FRIENDS OF ONCEWEST

Exclusive Rates

+ how we work, FAQ & more

We believe your photos are only as good as the experience you had with your photographer while making them.

We’re here to capture you, your people, and the magic of the mountains beautifully and authentically.

We typically spend about an hour on family, wedding party and couple portraits. The rest of the day, we aim to go unnoticed while we preserve all the fleeting moments of your day.

“Hands down the best decision of our wedding life.”

We hate hearing stories about couples that had a bad experience with their wedding photographer and ended up regretting their decision. 

Here’s how we’ll care for you and your people on your most important day.

  • We’ll capture real moments, never stage fake ones.
  • We’ll put you at ease in front of the camera with our relaxed approach.  No cheesy or awkward prompts and poses.  (If you think you’re not photogenic, we’ll prove you wrong)
  • We’ll not only capture the love between the two of you but the many layers of love throughout your family.
  • We’ll be organized and efficient with your family photos so that they don’t take hours.
  • We’ll learn about and be aware of family dynamics.
  • 17 years of mountain wedding experience allows us to smoothly navigate weather and logistics.
  • Our silent shutters mean you’ll quickly forget that photos are being taken.
  • One month in advance, we’ll walk thru the day together so that you know exactly what to expect from us, and we know about what’s important to you.

When you see your photos, we want you to feel the way it felt to be there.

Katie & Cole’s Highlights Slideshow:

Your downloadable (and shareable) highlights slideshow will be ready 2 weeks after your wedding.

What We Offer

Below are exclusive rates for the wedding planners we know & love.
Don’t see exactly what you’re looking for? Custom quotes happily provided.

Wedding Weekend

  • 10 hours of wedding day coverage by Mark & Michele, your husband & wife team
  • 3 hours of welcome dinner coverage by either Mark or Michele
  • 12×8 40 page Heirloom Album
  • high-resolution JPEG files with reproduction & sharing rights
  • online gallery hosted for 12 months
  • free downloads for friends & family
  • pre-wedding phone meeting to finalize all the details
  • sneak peek slideshow (available to download & save)
  • images delivered in 6 weeks
  • no travel fees for weddings taking place in any Colorado mountain town

$12,000

$11,300

8 hours with Mark & Michele

  • 8 hours of photography by Mark & Michele, your husband & wife team
  • high-resolution JPEG files with reproduction & sharing rights
  • online gallery hosted for 12 months
  • free downloads for friends & family
  • pre-wedding phone meeting to finalize all the details
  • highlights slideshow (available to download)
  • images delivered in 6 weeks
  • no travel fees for weddings taking place in any Colorado mountain town

$7200

$6800

7 hours with Preston

  • up to 7 hours of photography by Preston
  • high-resolution JPEG files with reproduction and sharing rights
  • online gallery hosted for 12 months
  • free downloads for friends & family
  • pre-wedding phone meeting to finalize the details
  • highlights slideshow (available to download)
  • images delivered in 3 weeks
  • no travel fees for weddings taking place in any Colorado mountain town

$4600
$4400

Weekday* Weddings & Elopements

  • one photographer
  • high-resolution JPEG files with reproduction & sharing rights
  • an online gallery hosted for 12 months
  • free downloads for friends & family
  • sneak peek slideshow (available to download & save)
  • images delivered in 3 weeks

One hour: $850 $750
Three hours: $2250 $2050
Five hours: $3500 $3300

*limited weekend availability

“We knew when we met you that you were the one for the job but you have exceeded our expectations by a long shot.” 

-Jen

Frequently Asked Questions:

We consider ourselves documentary-style wedding photographers. We believe your wedding is a series of moments that will never be repeated…and that it’s our job to preserve those for you. We’re here to document; not stage or manipulate. If, for example, we were to ask you to re-enact your First Look three times so that we can get the perfect shot, you’ll know that moment wasn’t real whenever you see that image.

It’s our job to be in the right place at the right time, find the most flattering light, compose the shot beautifully, time it perfectly, all without you even knowing. We want to give you incredible, meaningful photos without you having to deal with the hassle or stress of performing for the camera.

Yes. Prior to your wedding we’ll discuss how much time you’d like to dedicate to family, wedding party and couple portraits. Typically we spend about an hour on these. We strive to work quickly and efficiently during portraits so that you may get back to spending quality time with your people.

Yes. It’s most important to us to create a comfortable, laid-back environment that allows you to focus on each other so that posing isn’t even on your mind. We’ll offer direction when we sense it’s desired but will never use an awkward or cheesy prompt.

We’ve photographed hundreds of weddings as a team and many others solo.  Through that experience we’ve gotten a good feel for when a second photographer is beneficial.  We recommend a second photographer for the following scenarios:

  • You’re expecting over 120 guests.
  • Your portraits will take place at the same time as cocktail hour and you would like both photographed.
  • Your wedding is heavily focused on decor and you’d like that aspect well-photographed.
  • You’re getting ready in two different locations and would like both of you photographed.

Having a team of 3 photographers (Michele, Mark, and Preston) means that we always have a trusted colleague to call on in the unlikely event that one of us cannot work.  The fact that we cannot call in sick is a responsibility we don’t take lightly and therefore are always focused on remaining healthy.

Yes. Michele will see to it that she has all the information needed to assemble a detailed timeline and family portrait list. You’ll know exactly what you can expect from us on the day of.

If we have not been to your venue, we will start by introducing ourselves to the venue contact and learning anything special we need to know about logistics or insurance requirements. Additionally, we’ll show up 1-2 hours early to get the lay of the land and find the best spots for photos.

We will create three copies of your photos and store one off-site.  Securing your images is an important aspect of what we do. 

Yes! High-resolution JPEG files (no watermark) will be available for download from your online gallery. These digital files include reproduction and sharing rights. You may do whatever you like with your photos! 

We will cull the photos taken, removing test shots, outtakes and unflattering moments.  The final number of photos in your collection will depend on a few different factors but you can estimate somewhere around 75-100 per hour of coverage.  

Every image in your final wedding image collection is hand-touched to look its best including adjustments to exposure, contrast, color temperature, etc. At this time we will decide if a photograph looks best in color or black & white. Your final collection will have a mix of both color and black & white photographs. 

2-3 weeks following your wedding your high-resolution images will be ready to view and download.

We are based in the mountains and do not charge travel fees for weddings taking place in any Colorado mountain town. 

Yes! We love being asked this question as we take so much pride in turning happy couples in to happy clients! Click here to read reviews or let us know if you’d like to speak with a reference. 

How it works

1. Schedule a phone or video call with Michele.

We’ll chat about what you would like your photos and your overall experience to be like. It’s super important to us that our style & approach align with your vision and desires.

2. Select your package and payment plan.

3. Sign a contract and pay a retainer to lock in your date on our calendar.

4. Get married!

schedule a call

Turning happy couples in to happy clients since 2004.

“We’re eternally grateful”

Michele was everything we could have asked for and more! We can’t recommend her any more highly. After meeting her for the first time we knew she was the only one who could match our laid-back attitude but desire for incredible wedding pictures. She did not disappoint! To say our wedding pictures are amazing is an understatement – they are INCREDIBLE. The entire experience was enjoyable, and the moments she captured are priceless – and somehow she made it seem like she wasn’t there at all! From first meet to finished project, Michele was fantastic and went above and beyond. Thank you so much Michele, we are eternally grateful.
-Jonathan

“They’re more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.”

Michele and her husband took the photos for our wedding in Beaver Creek, CO and they are PERFECT! I had wanted pictures that captured real moments, that were candid and not stiff — I got exactly that, and pictures that are more beautiful than I could have imagined. When I look at them now, it’s like I’m reliving our wonderful day. They were so easy to work with, a pleasure to have around on our wedding day (you didn’t even really notice they were there but they still caught every moment!), reasonably priced, and very responsive. I would recommend them 100%!!
-Lesley

“It was so easy to be ourselves around you.”

“Thank you so much for these amazing photographs and for making the whole photography process so easy!  How you manage to take such beautiful photos in the speed that you do baffles me.  Taking the family and bridal party photos did not keep us away from the party at all.  We have never been happier and the pictures show it.  It was so easy to be ourselves around you.  Thank you for being a part of it and for providing the photographs that allow us to relive it for the rest of our lives!” 
-Erin

Get in touch, we would love to hear from you!