture the photo story. We are so thrilled to have these beautiful photos of the weekend — so thank you again for your fantastic work.

 We are just incredibly happy with the decision to work with you for our wedding photos. We are also so grateful you were able to make it work with the travel all the way to the Ranch in Texas. We read your email to our parents and showed them the photos and they immediately said, “I can see why you wanted to work with Drew.” Thank you so much!

Oakland Aviation Museum wedding image by San Francisco photographer Drew Bird.

Married: 6 years ago

Vanessa & Liz

Hi Drew! We were SO EXCITED to see the photos. They are absolutely beautiful. We had such a blast at the wedding and we are just so happy that you were a part of it. You did such a fabulous job and were such a positive presence. We can’t wait to share the online gallery with our family and friends - they are going to love the photos too ; )


Patrick and Joe gay wedding at Rosewood Estate, a rustic farm in Petaluma, CA. San Francisco wedding photojournalist Drew Bird.

Married: 6 years ago

Patrick & Joe

Drew – these images are fantastic!! We are in Cambodia now and just got a chance to look through them. It was so much fun to relive the day and we are blown away by the photos. We were totally cracking up over some of the moments you captured. We LOVE them!! You are so damn good at what you do ; ) Thank you for everything!!! We can’t wait to share some of these with our families and hold on to them forever. You rock, thank you! - Patrick & Joe

San Francisco Film Centre wedding and Inn at Presidio wedding photojournalist Drew Bird.

Married: 7 years ago

Sarah & Greg

Hey Drew. WOW. The photos are incredible!! We are so pleased. There are so many delicious images it’s hard to choose our favorites. Also, the photos from our spontaneous boudoir sessions came out beautifully. 
And thank you for being such a calming presence on our wedding day. All of our guests at the wedding raved about your presence and warmth. We love the photo story, thank you!

 Sarah & Greg


Married: 7 years ago

Emily + Zach

Hi Drew - These photos are absolutely incredible!! We are speechless. We were looking through them this evening and it was like re-living the whole weekend in the sierra mountains. These are such treasured memories. We feel so lucky to have had you as our storyteller and that you were part of the weekend story, along with all our friends and family. Thank you!!!! -Emily + Zach

Cafe Claude, San Francisco, CA Elopement Wedding Photographer Drew Bird

Married: 7 years ago

Sarah & Allen

Hi Drew! Happy Holidays! First and foremost, thank you for the incredible experience. Our photo adventure was everything we imagined and the results were even more! You captured so many special moments. Drew, you totally understood us. I can’t believe how many timeless, precious photos you were able to capture. You were able to capture more amazing photos of Allen and I in one day than we have collected in total during our 12 years together. Thank you for your patience with us, your dope-ass photo-journalistic expertise, the incredible professionalism and personal attention you gave us and your beautiful spirit to guide us through our special day. We were a hot mess times 100 running around that day with one foot in the car and one foot in the wind! But your photos made us look like super cool peas-in-a-pod, capturing our sense of humor, our many years of appreciation and genuine commitment to each other. And those San Francisco City Hall candids of family and friends are most precious to us. We hope you had just as much fun as we did that day. Thank you from the deepest depths of our hearts eternally. We are looking forward to our new friendship with you for years to come. And hopefully catching a live show over drinks with you and your Sweet Lady sometime soon! With gratitude and love, Sarah and Allen

Married: 7 years ago

Stephanie + Nick

Hi Drew, The images are amazing!! Absolutely wonderful!! Your images really are a very special way to preserve our memories! The photos that you made around City Hall are gorgeous. It was nice to relax and laugh a little and enjoy the amazing architecture. We also love how you captured artistic candid details at the reception at Stable Cafe. There are so many wonderful moments: like so many conversations, the toasts, the food that was served, and the atmosphere. Thank you so much for your professionalism and good spirits on our wedding day. You were such a pleasure to work with, and are so amazing at your craft. We really enjoyed working with you throughout the day, and you put us at ease while making photos. We really love how you had a stress-free attitude. You really captured the feelings of the day! Thank you so much for all of your help creating lasting memories for us and our friends and family and for being such a significant part of our wedding day and story. We honestly can't thank you enough. Best, Stephanie + Nick

Married: 7 years ago

Steve + Amy

Drew!!! We were just looking through all the photos and we simply couldn’t be happier with the results!! Thank you so much for blending in so seamlessly with all of our guests for the 5 day wedding celebration in Nicaragua. You captured so many meaningful moments with such candid energy. The photos bring back memory after memory of the incredible time we had. Thanks for helping to tell our story. - Steve + Amy

Married: 9 years ago

Tyler + Karim

Hi Drew, These photos are AMAZING! We haven't been able to stop looking through them since Thursday night. All work productivity has been shot! We love reliving every moment of the day through the beautiful storybook you've created for us. There are so many moments that we weren't even aware of-- and we're so thankful that you were able to show those to us. It's absolutely beautiful. We especially appreciative of the creative shots you were able to capture within live shots-- the lines, colors and images from the churches and venues are incredible. We are so happy and thankful for your attention to detail. We had a lot of family and friends also comment on how professional you were and inquire about your website. Let us know where we can leave our public reviews to help let other folks know about your amazing work. Best, Tyler & Karim

Married: 9 years ago

Sarah + Stephen

Hey Drew - We went through all the pics last night and I just wanted to tell you again how awesome they are! You really captured some amazing moments and we're forever grateful! I was 3/4 through them and crying lol. It's as if we were replaying a story of the day. SO AMAZING! THANK YOU!!! We've shared the link with some of our guests and they are all raving about them as well! A thousand thanks, Sarah and Stephen

Married: 13 years ago

Sheree & Rashid

Drew, Looking back through the photos, I’m just so glad I chose you to take them. Your work is excellent. You managed to catch us at our funniest, and at our most human. Everyone who was there has mentioned how great a job you did, how friendly and easygoing you were how you managed to be right up in the heart of things without ever being obtrusive. You captured every moment of our wedding, every emotion, every smile and every expression of happiness in us and our guests. Our families and friends have also been absolutely impressed at the quantity and quality of the photos. It goes without saying that we would highly recommend your services to anyone. Thank you so much for going out of your way to capture every moment of this very special day. Thank you for such an amazing job.

Married: 15 years ago

Francine & Santiago

What can we say other than...amazing, beautiful, spectacular. Thank you so very much. The photographs are truly fabulous and are exactly what we had hoped for and sooooo much more. What a story they tell! Sorry it has taken a while to get to back; we have been digesting it all and have probably looked at the pictures 6-7 times each, maybe more. We love them!! Again, thank you so much for your wonderful work. You captured so many of the magical moments of our wonderful day with such artful integrity and emotion- each time we look at the pictures we relive the experience. Please do not hesitate to use us for a reference. A big hug to you Drew, we enjoyed working with you.

Married: 15 years ago

Uta & Mac

Hello Drew! Of course the first thing we did this morning was log in and look at the amazing!! pictures. We are so pleased and love the way you captured the day! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! My parents just called and they relived the whole day...spent 2 hours looking at them and love them. They have already sent the link to all my relatives in Germany. It's so great! (and fun) It was such a pleasure to have you at our wedding. It felt so natural and everybody looks so happy. The pictures are better then we ever imagined. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We'll keep in touch and hope to see you around. With love.

Wedding Elopement Multiple Picture Galleries (3)

Drew Bird chronicles small weddings and elopements from beginning to end. In this sense, it is no different from any other wedding day. The emphasis is on documenting key moments, capturing spontaneous displays of emotion, and telling the real story behind the elopement day. Below are wedding elopement story awards for Drew Bird.