Known for masterful imagery with a painterly aesthetic that softly depicts and celebrates what matters most, David’s distinct taste is undeniably influenced from his time living overseas. His photos are steeped with wonderment, desire and romance — and the memories that are paired with them are equally evocative.
As a luxury wedding photographer, I’ve found that my work hints to, in many ways, the nature of poems and paintings. My canvas, though, is villas surrounded by lush greenery or chateaus secluded on mountain vistas, but it’s also the flowers, chic wedding attire, guests and you — the wedding couple. However, the most important element of my work, without a doubt, is the emotion. I follow a process that helps you get absolutely lost in the moment, and that’s exactly what leads to photographs that genuinely depict how you feel. To add to this, we carefully prepare behind the scenes, identifying your aesthetic and underlying tone, compiling a signature mood board that allows us to curate images in tune with the moments and emotions of your wedding.
- Kristen S. | Lustre Theory
- Melissa H. | Style Me Pretty
Our intent is a cohesive, personal gallery and couture tangible products that preserves these once in a lifetime moments for generations to come.
We believe in letting real moments and emotions influence the resulting image, but also providing the best settings, an atmosphere so to speak, to ensure that the feelings and finer details are equally honored.
The depth of your story, the hand-selected elements of your wedding that mean everything — we want to know what’s significant to you, so that it can be captured in your photos.
We’ll work with you to tailor your wedding photography collection. We’ve found that this custom approach truly enhances the experience and gives our couples the opportunity to receive photographs that revolve around their wedding, and not the other way around. Please inquire so that we may further understand your needs and confirm availability.
We’ve refined our process for destination wedding photography over the years, sparing no detail while creating editorial and emotional heirlooms our couples will one day pass down. To capture the whole of your wedding event, both David and Kristy serve as photographers, infusing the romantic elements of film imagery with a high-touch approach.
Hour by hour, you’ll find that David and Kristy are intentional, guiding as needed to capture the styled, yet effortless shots and stepping back when the moments require more documentation, and less direction. Photographs are hand edited and shared in an online gallery. Personal printing rights are included, and a limited number of dates are available each year, often booked at least 9-12 months in advance.
- The Event Collective
“We love working with David! Not only is he mindful of the timelines and schedules but he is extremely organized — this is so valuable for us. His process is well thought out, he’s prepared, knowledgeable, original and it shows!”
- Alana F. | Lane Stewart Events
“I can't say enough good things as a wedding planner about David! The day of the wedding he was attentive to details and truly captured the day. Not only does he serve his couples well, he serves his vendors well — always asking if there was anything we needed or wanted photographed of the day!”
- Kerri Johnson | Elle Loren & Co.
“We absolutely love working with David, he is experienced, detailed with his shots and very organized. He has such a calm demeanor which we feel helps on wedding days and his images are always above our expectations. David is a dream to work with and one of our favorite photographers!”
- Maureen M. | Just A Little Ditty
“As a wedding planner, I really enjoy working with David. His images are works of art and he's so pleasant to be around on the day-of. He comes prepared, manages the timeline extremely well and does a great job at directing the photos. I highly recommend him!”
- Catherine H. | Upper Shirley Vineyards
“His work is fabulous; my clients have always been thrilled with his photos. He deeply cares for his clients and you can tell through all the unique things he does as a photographer. We love receiving his galleries (in such a timely manner) and reliving each of our clients special day. I highly recommend David Abel!”
- Catherine H. | Upper Shirley Vineyards
“David is absolutely wonderful and has worked at our venue, Upper Shirley Vineyards multiple times. When he arrives on site, he scopes out the best location and checks in with us to ensure he has all the up to date information. He always has such a calm and cool demeanor when he is shooting which I know gives me and my clients ease.
- Sarah C. | Petals and Twigs
“As a fellow vendor, David is great to work with. He is timely, kind, and most importantly, has a great eye for photography and styling! I am always so happy to find out he is the photographer for any of the events we do, because I know the bride and groom will have a fabulous record of their wedding day.”
- Kristen S. | Lustre Theory
“I can't say enough wonderful things about David. I've worked with many photographers as a stylist and he is by far one of my favorites for dreamy, film shot wedding and fashion imagery. He is so kind and relaxing to work with. If you're looking for incredible, upscale images you should chat with David.”
- Tasha | The Mill at Fine Creek
“David is hands down the best there is. I'm so happy I chose him as my photographer. He's prompt, polite and courteous. He was always looking for that perfect shot and would go to any heights to get it. The photos he captured for our wedding and engagement shoot will be cherished memories for a lifetime!”
- Sarah K. | Dover Hall
“He did such an incredible job capturing the essence of our wedding. The photos are gorgeous, some of them look like an editorial out of a magazine — but they still feel very ‘us’ and evoke such a sense of the emotion of the day. Hiring David for our wedding journey was one of the absolute best choices that we made during our planning process!”
- Bradford H. | Dover Hall
“Choosing David was one of the best decisions we made throughout our wedding planning process. David and Kristy captured images from our wedding that we will cherish forever. Whether it be from simple moments to key points in the event, they captured everything perfectly with the utmost professionalism and quality."
- Sarah M.
“One of the best things we did for our wedding was hire David Abel! Our experience from start to finish was incredible. David's work speaks for itself, but I still have to say our wedding photographs are better than we could have ever imagined! He was able to capture every tiny detail, moment, and emotion of our big day beautifully.”
After you’ve browsed our work and considered how our approach aligns with your vision, we’ll invite you to get in touch. When we connect, we’ll ask you to tell us what you’ve been dreaming up. We want to know it all so don’t hold back. Tell us what made you fall in love and how you envision your wedding experience. This will be a day or perhaps a weekend that you’ll anticipate for months, and look back on for years.
We put a lot of forethought into the elements that culminate in an effortless, yet astonishingly chic wedding experience. From planning the shots based on every nook and cranny of your sprawling estate venue to personalized wardrobe recommendations for your engagement session, we take the guesswork out of styling and add the fashion perspective to elevate real life.
Our goal is for your wedding to feel mesmerizing in some ways, to help you indulge in the moment and feel completely present. We’ll direct and style when needed to capture your artistic vision, but any move on our part will be with a goal to capture the heartfelt, intimate moments. The photographs later on serve to continue that indulgence in romance, an enduring keepsake that encapsulates everything you wanted — the emotions, memories and relationships.
Our couples often inquire with us 9-12 months prior to their wedding day. To work together, contact us and book a phone consultation. Thereafter, we’ll tailor a proposal for you. You’ll be able to secure your collection with a retainer and contract.
Timelines, walkthroughs, questionnaires, engagement sessions, video calls — we’ll collaborate with you and your wedding planner within tasteful increments to gather the details, style with intention and prepare you without inundating you with decisions.
We appreciate this question because it’s integral to how we work and heavily influences your wedding photographs. With two photographers in every collection (David and Kristy), this allows us to take advantage of both approaches. David is known for the styled settings and artistic ideas that feel natural, while Kristy prefers to document the more subtle, unplanned yet essential parts of the wedding. Ultimately, we use both styles of photography to create a comprehensive collection of photographs for you.