Santa Barbara
Wedding Photographer
Cinematic, magazine-worthy weddings — shot on Leica, Hasselblad & other film cameras.
Lulan Studio
Lulan Studio photographs weddings along the Santa Barbara and Ventura coast — the American Riviera, as the tourist board has it, and one of the few places in California where the mountains come almost to the water. We shoot 35mm and medium-format film alongside digital, and we usually come up the night before so the morning is not spent on the 101.
Why film suits the Riviera palette
Red tile, white adobe and bougainvillea are what Santa Barbara gives you, and film handles that palette better than anything else. Terracotta stays warm rather than turning orange, whitewashed walls keep their detail in full sun, and the late light coming off the channel renders exactly as it looked. We shoot both formats through the day.
Our film approach
Recent Santa Barbara weddings
Recent weddings along the Santa Barbara and Ventura coast. Click any frame to open it full-screen.
Choose your setting
Spanish colonial, oceanfront estate, working ranch, botanical garden — choose the setting you picture and see the venues and galleries that match.
Venues we love in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara and Ventura venues we know well. Swipe through, then open any one for its full location guide.
Every tradition, told well
Santa Barbara draws families from all over, and we photograph every tradition they bring — Persian Sofreh Aghd tables, Indian ceremonies under a mandap, Chinese and Vietnamese tea ceremonies, and Catholic Masses at the mission. We talk it all through with you well before the day.
Courthouse weddings in Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is the most photographed civil ceremony building in California, and the Mural Room is the reason — hand-painted walls, a coffered ceiling and light that does most of the work for you. Below: the location guide, and one full wedding shot inside it. Marrying in Los Angeles or Orange County instead? Those courthouses have their own city pages.
Recent client reviews
Over 350 five-star reviews, from first inquiry to finished album.
The experience
Carefully planned and calmly run, so the day stays yours.
Say hello
Tell us your date and venue. We will confirm availability and talk through collections, film options and whether you need travel coverage.
Plan together
A timeline built around the channel sunset, your venue's noise curfew and any cultural ceremonies.
Your wedding
Film and digital together, shot quietly, with an eye on the light rather than on a shot list.
Your gallery
A hand-edited gallery in four to eight weeks, with albums and prints designed to be handled.
Areas we serve
Frequently asked questions
Schedule a consultation
Santa Barbara weekends in September and October book furthest ahead. Send us your date and we will be in touch within a day.
Schedule a callSanta Barbara and Ventura wedding venues we know well
Santa Barbara's best-known wedding venues sit either on the bluff or in the hills behind it. The Biltmore Santa Barbara above the Riviera neighborhood and the Belmond El Encanto in Montecito are the classic ocean-view estates, while the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta gives you a long stretch of private beach. Lotusland, Ganna Walska's subtropical garden estate, is the most unusual thing anyone can book in this county, and the Santa Barbara County Courthouse remains the most photographed civil ceremony spot in California for good reason — the Mural Room, the sandstone arches and the tower view are hard to beat in an afternoon.
Twenty minutes south, Ventura County is where a lot of couples land when Santa Barbara pricing bites. The Ventura Beach Marriott and Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach sit right on the sand, the Pierpont Inn has been hosting weddings on its bluff since the 1900s, and McCormick Home Ranch in Camarillo gives you barns, oaks and open sky instead of ocean. Further up the coast, Chateau Noland near San Luis Obispo is worth the drive for couples who want a castle without leaving California. The full list lives on our Santa Barbara and Ventura wedding venues page.