Going Steady
$3,600
$3,800 value
- 7 hours of coverage
- One photographer
- Engagement session
- USB with printing rights
- Online gallery
Weddings & engagements · Sarasota
Sarasota Wedding Photographer
I've photographed more than 300 weddings since 2012, ballrooms, barns, backyards, a castle, and more than a few in the rain. In July 2025 I moved to Sarasota.
I've photographed more than 300 weddings since 2012, ballrooms, barns, backyards, a castle, and more than a few in the rain. In July 2025 I moved to Sarasota, and spent most of the rest of that year back in Connecticut finishing the weddings I'd already committed to. One of the first things I shot down here was a surprise proposal at the Venice fishing pier, standing behind him on the sand.
Most of the photos on this site are from the Northeast, because that's where most of those 300 weddings happened. I'd rather say that plainly than let you wonder about it. What changes down here is the light and the water. What doesn't change is how I work, and after fourteen years of this, how I work is pretty well settled.
The day
What a day with me actually looks like
I shoot mostly documentary. That means I spend the day watching rather than arranging, and the pictures you end up with are of things that happened, not things I set up.
The exception is portraits, and I'm direct about those. Twenty to thirty minutes with the two of you, thirty with family groups if the list is reasonable. I'll tell you where to stand and then mostly get out of the way. Nobody needs an hour of being posed at their own wedding, and the pictures get worse after the first twenty minutes anyway.
I'm not silent and I'm not invisible. I'll talk to your grandmother. I'll find your dad when the toasts start. If the timeline is falling apart, and it slips somewhere at nearly every wedding, I'll tell you what I'd cut, because I've watched the same twenty minutes disappear a few hundred times and I know which twenty minutes you'll actually miss.
The other thing I do that isn't really photography: I help you build the timeline before the day. Sunset times, how long family photos take, whether you want a first look. It's free, it takes an hour on a call, and it's the biggest single difference between a day that feels rushed and one that doesn't.
A father and his daughter, in the mirror.
The range
Things that happened
A Connecticut barn in October and a Siesta Key beach in April are different problems to solve. Those weddings aren't archive material. They're the range.
Swipe the photographs
The map
Where I shoot
Sarasota County and everything around it: Siesta Key, Lido Key, St. Armands, Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island, Bird Key, downtown Sarasota, Venice, Nokomis, Osprey, Bradenton and Lakewood Ranch. No travel fee inside that radius. If you're still choosing where to have it, I keep a list of wedding venues in Sarasota with capacity and rain plans.
Beach ceremonies, private estates, hotels, backyards, museum grounds.
Gulf Coast weddings have two things Northeast weddings don't, and both are worth planning around. Sunset is the best light of the day and it moves by almost two hours across the year. A 6:15 ceremony in December and a 6:15 ceremony in June are completely different pictures. And in summer it rains most afternoons, usually for about twenty minutes. Neither is a problem if you know it's coming. I wrote up what actually happens when it rains on a Florida wedding day.
Probably
Am I the right photographer for you?
Probably, if you want the day to look like it felt. If you'd rather spend twenty minutes on portraits than ninety. If you want someone easy to have around, because I'm going to be around for seven hours.
Probably not
If you want a magazine finish
Probably not, if you're after heavily styled work: every frame lit, posed and retouched to a magazine finish. That's a real craft and there are people here who do it well. It just isn't what I do, and you'd be paying me to be someone else.
Every couple is welcome here. I've photographed a lot of LGBTQ+ weddings and I'll shoot yours the same way I shoot everyone's, by paying attention. No separate page, no separate rate, no assumptions about who's getting ready where.
What it costs
Wedding coverage starts at $3,600.
That includes seven hours on the day, an engagement session, your full gallery, usually 600 to 900 images, and a print release, so you can order prints anywhere you like, from anyone you like.
Most couples land between $3,600 and $5,500, depending on hours and whether they add a second photographer or an album. Eloping or planning something small? That starts lower. Send a note and I'll quote it.
I put the number here because I'd rather you know now than three emails in. If it's not the right fit, no hard feelings, and I'm happy to point you toward someone whose work I like.
Love Story
$4,400
$4,600 value
- 8 hours of coverage
- One photographer
- Engagement session
- 8×8 album, 20 pages
- USB with printing rights
- Online gallery
Honeymoon
$5,300
$6,050 value
- 9 hours of coverage
- Two photographers
- Engagement session
- 10×10 album, 30 pages
- USB with printing rights
- Online gallery
Happily Ever After
$6,500
$8,350 value
- Full day of coverage
- Two photographers
- Engagement session
- 12×12 album, 50 pages
- 8×8 gift album
- USB with printing rights
- Online gallery
Every collection includes the engagement session. Booking is a signed contract and a $1,000 reservation fee, which comes off your balance.
Build your own
| Piece | Price |
|---|---|
| Lead photographer, 7 hours | $3,100 |
| Each additional hour | $250 |
| Second photographer, half day (4 hours) | $600 |
| Second photographer, full day (8 hours) | $950 |
| Engagement session, 2–3 hours | $650 |
| Luxury album, 12×12, 50 pages | $1,200 |
| Sweetheart album, 10×10, 30 pages | $700 |
| Keepsake album, 8×8, 20 pages | $550 |
Albums
Luxury albums
Your wedding deserves to live beyond screens and hard drives. That’s why I offer handcrafted albums that will last for generations to come.
From the texture of the cover to the weight of each page, each album is custom-designed with high quality materials.
These albums are more than keepsakes; they’re heirlooms. Memories that will be opened on anniversaries, shared with loved ones, and passed down through generations. Long after the cake is gone and the flowers have faded, your album will remain, a lasting testament to your story, ready to be relived time and time again.
Travel
I travel
I'll go anywhere. Florida is home now, but I still shoot in the Northeast regularly and I'm glad to get on a plane.
That's also the honest explanation for the portfolio: those weddings aren't archive material, they're the range. A Connecticut barn in October and a Siesta Key beach in April are different problems to solve, and I've done enough of both to be useful either way.
If you're getting married somewhere else and want me there, ask. Travel is quoted at cost, not marked up.
A note
My commitment to you
When you choose Michael Orzell Photography, you will have peace of mind knowing you have hired an easy-going professional who will make you feel comfortable, natural, and in your element, resulting in photographs that truly represent who you are.
If you're comparing photographers, I wrote up the questions that actually matter. It's the honest version, including the ones that don't favor me.
Questions couples ask
How much does a Sarasota wedding photographer cost?
Wedding collections start at $3,600, with custom options to fit your day. The collections are listed above.
How do we book?
A $1,000 reservation fee and a signed contract lock in your date. The fee goes toward your balance. Ten to eighteen months before the wedding is the sweet spot to book.
Do you travel?
Yes, anywhere in Florida and beyond. Some parts of the state are over eight hours away, so those, and anywhere outside Florida, come with a travel fee.
How long until we get the photos?
I promise six to eight weeks. It's usually four to six. You'll have a preview set within a few days, normally before you're back from your honeymoon.
How many photos do we get?
Six to nine hundred for a seven-hour day. I quote fifty to seventy-five an hour and I've never once come in at the bottom of that. Every one edited. I don't hold back a "best of" set and sell it separately.
Do we get a second photographer?
Not in the base collection. It's an add-on. For weddings over about 120 guests, or any day where you're getting ready in two different places, I'd recommend it. Ask me and I'll tell you honestly whether your day needs one.
Will you help with our timeline?
Yes, and I love to. The timeline has the biggest impact on your photos, so ask me timing questions anytime. On our day-planner call I'll point out anything that might need reworking.
What if it rains?
We shoot anyway. Gulf Coast storms move fast. Most of the rainy weddings I've photographed were rained on for about twenty minutes. Here's the longer answer.
Let’s talk
Send me your date
Send me your date and where you're thinking. I'll tell you if I'm free and roughly what your day would cost, and I answer everything within 24 hours. If you're early on and just want a photographer's read on a date or a ceremony time, that's fine too. I'm happy to talk it through whether or not you end up hiring me.