Bel Inizio Wedding Photography

James Willard is Bel Inizio Photography. And he does outstanding work.
My wife and I had him do an engagement shoot, and that went very well. He made us feel relaxed and we loved the results. The wedding was also a perfect shoot. He got some great shots of everyone. He took a lot of great candid photos (which was more what we were going for), but I am sure he would handle the posed stuff just as well. He even used a picture of me in one of his tri-​folds (still waiting for my royalty check… J to the K on that one.)
Honestly, a wedding should not be amateur hour. I know that friends may say they want to do the photo shoot, and will charge peanuts if anything, but shouldn’t your friends be in the pictures? Shouldn’t you leave this job to a pro? James is the pro you are looking for.
His pricing was very competitive, and we were thrilled with the results. I wholeheartedly recommend Bel Inizio for any wedding or other event.

James is one great photographer. We hired him to take some group photos of our board of directors and staff. We had done so previously with another photographer with marginal results. James was wonderful in his approach and manner. He put everyone at ease and captured some wonderful formal and informal images. He can make the not so photogenic very photogenic!
Hire this guy!

You can not go wrong by choosing James as your wedding photographer! Not only is the end result, unbelievable quality pictures, to die for but the experience was so joyful and worry free. Through out wedding preperations, the ceremony, family pictures and the entire reception James was a complete joy and hilarious to work with which definitely came out in the finished product. I have not shown my pictures to a single person who has noy been blown away by shots he captured. Honestly to any bride out there, your pictures will last a lifetime and James will be a decision you will never regret!!!

Wedding photographs are absolutely priceless. Photographs are, in my opinion, the best way to remember a very special day, (fellow brides would agree, the day is a whirlwind and in the blink of an eye it’s over), and it is so important that there is someone to capture every look, smile, and element to a wedding. Wedding photographs are not just for the bride and groom, they are displayed on the walls in the homes of the couple, families, and friends, and they are uploaded to social media sites such as Facebook and Pinterest.
Not only did James provide my husband and me with extraordinary photos, he provided us with pieces of art that will be displayed for the rest of our lives. The photographs from our engagement shoot, wedding, and most recently my «trash the dress» shoot tell an incredible story through the images he captured on film.
Leading up to our wedding, my husband and I met with James a couple times, including our engagement shoot, to discuss times and exactly what we wanted for our wedding day photos. James kept in very close contact via text, email, phone calls, and face-​to-​face. Once wedding day arrived, the most important task for James, I had full trust that everything would work out perfect, and it did. James was on time, he kept me up to date on what exactly he would be doing leading up to the ceremony (i.e., taking pictures of rings, friends, centerpieces), and made sure I was completely taken care of (even kept my nerves calm!). I’m not sure there’s much more you could ask for in a photographer…
The final piece to our wedding puzzle was my trash the dress shoot. I opted out of the mud, tearing, and cutting up, but did get into a rocky, dirt filled, river. I still wanted to have a wedding dress in the end, and once I had my dress dry-​cleaned and preserved, it was like new. James understood and respected my wishes to the fullest. We both discussed what would be the best approach for this shoot and it turned out better than I could have ever imagined. James was super fun to work with, especially in this shoot since we got to know each other so well throughout the wedding experience.
Moreover, James is the perfect choice for wedding photography needs. It is so important to have all of your most special memories captured on camera from someone who knows exactly what he is doing and has plenty of experience. Anyone can have a camera and take pictures but not everyone can capture incredible moments in a photograph. These pictures will be with you for a lifetime and this day will only happen once, I highly recommend James for your photography needs, he will not disappoint.

James is such an amazing photographer and is extremely creative! He took my senior pictures last year, and everyone who saw them loved them. James makes your entire experience fun, laid-​back, and memorable. I am normally shy, but he brought out the best in me and was able to reflect that in the photographs. I reccommend his services to anyone needing a photographer for any important event. When I get married in several years, I am definitely going back to James Willard’s Bel Inizio Photography :)

James is such an amazing photographer. He photographed our wedding day better than we could have imagined and we now have all the beautiful pictures to remember it. He was so easy to work with and made Us feel very comfortable. I would highly recommend his services to anyone for any life event and I will personally be using him for all my events to come!

My husband and I could not be more pleased with our choice of James. He captured every special moment! He is not a typical photographer that just takes only the traditional poses. After seeing his work, he has an incredible eye for seeing beautiful and important shots. He is great to work with and you will be so pleased with his work. We highly recommend Bel Inizio Photography!

I posted a proper review on wedding wire, and I thought I should re-​post it here:
Wedding photographers are one of the most crucial people on your special day. Not only do you depend on them to capture your most memorable moments, you also expect them to be on time, amiable, polite, and hard-​working. James exhibits all of these qualities.
When I didn’t have my veil and my wedding was delayed by 30 mins, James was the first person to give me a hug and tell me everything was going to be fine. His work is unreal and the moments he captured on camera I will cherish forever. James is also easy to get a hold of via phone and email. He is very busy over the summers, yet he always makes time to text, email, or call you with the needed updates.
Most important of all might be the time me takes planning your wedding day. We went to our wedding venue and reception site together over a week before the ceremony to plan where formal photos would be taken and what lightening was needed on the dance floor, etc. One less worry is always a great thing for a stressed out bride. You won’t be sorry if you choose Bel Inizio Photography!

James gladly took on the task of our traditional 3 day indian wedding. He was able to easily adapt to the customs and accomodate the large number of guests. It was great having someone go the extra mile for our special day. And of course, the final product of his work is fabulous, everyone loved the pictures!!! Highly recommend james!

James Willard did an absolutely amazing job shooting our wedding! When looking for a photographer, we knew we wanted someone who could capture the day and tell the story of our wedding without the standard formals. James’ work was exactly like his portfolio – we got exactly what we wanted and expected. Our wedding was in June in Moraga, and it was probably the hottest day of the summer, and James was the hardest working person at our wedding despite the 110-​degree heat. His upbeat attitude and ability to connect with anyone and everyone put the wedding party at ease to capture great photos. James not only worked extremely hard at our wedding, but also put in many hours on our wedding album – well worth the wait to get it! The album not only tells the story of our wedding day, but it is clearly a work of art as well. Each page is unique and different, from the layout to the background pictures. We still love to look at the album, reminisce about the day, and proudly show the album to friends and family. For what you get with James, from the album, to all the files of the pictures, to his energy and enthusiasm on the engagement shoot and wedding day, he is well worth every penny spent! We would highly recommend James and Bel Inizio Photography to anyone!

I’ve had the pleasure of working side by side with James. He is a rock star photographer and takes awesome pictures. He has a great personality and very respectful of his fellow vendors. I highly recommend his services.

We had AMAZING wedding photos. We thought the beauty and creativity behind our engagement photos (which were stunning) could not be outdone. Boy, were we wrong. Our wedding photos are absolutely gorgeous! So many have told us that our photos are beautiful and captured our special day perfectly. James was able to capture the colors, spirit, and love of a huge Indian fusion wedding. We can’t thank him enough for the incredible job he did for our big day. The photos tell a story, one we can’t wait to relive for years to come.

After doing some research on wedding photography, knew I didn’t want a traditional photographer who took all the standard shots and formals. I wanted to find someone who had an edgier approach but could still capture the magic of our day. After weeks of agonzing over different photography sites and feeling like I could never afford what I wanted, James was referred to me by a family friend. I checked out his website and was very impressed. I had two thoughts: 1) I will never be able to afford him. 2) I wonder one if his physical wedding albums could be as amazing as the photos in his online gallery.
I met him in person and he was super informative, warm and very real. He brought a couple albums to look at and they were amazing. After seeing his work in person, I realized you cannot skimp on your wedding pictures. Cut down the flowers or favors or whatever to get the best. At the end of the day, your pictures will last forever and are the most important memento you will ever have.
He shot my wedding from beginning to end and brought an assistant with him. Everyone remarked about how well they «blended» in and how efficient they were. Getting followed around all day by someone taking your picture could be intimidating, but everyone was at ease. I was dreading the amount of time that the formal shots would take after the ceremony and he had us back at the reception in no time at all.
I could not wait to get the pictures back and I was SO impressed! I was immediately taken back into every moment of the day and he captured so much I didn’t even know about. The pictures are gorgeous and I am so proud to show them to anyone willing to see them. I have gotten so many ooh and ahhs that it is making me pat myself on the back for making such a great choice.
I couldn’t dream of working with a better photographer, and I never imagined my wedding would look like a work of art. If you don’t work with James, you would be missing out!!!

I cant say enough good things about Bel Inizio wedding photography! James shot my engagement and wedding photos in 2007. He is extremely professional and personable at the same time. I love ALL of my photos, most people have a few shots from their wedding that they love and I couldn’t imagine only picking one. I would recommend him to everyone I know (& probably have).

I had a fabulous experience with James and Jay at Bel Inizio. Having beautiful photographs was very important for me. I love photography and I love it when photography tells a story. I had a wedding in Yosemite and their beautiful photography not only captured my wedding day, but also the beautiful surroundings. The photographs showed their creativity as photographers as well as their love for making beautiful photographs for their clients. James made a beautiful wedding album for me that captured my wedding festivities from my rehearsal dinner through my reception. He worked very closely with me to make sure that I was completely happy with my album. I have and will continue to recommend Bel Inizio to all of my friends.