Hanna + Zander | Luce Loft Wedding | San Diego Wedding Photographer

June 27, 2022 Sage Burke-Cabados

A quick intro:

In 2015, I was introduced to Hanna & Zander by one of our mutual friends, Melissa McClure (another local photographer). H & Z were also local photographers, and between how close we were in age and our mutual love for photography, we became friends almost instantly.

I was still living in North County at the time, and as I was getting busier with shoots, I realized I needed to move a bit closer to central San Diego, where most of my shoots were. Within months of meeting, Zander and I bounced the idea around of becoming roommates, and ended up moving in together in 2016 after our leases ended. We lived together until he moved in with Hanna, and the rest is history!

Daisy & Leo | Cabo Wedding Photographer | Casa Dorada Wedding

April 30, 2021 Sage Burke-Cabados

The next day, I woke up nice and early to eat some breakfast and check the hotel out. I headed over to Daisy’s room to get a jump on photographing details and candids, which was super convenient because I was staying 100 feet from them in another hotel. I took a variety of detail shots and candids, then headed over to Leo’s room to start photographing him and the guys.

Since I was by myself, I basically just ran back and forth between both Daisy & Leo’s room to get a variety of shots, until we finally set them up for their first look. Once that was knocked out, we walked around the property of Casa Dorada and took a ton of portraits along the grounds. Once we finished, I knocked out the remaining family portraits, the Rabbi had the couple bless the Torah, and we finally started the ceremony right as the sun was setting.

Although this was the first time I photographed a really late ceremony like this - I came prepared with a ton of lighting, which really helped once the sun set.

After the ceremony was complete, the couple had a short cocktail hour along with an epic reception, featuring a TON of dancing, an epic band, and even a band member performing in the middle of the dance floor. SO RAD…

Byron & Steven | Palm Springs Elopement | Palm Springs Wedding Photographer

April 28, 2021 Sage Burke-Cabados

Palm Springs is an incredible city.

You have this little desert town that’s like 100 degrees most days, with a wide variety of folks from pretty much all over. The vibes are AMAZING every single time I’m there, which makes me forget how much I’m profusely sweating, haha! Almost everything in Palm Springs is 50s-60s style decor and they rock the heck out of it! If you want to see some more examples of other locations in the area, check out a past Palm Springs Elopement here

This epic Airbnb was a literal time capsule of 1969. They had a retro jukebox, colored rooms, and the most insane decor to go along with everything. As someone who shoots in a variety of San Diego venues - this was one of the most unique locations I’ve ever shot at.

Byron and Steven initially reached out to my good friend Ryan (who’s also an epic Temecula Wedding Photographer), but since he was booked, he ended up connecting them with me, and the rest is history!

Both Byron and Steven are critically acclaimed authors living in Palm Springs and wanted to celebrate their partnership with an intimate elopement in one of the coolest cities in California. They had a short, but emotional ceremony that was officiated by their close friend, and we wrapped their day up with some Vanity Fair inspired portraits. This was by far one of my favorite shoots in Palm Springs and I’m stoked that I could deliver these two gents a mix of modern and creative portraits!

COVID-19 Resources For Wedding Photographers & Vendors | COVID-19 Wedding Vendor Contract

June 5, 2020 Sage Burke-Cabados

Since my blog is primarily focused for my normal clients (Brides, Grooms, and families), this post is a going to be a little outside of the norm since it’s aimed primarily towards coordinators, photographers, and vendors alike - but fret not - this specific post will help shed some light into the backend of some of the struggles us vendors are facing and may give you some good insight about why we do what we do.

I’m not sure about everyone reading this, but the local wedding industry in San Diego has been INSANELY helpful over the last few months in navigating questions I have about Covid-19 contracts, Corona Virus wedding vendor tips, and a ton more…

Katherine + Pietro | San Diego Engagement Session

May 8, 2019 Sage Burke-Cabados

With wedding season in full swing, I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been seriously slacking on my blogs lately. BUT being that this is one of the more fun San Diego engagement sessions I've had in a while - I just had to get Katherine & Pietro on the blog! :)

I previously knew both Katherine and Pietro from the vegetarian community over here in San Diego. Pietro even owns an amazing authentic Italian restaurant with an entire vegetarian menu! Super rad. With that being said - when we finally set a date for their engagement session, I was SO stoked because it was something Katherine and I had been talking about the last year or so. Katherine really wanted some images showing how gorgeous the flowers were during the Super Bloom, but once we drove over an hour to Hemet, we realized there were barely any flowers to be found! Luckily, it had rained the day prior and all the vegetation around the location was incredibly lush and vibrant - so even though there weren’t flowers, we ended up getting epic, insanely green hill tops instead.

Kim + Julian | Ethereal Open Air Resort Wedding | San Diego Wedding Photography

March 14, 2019 Sage Burke-Cabados

Back from a massive blogging hiatus with one of my favorite weddings of the year!

Back when I was in the San Diego nightlife industry, I met a photographer by the name of Arlene. Arlene reached out to connect me with Kim & Julian since she was attending the wedding as a guest and couldn't do both! We scheduled an engagement session, and 15 minutes in, I knew I’d get along with them perfectly. They were laid back, hilarious, and just rad people to photograph - be sure to check the first five images of their San Diego engagement session at the top of the post (since I never got around to blogging their session).

Fast forward to their wedding day - I show up ultra early to start photographing details. Since Kim was getting ready at a separate location, I started shooting the grounds, and 20 minutes in, realized Kim was supposed to be there already. I shot her a text and she assured me she would be there shortly. Forty-five minutes later, Kim shows up with her crew, champagne starts pouring, and it gets a lot more interesting!

A bit later - Julian goes outside to a secluded portion of the garden and we get him setup for a First Touch. Instead of doing a first-look, they opted for a first touch and a few words prior, which ended up being pretty rad to photograph!

Bridget + Luke | La Valencia Wedding | La Jolla Wedding Photographers

October 14, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

So for those of you that know me, I take the business side of things very seriously - this includes rarely being late and always being as reliable as possible. When Bridget & Luke inquired about me possibly photographing their wedding, we quickly set a date to grab coffee and get to know each other a bit more. The problem? For the first time ever, my studio management software neglected to remind me about the coffee date, and the stars aligned perfectly because I managed to not check my calendar that morning either. I remember it clearly - I was in the process of editing some photos when I received a call. I quickly answered, and hear, “Hi Sage, we’re over at Lestats and wondering where you’re seated.”

Jenna + Andrew | La Jolla Woman's Club Wedding | La Jolla Wedding Photographer

October 6, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

For those of you that don’t know, I picked up a camera almost 9 years ago and exclusively shot nightlife photography (bars, concerts, and events). I switched gears when I first moved to California in 2012 and stopped shooting nightlife for a bit, but then started up again in 2014, where I met Andrew (another fellow photographer) at one of the clubs I frequently shot at. This was also a huge plus because it means that all of Andrew & Jenna’s friends were a freaking blast throughout the day (as you’ll soon see below). Although I knew next to nothing about Jenna and Andrew initially, I really got to know them when I shot their engagement photos (check out their San Diego engagement session here).

Lavish Travel Launch Party | Westin San Diego Wedding Photos | San Diego Event Photographer

October 3, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of photographing the launch of Lavish Travel, a San Diego luxury travel planning company, on top of Westin San Diego’s helicopter landing pad. Lavish Travel is a new travel agency branch of Lavish Wed, one of my favorite San Diego Coordinating companies (check out one of my recent San Diego weddings with them here)…

Chelsea + Tom | Del Mar Wedding Photographer | San Diego Backyard Wedding

September 27, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

Last year, I photographed a couple by the name of Tara & Noah (Check out their Temecula wedding photos here). I actually met Tara through Chelsea & her father Kenny (two Chiropractors I’ve known for over a decade!), so this was truly an honor for me document Chelsea’s wedding.

I arrived at Chelsea’s father’s home early to scout the location, see where I could take them for portraits, and take a few behind the scenes photo I thought they might like. I photographed Chelsea, her sisters, and her remaining bridesmaids getting ready and hanging around the house, and before Tom and the boys arrived, I took some portraits of the girls. Once the guys arrived, Chelsea & Tom had a private first look followed by a few portraits before the ceremony….

Rachel + Karl | Green Acre Campus Pointe Wedding | La Jolla Wedding Photographer

June 23, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

I started the day off hanging with Rachel and her family/friends over at Humphrey's By The Bay. I shot some candids & details while the girls got ready and had some fun experimenting with a new piece of glass I just picked up. Once the girls were finished, we brought Rachel outside where Karl was waiting for their first look - such a rad reveal! After, we drove down to Green Acre Campus Pointe in La Jolla (check out these La Jolla wedding photos from another wedding I photographed back in 2016)...

Rachel + Karl | Balboa Park Engagement Photos | San Diego Portrait Photographer

June 23, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

In an attempt to REALLY start blogging more, I'm digging up this laid back engagement session with Rachel & Karl from last November. I remember this session quite well - one of the reasons being it was the first time meeting both Rachel and Karl in the same room (I met Karl previously and only knew Rachel from email). Relooking through the gallery has me, once again, smiling from ear to ear. These guys constantly poked fun at each other, had tons of inside jokes, and overall just made the session ultra easy (and hilarious)…

Lea + Martin | Sutro Baths Photos | San Francisco Engagement Photographer

May 3, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

I recently blogged Lea & Martin's wedding day (check out their US Grant wedding photos here) and mentioned that I never blogged their engagement session, which spurred me to dig through an old hard drive and re-edit a few, so here we are!

I took a brief trip out to San Francisco to meet these two and photograph them all over the city. Since I'm a San Diego wedding photographer, it was my first time visiting these locations, but I still found some insanely beautiful spots and am extremely happy with how the photos turned out. We first started off at the San Francisco City Hall, and then when sunset approached, we drove over to Sutro Baths. We had some awesome conversation and they were nice enough to laugh at my corny jokes, which made for some great photos (see cover).

This was my the first engagement session I photographed out there, but it certainly won't be my last. See you soon, San Francisco! :-)

Delia + John | The Cuvier Club | Cuvier Club Wedding Photos

May 3, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

Ever meet someone that's smiling almost all the time? That's Delia - and her smile is insanely contagious. When I photographed her and John at their engagement session at UCSD earlier this year, she brought out the most genuine, awesome laughter and expressions from John that it made the session almost *too* easy. Their wedding ceremony was held at The Immaculata Church on the grounds of University of San Diego, their portraits were taken at Ellen Browning Park in La Jolla, and their reception was at The Cuvier Club.

Lea + Martin | The US Grant | San Diego Wedding Photographer

May 1, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

Oh hey everyone! It's been a few months since I blogged and I'm pretty stoked to share this gallery with you. I was originally connected to Lea & Martin after their friend (who also happens to be an awesome hair & makeup artist) Emma found me through Instagram. I chatted with them about their wedding and quickly figured out how fun these guys are and was beyond stoked when they mentioned wanting me to fly up to San Francisco to photograph their engagement session. We started at the famous San Francisco City Hall, and then headed over to Sutro Baths shortly after. We talked movies, favorite wines, and cracked a few corny jokes - these guys had awesome chemistry and were troopers during the session (read: Lea hiked through bushes in her heels and both her and Martin held still for a million years while I got the perfect sunset shot of them). Since I never got around to blogging their session, I've included my five favorites at the start of this post.

Anyways, fast forward to their wedding day. It's a sunny day in downtown San Diego on New Years Eve. We start off in the Presidential Suite at the US Grant Hotel while the girls are getting ready and I quickly realize how much fun the day is about to be when Lea let slip that the coordinator, Thomas Bui, somehow was able to secure TWENTY-SEVEN confetti canons in for when the ball drops. GAME ON.

Lisa + Chris | Leo Carrillo Ranch Wedding | Carlsbad Wedding Photographer

January 6, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

Lisa and Chris are two ultra sarcastic, incredibly talented individuals who have a slight obsession with cats and fine wine. They're both in the television industry, where they've worked on shows like Orange is the New Black, My 600 Lb Life, and Catfish - so rad!

Upon meeting Lisa & Chris, I quickly figured out how nice they were and loved that they wanted artistic, fun images. For their engagement session, I drove up to Los Angeles for the day and photographed their Burbank Engagement Session, which included lots of hiking, champagne, and lots of goofiness.

On their wedding day, we started off at the Beach Terrace Inn in Carlsbad, where they got ready and then saw each other for the first time on the beach. We then took a large bus to Leo Carrillo for some portraits, and then headed to Oceanside for their ceremony on the beach. After the ceremony and a few more portraits, we headed back to Leo Carrillo where the couple danced and partied the night away!

Jamie + Alex | The Dana Mission Bay Wedding | San Diego Photographer

January 3, 2018 Sage Burke-Cabados

I met Jamie & Alex through my good friend Shelby Owens with Simply Classic Events and clicked with them instantly being that we're all from the Midwest (Michigan, to be specific!). They felt incredibly genuine and were quite camera shy at first, but immediately opened up once we started shooting their San Diego engagement session.

Their venue, The Dana Mission Bay, was incredible, and had a fantastic view of the bay where people were driving boats, paddle boarding, and sailing. After the girls got ready, I walked with Jamie to the opposite end of the hotel where her and Alex had their first look. We then photographed the bridal party and headed back to the opposite end to start the ceremony. The couple had their grandmothers act as the flower girl, which was absolutely precious!

After the ceremony, we photographed a few more portraits before the sunset and then the couple ate, danced, and partied the night away at their reception! :-)

Whitney + Nick | Descanso Beach Club Wedding Photos | Catalina Wedding Photographer

October 18, 2017 Sage Burke-Cabados

From the beginning, Nick & Whitney were such a pleasure to work with that it drove my future client expectations through the roof - they were fun to hang out with, easy to pose, always down to do whatever to "get the shot", and just awesome people in general!

I met these two in Joshua Tree for their engagement session where we hiked up large hills of rock, dodged cactuses (cacti!?), and photographed until it was dark out. We were able to get some insanely creative and fun portraits and I was able to learn a few tid-bits about them, including their love for off-roading on quads and for their two lovely dogs! Be sure to check out their Joshua Tree engagement session here.

On the day of their wedding - I drove up to the Catalina Pier in Dana Point with my good friend and fellow photographer Josh, where we departed on a short boat ride to Avalon. Once we got settled in, we began photographing them both getting ready and then lead them down to their wedding ceremony at Descanso Beach Club. After their ceremony, I photographed their portraits, and then headed straight to their intimate reception where these two (and all their friends & family) ate amazing food (like custom In & Out inspired burgers), raged, and danced all night long!

Denise + Michael | Cape Rey Carlsbad Wedding | Carlsbad Wedding Photographer

September 5, 2017 Sage Burke-Cabados

I originally connected with Denise through my good friend Nicole (who's also the fantastic coordinator who owns/operates Love Marks The Spot) and absolutely loved how optimistic and sweet she was! I later met Michael at their engagement session (I was so slammed in the beginning of the year that I didn't have a chance to blog their session, so I added my favorite five to the beginning of this post) and was stoked because he was extremely laid back and easy to work with. We got some amazing engagement sessions and they both gave me some great tips about finding/owning a dog, since they (at the time) had 1 adorable little pup (which now, after the wedding, are two adorable pups!).

Fast forward to Denise & Michael's wedding day! Although it ended up being a little gloomier and in Carlsbad, it ended up giving off a perfectly soft light that really helped make their wedding images that much more amazing. After photographing the bridesmaids getting ready, I quickly rushed Denise off to see Michael for the first time in the Cape Rey gardens. From there, we photographed tons of portraits until their ceremony started. Their ceremony, officiated by Rabbi Ian, was both hilarious and emotional - two must-haves for a ceremony!

After the ceremony ended, we photographed a few more portraits and headed over to the ballroom for the ceremony where the couple ate awesome food, laughed, celebrated, and then ended the night with a lantern send off - epic!!

Linda + Kevin | Sunset Cliffs Surprise Proposal | San Diego Proposal Photographer

August 15, 2017 Sage Burke-Cabados

Kevin & Linda are from New York City, so planning this surprise proposal remotely was pretty difficult for Kevin, but it most definitely came through and is one of my favorite surprise proposals to date!

Kevin really wanted to surprise Linda with a surprise proposal on the beach, so with a little help from me, we found an amazing and somewhat isolated location at Sunset Cliffs for him to do his thing. Kevin was so nervous that he ended up not remember what he wrote down and was going to say, so after a few seconds of walking with her, he dropped to one knee - it was freaking adorable! :-)

Since I've been to the location a few different times (check out a past San Diego engagement session here), we drove to another isolated spot and took some amazing portraits at Sunset. I'm seriously in love with this set, so please take a minute to check out a small selection of the photos from this romantic beach proposal!