we're carisa & ryan
husband-and-wife photo and film team
we believe the best days are lived, not performed
Golden Sunday was built around a simple idea: the photographs and films that matter most are the ones that still feel like you years from now.
We’re Carisa and Ryan, a husband-and-wife photo and film team drawn to the beauty of real life as it unfolds—the people you love, the way a moment felt, and all the little things you might not realize you’ll miss until they’ve passed.
Our approach is thoughtful without being overly produced. We’ll offer direction when it’s helpful, make room for things to happen naturally, and create something that feels beautiful now without belonging only to right now.
BEHIND GOLDEN SUNDAY
TWO PEOPLE,
TWO PERSPECTIVES.
Carisa Downs,
photograhpy
I’ve always cared as much about how people feel in front of my camera as I do about the photographs themselves. I’ll help when you need direction, but I don’t want you spending your wedding or family session wondering what you’re supposed to do next. My favorite photographs usually happen once people settle in, forget about me a little, and start paying attention to each other. I want you to leave with beautiful images, of course, but I also want you to remember having a really good time while we made them.
Ryan Downs, film
Ryan is the calmer one between the two of us, which turns out to be a pretty useful quality on a wedding day. He came into Golden Sunday through film and quickly found that he loved being able to preserve the parts of a wedding photographs can't fully bring back. He's thoughtful, detail-oriented, and very good at being present without making himself the center of what's happening.
WHEN WE'RE NOT BEHIND THE CAMERAS
MOST DAYS, WE'RE JUST MOM + DAD.
Most days, we’re just mom and dad. We’ve been married since we were eighteen, and now we’re raising two kids while building Golden Sunday together in Arkansas. Our life outside of weddings is pretty ordinary, and we like it that way. This business has grown alongside our family, and getting to create something together that our kids can watch us build has become one of our favorite parts of it.
