Kansas City Wedding & Elopement Photography for the Wild, the Weird, and the Madly in Love
You’re more than a wedding day — you’re a once-in-a-lifetime story and we treat it like it damn well matters.
Your relationship isn’t cookie-cutter. Your photos shouldn’t be either.
At Stag & Bird, we photograph weddings and elopements like the art they are — with two lenses:
One that directs. One that disappears.
We’ll spend part of your day crafting portraits like a fashion editorial — fully directed, perfectly lit, and dripping with cinematic drama. The kind of images you frame big and pass down for generations.
Then, we melt into the background, letting the day unfold. We catch the quiet glances, the chaotic dance floor moments, the way your fingers find each other without thinking. The parts you didn’t see but will feel when you look back.
This isn’t about picking between “posed” or “documentary.” We live in both worlds — because your story deserves both.
[Just looking for engagement photography info? Jump down to the bottom section of this page.]
How We Work
We treat your wedding like it’s the best damn film ever made — and you’re the leads.
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Portraits: Intentional, cinematic, and fully directed so you never wonder “What do I do with my hands?”
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The Rest: A voyeur’s eye for unrepeatable moments, caught without intrusion.
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Editing: Velvety rich, bold, moody color, skin tones that look like you, and an edit that ages like fine whiskey - sitting on top of your favorite copy of The Rolling Stone, of course.
Who We’re For
We’re for the lovers who:
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Want their wedding to feel like them, not a Pinterest board.
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Appreciate the art of a crafted portrait but live for the unposed moments.
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Care about connection more than perfection.
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Aren’t afraid to let loose, get messy, and feel it all.
oh, and
We’re Love-Affirming as Hell
We believe in Happily Ever After for all — and we fucking mean it.
Gay? Gender fluid? Trans? Non-binary? Bride + bride. Groom + groom. Bride + groom. They + they. Mix and match however the hell you want. We don’t care what you look like, how you identify, or who you love — as long as you love each other endlessly and want to be married. Will your check cash? Cool. We’re fucking in. LGBTQ+ welcome.
Your love is valid. Your story matters.
And we’ll photograph the shit out of it.
Traditional Weddings vs. Elopements with Stag & Bird
Your love doesn’t fit in a box — and neither should the way you marry. Whether it’s a 200-person rager or a private cliffside vow, we’ll photograph it like it matters - because it does.
Traditional Weddings
The big, beautiful, champagne-soaked chaos.
Your people dressed to the nines. A packed dance floor. Inside jokes spilling into the night. That uncle who thinks he’s Mick Jagger.
We mix editorial precision with documentary grit: cinematic portraits carved into your day, plus every laugh, tear, and wild moment captured with care.
Investment: Traditional weddings start at $4,000. Most couples spend $5,000–$6,500. We will build a package that fits your wants, needs and budget.
Elopements
The stripped-down, no-rules version of “I do.”
Just you two (or a few ride-or-dies), in the city, mountains, desert, or deep woods. Elopements give us space to slow down, wander, and chase perfect light without dozens (hundreds!?) of people waiting.
Oh, and for a little extra pizzaz: For some destinations our travel’s already covered — no extra cost. Ask for the list.
Want it fully designed, scouted, and styled? That’s what our Curated Elopement Experience™ is for.
Investment: Elopements begin at $1,500.
So, Which One’s For You?
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Traditional: the guest list, the dance floor, and portraits woven into the chaos.
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Elopement: intimacy, freedom, and adventure on your terms.
Either way, you get our signature blend: cinematic portraits + raw, unplanned moments.
Because no matter how you get married, your story deserves to be told like the masterpiece it is.
weird. wild. wed.
Wanna go all-in with your style and buck tradition? Sweet. This isn’t the wedding aisle at Hobby Lobby.
This is for the lovers who wanna spark a unity joint not a candle, who trade cake for cotton candy, who think a dress code should include “wear whatever makes you feel like a goddess.”
We’re calling in the black dress brides, the suit-clad stoners, the tattoo-covered sweethearts, the couples who believe “till death” should be written in glitter, leather, and smoke.
At Stag & Bird, we’re proud to be pushing the regional market toward true cannabis-inclusive celebrations. We’ve built a vetted list of vendors who know how to party—planners, florists, caterers, lounges—people who understand the vibe, respect the plant, and can keep your big day both elevated and elegant.
This doesn’t mean cheap. This doesn’t mean cheesy.
This means intentional, designed, fully-developed weddings at a high level—
crafted for couples who want to be taken care of start to finish, and who want the photography to prove it.
We’ve been in the pages of Dancing With Her and other many other magazine features because we live for couples like you—the ones who say no to copy-paste weddings and yes to lighting up mid-ceremony, yes to the tattoo artist at the reception, yes to the playlist that makes people spill their drinks on the dance floor.
And listen—if you’re reading this thinking, “but we’re not that wild,” don’t sweat it.
You’re not too beige for us. We work with traditional couples all the time, telling their stories with the same artistry, intention, and bold cinematic edge. Whether your vibe is black leather or ivory lace, our job is to make your wedding look and feel like it was never pulled from a template.
We believe in Happily Ever After for all. Bride + bride. Groom + groom. Bride + groom. They + they. You + whoever the hell makes your heart beat too fast.
If you’re ready to throw the wedding that makes people say “holy shit” every time they talk about it… we’re in, dammit!
We are the weirdos, Mister.
the
Curated Elopement ExperiencE™
the curated elopement experience -
Kansas City's only turn-key, fully inclusive elopement planning and photography team.
If you want to take that love story off the beaten path — to skip the seating charts, ditch the 12-hour “must-do” list, and say your vows somewhere that makes your heart pound — that’s where The Curated Elopement Experience™ comes in.
It’s not just photography. It’s planning, scouting, and creating a day that feels like it could only belong to you. A day where we have the time to chase the best light, drink in the view, and make photographs that will still give you chills decades from now.
For select destinations, your travel, mileage, and lodging are already covered — no extra charge. All you have to do is ask for the list. Then we start building something unforgettable.
It’s not what your grandma will think of as an elopement.
It’s definitely not a stripped-down version of a “real” wedding.
The Curated Elopement Experience™️ is an artfully planned, intentionally designed, fully immersive wedding day that’s built around you. Your love story, your style, your priorities—not someone else’s Pinterest board.
At Stag & Bird, we combine the magic of eloping with the high-touch support of a creative director, photographer, planner, and vibe curator all in one. That means you don’t have to figure it all out alone. We help you dream it up and bring it to life—from choosing a wildly cool location, to styling your look, writing your vows, noshing on cake, to popping the champagne and capturing it all.
It can be just the two of you—or you and your tight-knit crew. It can be barefoot in a creek, dressed to the nines in an antique shop, or on the rooftop of your favorite downtown dive bar. The only rule? It has to feel like you.
Every Curated Elopement Experience™️ is a celebration of love without limits. A day with no pressure, no performance, and no need to please anyone but yourselves.
This is the wedding experience you actually want—and we’re here to help you create it from the ground up.
Celebrate your engagement with portraits that make you say "holy shit, that’s us!"
just engaged?
Pop the champagne. Do some celebratory sage work. Get your fingers ready for every stranger who’s about to say “Let me see the ring!”
Engagement photos aren’t just about looking cute for a save-the-date (though we’ll nail that, too). They’re about freezing this electric, in-between moment—when you’ve said “yes” but haven’t yet said “I do.”
When your love is wild and unfiltered, and the wedding-day chaos hasn’t hit yet.
At Stag & Bird, we approach engagement photography the same way we do everything else: with intention, direction, and zero cookie-cutter bullshit. We dig into your vibe—whether that’s drinking beers in your favorite dive bar, wandering downtown at night under neon lights, hiking into a hidden waterfall, or making out in a parking garage at sunset. We plan a session that feels like you, not a Pinterest template.
And here’s the deal: if you’re getting married with us, local KC engagement sessions are usually on the house. That’s right—we include them, because this part of your story matters just as much as the vows. It’s also the perfect way to get comfortable in front of our cameras before the big day (and maybe turn your wedding party green with envy at your badass portraits).
Whether you want cinematic drama, soft romance, or unapologetic weirdness, your engagement session will set the tone for the kind of wedding you’re about to have—one that’s 100% yours.
“You’re not too weird for the wedding you want—you just need the right photographer to prove it.”
(Read this and tell me you don’t feel seen.)
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If your wedding isn’t like anyone else’s, your photos shouldn’t be either.
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You’re not asking for too much—you’re just asking the wrong people.
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Your wedding deserves a photographer who’s as unapologetically different as you are.
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We don’t just photograph your wedding—we document the proof you did it your way.
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When the industry says “tone it down,” we say “turn it up.”
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Black dress? Green ceremony? Full freak? Fuck yes.
📍 Stag & Bird Photo — Kansas City’s photographer for the weird, the wild, and the unapologetically in love.
