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This was such a fun wedding. Stephanie and Tyler are the kind of people who make you feel like family when you’re around them. We bonded instantly at their consultation once I found out they were getting married at the Top of the Market, because that’s where Ben and I had our wedding reception! It was so fun to shoot there and re-live a few of our memories.

Stephanie and Tyler’s wedding was a super-fun cocktail reception with great music, a fun photo booth and tons of fabulous food. They also win the award for shortest wedding ceremony: 5 minutes! Could have been 4! It was short, sweet and to-the-point, which allowed their guests to get to the party even quicker.

Venue: Top of the Market
Dress: Cynderellie’s Closet
DJ: City DJ
Photo Booth: Atomic Photo Booth
Makeup: Lancome
Hair: 7 Salon
Bride’s getting ready hotel: Inn at the Market
Groom’s getting ready hotel: W Hotel Seattle

Stephanie wore an absolutely stunning Maggie Sottero gown.



On her way for the first look.

Stephanie told me she was inclined to do the first look in a very public location. Being at Pike Place on a Saturday afternoon made that easy!
I think this might be one of my favorite first looks of all time. Stephanie’s emotion was just palpable.






Tyler is a major comic book lover:

Favorite:


Sharing a market-fresh peach on their wedding day:


This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it:

Favorite:

The ceremony was officiated by Tyler’s sister, which was such a sweet touch:



I love, love, love this shot taken right after the ceremony:

And then it was time to party!


The sunset that night was just breathtaking:

First Dance:

Toasts:


Party!!!





A hug from the mother of the groom:

Right after we packed up all of our gear and were ready to head out for the night, Stephanie and her brother took the dancefloor to belt out a song together. I couldn’t resist digging my camera out for a few last shots, and I’m so glad I did:

Stephanie and Tyler’s mini-interview is coming!

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In honor of the overturning of California’s Proposition 8, I thought I would share these absolutely incredible handmade paper cake toppers by Etsy seller concarta. They make straight couples, too.

Let’s hear three cheers for marriage quality for everyone, and let’s hope that California will lead to many other states recognizing equal rights!

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Meet the darling Lapin Family: Karri, Michael, Ethan & Willa. We got together at the University of Washington for some fun family portraits last weekend, and had a great time together.

Ethan:

Willa:



These two know how to be crazy!


Favorite:





They were also excellent jumpers:

Ethan even showed off his star jump, which was quite impressive!

While the emphasis for this shoot was primarily on the kids, we wanted to get a couple group shots.






Oh, I really, really loved these two…



Thanks, Lapins, for a fantastic shoot!

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I’m excited to announce the newest addition to our product line: Framed Fine-Art Prints!

You hate going to the framer, right? I know I do. Now you don’t have to worry about it, because you can buy your print framed to your liking directly from us! You have lots of options:

All framed prints come with the highest-quality white double mats.

Choose between five frame colors:

Maybe there are 9 similar images from your shoot that you can’t live without. Why not create a gorgeous matted photo collage? With an overall frame size of 16×16, this is a perfect piece for the wall.

Here’s a framed 11×14 (black frame shown):

And a framed 16×20 (cherry frame shown):

Another fun option is the framed 3 Photo Collage. 10×20 frame featuring three 5×5 prints.

And lastly, an elegant way to display three professionally framed 5×7 prints:

E-mail us today for a price list!

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One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is: “Have you shot at xyz?”. I thought for reference, I’d give list of the places we’ve shot wedding ceremonies and receptions. This list is incomplete, but it gives a pretty accurate picture.

Antheia Ballroom

Hall at Fauntleroy
Edgewater Hotel
Golf Club at Newcastle
Echo Falls Golf Club
Graham Visitor’s Center at the Washington Park Arboretum
Seattle Marriott Waterfront
Woodland Park Zoo Rose Garden
Colman Park
Tutta Bella
Top of the Market
94 Stewart
Parson’s Gardens
Ray’s Boathouse
Fairmont Olympic Hotel
University Presbyterian Church
Shilshole Bay Beach Club
The Grand Willow Inn
Olympic Sculpture Park
University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture
The Bathhouse at Golden Gardens
Salish Lodge
Inglewood Golf Club
Tyee Yacht Club
The Library Bistro inside the Alexis Hotel
Kubota Gardens
Brix Restaurant and Wine Bar, Vancouver B.C.
The Hi-Life
Seattle Yacht Club
Studio 116
Lake Forest Park Presybeterian Church
Pine River Ranch
Court in the Square
Columbia Edgewater Country Club, Portland, OR
Roche Harbor Resort
MV Skansonia
Pensione Nichols
Arctic Club Dome Room
Marjorie Restaurant
Woodmark Hotel
Museum of History and Industry
University of Washington Bothell Campus
Villa Siena – Phoenix, Arizona
Grayhawk Golf Club – Scottsdale, Arizona

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Jody and Robert’s wedding wins the award for “most kids in the wedding”, and that made for one fun, lighthearted and enjoyable wedding! Jody has 5 kids of her own, and she and Robert are currently pregnant with 2 (yes, TWO!) more! I can’t imagine planning a wedding with so many kids would be easy, but Jody made it seem effortless. She brought on a top-notch crew of vendors and the day went off without a hitch.

Getting ready hotel: Arctic Club Hotel
Florist: Aria Style
Ceremony: Colman Park
Reception: Tutta Bella (Columbia City)
Cake: New Renaissance Cakes
Favors & Water Bottles: Bitsy Events
Stationer: Izzy Girl
Ceremony Musicians: Seattle String Quartet

This is Jody’s daughter Emilia. Isn’t she stunning?

Love this expression:

Favorite:

Jody’s daughter Charlotte.



The ceremony site was naturally beautiful and decked in blue and red details aplenty.



Family had time to enjoy the scenery while we did formal photos prior to the ceremony. The view was amazing!



Favorite:



Favorite:

I love this series of Jody and her daughters Alice and Charlotte:

Time for the ceremony to begin!


Jody was escorted down the aisle by her son, Jared.


Gorgeous view of the mountain during the ceremony:

I love me some dramatic light:

First kiss, obstructed a bit by an adorable 2.5 year old:

Back down the aisle with twin toddlers in tow!

Then it was off to Tutta Bella for the reception.



Jody’s son Camden (Emilia’s twin!)

How long was your engagement? Do you wish you would have had more/less time to plan your wedding?
We got engaged in August 2009 and planned our wedding for July 2010, which was just shy of one year. But, then we decided to get married in January, so we ended up having a short engagement! Still, since we kept our original wedding date for our formal wedding, we had plenty of time to plan that. I think that a year is just the right amount of time for planning.

What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?
Since we have toddlers, one of whom is a major mama’s girl, we kind of expected that they’d end up involving themselves in the ceremony. And, sure enough, right after the vows, Charlotte started crying and I let her come up. She was so happy to be up there with me holding her. She started grinning, and pointed to my husband and said “Look, mama, there’s Dad!” It was too cute! I also ended up processing down the aisle carrying both of my twin two year olds… talk about my life!

What was your most worthwhile investment?
This is a tough one! I haven’t seen our pictures yet, but I’m sure that La Laz was! We also really, really loved our cake and invitations. But, if I have to choose one, I’d have to say Becky with Aria Style. She helped us with so many little details and made sure that everything was perfect at both the ceremony and dinner sites. It took so much pressure off of me and my bridesmaids!

What’s your funniest memory from the wedding day?
My gift to my bridesmaids was Lush gift sets. One of my bridesmaids thought that a bath melt was a cookie and took a huge bite, and then spit it out everywhere! None of us could believe that she took a bite out of it, but it was definitely a really funny moment!

If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be?
I can honestly say nothing. We had planned a very different wedding before I was pregnant, but this wedding really suited our circumstances and it ended up being really fun and lowkey, while still being beautiful. It was perfect!

Do you have any advice for brides and grooms currently planning their weddings?
Invest in good vendors. I really felt like everything came together as well as it did because everyone involved did their part perfectly.

Was there anything special/unique about your wedding day that you’d like to share?
My oldest son walked me down the aisle. It was very important to me that all of my kids be involved in our wedding. Really, to a large part, our wedding day was for them.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We went to Dreams Riviera Cancun in Riviera Maya, Mexico after our first wedding and went to the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawaii for our second wedding. That’s one bonus of getting married twice… you get two honeymoons!

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I first photographed this darling family three years ago. At that point, Eli was 3 and Meira was just 1. I was amazed when I saw them. They have grown SO much! I guess that happens over a few years. Meira is one photogenic little lady with big smiles and millions of expressions. Eli doesn’t love the camera so much, but he loves soccer and playing with his parents. His mom shared with me that he loves all things Star Wars right now, so discussing one of those topics got him warmed right up.

The evening light at Volunteer Park was absolutely magical. I was in awe at how different a location is, based on the light. I had just shot there early in the morning (for Kindel and Taurean’s engagement), and based on the light alone, it felt like an entirely different location. I love that! The ever-changing light makes it almost impossible to get bored with any one location.

Jason did this same pose with Eli at our first session together. It was amazing to see Meira big enough to do it!




Playing soccer with Dad:

Sweet Eli:

Sweet Meira:

Sweet family:

Favorite:

Eli also loves to climb trees, and he’s really good at it!


Favorite:




With Mom:





With Nana:

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This was such a fun session. Kindel and Tauren are truly some of the nicest people I could ask to work with. They laugh a ton and are so fun to be around. We pretty much traipsed all across Volunteer Park for this shoot and Kindel, in heels, didn’t complain once! I think she was a little relieved when she could change into her flats, however. Stay tuned for images from this couple’s fantastic wedding coming up at the Georgetown Ballroom!

Like I said, these two love to laugh!





Favorite:



Oooohhhhhh, favorite:





So, as I often do, I placed Kindel and Tauren and asked them to dance. Instead of slow dancing, they started doing some goofy dance that had us all laughing.



Oh, hello favorite:

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Oh, I love these two. I love them. Andrea and Russ’ wedding was nothing short of epic. Fantastic venue, amazing, dramatic weather, green shoes covered in rhinestones… what else could I want?

Venue: The Golf Club at Newcastle
DJ: Infinite Sound
Videographer: Endless Love Productions
Photo Booth: 321 Foto

So, this next shot. Words can’t describe how much I love it. The little boy in the photo is Russ’ son. Ben – you amaze me.




Russ and Andrea decided to wait until the ceremony to see each other for the first time. I love this series of Russ seeing his bride come down the aisle.






They did a wine ceremony, where Andrea and Russ had each written the other person a letter talking about how much they loved them. Then they put the letters into a wooden wine box which contained a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. They were instructed to nail the box shut, and to only open it when times were tough. Then they were to drink the wine and read the letters to remind themselves how much love they have for one another.


Kiss!

Oh yes, they danced back down the aisle.

A sweet emotional moment between Andrea and Russ’ two sons following the ceremony.

Oh, those boys. They just kill me.

Beautiful, radiant Andrea.




Andrea works at Cowgirls, Inc. so this shot was only appropriate.

Time for the bride and groom shoot.

These next two go in my absolute top favs:





A little spin:


And the recovery:




Favorite:

Russ and his mom:

Andrea and her dad:


Toasts:



Are you ready for the awesome-ness that was their photo booth? I am.

Andrea and Russ – I love you guys. Truly. I hope your marriage is full of fun!

How long was your engagement? Do you wish you would have had more/less time to plan your wedding?
It was a year and a half, I think it was the perfect amount of time. We were stress free the week of the wedding

What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?
Andrea: all of it, seriously it was great. But if I had to choose one thing it would be walking down the aisle and seeing Russ for the first time.
Russ: that’s hard there are so many. I guess I’d have to say our first kiss as husband and wife

What was your most worthwhile investment?
The venue for sure! The golf club of Newcastle was awesome!

What’s your funniest memory from the wedding day?
Russ: spinning my wife around on top of the hill over looking golf course.
Andrea: Russ and I dancing on the way out after announcing us mr. And mrs.

If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be?
We would both eat more of the food we picked for the wedding, or at least have someone make us plates! But we heard the food was awesome.

Do you have any advice for brides and grooms currently planning their weddings?
Relax and have fun, you do it once and if you really want something for your wedding do it, you don’t want to look back and say I should have gotten that!

Was there anything special/unique about your wedding day that you’d like to share?
We had a blast! The pictures will show how the whether changed and that in itself was cool
Where did you go on your honeymoon? Jamiaca!

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I cried the first time I met Sarah. No, that isn’t normal for me. But when she told me the story of how she and Gene met, I couldn’t help it. Right there in the middle of our consultation, I found my eyes welling up with tears. While I don’t feel at liberty to share the whole thing, I’ll tell you that Sarah and Gene met while walking in the 3-day Breast Cancer walk here in Seattle. They weren’t walking together. In fact, they had never even met. Gene was walking with his friends, and Sarah with hers. Somewhere near Alki beach, a conversation started and it was clear during my interactions with them that they are an extremely special couple who were meant to come together.

Venue: Echo Falls Golf Club
Flowers: Romanza Floral

In the getting ready suite at Echo Falls.

Sarah’s attendant was Gene’s daughter Lauren, who had the most gorgeous red hair!




Patiently waiting for Gene to arrive:

Favorite:

Sarah seeing Gene’s son Tyler for the first time that day.

Our beautiful couple:

Can you spot them?

So Sarah and Gene probably thought I was nuts, but I went absolutely bananas over this tunnel at the golf course. I mean, bananas. Like, I made them go there with me twice. But it was worth it, wouldn’t you say?




Favorites:



Sarah was positively radiant:



This is one of my top favorites. Gene having a little heart-to-heart with Tyler just before they walked down the aisle.

Theirs was a sweet Jewish ceremony that took place outside near the waterfall at Echo Falls. This was the first ceremony to ever take place in that location!


As you can see, it was a very touching ceremony.

Lauren wrestling with the two bouquets:

Near the end of the ceremony, Sarah’s dad brought Tyler the glass to hold until it was time. His expressions absolutely killed me. What a darling, darling little guy!

Mazel Tov!


Following the ceremony, the family piled into a golf cart and rode off to the reception.



The drinks at this wedding were so colorful and pretty!


Yes, we’ll take your picture with your camera, too.





First dance loveliness:

Congratulations to you, Sarah and Gene! I hope Maui was wonderful!

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I love a great Fourth of July wedding. I’ve known Katie since elementary school, and was delighted when she contacted me about photographing her wedding. It had been over 10 years since we’d seen each other! Katie and her fiance live in Florida, and came back to Seattle for their super-charming wedding on the Fourth of July. We all know how unpredictable Seattle weather can be, even during the summer months, and unfortunately we didn’t get the sun we were hoping for. I was so impressed with Katie and Adam’s sense-of-humor when it came to the rain. Where they could have freaked out about the event having to change to accommodate the weather, instead they were laid back and went with the flow.

Ceremony: Our Lady of Mt Virgin
Reception: Graham Visitor’s Center at the Washington Park Arboretum
Flowers: Lake Forest Park Farmer’s Market
Catering: Jasper’s BBQ
Ice Cream: Molly Moon’s

Katie got ready at her mom’s house, and Adam at the Edgewater Hotel (in the Beatles suite!).





That’s Katie’s super-adorable dog, Cosmo.

It’s always such a privilege to be present for some of the more emotional moments that take place on the wedding day. For instance, Katie and her grandmother shared a beautiful moment together prior to leaving for the ceremony. It would be impossible not to be misty-eyed when witnessing something so tender.


Didn’t Katie make a stunning bride?

Ceremony time! Katie and Adam were married in a Catholic ceremony at Our Lady of Mt Virgin in the Mount Baker Neighborhood. It was such a lovely, quaint little church!


I love this series.




They went old-school and threw bird seed. I loved it!

I don’t usually post formals, but I loved these.




It would have been hard to take a bad photo of these two. Can you say photogenic??





LOVE these next two.

This reception was so much fun. The guests didn’t even pay attention to the rain and had a blast.

First Dance:

Toasts:



Katie put so much thought into the little details, and it made for an absolutely gorgeous wedding.


Katie and Adam ducked outside to dance together on the patio, which I thought was so sweet. And it made for some sweet photos.


One of the big highlights of this wedding was when the Molly Moon’s Ice Cream Truck pulled up. In lieu of wedding cake, Adam and Katie had ice cream! Katie, a chef, was even invited into the truck to scoop!




The couple honeymooned in Canada and the San Juan Islands. They planned their beautiful wedding in less than a year, from out-of-town. Impressive! Katie and Adam, thanks so much for allowing us to be a part of your big day! We wish you all the happiness in the world!

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Prepare yourself for the awesomeness that was Sarah + Gene’s and Andrea + Russ’ weddings.

Sarah + Gene

Andrea + Russ

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I am so excited to share with you the photos from Anne and Ethan’s awesome wedding last weekend. As you will see, this was a phenomenally executed event. There were details aplenty, some of the sweetest people you could hope to ask for, and an awesome staff working behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly. Enjoy these!

Reception and Ceremony Venue: Woodland Park Zoo
Event Coordinator: Bitsy Events
Florist: Aria Style
Officiant: Rev. Julie Cooper
Cake: Creme de la Creme
Rings: Tiffany & Co.
Dress: Melissa Sweet

As a wedding gift, Ethan had this painting commissioned. It’s a mixed-media piece, using a photo of Anne printed onto canvas and then painted. Absolutely beautiful! And thoughtful! 10 points for Ethan!

Anne and Ethan have two birds that they love dearly. How could I resist this sweet tin full of feathers?


When I was in shooting the rings I heard some commotion in the living room. It was Anne, rocking out to a song from the Legally Blonde soundtrack (“Oh My God, You Guys”). Is she not adorable?

Into her beautiful Melissa Sweet gown.


Hey look! Ethan got ready, too!



Beautiful bridesmaids.

Bitsy Events made sure no detail went unnoticed.


A few more shots of our lovely bride, who was a Southern beauty queen (I learned during the toasts!).


A goosebump photo:


And then it was ceremony time. I love these captures of Ben’s of Anne and her Dad waiting to talk down the aisle and see Ethan for the first time.




What a gorgeous day we had.





After the ceremony, Anne and Ethan set aside lots of time for photos in the Rose Garden. We had some gorgeous light and a fantastic time shooting together.







Batting away bubbles:

The reception, held also at the zoo, was beautiful. So much attention to detail and care placed everywhere you looked.


Toasts:





Towards the end of the reception, Anne surprised her guests by changing into a darling flapper dress. It was so fun!

How long was your engagement? Do you wish you would have had more/less time to plan your wedding?
11 months – we got engaged August 11th, 2009. I think it was just about the right amount of time – we had enough time to plan the wedding we wanted and involve lots of our favorite people, but not so long that the planning ever felt like it was dragging along.

What is your favorite memory from your wedding day?
I’m not sure I can pick one thing – we had such a great time all day long. The rose garden was beautiful and our reception hall was beautiful and the ceremony was wonderful and my groom was charming and all our guests seemed to have a good time – I think I’ll remember it all as a beautiful whirl of color and happiness for a long time.

What was your most worthwhile investment?
Probably our wedding coordinators, Bitsy Events. Even though they were only day-of coordinators, they helped us with so many details and made the day go smoothly so we could enjoy it without stressing. All of our vendors were fantastic, but they’re the ones who tied it all together and made it work so brilliantly.

What’s your funniest memory from the wedding day?
My brother was the best man, and he gave a hilarious toast in which he explained how he and my groom bonded watching Dawson’s Creek, and then described later watching our relationship unfold. Apparently, shortly after I spent a wonderful day with my then husband-to-be I sent my brother an email saying “Your friend is fantastic. If he weren’t 23, I’d move out to Seattle and marry him.” I didn’t remember that, so it was a very funny and touching surprise.

If you could go back and change one thing, what would it be?
I would have practiced my bouquet toss – I didn’t get the flowers all the way back to my single ladies, and the only one who ran forward for it was my maid of honor (thank heavens for her, or it might have been really embarrassing!)

Do you have any advice for brides and grooms currently planning their weddings?
The best advice anyone gave me was to find some time the day before the wedding to spend some 1-on-1 time with my fiancé. We went on a coffee date the day before the wedding and had a chance to talk and reflect on all that was going on around us – it was our last date as single people! I think it helped keep us calm and happy, staying in touch like that.

Where did you go on your honeymoon?
We’re going to Belize in December when the weather is nicer there, but tomorrow we leave for a few days down at the Grand Canyon. We’re super excited about both!