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BRANDON SCOTT // Big Sur + Carmel Wedding Photographer

@hellobrandonscott

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Wedding photographer for the nostalgic.
Leica film and digital.
Based in Monterey, available everywhere.
@pictime_us ambassador.

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And that’s a wrap.

17 couples, 23 planned events, nearly 200 rental setups. All packed into four wild, beautiful, chaotic months.

We’re officially closing out wedding season and taking a deep breath (or five) before diving into our 2026 designs. On the planning side, we’ve got just two summer dates left, and rental inquiries are already rolling in hot.

This time of year always feels a little weird. We spend over a year planning with each couple. Months of calls, emails, walk-throughs, and design boards, and then suddenly it’s over. Post-wedding-season feels like a mix of pride, exhaustion, and that “wait, what do I do with my weekends now?” energy.

Big shoutout to all our 2025 couples. We loved every minute with you.

For now, the team is catching our breath. I’m sneaking in as much mountain biking as I can before the snow drops, and fun life update: @kaitycole3 finally got a mountain bike… and she’s hooked.

Here’s to rest, recovery, and dreaming up what’s next.

Photography: @hellobrandonscott
Cinema: @madisentimp_weddings
Bar: @sips.mobile.bar
Beauty: @topknotweddinghair + @loudlightsbeauty
Catering: @crestedbuttecateringcompany
Drapery: @luckypennyevents
Entertainment: @desertchildevents
Florals: @markedbyalex
Planning, Design, Styling & Coordination: @luckypennyevents
Rentals: @luckypennyevents
Restroom Rentals: @thelavishloo
Stationery: @ofeliabotella
Transportation: #dollysmountainshuttle
Venue: #CreeksideRanch

#crestedbuttewedding #coloradowedding #tentedwedding #weddingdrapery #greenwedding #weddingtent

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Part II of our wedding photos by @hellobrandonscott

Happy Lunar New Year! Chúc mừng năm mới!

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Life has been out of balance lately.

Megan is in the deep end of grad school, Madison’s back in preschool doing preschool things, and I’m in the middle of another busiest season of work.

I think when most people say life is out of balance, what they’re really saying is what they’d rather be doing is suffering because of things they’d rather not be doing.

That’s not what’s going on here.

All these things - grad school, toddler things, incredibly busy wedding schedule - are all pursuits that give us purpose. As mentally, creatively, even physically exhausting they might be, they’re life giving all the same.

Paradoxical in a way. The day after a wedding I’m a vegetable on the couch but with a smile in my heart.

What we haven’t had much time for is each other.

The fam, the core.

We take quick bites whenever we can. Maybe it means both of us going to preschool drop off, or maybe it means Megan and Madison hop on a flight with me. Little bites of togetherness.

The fluctuation and flow of these seasons though are what give life the color we need.

For every flood tide there comes an ebb.

At least we’re on the boat together.

#hellobrandonscott #hellobrandonscottftw

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S I X H U N D R E D. I photographed my 600th wedding last week and had to double check the math to make sure that was accurate... Absolutely humbling. Totally wild. ⁠
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To all the couples, for the moments and beautiful days that number represents - THANK YOU for trusting me to be right there with you. ⁠
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Heart you all.⁠
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#hellobrandonscott

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This week, more than most, had a theme weaving through it - water. Both under it and above it.

Madison finished up an adorable toddler swim class this week she’d been working on nearly everyday of the week for four weeks. She was absolutely beaming with achievement. She can’t swim laps yet, but she’s more than comfortable existing in an environment humans weren’t made to feel comfortable in. I couldn’t be more proud of her.

And today Megan and I got some much needed time alone and decided to spend it taking the old sailboat out. It was a rare proper summer day here. Hot. Nice breeze. Clear skies. We couldn’t waste it.

I’m a guy who really appreciates analog versions of things. Offer me a digital camera and it’s processors, batteries and screens; or a film camera, with its watch-like windings, gears and capability of taking a photo without a power source, and yeah, nine times out of ten I’ll take you up on the film camera.

Same is true of this old sailboat. We use the motor to escape the chaos of the harbor safely and quickly, but no greater feeling exists than shutting it off, raising the sails, and gliding along the choppy tides with only the wind moving us along.

You hear sounds that a motor drowns out. Lapping waves against the hull. The slight drone the rudder makes while it courses through the currents. The birds beating their wings as they skim across the surface of the water.

It’s elemental. It’s beautiful.

#hellobrandonscott #hellobrandonscottftw #sailing #persol #leica #leicaQ2

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I always wanted to be a morning person. Read about any iconic achiever and waking up early usually makes an appearance in the inventory of their Success Toolkit.

This month I’ve made it a point to set an alarm, wake up with the sun, and head out to a coffee shop to get in a big bite of extracurricular work before the rest of the day lets loose. I’m good about making time for core business activities - taking photos of couples, editing photos, bookkeeping - but am the absolute worst at carving out time for the less critical things - planning instagram posts, blogging, submitting, writing, publishing.

Every hour of every day is maxed out and claimed by something. So the only way to expand my capabilities was to trade in a bit of sleep. And ya know, it worked. The stress and weight I felt by always feeling behind on the extras is finally lifting. I’ve managed to get blogs written, a bunch of weddings submitted, all sorts of lofty when-I-find-the-time todo items checked off. Feels incredible.

If you’ve tried and failed like I have before, the thing that made all the difference this time around was having a very small list of actual items I wanted to accomplish planned out the night before. My brain knows, when the alarm goes off, if the task list it needs to wake up for is vague, and will instead push it off to some other day. But if it knows I need to do items A, B, and C, it’ll wake up and get after it. That’s just me, your brain might be wired differently.

Anyway, just felt like rambling about mornings lately.

Thanks @captainstoker for providing the caffeine needed to function at stupid hours.

#hellobrandonscott #bestmadeco #barbour #mornings #artofmanliness #huckberry

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A rare family photo.⁠
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#hellobrandonscott #hellobrandonscottftw #pictime_home

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Even a bit out of focus, I'm so thankful this photo exists. TBH I wish I had more photos with couples. We get to be so close throughout this process (dare I even say we become friends?) and then the day ends and we go our separate ways. ⁠
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Someday I wanna throw a big party and invite all the couples I've ever photographed so we can all hangout again. Little reunion of sorts. I feel like all of you would be besties with each other too. ⁠
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Anyway, dear guest who borrowed my camera for this photo, endless thanks. 🙏🏼⁠
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w/ @meredithpoppel @elliottpoppel @mariahgreenevents @seafoam_films @big_sur_flowers @henrymillerlib⁠
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#hellobrandonscott #henrymillerlibrary #bigsurwedding #bigsurweddingphotographer #wanderlust #redwoods #junebugweddings #henrymillerlibrarywedding #folk #forestwedding #cabinlove #leica #leicaQ2

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You’ve heard the rumors of an extra tax on Venmo and PayPal transactions - lets unpack it!

#hellobrandonscott #venmotax #paypaltax #weddingphotography #risingtidesociety #junebugweddings #filmisnotdead #photobugcommunity

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December is the month where most wedding photographers begin the transition from photographer to editor. We’ve been working like crazy people for the last few months, bearing witness to the greatest days in most people’s lives, and now it’s time to take those snaps and polish them up.

My dear couples, bear with me as I pour a few more cups of coffee, stay up a few hours later and make these memories beautiful. This is a weird job at times - the need for a timely deliverable is held in perfect tension with the artistic process.

To my fellow wedding photographers. Work hard but don’t rush for time’s sake. Take an extra day if needed to make them great. Keep the big picture in mind - a little extra time spent polishing these memories won’t matter when they’re picked up and experienced 80 years from now.

It’s December. Brew that coffee and hustle.

#hellobrandonscott #travel #mendocinowedding #weddingphotographer #filson #wanderlust #hustle #risingtidesociety #barbour #huckberry #folk #cabin #forestwedding #cabinlove #leica #leicasl2s #wmbrownstyle #landrover #gentlemansjournal

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Alrighty! On to more answers to your questions about running your business better. Today’s answer is in response to one several of you asked - what’s the best bookkeeping software to keep track of income and expenses?

I gotchu.

#hellobrandonscott #wanderlust #adventurewedding #radlovestories #adventurouscouples #wildloveadventures #adventurouslovestories #belovedweddingstories #bhldnbride #lookslikefilmweddings #dirtybootsandmessyhair #bigsurweddingphotographer #bigsur #bigsurwedding #leicasl2s #leica #investing #retirementtips #quickbooks #filson

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Thanks to all of you for the tidal wave of questions! I’m going to spread them out over several more videos to keep them on the shorter side, but today we’ll start off with two I get a lot - what’s a good source of passive income, and another, what’s the benefit of switching to an S-Corp or LLC?
 LMK if this was helpful or how it can be improved!

#hellobrandonscott #wanderlust #adventurewedding #radlovestories #adventurouscouples #wildloveadventures #adventurouslovestories #belovedweddingstories #bhldnbride #lookslikefilmweddings #dirtybootsandmessyhair #bigsurweddingphotographer #bigsur #bigsurwedding #leicasl2s #leica #investing #retirementtips

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