Live Wedding Paintings
Discover the enchantment of live wedding paintings, where artistry intertwines with your special day. Vibrant colors
and textures come together to create stunning, captivating artworks that immortalize the magic of your wedding.
story
Let’s Make Magic
I’m not a wedding painter. You read that correctly. I’m an artist and gallery owner who sometimes packs up all my gear and heads to a celebration where I use my love of color and texture to try to tap into some of the magic. My goal is to create a beautiful, texturally rich and compelling piece of art from the joy of your day.
In contrast to many wedding painters, I’m not just after one moment (no doubt you will have countless beautiful photographs of single moments) but the overall energy and spirit of the event. With an eye for color, my trusty palette knives, and a whole lot of paint, I create dramatic, impressionistic oil paintings from start to finish for the duration of your party.
For any event, I arrive at least one hour before to set up and assess the space. I do a few quick sketches to pick the best composition and then lightly draw the venue’s architectural details on the canvas. I do not start painting until the event actually begins.
I believe in complete transparency, so my current prices are listed below saving you the step of having to email me to ask. The prices listed are the prices in full with no additional fees for local weddings which include New Orleans, Northshore, Baton Rouge, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Please contact me for pricing information on a travel location or a size painting not listed. I know this is a big investment. If you decide you’d like to book, my hope is that you and your spouse (and maybe your children and grandchildren) will appreciate it for many years to come.
Questions? I’m happy to chat.
Pricing and Sizes
investment
24 inches x 24 inches
$4,500
24 inches x 30 inches
oil on stretched canvas varnished, wired, ready to hang & floater frame included
$5,000
30 inches x 30 inches
oil on stretched canvas varnished, wired, ready to hang & floater frame included
$5,600
magic
Latest Wedding Paintings
Voices of Appreciation
I don’t even think I can accurately describe Denise’s talent in words, and that says a lot. From the moment I reached out to her to the wedding day she was an absolute amazing vendor to work with. I went over the idea I had for my wedding painting and not only did she execute it flawlessly, she exceeded all of my expectations. My wedding painting is one of my most treasured pieces of art we own, and it makes me a little misty eyed every time I walk by it. We had quite a few out of town guests and they were amazed by the live wedding painting! Denise was so sweet and kind to all of our guests and took the time out to talk to them and let them view the progress. We love Denise so much and our wedding painting so much that I have begun to start my very own Denise Hopkins Fine Art collection! Thank you so much for everything, we are forever grateful. – Christin
testimonials
“ Just WOW!! We are so happy to have worked with Denise and have a living memory of our best day hanging in our home! This is a must have for your wedding day! ”
LT and Birdo
Kristie
“ I highly recommend Denise for your live wedding painter!! She was so sweet and quickly responded to my emails and questions. My painting is absolutely beautiful and such a statement piece in my house. I am constantly in awe every time I pass it. I get many compliments from everyone who sees it. Denise personally dropped off my painting and helped me pick out a frame afterwards. Again, I HIGHLY recommend Denise Hopkins Fine Art foryour live wedding painter. You won’t be disappointed! ”
Amanda
“ Working with Denise was amazing! She made the process so easy! My guests still talk about how amazing it was to watch her bring our reception to life on that canvas! I love having this gorgeous painting hanging in my house. It is stunning and we get so many compliments!! ”
Margaret
“ Early into our wedding planning, my wife and I discovered that there are artist that paint moments or interpretations of weddings. We had never heard of this but we loved the idea. We found Denise Hopkins on a wedding website and looked at the Live Wedding Paintings she posted online. We were very impressed with the beautiful works of art she posted, so we booked Denise to Live Paint our wedding reception at the “Messinas” Atrium in New Orleans.
From the start, Denise was very responsive with early communications, explaining the process and giving advice on what shape and size would best capture the reception venue. She suggested square (over rectangle), because our venue has a mezzanine and high ceilings. It was great advice.
When our wedding day arrived, we finally had an opportunity to meet Denise in person, at our wedding reception where she was set up to create a painting of the celebration. She is a wonderful person!
Denise was an absolute hit at our wedding! So many of our guests raved about how great it was to have Denise with us, painting our big night, and interacting with the guests. Some of our guests even took photographs of the painting at different stages, so we could see how the painting progressed through the evening.
The final piece of art is exceptionally beautiful! Denise perfectly captured the magical energy of the entire wedding reception. On one canvas, Denise created an art piece that tells the story of our special evening, celebrating our love, while we dance the night away with family and friends. Every time we look at the painting, we are transported back to our wedding reception, and it gives us butterfly’s. Huge thank you to Denise, for telling the story of our wedding in such a unique and beautiful way. ”
Kenny & Luyen
“ Denise is amazing. So incredibly talented – we love our live painting from our wedding ceremony and all the guests were in awe! Not only that – she is friendly and a joy to work with. She also kindly and safely mailed our painting to us all the way to NYC. Can’t recommend her enough!! ”
Allie
“ CANNOT say enough great things about Denise! Absolutely stunning work and definitely one of the highlights of our wedding for our guests was watching her creation come to life! Now it sits in our home as an incredible reminder of the best day ever 🙂 THANK YOU ”
Kristen
“ Hiring Denise to be the live painter at our wedding at Capitol Park Museum in Baton Rouge was probably the best decision we made. We are completely in love and obsessed with the piece of art we received at the end and will absolutely treasure it forever! Denise’s artistic ability and eye for detail is incredible and our guests thoroughly enjoyed watching the painting come to life throughout the reception. Denise, thank you again for providing your talents at our wedding!! We HIGHLY recommend Denise Hopkins Fine Art!!! ”
Jamie
“ Denise is truly an amazing artist! She painted our wedding reception live at Messina’s at the Terminal and we couldn’t be more excited about how it came out! I will treasure this painting forever!! ”
Catherine
“ As a guest at a recent wedding in Mandeville, I was in awe all evening! Denise was so personable and her talent of painting with knives was amazing! She captured the evening perfectly and was such a pleasure to talk to. I wish I would have had this for my daughter’s wedding but I have no doubt she could create the perfect 10 year anniversary gift. ”
Shaleen
“ We encountered Denise at a family wedding in March. Her work was beautiful! I think I was especially struck by her patience and ease with the interested children (and adults) who wandered over to watch her, mesmerized. The final painting was so fun! We had a good time identifying all the friends and family depicted. Denise’s talents were a wedding gift from family friends, and my cousin, the bride, could not have been more thrilled! ”
Erin
“ We are overjoyed that we booked Denise for our wedding. First, she is quick to respond to emails and it was very easy to handle all of the logistics for booking Denise. Our wedding guests absolutely loved watching Denise work. She always had a big crowd and many of our guests, who had never seen a live painter at a wedding before, thought it was so unique and cool. We never anticipated it being such a big attraction. The painting came out beautifully. We received the painting about a month later (during COVID-19) and she delivered it right to our home. We are so happy that Denise captured the best day of our lives. If you’re hesitant about a live painter, highly recommend hiring one and booking Denise Hopkins. ”
Katie
“ Denise was recommended to me by another wedding painter and I’m so happy she was able to paint at our wedding! She’s extremely talented and professional, quick to respond, and the painting is perfect. We will cherish it forever! ”
Alli
“ I had never heard of a live painter for a wedding, but my daughter asked to have one. She found Denise and was in love with her style. At the reception it was so much fun to walk up, watch Denise as she worked and watched as the painting came to life. We can’t wait to get it. It will truly be such a treasure for them from that beautiful day. Thank you Denise. ”
Robbie
“ My now husband surprised me with Denise being at our reception! She brings such a positive energy and is an amazing artist. I can’t wait to see our end result and to have this special memory in our home. Would highly recommend. ”
Sally
“ Denise’s impressionistic interpretation of a live event is nothing less than stunning. With paint brush or pallet knife in hand she turns an event into a lovely reminder of a special time in a person’s life. With her sparkling personality she adds to the entertainment aspect of a live painting. Many people have not ever seen a person create a painting and love watching an artist in action. A great addition to any event. ”
Catherine
“ Denise wasn’t available for my wedding date. However, she graciously offered to paint our wedding from photographs (which I can only imagine is 10xs harder). The end result was better than anything my husband and I could have dreamed of. Denise is incredibly talented and captured the spirit of our wedding perfectly. It was so fun to point out who made it into our wedding painting. We made a special request for her to include a dear family friend who passed suddenly shortly after our wedding. She was more than willing to accommodate this request. Denise is incredibly sweet, gracious, and an absolute joy to work with. Her painting is now the first thing you see when you walk into our home. I cannot recommend booking Denise enough. One of my easiest wedding decisions I made ”
Gabriella
“ I would like to take a moment to acknowledge Denise and her talent. We chose Denise as our live wedding painter and could not have been happier with our choice (and I am extremely picky). She did an amazing job at capturing our guests, the second line band, and the venue. She has a keen eye and puts that to her paintings. It will be a piece we cherish for the rest of our lives. Denise herself is also very kind and has great energy. Our 3 flower girls gravitated to her right away 🙂
If you are looking for a wedding painter, look no further! You’ve found her. ”
Jessie
answered
Frequently Asked Questions
I paint exclusively with oils so it takes up to six weeks to fully dry. I will take the painting to my studio after the wedding. Once it is dry you can either pick it up or I can ship it to you.
Typically, I don’t paint one scene but an impression of the entire event. While I often use references from the couple’s first dance, I like to incorporate it into the larger celebration. Occasionally couple’s will request something specific like their second line or a ceremony exit. I’m happy to accommodate anything that allows the spirit and movement of my paintings to shine through.
I arrive at your venue an hour and half before the start time to set up and do some sketches of the space.
No problem! I’d be happy to make these available to you in a variety of sizes and types via my website. When you fill out the informational form, you will just let me know that you’d like prints made and I’ll take care of the rest. After your wedding, I’ll have the painting professionally digitized and send you a custom link where you can see and order prints.
Witness the Beauty of Live Wedding Paintings
Discover the enchantment of live wedding paintings, where artistry intertwines with your special day.