California
Destination wedding · Los Angeles
In short
Destination wedding in Los Angeles starts at $4,800: 10 hours on location with a photographer who works in Los Angeles, and 700 edited photos delivered to a private gallery within 6 weeks.
Why choose Destination wedding in Los Angeles?
A destination wedding in Los Angeles is ten hours of coverage, or two days split around a welcome party, with a second photographer throughout and more than 700 retouched photographs, priced from $4,800. Couples flying in usually choose one of two versions of the city: a Malibu or Palos Verdes estate on the mainland, or Santa Catalina Island, which lies across the San Pedro Channel yet is still inside Los Angeles County. The island version adds a ferry crossing for every guest and every vendor, so the photographer’s timeline begins with the boat schedule rather than the sunset. Welcome-party coverage on the night before is included, and on Catalina that usually means the Avalon waterfront.
Worth knowing about Los Angeles
Photography on the streets, beaches and piers of Avalon, the only city on Catalina Island, falls under City of Avalon still-photography permits, listed at $136 a day by Love Catalina, the island’s visitor bureau that facilitates permits for the City and the Catalina Island Conservancy. The City also requires $1,000,000 in additionally insured liability coverage, so a Catalina destination wedding has its permit position confirmed with Love Catalina months before the date.
What does the session in Los Angeles look like?
- Avalon harbor and the Casino promenade, Catalina Island
- The round Art Deco Casino and a harbor full of boats for the welcome party and the couple’s portraits.
- A Malibu or Palos Verdes estate
- The mainland version: ocean-view lawns where ceremony, portraits and reception share one address and no transfer.
- Downtown Los Angeles hotel rooftops
- For the welcome dinner of guests arriving from abroad, with the skyline at blue hour as the first frame of the weekend.
What does destination wedding in Los Angeles include?
- 700+ retouched photographs
- Ten hours of coverage, or split across two days
- Welcome-party or rehearsal-dinner coverage included
- Second photographer throughout
- Venue liaison, and guidance on any permit the location needs
- Private online gallery within 6 weeks
FAQ — Destination wedding in Los Angeles
Do we need a photo permit for a Catalina Island destination wedding?
Possibly, and it is confirmed rather than assumed. The City of Avalon issues still-photography permits for its streets, beaches and piers, listed at $136 per day by Love Catalina, which facilitates Avalon and Catalina Island Conservancy permits. Whether a private wedding on Catalina needs one depends on the location, and the destination wedding booking settles it with Love Catalina in advance.
How does the photographer handle a two-day Los Angeles destination wedding?
By splitting the ten hours across both days. A typical Los Angeles destination wedding uses about two hours for the welcome party or rehearsal dinner and eight for the wedding day, with the second photographer working both. The split is set in the timeline months ahead so the 700+ photographs cover the guests who flew in, not only the ceremony.