Northern California Wedding Photographer

Bride in black gown and groom in blue green suit cuddle in Humboldt Redwoods State Park

Digital & 35mm Film

Documentary wedding photography with a cinematic heart. Based in Humboldt County, CA. Available across California.



you truly captured the heart of our wedding.

Kate, I don’t even know how to express to you how much these photos mean to us. You captured the laughter, the tears in our eyes. They are just all. so. damn. beautiful.

KATEE & SKY

A weekend celebration in the Northern California redwoods
Bride wearing Jenny Woo for Anthropologie gown stands in the coastal breeze with an embroidered veil

TRUE TO FEELING

Weddings
Elopements
Portraits

The clichés exist for a reason. Time flies. Time is of the essence. Time Cop is a great name for a cat. Some become song titles. Time after time. If I could turn back time. Some become poems, indents on pillows and filtered morning light.

Parts of your wedding day will be cliché. Your photos won’t be. This is magic.

Kate is pure magic.

Her skill as a photographer is only surpassed by her kindness and the joy that she is to be around.

Hannah & Jared

Portrait of Humboldt wedding photographer Kate Donaldson

Your Photographer

Captivated by Found Moments

I grew up in a small prairie town catching garter snakes with my bare hands and have spent the last decade photographing weddings throughout Northern California. The immersive qualities of my work take their cues from a long-standing romance with wild spaces. And yet. I will absolutely tell you if your bangs look weird.