Shelly Pate Photography Reviews
Reviews
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Krystine Sent on 05/24/2020Shelly Pate photography is worth every penny!
Shelly is amazing! We’ve been working with her for our wedding since last summer and she has been so accommodating to our needs. We did our engagement shoot with her last year and unfortunately we had to postpone our reception another 5 months because of the pandemic. Shelly was so proactive and flexible that we didn’t have any issues with rescheduling. She was present for our small ceremony this weekend and she not only took care of her scope of work but also coordinated with our videographer to make sure they captured what we wanted. Shelly goes above and beyond what you expect from a vendor. She’s professional, but easy to talk to, and she makes the environment fun and comfortable for her clients. This is on top of the beautiful pictures she produces after each session =) We’re looking forward to working with her and her husband again in a few months! -
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Megan Sent on 12/06/2025Shelly is a gift!
I need to scream from the rooftops how much I love Shelly!!
First off, she is an absolute artist. I was drawn to her early on for her past work and any additional galleries she sent me did not disappoint. She was the photographer to whom I was comparing all other photographers we looked at or spoke with and I just knew I had to have her.
She is so easy to work with - she's friendly and kind and made both of us feel so comfortable during both our engagement photoshoot and during our wedding day. Then she just works absolute magic - every single photo deserves to be framed and I am so unbelievably happy that we had her to capture our big day and preserve that magic for us forever.
And ladies if you're thinking about also booking her for a very different type of photoshoot, I can also recommend that 100/10. Shelly is just a straight up gift and I plan to reach out to her for any and all photoshoots for us in the future. -
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Nicole Sent on 10/07/2025
She is the best!
Shelly is amazing! Our photos came out SOO GOOD. She’s also awesome to be around! She is soo sweet and easy going which made us feel comfortable in front of the camera (which can be difficult for us.)
We had an amazing experience during our engagement photos which we used for our save-the-dates, it was really hard to pick one because they all came out great!
For our wedding day, we had a detailed timeline for the day that was outlined and made by Shelly based off what we wanted. Everything came out perfect, thank you Shelly!!! -
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Shelby Sent on 07/26/2024
July 2024 Wedding
My husband and I got married in Virginia in July 2024. Shelly Pate Photography exceeded our expectations with our engagement and wedding photos. From the moment we met, her professionalism and passion for capturing special moments were evident. On the big day, Shelly and Patrick seamlessly blended into the background, capturing candid shots and intimate details that truly reflected the spirit of the occasion. Shelly’s eye for detail and creative flair resulted in breathtaking photos that tell the story of our wedding beautifully. Every image is a perfect blend of artistry and emotion, preserving our memories in a way that we will cherish forever. Beyond their exceptional skills, their warm and friendly demeanor made the entire process enjoyable and stress-free. They were incredibly accommodating and genuinely invested in making sure every moment was captured to perfection. If you’re looking for a photographer who delivers stunning, memorable images with a personal touch, look no further. My husband and I still cannot believe how stunning the photos are from our wedding - we have never felt so beautiful in our lives! Thank you Shelly and Patrick for capturing our perfect day perfectly. Shelly Pate Photography is truly outstanding! Shelby & Joe G. -
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Shelby Sent on 05/10/2023Shelly was wonderful!
She was timely, professional, and the photos were beautiful. -
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Jenna Sent on 12/12/2022Stop Looking and Book Shelly Pate!
I cannot attempt to capture how amazing & talented Shelly is through a short review. She is truly a master of her craft and I'm thankful that we were able to experience her mastery on our wedding day.
I felt very natural working with her. Even though my husband and I felt a bit uncomfortable being in front of the camera, Shelly made it a point to make us feel like naturals. She was able to capture a complete spectrum of images from candids, to raw moments, & formal poses.
Her energy & creativity truly are unmatched and my wedding photographs are something I will cherish forever and I am eternally grateful for Shelly & her true professionalism. -
Desiree Sent on 11/18/2022
Shelly creates stunning photographs and makes the process a breeze for clients!
My husband and I had a fantastic experience working with Shelly for our engagement photos and wedding. We cannot say enough great things about collaborating with her but since we're here ;):
She is very communicative and responsive. She answered all of our questions thoughtfully and with care - everything from making family lists for the wedding to recommendations for shoes. She and Patrick were fun to be with during the big day and put both us and our bridal group at ease. We ADORE the photos we've recieved so far! Not only is her work stunning and bespoke, but she made the entire process stress free, engaging and FUN! (especially for two people who aren't used to having our photos taken)
11/10 must hire!!
Thanks Shelly and Patrick!! -
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Emily Sent on 11/07/2022Hire Shelly!
I could not recommend Shelly more highly. She was great with every single part of the process. She sent us this incredibly detailed document that answered all of my questions, which made me feel so reassured before the wedding and engagement shoot about the process and her professionalism. I told her about the vibe that I wanted--bright! colorful!--and she totally delivered, while also adding a sort of dreamy, nostalgic quality that I love. She also brings a very chill, comfortable vibe to shoots that really helps if you're nervous! Her husband was our second photographer and he is also delightful. Can't say enough good things. -
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Stephanie Sent on 10/31/2022
Best photographer!
Shelly was the best decision we made when it comes to our wedding. She exceeded all of our expectations. She was amazing to work with and is very professional and timely. She definitely goes above and beyond what you would expect for a photographer. She is so organized and gives you a guide with a bunch of advice that I would have never thought of that helped my wedding run so smoothly. She captured our big day perfectly. She is so incredible talented and it shows in her pictures. She knows exactly what angle to take and is a master with lighting. She made everyone feel so comfortable in front of the camera. She was also able to capture all the emotions of our big day perfectly. She shot our engagement photos as well, which turned out amazing. We received so many compliments on her photos. Her work really speaks for itself. Shelly was so much fun to work with and I am so glad I trusted her to capture my wedding day. We can’t recommend Shelly enough! -
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Kira Sent on 10/16/2022Shelly's incredible - highly recommend
Shelly is truly the best and you can’t go wrong choosing to work with her! My husband and I had an intimate, self-officiated ceremony in the woods (Shelly and our dog were our only witnesses) followed by a family picnic, We knew we’d need a photographer that we could feel comfortable with in such a small group and Shelly was the perfect fit. From climbing on rocks in the creek and running through meadows, Shelly helped us relax and have a ton of fun during what we feared could be an awkward experience. She is flexible, easy going, and just a genuinely kind person. We were blown away when we received our sneak peeks - she truly captured our joy and went way beyond our expectations! Highly recommend her. -
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Suzanne Sent on 02/08/2022There is no photographer like Shelly Pate!
Shelly Pate is more than a photographer, she is the partner in wedding crime you didn’t know you needed. We hired Shelly for our September 2021 wedding and she was such a wealth of knowledge on so many fronts. On the photography front, her photos do speak for themselves. Prior to interviewing her we already were sold because the examples of her work are beyond gorgeous. She has a way of taking effortless, glam, special yet simple, artistic yet timeless photos- its hard to explain her work but its amazing and she did deliver that and more for our wedding. Her portfolio of pictures alone made us want to work with her but the fact that she is not only talented but so extremely kind and down to earth made the decision that much more of a no-brainer for us. Shelly is SO organized and a true professional. She has so many years of experience and shares all the helpful tips and tricks she has learned over the years to make your life easier, almost like a wedding planner! On the day of the wedding she was punctual and best of all she guided and advised us on poses for the most beautiful wedding pictures. You may be someone who already knows what kind of poses you want to take but for my husband and I we were clueless and really appreciated all of Shellys guidance. She also is such a team player she worked amazingly with our videographer, you would have never known they were just meeting for the first time. She is so sweet and when you meet her you will immediately feel her passion for what she does. She has shot so many beautiful weddings and I know she has seen so many gorgeous things but when she is shooting your wedding she really brings the energy and sincerity to the day that your wedding is truly such a special day and she wants to capture all the beautiful moments for you to cherish for your lifetime. After working with Shelly there is no other photographer I would trust to capture your once in a lifetime moments. -
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Michaela Sent on 12/22/2021So in love
I knew from the moment I saw Shelly’s photos, that her style was exactly what I wanted, and she definitely delivered! I am in awe of our sneak peek pictures from our wedding day and I know the full gallery will not disappoint. Not only did she capture perfectly the feeling of the day but she was a delight and comfort to work with. Which was important to us, since we’re a little camera shy! So thankful we’ll always have these beautiful photos to relive the day again and again!
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Molly Sent on 12/01/2021Cool, calm, & classy
Shelly was an absolutely DELIGHT to work with. We postponed our wedding twice.... 16 months between original date and final date on 11/20/2021 and she stuck with us through it all. She added such amazing personal touches to her work along the way, and was extremely easy to work with. Her style is artsy and beautiful and she takes time to really get to know her clients. Dave and I felt very at ease with her immediately and are absolutely OBSESSED with our engagment photos. Cannot wait to see how the wedding day pictures turn out.... I'm extremely confident they'll be exactly what we want. Shelly worked very effortlessly into our wedding day and with the videography team from another company alongside her. Her partner, Patrick, was equally as great to work with and I highly highly recommend them to anyone! She typically shoots for elopements and smaller weddings, but does a few larger weddings per year and we were lucky enough to snap her up before anyone else did for our 183 person guest list!!! -
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Jennyo Sent on 08/17/2021Pictures turned out beautiful!
Shelly and her husband, Patrick, were so wonderful to work with. They are both very easy going which was really nice on such a hectic day! I told her what I wanted and she gave me exactly what I was looking for! -
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Casey Sent on 06/13/2021Amazing elopement experience
Shelly was the only other person in attendance for our self-officiated elopement in DC and it was truly perfect. We were nervous it might be a bit awkward just the three of us, but it wasn't *at all*. We felt so comfortable with Shelly immediately and had so much fun! She helped us structure the evening and ensured we took advantage of all the best possible photo opportunities. We could not be happier with how the photos turned out. The "sneak peek" we received a few days later included SO many photos, which allowed us to send announcements and share pictures with our families right away - an awesome and unexpected perk. Our full album was finished just a few weeks later. We can't recommend Shelly enough and are already trying to come up with reasons to hire her for more photos soon!! -
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Rajni Sent on 01/24/2020Would recommend in a heart beat!
We had an interfaith/cross-cultural wedding, and it was very important that we found someone who could capture the different aspects of our wedding. Shelly nailed it, and we cherish her photos more than we can express. She just has knack for capturing the authentic love of the couple before her - nothing forced or awkward - just all the good, goofy, and sweet moments. Shelly is a talent, and a pleasure to work with. And shout out to her assistant/husband Patrick, who also does a fantastic job! -
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Kathryn Sent on 12/04/2019We loved working with Shelly!
My husband and I used Shelly as our wedding photographer for a non-traditional elopement - we got married in our backyard without any guests. Shelly was AWESOME from the first time I contacted her to get pricing and was super flexible with creating a custom package that worked for our day. We ended up doing portraits at the arboretum before a private ceremony in our backyard - and all the pictures are AMAZING!!! We actually opted not to do an engagement shoot since our wedding was so low key, but we still felt super comfortable from the moment we started taking pics with Shelly. She had made time to meet up with us a few months before to get to know our vision, and was always available via email whenever I had a logistics questions (our plans for where we would elope changed a few times). We also had a call the week of the wedding to run through our final plans and timing of everything and knew we'd be in great hands the day of.
We ended up with a ridiculous number of beautiful pictures. We are SO SO SO happy we used Shelly and would highly recommend her as an exceptional wedding photographer. -
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Megan Sent on 11/09/2019Spectacular photographer!
Shelly was amazing! She did our engagement photos and our wedding photos! She is so personable and extremely
Talented. She was also very flexible. On wedding day she went to the hotel, then to the national gallery of art for first look and bride/groom photos, and bridal party photos, then to Jefferson memorial for the ceremony, and then to top of the town for our reception. She took so many amazing photos, and got specific shots that I asked for! I only have a few sneak peeks now since I only got married a few weeks ago. See for yourself how incredible she is! -
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Katie Sent on 10/13/2019Artistic, gorgeous pictures!
Shelly made us feel so at ease during our engagement photo shoot and wedding pictures. She captured everything with a beautiful, unique perspective. I strongly recommend her services!! She is the utmost professional, very prepared and excellent at her craft. -
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Allison Sent on 07/29/2019Helpful, relaxed, and fun!
Shelly is the absolute best! We love all of our pictures so much. They are perfect. Her husband Patrick was our second photographer and they worked so well together. Our engagement photos happened to take place outside in early February and it was about 12 degrees at our sunrise session. The fact that they were willing to do that for us says a lot! Also my husband and I didn’t have a great timeline set up for the getting ready portion of our wedding day and Shelly really helped us with that. I’m so happy we chose her as our photographer! -
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Stephanie Sent on 11/12/2018Amazing!!!
Shelly was so so great to work with! Instead of doing an engagement photo session, we did a bridal photo session. I thought it might be awkward but Shelly made me feel extremely comfortable. She was flexible on the shoot location, and also had lots of great ideas. On our wedding day, Shelly was super responsive to our needs and knew exactly what shots to get based on our previous conversations. She and her husband were well prepared, professional, and fun to be around! We just received our photos this week, and I can't stop looking at them. She has a natural eye for composition. Our first look shots are my absolute favorite, I thinks he captured our relationship beautifully. I would definitely recommend Shelly! -
Molly Sent on 08/16/2018Shelly was amazing! The photos were breathtaking and our entire gallery was sent to us within two weeks from our wedding day. She even went back after giving us our gallery and edited a photo that I wanted in color instead of black and white. Shelly [and her husband Patrick] was so easy to work with and made picture taking so comfortable! We would highly recommend her!
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Jill Sent on 04/19/2018Shelly is one of THE most amazing and talented photographers I've ever met. She made me and my fiance feel at ease and talked us through the whole shoot so we felt comfortable and were having FUN! She had such a way of capturing us so naturally and in our element. The photos came out so natural looking and didn't have that overly "posed" look to them that most engagement photos have. She really captured the essence of us as a couple. What I also love about Shelly's photography is her editing style. It is so gorgeous - some words I would use to describe it are warm, natural, earthy, boho, timeless. I cannot recommend her work enough. She is seriously a goddess with a camera. Thank you SO much Shelly, for giving us photos that we will cherish forever.
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Katie Sent on 09/02/2017Shelly and her husband were absolutely amazing! Shelly did our engagement and wedding photos - we could not be any more impressed. She was very professional, easy to work with, and communicative throughout the entire process. Most importantly, she did a great job making us feel more comfortable behind the camera and she made it fun! We would highly recommend Shelly to anyone and everyone. -
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Paige Sent on 10/11/2016Shelly was fantastic. First, I was stunned that we were able to get such a wonderful photographer at such a great price. She was very communicative from day one. On the day of the wedding, she was just amazing - she is so sweet, and after going through the ceremony and having our nerves running so high, she was so calming and friendly! We really enjoyed taking our photos with her, and she even stuck around longer than we'd originally intended so that she could get more shots (and they're some of the ones we adore the most!). We've received all our photos back now, and they are just stunning. She has a wonderful eye, and I really love how many candid shots she was able to capture. Thank you so much, Shelly! You really are amazing!!
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