Summer Barnhart, Wallkill NY

It took me a while to find a maternity photographer, and when I came across Summer’s website I knew Wicked Petunia was a match. She met me and my fiancé halfway during a hot summer afternoon and to my surprise, had been working with him behind the scenes for a surprise engagement. So not only did we get beautiful maternity photos, but engagement photos as well. The photos are light and airy with such a clean look. Summer is super personalble and made the entire session comfortable for the both (technically three) of us

We are soooo happy we reached out to Summer for our wedding! We planned a small and intimate ceremony/reception and never imagined we’d have so many captured memories from that day! I loved having her professional opinion to help us prepare and plan, and day of she was amazing at executing timing while also being extremely flexible and spontaneous with us! My husband and I had a viewing party date night once our album was complete and were in awe over the moments we get to look back on forever and how amazing each shot came out! We love working with Summer and we love the work she does!

Summer was one of the best decisions my husband and I made for our wedding in June. I found Summer through Google images before I even decided on a venue - her photos of the venue (that we ended up selecting) were stunning and I wanted to hear more about it. Summer gave me an overview of her experience there and politely told me that I needed to pick a venue before a photographer:) although I knew I wanted to work with her from the minute we spoke! It’s so important to have a wedding photographer who is personable, communicative and dedicated to their work and their clients, and Summer is 100% that.

Summer took the time to get to know my husband and I and ensured that our photography package was exactly what we wanted. She answered any and all questions (and there were a lot!) that we had throughout our two year engagement.

Our engagement session was a TON of fun. Summer made us feel so comfortable and the images were absolutely amazing - all of our friends and family raved about them and the colors (we took them in the fall). After that session, we couldn’t believe that we had to wait 1+ years to do it again!

Leading up to the wedding day, Summer scheduled a check-in call where we walked through the entire day so that we were on the same page. There were multiple locations where we wanted to take first look and portrait photos (which involved driving) and I had a lot of family combinations that I wanted to capture. It was also a very hot day. Summer and her assistant were so organized and accommodating the entire day, ensuring that we got all of the shots we wanted. When any issues arose, Summer was professional and calm, something I really appreciated in the moment and to this day.

I was even more amazed when Summer sent us SO many more wedding photos than ”typical” and MUCH quicker than we were anticipating! Once we had a chance to digest all of the photos, she helped us create the albums that perfectly fit our vision.

I would HIGHLY recommend Summer for your wedding photography. Don’t even think twice! She is not only an amazing photographer, but an incredible person to work with and get to know. Our photos are so beautiful that a few of our friends have since hired Summer to photograph their weddings, a true testament to her beautiful work.

My husband and I knew that finding the best photographer was a top priority with wedding planning. We found Summer on Instagram and instantly loved her photography style. From the very first time we spoke with Summer on the phone, we instantly connected and knew she was our girl! Summer poured her heart and soul into doing everything in her power to make it the most perfect album for us. She was so easy to work with and the entire bridal party loved her. She took all of our suggestions to heart and we truly felt she captured our vision perfectly, better than we could have ever imagined. It was so much fun getting creative with her and getting to know her. She quickly made us feel so comfortable around the camera. She definitely knows what she is doing and we trust her fully. Throughout the whole process she was quick to respond and answered all our questions. She worked so hard to get us our collection quickly so we could enjoy it over the holidays. I couldn’t have imagined someone better to photograph the best day of our life. She went above and beyond in all aspects, giving us planning advice and vendor suggestions. We will definitely be using Summer to photograph us again in the future! Thanks Summer! We love you!

I’ve written and rewritten this review multiple times because there are just no words to describe how professional, fun, and talented Summer is!

Summer’s ability to break you out of your comfort zone and get INCREDIBLE shots of you and your partner is unmatched. She knows exactly what to say to pose you so that you feel comfortable and the photos come out just as amazing as you feel!

Summer’s photo galleries are full of pictures you will cherish for a lifetime. If you’re looking for a photographer with attention to detail, great communication and the ability to make you feel & look beautiful, Summer is it.

With Summer, you get a photographer and lifetime friend all in one!

Yes, the answer is yes, you've found your photographer. I cannot explain how wonderful Summer truly is. You NEED her for your entire wedding experience. Her communication is impeccable and she sincerely cares about each and every one of her couples. If I had a question about how my makeup would photograph, Summer answered. If I had a question about how my tan line would look, Summer answered She invited me to share my hair trial, dress, jewelry.everything because she was that invested in our day. She has the kindest heart, is a complete sweetheart, and became my wedding planning fairy godmother. She's real and tells you exactly how it is, which I so appreciated and sometimes needed. On our wedding day, she directed everyone perfectly and was even able to wrangle some of our rowdy groomsmen! When we had some minor hiccups, she rolled with it.

Her work is absolutely breathtaking. Our photos are stunning, classic, and timeless. I am completely obsessed with them. When I came across her instagram page I immediately knew I needed her, and called her to see if she was available for a potential time frame, even before I had a date booked! Summer was the best decision we made for our wedding and I would choose her over and over again if I could. THANK YOU for everything Summer. You are truly an artist!

As a photographer myself I tend to hold other photographers to a higher level and let me just say that Summer on another level. Before booking we spoke via zoom and got to know each other. My wife and I felt immediately comfortable and trusted her vision. We actually lucked out because we were able to do a shoot with her before the wedding for a project she was a part of. Before the wedding we discussed what we had planned and she worked with us. She gave us a detailed “shot list” which was nice. The day of the wedding was there. She showed up early and said her hellos and went straight to work. She posed us, moved us and took charge. Her presence was there but didn’t overshadow anything. During the ceremony I didn’t even notice her but somehow captured every moment. I highly recommend her for your needs. This was a micro wedding but her photos made it so much bigger. There’s so much more I can write but just trust me, she’s the one. Thank you Summer!

Let me just start by saying we just absolutely LOVE Summer! From start to finish she made us feel so comfortable for our wedding. Her and Barbara were extremely thorough and made sure to get any shots we liked the whole day! They bounced around between our getting ready photo locations, to our first look, to ceremony and reception! Our bridal party and family seriously adored them. Summer had everyone laughing and having fun, even during the tedious shots! She has such a creative eye and aside from being an amazing photographer, Summer has given us so much overall amazing advice. From vendor recommendations to timelines, etc she has helped us tremendously since we started planning our big day. We will forever recommend Summer. She is just simply amazing and we cannot thank her enough!

Where do I begin? ! We are so grateful and honored that we were able to work with Summer for our 2021 wedding (rescheduled from 2020).

We initially booked Summer in 2019, and she immediately impressed us with her responsiveness and her thoughtful introduction call. She took the time not only to get to know us, but to explain her work style and approach to the big day. She’s extremely professional and puts a lot of care and effort into her business.

For brides debating on whether to do an engagement session with Summer — please, please take advantage of this opportunity. Even if you think you won’t use the photos for a save the date: 1) the instant you see the photos, you’ll change your mind and 2) it is an excellent opportunity to get to know Summer and get comfortable in front of the camera. As two people who hate being photographed, our engagement session was key to making our wedding day portraits feel effortless and natural. We also had a blast hanging out with Summer and showing her around our hometown!

When it became clear COVID-19 was going to put a big wrinkle in our original October 2020 wedding plans, Summer was the first vendor to reach out. She was extremely accommodating, kept soft holds on dates for us while we worked with the venue to find a new 2021 date, and unlike most vendors, honored our original contract. I like to refer to Summer as part photographer, wedding planner, friend and therapist. During this time, she helped us navigate our emotions and make tactical decisions — talking us through all our options from a small elopement to extending our engagement another year. She really helped us get to the root of what was important for us (being able to celebrate with all of our family and friends) and guided us in the right direction. I highly doubt many brides can say their photographer played such a key role in their planning and decision-making process.

On the big day, I can say I let out a big sigh of relief followed by a loud “YAY, YOU’RE HERE! ” exclamation when Summer walked into our bridal suite. I felt like I could simultaneously relax and celebrate knowing that Summer had everything under control and our day would be beautifully documented.

We didn’t give Summer an easy task! We had a large bridal party, iffy-weather, groomsmen who didn’t know who to put on boutonnieres, and a poorly lit venue that required a security clearance. But Summer and her second-photographer, Sierra, handled everything with ease, humor, and grace.

To say we are thrilled with how everything turned out would be an understatement. As a kid who would frequently and fondly thumb through their parent’s wedding album, I’m moved by all the future memories we’ll make with our children — reminiscing about our wedding day all thanks to Summer’s stunning work.

This is a novel, but Summer deserves it. Hire her now!

Where to begin!? Summer is by far the most talented wedding photographer I’ve seen, and believe me when I say I researched far too many! After having a bad experience with a less skilled photographer for our engagement shoot, I knew I had to get this right and seriously invest in someone talented for our big day. Summer was the only answer, and I’ll be singing her praises until the end of time! We were blown away with just about every shot, and her ability to capture the magic of our day! Her photos speak for themselves– enough said. Not only is she talented, but she is such an incredible person and an absolute joy to work with. She was hands-on from the jump, and always made herself available to chat or text, and answered my every question. She is so well-organized and put together a thorough day-of timeline for us to follow, which was not only helpful for the wedding party and family, but to our venue and everyone involved. She took all of my shot ideas and made them happen in addition to putting her unique spin on things– you’ll definitely get more than your typical blah wedding shots from Summer! I’m still in shock by how Summer along with her assistant Julia effortlessly controlled our hectic wedding party with ease– we had quite the cast of characters! I did a fake first look with my husband that I plotted with Summer in advance (had one of his groomsmen in a dress tap him on the shoulder instead of me!), and it will forever be the talk of the town! My husband is still in shock and hysterically laughing, and claims Summer’s assistant was the one that really sold it– I don’t know how she kept a straight face seeing a hairy man in a white dress! Summer and her assistant fit right in and instantly felt like family. I loved how they made us feel so comfortable– it really made the experience fun and enjoyable for all involved! We are now left with thousands of stunning photos that we’ll cherish for many years to come– we are still in awe! We’re so happy we chose Summer and will be recommending her to everyone. Best decision ever. THANK YOU SUMMER, WE LOVE YOU! <3

Wicked petunia is amazing and so accommodating. We decided last minute to elope and she was able To make it happen. We were so appreciative that she could do that for us and the pictures came out beautifully. She captured the day perfectly. Thank you so much!

Summer does an absolutely beautiful job from getting to know you as a client to producing amazing work. She is detail focused and pays attention to everything. We did an engagement photo shoot with her prior to our wedding and the collection was STUNNING! It was a really nice way to get to know her and her style leading into our wedding. Following that our wedding collection was breath taking, she takes the time to create timelines and talk extensively with you to plan the whole day through weeks in advance. Her work is elegant, authentic to show a beautiful story, and a beautiful color dream. We are clients for life - we already have our fall shoot booked for Christmas cards! She is the best of best, you will love her. You also will laugh a good amount with her

I found Summer on Instagram and knew instantly that I wanted her to be my wedding photographer. The love stories radiated through each of her pictures and I knew I wanted to have the same special moments captured by her on my wedding day. She was the first vendor I spoke to - even before I had a date or venue! Summer was a great thought partner to help me envision what information and planning I needed to do in order to support the overall event. She is so enthusiastic and excited to begin the process with every couple and I knew from the moment we spoke that she would help our wedding come to life through our pictures!

We were a pandemic couple, and Summer was incredibly supportive helping us navigate all changes. She was patient, clear, and personable. We loved our engagement shoot that we did a few months before the wedding. It helped us loosen up and get to know her style of what she needs to capture the best shots.

Summer works very hard to get to know the couple by asking questions I wouldn't even think of. She sends out a super detailed questionnaire prior to the wedding that helped us plan the timeline for the day and communicate all necessary pieces with other vendors. Summer is readily available and was incredibly professional in terms of communication.

Our wedding day was crazy in terms of weather. It snowed a ton in the morning, there was a squall in the middle of formal pictures outside, it was freezing, and then during the ceremony it was wildly sunny in the ceremony room. Summer and her team were exceptional at thinking through the best options to set up shots based on these conditions, and every picture turned out to be so beautiful!

Summer is the best and you'd be so lucky to have her photograph the most special day of your life. I cannot recommend her enough and am excited to see her continue capturing the love stories in the Hudson Valley!

Summer took our photos for our wedding in early June and she did the most amazing job! We needed someone who was going to take control of our large bridal party and she did that so easily. She did a phenomenal job working through the planning/timeline and when the day came she worked through some slight hiccups with no problems. Barbara jumped right into everything and they worked great together as a team. The photos we've recieved so far have blown us away and we've received so many comments from our family and closest friends about how great she was to work with. Our day would not have been the same without her and we are so grateful we found her!

It’s hard to fully express just how amazing Summer is! Every shot she took was beautiful. You can tell she loves what she does and it shows in every picture. We cried going through them. Not only is she an amazing photographer but also a groomsman wrangler. We had a bridal party full of rowdy comedians and she knew just what to do to get them in line. She felt like a part of the family and at the same time she was invisible in the crowd wrapped up in capturing all the amazing moments of our wedding. I would recommend her 1,000 times over and it was such an honor having her there taking our pictures.

Amazing! I reached out to Summer shortly after we got engaged back in 2019. She immediately (and I mean immediately) reached back out with a personalized video just for me explaining ALL THE THINGS that she offers. I knew that I needed her as my wedding photographer! We had our engagement session in Fall 2019 and it was perfect! COVID unfortunately postponed our Fall 2020 wedding - Summer was booked on our new date - however - sent two of her highly recommended colleagues to shoot our wedding and Summer did our photo editing. The day was perfect and our photos were amazing. I couldn't have asked for a more attentive photographer. We highly recommend Summer!

Summer was the first and only photographer we spoke with and we both knew instantly that our search was complete. Quite simply, she is the best in the game. We were amazed by her continued passion and excitement. She is immensely skilled and creative – don’t expect a checklist of cliché wedding photos with Summer, she has true vision and is not just a photographer going through the motions. She looks to capture your unique story through her artistic lens.
We knew we were in good hands. We deliberately provided little instruction because we trusted that the photos would come out perfect and they did! On top of all of this, she was generous in sharing tips and trips to ensure the day was smooth and successful. She helped craft our day-of timeline and thanks to her guidance, it was simply perfect. Not one issue! We can’t thank her enough and will be using her for many more occasions down the road. THANK YOU SUMMER!

Summer was exactly what I needed at my wedding! Not only did we get amazing photos of our wedding but she coordinated our entire day, which included organizing our huge wedding party and family (over 30 people). We had to adjust plans many times and Summer took every change with ease. Amazing communication and availability to talk. I highly recommend Wicked Petunia for any event. My favorite part of the experience was how much fun we had taking the pictures and that was all because of how comfortable we felt with Summer and the secondary photographer.

Summer is hands down one of the best photographers I've had the pleasure of working with when she was the photographer for my best friend's wedding in October. Not only are her photos absolutely beautiful, but she was a critical piece of the entire day. She coordinated multiple locations and shot requests all while managing a bridal party of over 20 people. She kept the entire day on time and went above and beyond the role of a photographer.