Raves

Kristy & Patrick
Location: St. Peter & Paul Church and the Bubble Lounge, San Francisco

Lilia and her husband Ray are completely amazing. Our wedding was in May, and we were planning from Reno. The first time I met Lilia was in her apartment, where she had me review some of her albums and watch a slideshow of her work. I was blown away. We didn’t meet again until two days before the wedding, when we discussed my haphazard timeline and chatted a bit.

She and Ray arrived on time, ready to go. They encouraged me to keep to the timeline I had arranged, but never were pushy or rude or even anything less than completely nice. They had thought of things that I hadn’t (e.g., bringing money with me for the cab ride over to the church), and were fun to be around. Their photographic style is very clean, with a photojournalism appeal to it–reception and wedding pictures are not posed (except for the portraits), and their work truly represents amazing photographers who use the computer only to make slight adjustments–not like many photographers who were computer geeks first and picked up a camera to make some extra money.

The photos are amazing. Lilia delivered them exactly when she said she would, with no prodding or reminders. She was willing to get down in the dirt and take photos to get the right ones–very into what she’s doing yet relaxed and friendly at the same time. My husband’s godmother (also a photographer) said quote, “However much you paid for them is worth it. They make my photos look like an amateur.”

I really can’t say enough about them, but their ratings on Yelp speak more than I ever could. I appreciated having a reliable vendor who was accommodating and friendly, who did their job amazingly, and made my day (at least as far as the photos were concerned) go off without a hitch.

Kerry & Ryan
Location: Berkeley City Club, Berkeley

Lilia is THE BEST! Lilia and her husband Ray photographed my wedding in Berkeley in October 2010, and shot an engagement session for my wife and me in the Mission in July 2010.

I guess I should start with the photos, since that’s really what we’re after when it comes to a photographer. Lilia and Ray’s shots are both beautiful and personal. They’re really evocative of the tone and spirit of my wedding, which we planned as a non-traditional event. The amazing thing is, not only do the photos look great and capture the emotion of the event perfectly, they show moments of our special day that my wife and I were so caught up to not even notice as they were happening. Lilia and Ray did a great job of capturing all the important and traditional events and details throughout the wedding (e.g., dressing, flowers, portraits, service, toasts, first dance, cake cutting). But more importantly, they really show the perspective of time and place — there’s a point of view to most of the shots from the reception that really place the viewer in the thick of the action. This was extremely important to us when choosing a photographer, and Lilia really delivered!

But, almost as important as the product in our experience with Lilia was the interaction. Lilia really made us feel like she understood our needs and struck a nice balance of giving us what we asked for and guiding us towards the best possible way to execute. She was by far the most organized, attentive, and responsive vendor we hired during the long wedding-planning saga, and she always made us feel like she not only had the time for us, but that she actually enjoyed working with us and, if anything, would spend more time with us if we would let her! Lilia is super nice, warm, and enthusiastic, which are all important traits for a photographer. However, she’s also smart, thoughtful, and thorough, which are characteristics that are hard to find in any person, no less a wedding vendor.

To be absolutely honest, there wasn’t a single moment during our entire interaction with Lilia when we even had the shade of doubt or regret — she constantly built our trust and delivered with confidence. I would not hesitate for a second to recommend Lilia to any friend looking for top-notch event photography with a distinct point of view.

Carol & Amar
Location:Palace Hotel, San Francisco

A huge thank you to Lilia and Ray for the amazing work for our wedding! They were one of our favorite vendors. The photographs turned out to be fantastic and they made everyone feel so at ease.

 

 

 

Ariel & Aron
Location:San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco

Thank you so much for your amazing photography during our wedding. The whole bridal party had fun during our photo sessions before the wedding and enjoyed your amusing instructions. Also, you really made Aron and I feel comfortable and relaxed during the photo-taking. Aron and I got the album today! We looked through it and it’s awesome. We really like it. You did a fantastic job, and it will be an amazing memory of our big day forever. Thanks for being an amazing photographer!

 

 

 

Jen & Joel
Location:San Francisco Engagement Session

I found Lilia through Offbeat Bride and we had her do our engagement shoot in San Francisco. Neither my fiance or I are very outgoing or camera friendly, but Lilia made us feel so at ease. We met first before the shoot so that we could see examples of her work then we made an appointment for the actual shoot. On the day we were supposed to go out, it was supposed to rain ( and it poured!!) so Lilia called a few days before to reschedule. We ended up going out the week after. We booked a 2 hour session and we took pictures at the carousel in Golden Gate Park, the DeYoung Museum, and Baker Beach. We LOVE our pictures and are very happy that she was able to capture such amazing shots! We highly recommend her!

 

 

 

Lisa Marie & Richard
Location: San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco

It is a complete pleasure to recommend Lilia as a wedding photographer. From the very start, we were so pleased with everything she did to make it the best choice we made… I would not change a thing!

We never met her in person beforehand. But her gorgeous portfolio & initial phone conversation were enough to give us complete confidence in her personality, talent & vision. We got married at SF City Hall, just the two of us, and Lilia knows every in and out of the process. Her guidance, hard work, patience, creativity, time, thoughtfulness and open-mindedness were invaluable to us on that very special day. She went above and beyond as our witness, creative director and photographer.

She took extra time with us and adapted our locations based on weather and opportunity. We have the most amazing slideshow set to music and a stunning gallery of photos that make us look like a real celebrity wedding. Truly we were blown away by every last shot. The color, light, angles, and, what’s most, the emotion, captured in them just astounded us. We are beyond thrilled with them!!!!! Our main concern was that our photos would look like a lot of other couples’ photos. Not at all! They are 100% us and we are SO happy with every last one.

The day went so fast we are so happy to be able to relive it and notice all of the details we may have missed. Lilia’s photos are a treat for the senses! We are so grateful for the care and time she put in. They are utterly artistic and incredible. Overall the experience was so much more than we had even imagined. We knew Lilia was very creative & talented. She is also a wonderfully sincere person, VERY professional, and took our day seriously and with respect even while having a great time with her. I have at least 2 friends who made grave mistakes in their choice of wedding photographers and have lived to regret it as they can’t even stand to look at their photos. That lesson led us to choose someone as special as Lilia, and we will live a life with blissfully beautiful photos because of it. Every cent we paid was one of the wisest investments we will ever make…

Lilia, you have made our whole family so happy. They felt like they were there through your remarkable photos. Thank you, thank you again. We will be admiring them for days, weeks, years and that is the greatest wedding gift we could have.

Stephanie & David
Location: Cliffhouse, San Francisco
Beyond wonderful! We found Lilia through their amazing photos of a friend’s wedding… they truly caught the humor, sensuality, and spark of who they are, together. We didn’t even interview other photographers. Our engagement photos were beautiful, candid, and exactly what we wanted. Lilia and Ray were awesome! They felt like a totally natural extension of our guests, and helped us feel comfortable in front of the camera. They even DROVE us from the ceremony to the reception! What service!

Veronica & Sergio
Location: St. Boniface Church, San Francisco
My husband and I decided to have a destination wedding in San Francisco and we came across Lilia’s website and thought we’d check them out. Lilia and her husband Ray were so accommodating and we felt an instant connection! Since they are San Francisco natives, they found great spots for us to take pictures and words cannot describe how amazing our photos came out. Lilia and Ray have such a distinct eye and captured some amazing moments!! I’m am so glad to have found Lilia Photography! Thanks to them, we have pictures that will forever help us cherish those wonderful memories. I would recommend them to anyone I know.

Joyce & James
Location: Castlewood, Pleasanton
We couldn’t be happier with hiring Ray and Lilia. They captured our day beautifully and were so fun to work with. The pictures turned out perfectly! Not too overdone, just natural and completely our style. We couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out-talk about blessing in disguise. They are great!

Nicole & Peter
Location: Private Estate in Novato
Our experience with Lilia Photography was superb. They delivered professional photographs — capturing the essence of the moment during our engagement photo shoot and throughout our wedding. They brought creative ideas and tailored shots to capture our personal style. They also solicited our ideas about special shots to ensure they met our expectations. At the last minute due to rain, our wedding moved from outdoors to indoors. They demonstrated calm flexibility during this key transition and did not miss a beat. Their work result was truly spectacular. We highly recommend using Lilia Photography for your special moments.

Julie & Lou
Location: Brix, Napa
Lilia and Ray were dream photographers! My photos are gorgeous, and every time I look at them I am reminded of our perfect wedding day! Lilia put together a beautiful slideshow (for instant gratification) to share with all of our family and friends and then designed the most beautiful album for us to have forever! Their team comes highly recommended by us!

Ashley & Chris
Location: Viansa Winery, Sonoma
I just wanted to thank you for the beautiful pictures you have given us! You were able to produce pictures that I will want to look at for the rest of my life. Only someone with great talent could do that. They are also more fun and exciting than other wedding photos I have seen.

Misono & Dan
Location: San Francisco
Lilia and Ray took our engagement photos and, more recently, our “We Did” session. Their shoots are always fun, and Lilia somehow knows how to make you feel natural and comfortable in front of the camera. They listened to our ideas on what sort of feel we wanted in the shoot locations, and based on our conversations, they gave us some good suggestions of places to take the photos. They also genuinely tried to get to know their couples so that they could reflect their personality in the pictures, which I think really comes through. They worked magic with lighting, angles, and creative poses, and we were very pleased with the results. Lilia Photography is truly a dream to work with, and they come with our highest recommendation.