Dear Paul, The photographer was the last thing Gabe and I had left to do on our wedding list.  Planning was fairly easy because we went with our gut on almost everything, but the wedding pictures were different.  We knew that we didn’t want the same old hum drum pictures that we had seen in countless photographers’ albums.  Formal and stuffy was just not us.  We needed someone who could capture who we are as well as the multitude of emotions on our day.  When Gabe found you at the bridal fair it was like a blessing.  You were exactly what we were looking for.  Everyone at the wedding was at ease with you, and it shows.  Their individual personalities shine through in the photographs.  Every time we look at the pictures we relive our wedding day.  The love, the happiness, the togetherness, it’s all there.  Thank you so much for the wonderful work you did for us.  Thank you for the memories.
-Deserie and Gabriel

To me, photos are life. They are precious memories captured pristinely in a way memories can often fade. I wanted the photographs of my wedding to capture a day that passes ever to quickly for so many, including myself. I could not have asked for better. The range of pictures in both black and white and color were vast and artistically taken and printed. Moments were captured that I even missed! The angles were beautiful and Paul, you captured us. How we lived that day. It wasn't generic or stiffly posed, but full of life. I will forever be thankful for the pictures you took. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I mean more than I can say. Your photos have many pictures of my Dad one of the last times I saw him, and for that, there are no words. Thanks again.
 -Tawna

Paul captured some of the most wonderful candid moments at our son's wedding.  It was a wonderful treat to discover these shots, which have become our favorites for the day.  He has a great eye for those small moments that you will treasure.
-Luther Cobb and Ellen Mahoney

"One of the best decisions we made in all of our wedding planning was choosing Paul Swenson Photography."
-Garrett & Erin

When my husband and I started planning our wedding we knew right away that the photography was the most important part of our planning. After looking at a few websites we decided on Paul. We loved the way he told the stories of the weddings he had done, as well as his attention to the smallest details, the things that make a wedding unique. Leading up to our wedding Paul was easy to work with and helped to make the process go smoothly. On the day of the wedding, he got there before any of the bridal party. He was very professional and managed to get shots of everything without ever being in the way. In fact most of the time I didn't even notice he was there. Not only did Paul take some amazing photos, he did a great job of keeping us on schedule and helping to communicate between vendors and my husband and I. Paul went above and beyond. We received our photos in a timely manner and they are beautiful. The story of our wedding was told just as we had hoped. I would recommend Paul to anybody.
Thanks again Paul!
-Liz and Milo Jimenez

Paul did an incredible job with our family Christmas portraits...every picture was a keeper!
-Carl Del Grande

Paul captured some of the most wonderful candid moments at our son's wedding.  It was a wonderful treat to discover these shots, which have become our favorites for the day.  He has a great eye for these small moments that you will treasure.
-Luther Cobb and Ellen Mahoney

We wanted our family photos to look as natural as possible. 
Paul was able to capture that.  When I saw the proofs I was
shocked.  I couldn't believe I loved them all! 
-Kathy Hall    

Our experience with Paul was awesome from start to finish. From our initial meeting with Paul to when we picked up our finished album Paul was nothing but professional. He treated us like old friends and always made us feel like we were in good hands. Not once did we feel like Paul didn't have our best interests in mind. Our photos were exactly what we had wanted but we never could have imagined how great they would turn out. Paul captured every different emotion of the day and did it in such a way that we will never forget one minute of our wedding day. Paul works in such a way that you don't realize that he is snapping photo after photo and because of that he captured moments that other photographers would have missed. Our photographs are absolutely amazing and will always be treasured. Next to the birth of our daughter our wedding day was the greatest day of our lives and we are so so happy that Paul was part of it.  He absolutely exceeded our expectations and are confident that he would do the same for anyone else.
-Katie & Joe

Paul, Thank you so much for sharing and participating in Jessica and Bryan’s special day.  You captured every emotion of that day in your pictures and our gratitude to you is immeasurable.  Again thank you for all your help to make a special day even more extraordinary.
-Patti & David

Paul is fun, easy to be around and does such a professional and quality job! We re-live our wedding each time we pull out our albums! It’s a wonderful blessing to have the action shots that captured our joy and the day’s festivities! We look forward to working with Paul to capture future family memories!
-Casey and Sarah Poff

Paul, Thank you so much for the beautiful photographs of Rachelle and our family. Somehow you knew exactly what we wanted and we are so pleased with the results.  The portraits are hung in our stairwell just down from the ones you previously had done for us and Rachelle has her own gallery of the Bella photos by her room.  They all look wonderful! 
Thanks,
Alice and family

Paul, I absolutely love the photographs.  You did a great job! 
Thank You!
-Rachelle

I've re-lived our daughter Meghan's wedding over a cup of coffee many times as I look at the photos of the rehearsal and the wedding day.  I especially love the special moments captured by Paul.  His ability to record emotion is truly a gift.  We all commented that we didn't even realize that Paul was taking photos until we got back our proofs! The wedding was so special, and went by so quickly, that it makes the photo journal even more of a treasure. 
-Bill and Jennifer Becker

Our family was in a quandary. We resisted purchasing our extended family photo when our son and his girlfriend split up. Paul came to our rescue brilliantly. He skillfully retouched her and her two children from the
picture, none the wiser since people remark on the stunning portraiture. Paul was a pleasure to work with throughout the process. High recommendations.
-An appreciative customer

Paul, thank you so much for capturing our wedding with such beautiful photography.  We have gotten so many comments about how great the pictures look and how you seemed to capture everyone’s emotions so well.  You are so easy to work with and so generous with your time. Thank you for making our day so special!
-Christine & Bill

Paul, Thank you for all that you did for us.  We enjoyed working with you and couldn’t have asked for better photos.  Your talent really captured the memories of our wedding day.
-Bret & Kassidy

Dear Paul, Thank you so much for doing such an excellent job photographing our wedding.  There are so many great pictures.  We are both very happy with all of your work, and we are appreciative of the time and talent that went into it.
Thanks again,
-Jesse

My sister recommended Paul to me and my husband to be the photographer for our wedding. My sister has a catering business and has worked many weddings with Paul. She would not let us use any other photographer because after comparing his work to other wedding photographers she felt that Paul was the best in the business. Well, my husband and I came to find out that Paul truly is the best in the business. Paul always made us feel comfortable and natural. He was very easy to work with and was concerned with what we wanted from him as a photographer. He captured every important moment in black and white as well as color photographs, not only the happy moments, but the emotional moments as well. Paul claims he will capture “the story” of the weddings he photographs, and we felt he did just that with our wedding. We are very thankful that we had such a wonderful photographer on the most important day of our lives, and that we have beautiful photographs that will tell our wedding story for years to come.
-Charley & Annie

As a photographer myself, I knew I would be a hard client to please. I value photographs that are both technically perfect as well as aesthetically pleasing, a combination that is almost impossible to achieve. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to find a photographer I’d be happy with. But, after seeing Paul’s work, I knew he was the perfect photographer for our wedding. His photographs are not only artistic, but he gives each picture the extra time it takes to look pristine; something that can’t be accomplished without the personal touch that Paul gives them.

On our wedding day, Paul was able to capture every aspect of the experience. He went beyond the traditional shots and gave us a unique and artistic record of our day. Many wedding photographers I’ve seen are always in the way during the wedding, but my husband and I didn’t notice him even though he was right there the whole time. After the wedding, many other people commented that they didn’t notice him either.

Looking back on the experience, my husband and I are very happy with Paul’s work. It is professional, artistic, and we are proud to show it off. I can’t even count how many times people have said it is the best wedding album they’ve ever seen.
-Stephanie and JW Brown

Early on in our engagement someone wisely advised my husband and I to surround ourselves with people who are easy going and encouraging on our wedding day. When we first met with Paul it was obvious to us that he fit this description. Paul is professional, relaxed, and reliable. On our wedding day we couldn't have been more pleased. He was casual and discreet, yet always in the right place at the right time. Looking at our pictures today is a vivid and perfect reminder of everything that took place on our wedding day. We are grateful that Paul was a part of our wedding day, not only did he capture some incredible moments, but he was a pleasure to work with.
-Josh & Adrienne Payne

We were so impressed the first time we saw the proofs of our wedding photos. Paul is an amazing photographer with a special gift for capturing the moment. His pictures wonderfully told the story of our day. Our family and friends have referred to Paul’s stealth ability, and we were rarely even aware that our photos were being taken. We are very pleased with the quality of Paul’s work and highly recommend his services. We are so grateful we found him to photograph our wedding and look forward to having him take our family photos in the future!
-Jamie and Janelle Bucklin

"After meeting with several other photographers in the Humboldt County area we met with Paul Swenson. My wife and I were impressed with Paul's professional approach and very excited about his work as well. His portfolio showed his keen eye and ability to capture those precious moments. Paul was very helpful in giving suggestions and answering questions. Since my wife and I are from out of state we thought that working with a photographer would be a challenge. However Paul made the experience simple and pleasurable. When it came to our wedding day, Paul stealthily took the pictures we had planned and also many other candid photos. When we received our proofs we were thrilled with the quality and choice of the photos taken. Paul's photographs made our wedding day a memory never to be forgotten."

-Ken and Catherine Keating

"Paul Swenson made my son's senior portrait experience so easy! He first met with us in the comfort of our own home to discuss our ideas and options. We decided upon a more informal setting and the next day he and Cody went to Redwood Park where they had a fun time taking pictures from all angles, creatively using the afternoon sun shining through the trees. The most difficult part for me was in deciding which portraits to select. Paul was able to help Cody relax and enjoy the session which produced dozens of great -- close up shots and distance shots -- sitting, standing, full body and partial. Facial expressions captured were varied --from happy and smiling to serious, contemplative, and even debonair. Paul's very special personal touch made all the difference for us."
-Mike, Kay & Cody Libolt

"We couldn’t be more pleased with the service we received. Paul has a great style of photography. He really captured the essence of our wedding. The best part was his ability to let us enjoy our day while he captured all of those memories and details.
Paul, we just wanted to say thank you for everything. We are so pleased with the beautiful album. Everything looks so great. Thank you for your time and excellence."
-Felicia & Gabe

It was our pleasure to have Paul Swenson as our wedding photographer. Preparing for our wedding was not without stress, so we really appreciated Paul’s professionalism, unobtrusiveness, and flexibility. Paul was always respectful of our special requests. We were very pleased with the quality and content of his photographs. It is without reservation that we would recommend Paul for wedding photography.
-Jennifer Jones & Douglas Lee

 

I found Paul at a bridal show and fell in love with his pictures. I was so excited when I called and he had my date available. Paul was great before, during and after the wedding. The session for our engagement photos was relaxed and fun. He met with us several times before the wedding to determine what we were looking for. His whole demeanor on the day of the wedding was wonderful! He was calm and quiet and very professional….never “in your face” or trying to hurry you for a picture. All of that is reflected in the quality of our photographs. Our album is beautiful and we appreciate the genuine concern he had for making sure that we received the best photographs possible.
-Gretchen & Gary

 

We had a marvelous time working with Paul and are thrilled with the results. He was extremely accommodating to our needs and willing to work with us even over distances of more than a thousand miles. He is exceptionally efficient and quickly responded to all of our questions; and he had our proofs ready less than a month after the wedding! Moreover, he made sure that the pictures were what we wanted them to be. He asked for and listened to our suggestions and was unobtrusive at the ceremony and reception, yet managed to capture the intimacy of the event. He has a fabulous eye for detail; everything from the album to the composition of the photographs is beautifully arranged.
-Cathleen & Andrew