Skip to main content
Weddings

Dave Shay Photography Reviews

Dave Shay Photography View more information

Reviews

5.0 out of 5 rating
5.0 out of 5 rating
22 Reviews
100% recommend it
  • Quality of service
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Average response time
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Professionalism
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Value
    5 out of 5 rating
  • Flexibility
    5 out of 5 rating

Awards

22
WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards 2016 Winner
  • T
    Tara U. Sent on 05/15/2022
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating

    Pictures with an Artist's Eye

    When we set out to find a photographer for our wedding, we didn't want a run of the mill photographer. We wanted someone with a true artistic vision who could capture our spirit. Since the chapel is relatively dark, we started looking at photographers who already worked there, and then found ones that matched what we found valuable in pictures. We found Dave and then looked at his other work and knew he was the one for us. We reached out and Dave scheduled a call; it was similar to a screening for a job interview. He wanted to make sure that our vision and energy was something he understood and appreciated. We hit it off immediately! We were so excited to have our big party....then Covid hit. We decided to still have our wedding on the date of October 10, 2020, but it was going to be super small. At that time, only 15 people were allowed indoors, so it wasn't even all of our immediate family. Five days before the wedding, my brother and his family tested positive for Covid. We had to cancel immediately, since we had been exposed to them and the reception was going to be at their house. Dave understood right away, and promised to be there when we rescheduled. Cut to December of 2020 when we rescheduled, and my other brother's wife took a turn for the worse after valliantly battling cancer, so we did it again...we cancelled. We FINALLY made it down the aisle in March of 2022, and it could not have been more perfect.

    We decided to keep it relatively small still, 50 guests, and it was just right. Dave worked with us every step of the way, sharing his expertise and assurance that he's got us covered. The second shooter he had, Ben, was just as amazing and so personable. We had them until 9:00 pm but our reception kept getting turned up and up, and they stayed to keep shooting. I was concerned that we were cutting into their personal time at that point, and I said, "Dave, it's past 9:00!" He told me all is good, and they'll leave when they are truly ready. Just as they were getting ready to stop for real, a friend started an impromptu performance and Dave kept shooting. It was magical, it was special, it was just right.
  • Gina
    Gina Sent on 07/21/2021
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating

    Professional and Fun to Work With

    Dave Shay Photography was amazing to work with. Form the first time I reached out to Dave, throughout the pandemic ruining our original plans, to our “big day,” Dave was professional and knowledgeable throughout the whole process. He answered all of my detail-oriented questions and then some! In addition to all of the pre-wedding confidence I felt using this company, the day-of was incredible. Dave and his associate, Josh, took the reins to the day’s timeline and made sure I got all of his and my desired shots within the time limit we had (pre-ceremony photos). In addition to his organization and beautiful shots, I think it’s important to say that my husband and I didn’t even notice Dave or Josh shooting during the ceremony and his candid shots during the reception are total keepsakes! He even made sure to sweep my husband and I away after the ceremony for some time alone before the day got too crazy; during this time, Dave and Josh made us laugh and got the real, candid side of our relationship.
  • J
    Joshua R. Sent on 06/04/2019
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating

    Fantastic experience

    Not only was Dave on top of capturing the small moments we would never expect, he made sure we were the priority all day, helping us take in the small moments, even using his team as a human shield so we could enjoy a quick dinner before mingling. I could not recommend more.
  • illustration stars

    Are you interested?

    Send a message
  • A
    Aubrianna Sent on 05/30/2019
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating

    I would hire Dave time and time again

    Dave endured a whole lot on our wedding day and I will never be able to thank him enough for how perfectly he captured the best day of my life. When I say Dave goes the extra mile, I mean this man will put himself in pain, get drenched in pouring rain & lay down in dirt to get you the best shots you could imagine.
  • Caroline
    Caroline B. Sent on 12/30/2018
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating

    If you don’t use Dave you’re dumb

    Where do we even begin?! Dave did our engagement photos at The Biltmore and photographed our wedding. All of our photos are absolutely breathtaking. Dave is such a good guy. He even went as far as laying in the middle of our dance floor to get THE shot. On our wedding day he helped keep us so calm and was so much fun to work with. Tell can’t say enough great things about him and his photography
  • J
    Jennifer Sent on 10/29/2017
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave is truly talented and creates masterpieces!! I have and will continue to recommend him to anyone who is in need of a photographer. He is professional, approachable, reliable, genuine, and great to work with. I vaguely described what I wanted as far as photographs for my wedding, and he went above and beyond and knew exactly what I was looking for. He also took the time to get to know my husband and I, and took care of us more than our wedding planner did on the day of!! I am absolutely in love with our engagement and wedding photos, and will never forget the awesome experience we had with Dave.
  • S
    Shanna Sent on 05/12/2017
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave was great! Our shoot was downtown Raleigh NC. We had a great time shooting and pizza afterwards.
  • A
    Amber Sent on 06/25/2017
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Hiring Dave Shay photography for our wedding day was the best decision we made! Dave was excellent in answering any questions, super approachable and reachable, and just made the day easy and relaxing. Not to mention, our photos are gorgeous. We received them in an incredibly fast turn around time. People are constantly complimenting us on our beautiful wedding photos.
  • C
    Courtney Sent on 11/30/2016
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave has been an absolute pleasure to work with since our first meeting with him. He's a no BS kind of guy and won't try to sell you on anything that you don't want to do. He takes the time to get to know what you're looking for, and shares his style with you to determine if its the right fit. We booked Dave immediately. He did our engagement session with us which was so much fun. We were really nervous about taking cheesy photos but Dave isn't into anything cheesy (unless you're referring to tacos). On our wedding day, he ensured we got incredible shots but also got to enjoy the entirety of our day. We had our photos back to us by the time we got back from our two week honeymoon which was INSANE! If you're looking for incredible photos that capture your day, then you need Dave.
  • J
    Jennifer Sent on 11/05/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Our pictures turned out absolutely amazing! We got so many complements on how they look and we really couldn’t be happier.

    My husband and I were a bit nervous when we were searching for a photographer. Pictures are one of the most important things to us when it came to our wedding. We knew though from the first time that we met Dave that we were in good hands. Not only was he super easy to get along with, he was really knowledgeable about what he does.

    We had an engagement shoot included in our package and at first we thought that we didn’t need it. However, it was really nice to have it done. The engagement shoot not only resulted in pictures that we were excited to show people, but it allowed Dave to learn how my husband and I interacted as a couple. It also showed us what he expects from us on the wedding day and made everything go a lot smoother once our big day was finally here!

    When it was finally time for our wedding day, we were extremely thankful to have Dave by our side capturing everything. He was there from the time I got ready in the morning to end of the reception. During the ceremony, he was really respectful and managed to capture a lot of photos while blending in to the crowd. Once at the reception, Dave was able to capture a number of awesome photos while still getting us back in time for us to enjoy the cocktail hour. Even throughout the night, Dave captured all of our important moments and then some!

    We had a hard time trying to write this review because it was almost too difficult to express how amazing Dave was to work with and how good he is at his job without sounding really cliché. I still don’t think this review was able to capture how thankful we were to have Dave as our photographer. Dave, thanks for everything that you did for us! We couldn’t have a better photographer with us on our special day! We wish you the best of luck! Keep taking amazing photos!
  • B
    Brooke Sent on 01/24/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    We can't thank Dave Shay Photography enough for capturing such wonderful pictures on our wedding day. We planned our wedding in less than 8 weeks but we couldn't have been happier with having Dave as our photographer. He was amazing...flexible, kind, down to earth, professional and really took the time to listen to our "story" and capture it all in his photographs. Our wedding was about so much more than the clothing, decorations, music etc. and he truly captured the story. It was such an amazing and emotional day and even now as we look at these photos we feel like we're experiencing the day all over again. I was speechless (which is rare) and I can't help but feel immense gratitude for all that he did for us! He has a true gift for what he does and it shines through in every picture and in every interaction with him. The photos of my Grandparents are absolutely breathtaking and will be cherished forever. We can't thank him enough..
  • R
    Rachel Sent on 10/06/2014
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave was the best photographer we've ever seen. He was always there getting any shot we could have ever wanted, and more. He even gave us our sneak peak photo within a few days. We are so excited to see all the photos, as we know they'll be just as great!!!!!
  • C
    Courtney Sent on 09/20/2014
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    DAVE SHAY PHOTOGRAPHY IS A MUST HIRE VENDOR FOR YOUR WEDDING DAY!!

    My husband and I cannot express enough how absolutely incredible Dave and his second shooter Aaron were on our wedding day as well as through all the months leading up to the big day. He is so fantastically talented and was even willing to hike up a crazy steep trail with all of his equipment for our engagement shoot session. Dave went absolutely above and beyond, meeting all of our expectations (and then some) and his work is breath-taking! Our friends and family couldn't stop raving about how professional he was and how great the Day Of Slideshow was at the reception. We cannot sing Dave's praises enough - our wedding day absolutely would not be complete without him capturing every special moment!
  • J
    Justina Sent on 01/02/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave is an extremely likeable person and will go above and beyond to meet your photography expectations. His expertise is evident in how he performs his craft and there's no one else I would have trusted with my engagement and wedding pictures. Hands down the best!!!
  • S
    Steven Sent on 01/18/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    If there was a "vendor of the wedding" award to give, Dave Shay would take it home every time. From our first consultation to establishing a contract to final delivery of our album, he operated transparently and quickly. The systems and processes that Dave has in place are outstandingly simple.
    Not once did my wife or I feel like we weren't being taken special care of. I cannot recommend him more highly. For our engagement session and wedding day, he blew us away with his ability to assess the environment and guide us in getting some really stellar shots. When he posed us, it was never awkward or uncomfortable. The candid shots had even my photographer father-in-law stunned. Dave exudes a deep passion for his craft; I was shocked and impressed to learn that he actually hand-built one of the cameras he used to shoot our engagement session - how awesome is that?

    To sum it up - when you work with Dave, you get quality and peace of mind. His process, his people, his equipment, and his raw talent are all remarkable.

    In us, he has lifetime customers for any professional photography needs
  • B
    Brian Sent on 01/10/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave was amazing and professional. He traveled to NH for our wedding and the images he delivered were amazing and awe inspiring. I would recommend him to anyone.
  • User1994332 Sent on 01/02/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    We didn't really know what we wanted and he was very helpful in us figuring it out. He is very professional and talented. And we got our pictures, album and canvases touched up an delivered before we were even back from our honeymoon. Overall a great experience and I would recommend him whole heartedly
  • R
    Rebecca Sent on 01/02/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave is artistic and creative, but also skilled and technical. This combination makes him exceptionally talented as a photographer. His passion for what he does makes clients feel valued. Dave directs people with ease and makes everyone feel as comfortable as possible. He is very versatile and will try anything to get the right shot. I highly recommend him. He is a brilliant photographer and a genuinely great guy.
  • C
    Christen Sent on 01/19/2015
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave is such a talented photographer! He hid in the bushes to get the perfect picture of our proposal without me knowing he was there! He goes above and beyond to make sure we are happy and is extremely flexible. We didn't have much time for pictures but that didn't matter. Our wedding photos came out more beautiful than we ever imagined. He's such a pleasure to work with and very professional. We also had our pictures shortly after we came back from our honeymoon. No wait half a year to see your special day all over again.
  • D
    Dan Sent on 08/10/2013
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    I cannot say enough about Dave Shay. He took every picture we could have ever imagined and they all look great. He spent time getting to know my wife and I and catered our pictures to our tastes. He was incredibly quick to respond, he even had pictures of our ceremony playing on a slideshow at our reception!

    Everyone I show our wedding pictures to raves about the quality and wished they could have used his services when they got married. Dave and his wife are incredible people. I would recommend his services to anyone.
  • J
    Jason Sent on 08/10/2013
    5 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    Dave Shay Photography is absolutely top notch! Between his outstanding work ethic, his amiable personality, and his bend-over-backwards to satisfy the customer attitude, Dave gave us a photography experience we will never forget! We are SO very grateful to Dave for his care and advice - he really knew what we were looking for in our wedding pictures and gave us exactly that - and more! The wedding photos we received from Dave surprised us with their artistic beauty and technical expertise. They were all that we imagined they could be! Dave gave us photos of the highest quality craftsmanship. With Dave Shay photography, you absolutely get your money's worth!
  • User1180166 Sent on 05/30/2013
    4.7 out of 5 rating
    • Quality of service
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Average response time
      4.0 out of 5 rating
    • Professionalism
      4.5 out of 5 rating
    • Value
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    • Flexibility
      5.0 out of 5 rating
    I thought Dave's non-intrusive approach to my wedding was amazing! I didn't want a photographer on stage with us or bothering us or our guests all day. It's like we didn't know he was there.. until we got our images!

    Dave Shay Photography's reply:

    Hey, I'm just setting up wedding wire and it was so nice to have reviews waiting for me when I first logged in. Thanks so much for your review :) Is there anything that I could do to bring this up to 5 stars?
illustration stars

Are you interested?

Send a message