Love Notes

Aska & Leo

Sarah and Dustin are absolutely amazing photographers. We had our engagement session in Davis (around UC Davis campus, where my husband and I met), and our wedding in San Jose with Sarah Maren Photography.

The weather unexpectedly turned ugly on our engagement session day and it absolutely poured and hailed on us, but both Sarah and Dustin were troopers (even if they were soaked!). First, they were prepared with cute umbrellas which doubled as props, and secondly, they kept thinking of creative places to take photos. In fact, a couple of our favorite photos are in the rain. :) I should also add that the duo is hilarious and will make you laugh during your entire photography session.

On our wedding day, I can honestly say that things would not have gone as smoothly as it did without the enormous help of Sarah and Dustin. Dustin voluntarily ironed the groom and groomsmen's pocket squares while they scrambled to get ready as they were running a bit behind. Sarah was, what my husband and I jokingly (and lovingly) called, our "wedding mom," making sure that we were following the timeline and guiding us on what to do (i.e. how to cut the wedding cake). She was more hands on and involved in our wedding than our day-of coordinator!

We absolutely love our photos, and our friends and family have commented on just how beautiful the photos are, as well as how talented Sarah and Dustin are at capturing special moments.

Overall, Sarah and Dustin are highly talented and experienced photographers. They are personable, friendly, extremely funny, yet professional, and honestly care about you, their client. I highly recommend Sarah Maren Photography to anyone looking for a professional photographer!

Brandi and Andy

 
I can't recommend Sarah Maren highly enough!! Sarah took both our engagement and our wedding photos and we love them! She's super efficient, but gets great shots. Plus, she and her husband Dustin are a blast to spend time with! Our photos were just what we wanted - natural, beautiful, and conveyed all the love, excitement, and laughter of our wedding day. It was important to my husband and I that we make it to some of our cocktail hour and have a chance to mingle with guests, so Sarah and Dustin planned around us and got that done. During our cocktail hour, we ran out of one of the ingredients for our bar (ginger beer!), so Dustin quickly ran out to re-stock us.... totally above and beyond the call of duty. Our photos came within three weeks following both our wedding and our engagement session. And, Sarah was always super quick to reply to any emails or phone calls.
Most of all, we felt like Sarah really got what a special day this was for the two of us (though I'm sure she's shot hundreds of weddings), and made it feel like each moment was truly unique and wonderful. I think that's because she and Dustin really love what they do, and that comes through in their personalities and the photos they take.
I would highly, highly recommend Sarah to any brides out there!

Summer & Greg

I can't gush long enough or hard enough about how amazing Sarah and Dustin are. I first met Sarah when I did a boudoir shoot with her. She was amazing. I felt so comfortable with her, and I told her then and there that I would be tracking her down when I got married. A couple years later, when that finally happened, I planned my entire wedding around her schedule. She was my #1 priority! Our engagement pictures were incredible, and and my nervous now-husband felt totally relaxed with them. Our wedding pictures were an absolute dream. Stunning! Everyone fell in love with the photographers and photographs. So much so that my best friend hired Sarah and Dustin for her wedding, as well. Highly, hugely, enormously recommend!

The Bruce Family

I was blown away by the gorgeous pictures Sarah took of my family. We hadn't invested in a true family picture in years and man do I regret not scheduling with Sarah sooner! Thank you, Sarah, for capturing our family so beautifully. We appreciate your talent and how fun and comfortable you made us feel! You are the best!

Kim & Rob

If you need photography near Sacramento, call her! She is perfect. She is fun, witty, professional, and unbelievably good at taking pictures. My wife and I were both very nervous as we are not good with pictures. The second we met her, we felt at ease. She makes taking pictures a joy and she made our wedding even better with the wonderful pictures she took. We ordered a wedding album also and that is totally worth the extra money.

She takes you on an engagement photo shoot so that you can sort of practice. Those pictures were amazing.
I feel she gets to know you. We did not have a photographer at the wedding, we had a friend. She becomes your friend during the process.

Amazing woman and her husband is fun also. She is worth every cent.
Everyone loved her and her husbands photo booth (which is also worth the extra money)
We had no dancing so the only entertainment we had was the photo booth. That booth was entertainment enough. Amazing pictures and really fun.

Thank you Sarah :)

Nicole & Rob

Sarah & Dustin are the dream team.  I cannot praise them enough.  Prompt email & phone replies despite being busy parents and business owners.  Professional & approachable & damn fun.  A ridiculous memory & HILARIOUS to boot.  The patience & enthusiasm Sarah showed for some pretty huge event changes (venue country, date, etc) was staggering.
Amidst the chaos of planning a wedding and communicating every detail to every vendor, Sarah somehow became a rock in the storm for us, easing any fears and basically dictating our day-of timeline to be completely seamless.  Sarah & Dustin truly elevated the entire feeling of our wedding day.  They're like great friends that happen to take amazing photos.
They've seen it all, and in the off-chance they encounter something new and weird, they're prepared for it.  And the pictures ... I only wish my brain could create such awesomeness and know how to make it real.
In closing, you're a moron if you DON'T book them to capture your day in all of its glory (and in some cases, manage to make it look even better than it was!). They are absolutely and positively worth every penny.

Anne & Jinni

"Sarah and Dustin did an amazing job on our wedding day, which was in May 2014 at Catta Verdera.  We received multiple compliments about them and their work from our guests both during and after the wedding when we received our photos. Sarah and Dustin also had such a wonderful mixture of fun and professionalism.  Additionally, we LOVED their photo guest book and photo booth pics.  Overall, our experience with Sarah Maren Photography was fantastic!"

The M Family

Sarah recently did a family photo shoot for us and our experience with her was absolutely AMAZING!!!! My daughter is not the biggest fan of having her picture taken, but Sarah put her completely at ease and had her doing solo poses by the end of our shoot. Without a lot of input - Sarah knew exactly what kind of shots we were looking for and we had a blast doing it. This has been hands-down the best photography experience our family has had and I would highly recommend Sarah for any photography needs.

Kortnee & Ted

 
My husband and I hired Sarah to photograph our super DIY wedding in the woods of Nevada City, and we could not be any happier with our choice. From the very first moment we met her to the last second she and Dustin left the celebration we were 100 percent confident that she would turn out the best photos possible, and she did....cause she's rad. They are beautiful and the style of her photos matched perfectly with our own. Sarah was very professional but still very fun and easy going. Her and Dustin's dynamic makes you feel as though you are just hanging out with old friends. The are totally worth every penny.
But not only are Sarah and Dustin amazing photographers with love for their craft, they also went above and beyond for us. As I mentioned, our wedding was very DIY and I hadn't seemed to allow myself much time to get ready, what with all the set up and decorating that had to be done. Sarah showed up to take some photos of my lady friends and I when I panicked and declared that the false eyelashes I planned on wearing were getting scrapped. I really wanted to wear them but the thought of struggling to apply them myself made me hot in the face. Sarah calmly looked at me and said "You are going to wear these lashes if I have to put them on you myself." And she did - and it was awesome.
Meanwhile, my husband-to-be caught a little case of the pre-wedding jitters and blanked on how to tie the double windsor knot he had been practicing for the past two weeks. Dustin, a true tie wearing veteran stepped up and saved the day, tying not only the groom's skinny tie but that of one of the groomsmen as well. It was these little things that we will always remember the most.
So yeah, we love Sarah and Dustin. They are super awesome photographers, but even MORE awesome people!!!

Alison & Andy

Sarah and her husband Dustin are simply the best.  They photographed our wedding and it was the best decision we made during the entire planning process. Not only are the pictures amazing, but Sarah was wonderful to work with throughout the planning process. She helped us create a package that fit our needs and our extra-long wedding day.  We were so nervous about the engagement pictures, but Sarah's disarming, friendly and incredibly funny personality made the session so much fun! Sarah came out to view the venue prior to our wedding day, and then she and Dustin were wonderful on the actual day.  They went to great lengths to get all the great shots - Dustin even climbed over a barbed wire fence to capture the reception from a different angle!  The pictures were ready for us to see in less than two weeks and were so much better than I could have ever imagined. Sarah Maren Photography was worth ever penny and more and this review will never do justice to how great our experience was.  We are counting down the days until we have another excuse to have Sarah and Dustin take pictures!

The Cunliffe Family

Sarah is a fantastic photographer. She is incredibly talented and her years of experience shine though in her beautiful photography. She knows how to use light and composition to create beautiful images. She is funny and personable, and she is able to make everyone being photographed feel at ease. She recently did our family photos, and she captured awesome images of our family without any tears from our kiddos. Total WIN!

5
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6